When the company created a talking Kitty for a pilot cartoon series, it set off a fury among fans loyal to the cat’s mouthless look, Ms. Yamaguchi said.

Sanrio公司當年也試過讓Kitty貓說話，并搬上了電視，據山口說，這一舉動引發了廣大Kitty粉絲的不滿，因為他們已經接受了沒有嘴巴的Kitty的形象了。

And though Sanrio goes to great length to create back stories for its characters — Kitty, for example, was born in London and likes to eat cookies — that biography is not compelling enough to draw many fans, according to analysts, who cite weak characterization as a drawback in Sanrio’s product lines.

盡管Sanrio也絞盡腦汁為卡通人物編了一系列背景故事，比如說，他們為Kitty貓定位的是一只生于倫敦、愛吃曲奇餅的貓，但是這些故事并不精彩，也沒有如愿拉來大批粉絲。分析家認為，卡通形象塑造缺乏個性，是Sanrio生產商品時的缺點之一。

Characters developed by Walt Disney, in contrast, typically make their debuts in blockbuster movies that propel them to fame and provide a springboard for further storytelling. The hit Disney animated film “Lilo & Stitch,” for example, which featured a Hawaiian girl and an alien friend, made a successful transition to a television series, all the while bringing merchandising and licensing income to Disney.

與此形成鮮明對比的是沃爾特·迪斯尼塑造的卡通形象。迪斯尼的卡通人物都是通過大片和觀眾見面，形成轟動效應，這之后再發展后續劇情。著名電影《星際寶貝》就是個很好的例子。電影講述了一個夏威夷的女孩和她的外星人朋友的故事，這個故事后來成功的排成電視動畫劇集，并且迪斯尼通過授權其他衍生商品，獲取了巨額利潤。