Can you name the most popular illustrated rabbit character that you remember the most? Bugs Bunny, Peter Rabbit, Thumper from the movie Bambi, or Pooh's friend Rabbit? How about Miffy the rabbit? You must have seen this long-eared white rabbit character with puffy cheeks and round black eyes, right?
Let's go! Let's get to know Miffy a little better.
Created by a father for his son
Miffy was created by a Dutch illustrator, artist, and book writer named Dick Bruna in 1955.
At that time, Dick Bruna and his family were on vacation. One night he made up a story about a rabbit, which was roaming the area of their vacation home, to his son Sierk, who was 10 years old at the time.
After telling the story, Dick drew an illustration of the rabbit. Initially, Dick didn't necessarily make a female rabbit character. It's just that he went on to give her clothes more often than not. dress rather than the pants in the rabbit illustration.
Even Dick admitted that Miffy was decided as the new girl rabbit in his sixth book published in 1970 titled "Miffy's Birthday".
Nijntje is the real name of Miffy Rabbit
Originally, Dick Bruna gave the name Nijntje for this rabbit character. The name Nijntje refers to 'konijntje', which in Dutch means 'rabbit'.little bunny‘.
But the designation Nijntje a little bit is not easy to say in different languages. Because each country has a different term or name to refer to 'rabbit children'.
In the end, Dick chose Miffy as the global name for his Nijntje. There is no special meaning in it. for him, the mention of Miffy will be the same in various languages of the world.
Before it was called Miffy, in France, Nijntje was called 'Le Petit Lapin', in Africa it was called 'Kleintjie', but since 1966, this white rabbit has been known as Miffy both in the Netherlands and around the world.
Mondrian-style Illustration
That simple composition is the appeal of the Miffy rabbit that makes its charm timeless. In addition to the character's simple form, Miffy's storybook illustrations also look minimalist.
Aside from the minimalist nature of the illustrations, block colors are also Miffy's trademark. Dick never adds anything decorative or unnecessary to his stories.
Dick admits that the color blocks in each of his illustrations are inspired by the genre of art carried Piet Mondrian and Henri Matisse. For Dick, he got rid of things that were not important to his imagination.
Despite its simplicity, Miffy's characters and stories have always managed to capture the hearts of everyone, even babies.
In fact, research suggests that in the early stages of infant development, shapes and lines are responded to before words and language. Researchers have even found that children associate positive emotions, such as joy or excitement, with bright colors. This part seems to be understood by Dick Bruna indirectly.
Miffy Rabbit in Japan
This Dutch rabbit is apparently not only popular in her home country but also in Japan. That said, there is no other country where Miffy is so famous as in Japan.
When it comes to dolls, look no further. Accessorized and illustrated on everyday devices, Miffy's iluistrasi is everywhere. In terms of fashion lines, the Miffy series is countless. There are even two Miffy cafes in two different cities.
Miffy is very close to Japanese society. For example, Miffy has been used as an icon for various government campaigns. Because of this, Miffy is often mistakenly known to be from Japan instead of the Netherlands.
Reportedly, Sanrio's Hello Kitty character, which is equally famous, was inspired by the rabbit Miffy. This statement even came from the creator, Dick Bruna.
The banded white cat character's debut came in 1974. Both are drawn with simple lines, a large head, and a typical child's gaze. Differences other than species, Miffy has a cross for her mouth unlike Hello Kitty who does not have a mouth. Hello Kitty has ribbons near her ears, Miffy does not. Miffy is associated with primary colors while Hello Kitty with pink.
Miffy's impersonation culminated in 2010. Dick filed a copyright lawsuit against Cathy the rabbit, Hello Kitty's friend.
Amsterdam court orders Sanrio to stop production and sales merchandise The decision was upheld by St. Cathy's in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Sanrio appealed the decision.
The two stopped legal action in 2011 after the March 11 Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Sanrio agreed to dismiss Cathy, and both parties agreed to donate legal fees to earthquake victims.
Miffy's Story in a Storybook
Miffy presents simple stories that are close to children's daily lives, such as going to the zoo with parents or going to school with friends.
Often, through Miffy's story, some situations that might be scary for children become less scary. Like when Miffy had to be hospitalized, how school activities were, and the experience of going to an art gallery gave children an idea of new things.
Miffy's storybook, which measures 16 x 16 cm, is of course also suitable for children and even those who cannot read yet.
As mentioned, the pictures are simple. In addition, the text is also fairly short with a short selection of words. The number of lines on each page is no more than four. This is the formula that makes Miffy so beloved by readers and admirers.
Miffy After Dick Bruna
Before his passing in 2017, Dick Bruna, who was born in 1927, had completed more than 100 books, the biggest of which was about Miffy.
Not only storybooks, Miffy has also been featured in various activity books, board bookThere are also special titles such as Miffy x Rembrandt, as well as number and letter recognition books in Miffy's 123 and Miffy's ABC.
Last November 21, 2020 - March 14, 2021, QUT Art Museum, Brisbane, Australia, presented the exhibition Miffy & Friends. The exhibition features Bruna's original drawings and illustrations through an array of her book covers and posters to the iconic figure, the rabbit Miffy.
The exhibition celebrates Dick's fundamental philosophy of giving space to the imagination, and introduces Miffy's influence on the work of seven contemporary Australian artists. It explores concepts that Dick Bruna and other artists have grappled with for centuries, such as color, line and form, and gives viewers an idea of how to instill a love for art, just as the creator did throughout his life.
