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Dick Bruna - Miffy

Posted: 17 Feb 2017, 18:44
by Rob Houghton
I noticed the Dutch artist Dick Bruna, who created Miffy the Rabbit in the 1950's died today. I don't remember reading any Miffy books as a child, but the illustrations are definitely a part of my childhood - iconic!

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Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy

Posted: 17 Feb 2017, 19:25
by Courtenay
Ah, I'm sorry to hear this news. We used to borrow some of the Miffy books from the library when I was little and I always loved the bold style of the pictures and the simple but engaging stories. Actually, the book I remember the most fondly was one from another series by Dick Bruna, Poppy Pig's Garden, which we owned and which Mum and I liked to read together. Poppy Pig always reminded me a little of Babi, my grandmother (Mum's mother), who was also comfortably plump and kindly and loved gardening! :wink:

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Here's a news report and an obituary for Dick Bruna — I'm sure his creations will continue to delight many, many more children and adults for many years to come. R.I.P.

Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy

Posted: 17 Feb 2017, 21:22
by Anita Bensoussane
RIP Dick Bruna.

My sister and I used to borrow Miffy books from the library too, Courtenay. When my children were little they had a couple of the books. One was Miffy's House and my daughter was fascinated by the minimalistic look of the rooms. I also had a Miffy-themed changing mat for my son when he was a baby.

Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy

Posted: 18 Feb 2017, 16:25
by KEVP
Nowadays people confuse Miffy with Hello Kitty. I am sure there must have been some influence there.

Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy

Posted: 18 Feb 2017, 16:57
by Courtenay
Dick Bruna himself certainly reckoned so:
Miffy creator Dick Bruna: 'Hello Kitty is a copy of Miffy. I don't like that at all'

The only other time in our conversation when Bruna's brow clouds over is when we discuss Hello Kitty, the Japanese cartoon beloved of cute-obsessed schoolgirls and lovers of kitsch throughout the world. 'That,' he says darkly, 'is a copy [of Miffy], I think. I don't like that at all. I always think, "No, don't do that. Try to make something that you think of yourself".' After all, he adds - mood already lifting - 'there's so many nice things.'
(A really interesting article all through, by the way — it's an interview with Bruna from 2008.)

And in 2010, a Dutch court indeed ruled that one of the Hello Kitty characters, Cathy the rabbit, was a breach of copyright because of her similarity to Miffy: Miffy biffs Cathy in Kitty copycat case

Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy

Posted: 18 Feb 2017, 19:23
by Kate Mary
The Book People are currently selling a collection of 10 Miffy books with a soft toy but the website says the books have a new text by award-winning poet Tony Mitton. Not only Enid's books suffer from updating it seems.

Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy

Posted: 18 Feb 2017, 19:28
by Rob Houghton
I love how everything is advertsied as 'award winning' these days - I think the author of the adult famous fives was described in the same way...wonder if they just won an award at Primary school or something...? ;-)

Its sort of similar to 'fake news'...the media - or in this case the publishers - tell the public something and the public accept it like sheep and go and buy it, lol! :-(

Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy

Posted: 18 Feb 2017, 20:40
by Courtenay
Gosh, what on earth was wrong with the original text of the Miffy books? :shock: I doubt they could be made any more appealing and enjoyable for young children (and the not-so-young!) than they already undoubtedly were. All right, the text we have in English (and some 40 other languages) is a translation of the original Dutch, but considering how they've sold for the past 60 years, I can't imagine there could be anything all that wrong with it. Or maybe someone's just trying to make money... :x

Re: Dick Bruna - Miffy

Posted: 19 Feb 2017, 12:35
by joanne_chan
Dick sure put a lot of fun and light-heartedness in children's lives with Miffy and I do feel quite sad reading of his death.