The adventurous and amicable traits of a new Disney character have captured the imagination of often stressed-out young Chinese seeking an escape. Her name: LinaBell.
After debuting at Shanghai Disneyland Resort last month, LinaBell has become a viral sensation on Chinese social media platforms.
Many fans have christened her with nicknames such as "the female celebrity of Chuansha", after the area where Shanghai Disneyland is located. Others have also started calling her "Daji of Chuansha", referring to the favorite consort of King Zhou of Shang Dynasty(c.16th century-11th century BC), and who was later mythologized as a fox spirit incarnate.
LinaBell the pink fox is part of the "Duffy and Friends" toy collection and is characterized as having an "inquisitive mind and the intelligence that supports it", according to her introduction on Disney's website. The cunning fox also has a love for nature and a detective-like talent for solving mysteries.
Her souvenirs at Shanghai Disney were sold out, only to reappear on second-hand shopping platforms such as Xianyu at inflated prices. For example, a mid-sized LinaBell, which sells for 219 yuan ($34), now costs as much as 888 yuan, according to media reports.
On China's major e-commerce sites such as Taobao and JD.com, LinaBell related merchandise — including phone cases, hair bands, water cups, and bags — have become bestsellers. One Taobao vendor selling such items said that orders have exceeded 1,500 pieces per month.
Many fans are now lovingly referring to LinaBell as their "daughter". "All of my female friends have LinaBell memes, which has now become a way of socializing and connecting with each other," said Li, a 20-year-old student from Shanghai.
Analysts said that the popularity of LinaBell isn't just limited to her appearance. The character has especially resonated with young female Chinese because of her personality — LinaBell breaks the stereotype of Disney's dainty, princess-like female characters.
"LinaBell likes to explore the world, and has a more tomboyish manner, akin to the image of an independent woman that Chinese women value nowadays," read an analysis by China's consultancy firm iResearch.
The term Intellectual Property or IP is now frequently used by the Chinese film and television industry. Although it doesn’t sound like a new and super exciting word, it is creating major waves within China.
IP could be a complete story or a concept, which has the potential to be developed into a film, drama, online games, music and any other commercial derived products. The better ones are usually well known online and have accumulated a large legion of fans.
Most IP works are born from online novels and games, that provide a complete story and engaging characters. More importantly, they can be redeveloped into derived products. It is obvious that younger audiences are the targets. The popular genres of IP are ancient costume, magic, kung fu and romance.
IP doesn't have to be something abstract, it can also be concrete and figurative. For example, Terracotta Warriors or even Biang Biang noodles can be great IPs for Xi'an.