Globi is a Swiss

cartoon character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, i ...

occasionally referred to as Switzerland's Mickey Mouse. He is pictured as an anthropomorphic blue parrot with a yellow beak wearing a black

beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret rema ...

and a pair of red and black checkered trousers. He was created by the Swiss cartoonist Robert Lips, as an advertising character for the Swiss department store

Globus Globus is Latin for ''sphere'' or ''globe''. It may also refer to: Business * Globus Medical, a medical device company in Audubon, PA * Globus (clothing retailer), an Indian clothing retail store * Globus (company), a Swiss department store c ...

in 1932 for the company's 25th anniversary. He was originally planned to be called "Kimbukku", but later renamed Globi after the local

Basel German Basel German or Baseldytsch (Standard German: ''Baseldeutsch'') is the dialect of the city of Basel, Switzerland. The dialect of Basel forms a Low Alemannic linguistic exclave in the High Alemannic region. Phonetics and phonology Consonants ...

''(Baseldytsch)'' dialect word for the department store that created him.

History

He initially appeared in a cartoon strip called ''Der Globi'', and later appeared in a cartoon picture-book form called ''Globi's World Voyage'' in 1935. By 1944, the character gained so much popularity that Globus created a separate company for it, and in 1948 Globi had sold over one million picture books. He was introduced in other markets such as the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, but did not do as well. In the 1970s, he was accused of being sexist, racist, and promoting violence, which was based on the attitudes of the 1940s and 1950s, but the articles in question were then withdrawn and revised.

Present

He is one of the most popular characters in the German-Speaking part of Switzerland, with sales of over 9 million books. However, he stays mostly unknown in the French and Italian speaking parts of the country. In October 2003, a full-length film, ''Globi and the Stolen Shadows'' was made which was based on him. It was directed by Robi Engler in

Anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

-style. Beside the books, there is a lot of Globi merchandise, including cuddly toys, crockery, cutlery, clocks, school equipment, card games, food. From December 2008, the Swiss town of

Engelberg Engelberg (lit.: ''mountain of angel(s)'') is a village resort and a municipality in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Besides the village of Engelberg, the municipality also includes the settlements of Grafenort, Oberberg and Schwand. The ...

hosts a Globi

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

References

External links

Globi's website (in German)
Swiss comic strips 1932 comics debuts Comics characters introduced in 1932 Swiss comics characters Advertising characters Swiss culture Birds in art Fictional Swiss people Fictional parrots Anthropomorphic animal characters Male characters in comics Male characters in animation Male characters in advertising Comics adapted into animated films {{fict-char-stub