Introducing Duffy the Disney Bear's new friend....Gelatoni

I am a sucker for cute. I think that is fairly obvious. Sometimes I think it is good I don't live in Japan or else I would be poor all the time. Food? Who needs food when there are plushies to buy? But then again.....no wait I want to live in Japan never mind. So cute and Tenchi go hand in hand. For the past two years the cute and totally wallet emptying Duffy the Disney Bear entered my life. I could have experienced him slightly earlier had we gone to Tokyo DisneySea when we went on our anniversary trip in 2011 but le sigh. No use crying over spilled milk. Duffy was transplanted back to the United States where he and I go on many fun adventures and what not. Hopefully for my birthday instead of a Japan trip like we had planned the husband gifts me with Shellie May, something I was quite looking forward to getting this year.

Surely we will be friends til the end! Welcome Gelatoni!

So color me surprised, poor, and...well other words when it was slowly revealed starting a few weeks ago that Duffy was getting a new friend. X___X Another new friend?!?! How can this be? While Duffy is having a hard time picking up steam in the United States he is a bonafide hit in Japan. Special events for the bear, a restaurant with a show, a true backstory, and assorted friends including Shellie May. Given that his story is to sail around with Mickey and meet new friends around the world....well is it a surprise he is meeting new friends. So without further adieu.....Gelatoni the cat!

The story of how Duffy met Gelatoni.

So here is how Duffy and Gelatoni came to be (fast) friends. It appears that Duffy (and possibly Mickey but maybe not) was on an adventure and stopped to eat a treat. Because when you go on adventures ice cream is a must. Sadly Duffy dropped his ice cream on the ground and all was sad. Suddenly an artist dipped his tail into the fallen ice cream and painted a picture. The artist was a cat named Gelatoni and he made Duffy's day. They painted together and Duffy told Gelatoni about Mickey. All three of them became friends and all was right in the world despite delicious looking ice cream falling on the ground. THE END. Or something like that.

Come and spend all your money now!

This new friend of Duffy, Gelatoni, was slatted to go on sale on July 4th at Tokyo DisneySea. According to my calculations the park has been opened for 3 hours at the time of this blog post. When Shellie May was released a few years ago the lines for her cuteness were up to 8 hours long on her release day. Will Gelatoni receive the same treatment? Along with the cat plushie itself there are a few other items for sale, a badge version, a bag, and other things. At this time there are no clothes for Gelatoni but I am sure Duffy's clothes fit the cat as well as clothes for Build a Bear. But I don't know if clothes will be introduced specially for Mr. Gelatoni. I can see shirts but maybe not whole outfits.

I might not want to paint with Gelatoni but I am sure the other Hellos would find other things to do with this cat.

So what do I think of this new addition to the Duffy family? Obviously since I am an insane person who would want to go to Disney every single day with Duffy I feel as if I have to support this. It is DUFFY related. It has to be cute and wonderful and I must be caught up in all the love and drama and have it too. Part of me at first did think of this new friend as a cash grab. Like look how popular Duffy is, how can we make even more money off this incredibly popular product?! What does Disney TokyoSea need that girls like? A cute BOY cat, sorta like a boy Marie? BRILLIANT! But then I sat and thought about it. Businesses exist to make money. Without cash there wouldn't be new rides and experiences at Disneyland, World, Sea, ect. So everything a business does is related to money somehow yes? What I should be judging is if this new way to make cash is positive or reeks of desperation. So is Gelatoni a nice edition to the Duffy universe? I think yes. His backstory makes sense. Or it works with Duffy's backstory as he is to travel around the world and make new friends. So Duffy and Mickey travel to Italy and meet Gelatoni and can become friends. In fact Duffy can travel all over the world and make new friends. The possibilities could be endless! It might saturate the market if it reaches that point but for now one or two need friends might be good for the brand. It might be difficult for hardcore fans to carry all three plushies at the same time though. A decision will have to be made!!! Well for me I am still waiting for my Shellie May. I am sure though whenever I do make it over to Japan next Gelatoni will end up in my suitcase and will get some love and attention at my house. No paints mind you. Just a friend for Duffy to go on adventures with. I guess time will tell if expanding the Duffy brand more will be a good business decision. HINT HINT HINT Disney World and Disneyland. Duffy needs some friends over here, the bear is lonely!