McMug

McMug
Traditional Chinese	麥むぎ嘜
Simplified Chinese	麦むぎ唛
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Màimài Yue: Cantonese Jyutping mak6 mak1

McMug (Chinese: 麥むぎ嘜) is an anthropomorphic pig cartoon character from Hong Kong featured in comic strips, TV shows, and films. McMug first appeared in 1988, as the central character of a comic strip printed in the Ming Pao weekly magazine. McMug is drawn by cartoonist Alice Mak (麥むぎ家か碧あお), with stories written by Brian Tse (謝しゃ立りつ文ぶん).

Although McMug comics have a somewhat childish style, they often address serious social issues, including death, poverty, and single-parent families, making it resonate with adult audiences as well as children. The plotlines are also known for covering local cultural festivals, and celebrities, reflecting the deep roots of Hong Kong culture.

McMug has become one of the most popular cartoon figures in Hong Kong, appearing in books, movies, TV programs, stationery, bedding and apparently everything else that fits. McMug's distant cousin, McDull, is also enjoying huge success.

Fictional biography

Family

McMug, who grew up on Lantau Island, was adopted when he was only one month old. In a thundery night, all panicky pigs fled from the farm, and among them was McMug who was picked up by a couple who were on the island for a holiday.

McMug can speak. He calls his parents Papa and Mama. The couples were Robin Hood figures when they were young, named BugBug. They count Superman as well as Superwoman amongst their friends.

Friends

McMug has his school life in a kindergarten named Springfield Flowers Kindergarten (春田はるた花はな花はな幼稚園ようちえん). He has been studying in kindergarten for 8 years.

• Lisa, a wild boar, is McMug's penfriend.
• Darby, a tomcat, is his classmate.
• Goosie, a goose, is known for kindness.
• Fai, a tortoise, is loyal to friends.
• May is a cow.
• June is a female hippopotamus who always hangs out with May. They work out together.
• McDull, McMug's only pig friend, who is even sillier than McMug. Early stories suggested that McDull and McMug are distant cousins.
• Miss Chan, a human teacher.
• The Principal, a middle-age man who founded the Springfield Flowers Kindergarten and became its Principal. Incidentally, he also opened a noodle shop in McDull's story. According to one story, he founded the kindergarten in order to provide a teaching position for his wife, who was migrating to Hong Kong from the Mainland.

Social impact

McMug is rare in that it is a comic dedicated to cover social issues and local contemporary culture.

McMug Comic Books

• Fairy Tales for the Adults (麥むぎ嘜成人じん童話どうわ)
• The Flying Pig (麥むぎ嘜天空てんくう飛ひ豬)
• The Dinosaur's Love Song (麥むぎ嘜恐龍きょうりゅう戀こい曲きょく)
• The Three Pigs (麥むぎ嘜三さん隻せき小しょう豬)
• Gloves (麥むぎ嘜絨裡うら手套しゅとう)
• The Youth Song (麥むぎ嘜青春せいしゅん舞曲ぶきょく)
• Bygones as Dreams (麥むぎ嘜舊歡如夢ゆめ)
• McMug Poems' Collection (麥むぎ嘜詩畫が選せん)
• McMug's Little Stories (麥むぎ嘜感人じん至いたり深ふか小しょう故事こじ)
• Sort-of Blue Sub-tropics (麥むぎ嘜算憂鬱ゆううつ亞熱帶あねったい)
• Micro-fiction (麥むぎ嘜微小びしょう小說しょうせつ)
• Springfield Flowers Kindergarten (春はる天花てんげ花はな幼稚園ようちえん)
• McMug Chun Tin Fa Fa Stories (麥むぎ嘜春田はるた花はな花はな)
• McMug Comic Strips (1) Stories (麥むぎ嘜格格かく漫畫まんが (1))
• McMug Comics Stories - Sampler (麥むぎ嘜漫畫が - Sampler)
• McMug's Collection of Games to be Played When Bored (麥むぎ嘜無聊才玩遊戲ゆうぎ集しゅう)
• 春田はるた花はな花はな幼稚園ようちえん マクダルとマクマグ(2006 Japan)

McMug Songs

• 《月光げっこう光こう》
• 《 腳瓜大だい顫——中國人ちゅうごくじん好こう腳法》
• 《一定いってい得とく》
• 《麥むぎ兜かぶと與あずか雞》
• 《黎はじむ根ね之の歌うた》
• 《我わが個こ名めい叫さけべ麥むぎ兜かぶと兜かぶと》
• 《春田はるた花はな花はな幼兒ようじ園えん主題歌しゅだいか》
• 《麥むぎ嘜唱ABC》
• 《大だい包つつみ整せい多た兩りょう籠かご》
• 《麥むぎ兜かぶと與あずか豬腩肉にく》

McMug products

In 2005, the Circle-K convenience store, together with Bliss (the company that owns the copyright to the McDull and McMug series), launched a marketing campaign named "McMug Spell-it-out" (Chinese: 麥むぎ嘜任你串; lit. 'Spell it out with McMug'). For any purchase in Circle-K exceeding HK$20, the customer gets a badge with a picture of McMug (or its friends) and a silly motto sheet. The complete set of these badges features the 26 English letters A–Z, plus additional "secret" designs featuring a heart (with Goosie), an exclamation mark (with Darby), a question mark (with Fai), and an ampersand (with May and June).

External links

• McMug and McDull Official Website
• Yellow Bus Official Website