July 22, 2005

Happy Kitty Bunny Pony

Japan's Sanrio has a near monopoly on overly cute animal characters, but in earlier decades the United States ruled this lucrative industry. A new book called Happy Kitty Bunny Pony: A Saccharine Mouthful of Super Cute, by Charles S. Anderson Design Co. with text by Michael J. Nelson, provides ample evidence for my assertion.

This 176-page book, encased in a handsome clear vinyl slipcover as a sort of bib, features hundreds of retro images of fuzzy ducklings, Keane-eyed kittens, pink prancing ponies, friendly blue chipmunks, bashful panda cubs, coy baby donkeys, and the like. All the animals are gleeful -- they have the kind of look on their face you might imagine Bernie Ebbers would have if he were to wake up and realize the last four years were just a silly nightmare. Many of the animal characters have psychotic gleams in their eyes.

The stomach-churningly adorable illustrations are kept in check by perverse captions written by Michael J. Nelson (head writer and host of Mystery Science Theater 3000). For example, on a two page spread featuring drawings of bunnies dressed up in Mary Poppins style clothes, Nelson writes, "Step right up! See bunnies walking upright and wearing all manner of costumery! Yes, anthropomorphized rabbits with bulbous limbs in Victorian-era clothes! Step right -- What's that? You say you'd rather die than see that? Perhaps this isn't the place for you."

How can you go wrong with a book like this?. Buy it for $10.17 at Amazon.com./