Luca, a giant boy puppet supporting the La Raza soccer team seems likely to have been inspired by the Royal de Luxe ones, don’t you think?
mascot
Kamoné
Oh yeah, the World EXPO also has a pavilion mascot, a platypus called Kamoné. She was designed by Melbourne-based illustrator, artist, toy designer and storyteller Nathan Jurevicius, best known for his Scarygirl series of toys, comics and products.
The drawings are pretty cool and there are various versions of her: dancing, just herself, in a long dress, playing soccer, with ipod and backpack, with tote and pencil, as an artist? (interestingly this isn’t used – maybe its not clear enough), and as a scientist.
There is also a bodysuit puppet of her. There are numerous pictures in the Australian Pavilion image gallery, such as this one of her supervising the unloading of the platypus exhibit (minus her gloves). And here Kamoné is at Tokyo Station, meeting her friends the official Aichi Expo mascots, Kiccoro and Morizo, a forest child and a forest grandfather.
One other thing. There is nice flash graphic at EXPO2005, though its a pity you have to scroll down to get both images.
Brumby Jack
I forgot about Brumby Jack, the official mascot of the Super 12’s Brumbies, the ACT Rubgy Union team. In a daggy interview in the Canberra Times he listed ‘The Man from Snowy River’ as his favourite movie, and ‘Horse with No Name’ as his favourite song. Its possible to buy a rather frightening Brumby Jack toy.
Brumbies are wild horses in Australia, and most mums and kids know the song Brumby Jack from watching the ABC’s Playschool — ‘Here comes Brumby Jack, bringing the horses down the track…’
The other local football mascot is the Canberra Raiders Victor the Viking. His muscles always look lumpy and migratory…
Updated links 2015
Trauma Teddy
Continuing in my quest to collect all the large puppet mascot characters around, may I present Trauma Teddy, ‘the bear that cares’, and the fund raising mascot for the Australian Red Cross. November is fund raising month for the Red Cross, and November 23nd was National Trauma Teddy Day.
While Trauma Teddy himself visits sick children in hospital and travels to schools to entertain and inform children about the activities of the Red Cross, the Trauma Teddy program is one where people in the community knit individual bears which are then given to comfort children and adults experiencing trauma. Although the bears are made to a special pattern, and you have to be a registered knitter with the Red cross to get it, each bear is different.
In hospitals now they have a machine with which you can self-administer morphine when things are getting tough. The nurse comes along and coos ‘Now how would you rate the pain you feeling on a scale of 1 to 10? 7? Well then I’ll just link you up to the … (imagine dramatic psycho stabbing music and cackles) … PAIN MACHINE!’ My only concern with Trauma Teddy is his name. Does someone come up to you and coo ‘There there, let me give you a …(uh-oh) … TRAUMA TEDDY’.
Kenny Koala goes to Russia
Since he emanated from my studio a few years ago, I always take an interest in the activities of Kenny Koala, the puppet mascot and community liason agent of the Australian Federal Police.
For instance, back in March, Kenny and his mate Stewart Waters celebrated Harmony Day by skydiving into Turner Oval, providing some excitement for the kids who up until his descent had been having a great deal of fun bopping each other on the head with blow-up plastic mallets courtesy of the Bunnings show bags that were being distributed.
This week 500 teddy-version Kenny Koalas are being airlifted to Beslan, to be given to the children who survived the school hostage massacre.
‘AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty said it was hoped the Kenny Koala Bears, which have been popular with generations of Canberra children, would provide some comfort to children affected by the tragedy.’
The Chequered Ribbon Association, the AFP charity which is organizing the gift, usually sells the Kenny Koala bears as a collectable limited edition toy for fundraising. They are ‘about 25cm in height and is dressed in an AFP uniform with a white peak cap.’
The CRA is asking for donations to help with financing the airlift, and to help with the fundraising there will be an auction at the Canberra Services Club (on Canberra Avenue in Manuka, next to the Manuka Oval) tomorrow, Thursday 16th September 2004 – 6pm for 7pm start. A single numbered Constable Kenny Koala will be one of the items up for auction. ‘Single numbered koalas are are only offered to the public occassionally, so this is a great opportunity to secure what is becoming highly collectable.’
Oh … and you have to know Kenny’s motto: ‘What do we want? No trouble!’ ;-)
