McDull () is an

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

pig

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...

character that was created in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

by cartoonist Alice Mak and Brian Tse. Although McDull first made his appearance as a supporting character in the '' McMug'' comics strips, he has since become a central character in his own right. McDull has featured in several comics, TV shows, and films, and has become extremely popular in Hong Kong and

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

McDull's background

McDull is a male pig who can be distinguished by a birthmark on his left eye. He has a heart of gold, but he isn't very smart and is ordinary in every way; nevertheless, he has many dreams. However, every time he tries, he fails; he is disappointed, but tries again, exploring other dreams. In this way, he creates his own colourful world. He lives his life simply and naturally. He is not perfect, but his attitude towards life, namely of never giving up, makes him a popular character. He is very bright and always tries again, and his character is what makes him popular. The name McDull actually has a story itself. When Mrs. Mak was going to give birth to McDull, she saw a magical plastic basin (兜pronounced roughly as "dull" in Cantonese) flying over her head. Believing it was a sign from the gods, she named her son "Dull". In ''Kung Fu Ding ding dong'', it is explained why McDull is not smart. When McDull was still a baby, Ms. Mak sent him to a test on the

Mozart effect The Mozart effect is the theory that listening to the music of Mozart may temporarily boost scores on one portion of an IQ test. Popular science versions of the theory make the claim that "listening to Mozart makes you smarter" or that early childh ...

. Sadly, he was put in the control group and listened to what was described as "nonsense songs" instead of Mozart. Here is McDull's personal information: * Date of Birth: June 22, 1995 * Place of birth: Hong Kong Kowloon Kwong Wah Hospital * Sex: Male * Kindergarten I have read: Chuntian Huahua Kindergarten * Dream: To be an Olympic windsurfing champion; to travel to the Maldives * Personality: pure, straightforward, open-minded * Favourite food: chicken * The most hated food: vegetables * Raised pet: Goldfish Umbanana * Mother: 麥譚玉蓮（麥太）(Mrs. Mak Tam Yuk Lin) * Father: 麥炳 Mak Bing * Paternal older cousin: 麥嘜 McMug

Family of McDull

His mother's name is ''

Mrs. Mak Tam Yuk Lin Mrs. (American English) or Mrs ( British English; standard English pronunciation: ) is a commonly used English honorific for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title (or rank), such as '' Doctor'', '' P ...

'' (麥譚玉蓮) and his father's is ''Mak Bing'' (麥炳). Before the birth of McDull, his father disappeared and therefore Mrs. Mak had to raise McDull as a single mother. Despite their mutual love, mother and son had many conflicts. Mrs. Mak is a typical Hong Kong mother, expecting her son to get good grades, to enter the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public university, public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest Higher education in Hong Kong, tertia ...

, and to become a respected professional. McDull tries very hard to fulfill his mother's wishes, but always fails. Earlier stories suggested that McMug is a distant (probably paternal) cousin of McDull.

McDull and Excreman

One

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

day, McDull produced a load of human-shaped dung called Excreman (屎撈人

jyutping Jyutping is a romanisation system for Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK), an academic group, in 1993. Its formal name is the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme. The LSHK advocates f ...

: "si2 lou1 jan4"). After giving Excreman a scarf (made out of toilet paper) and a hat (actually a

spittoon A spittoon (or spitoon) is a receptacle made for spitting into, especially by users of chewing and dipping tobacco. It is also known as a cuspidor (which is the Portuguese word for "spitter" or "spittoon", from the verb "cuspir" meaning "to sp ...

), he was brought by Excreman to dung-world. There, Excreman shares his wish with him: to become fertilizer for flowers. When the next morning came, Excreman brought McDull back to his room and went to fulfill his goal. Before leaving, Excreman left a message to McDull: ''Remember us whenever you see the humblest, the deserted and the despised''. This story was very loosely based on the book '' The Snowman'' by

Raymond Briggs Raymond Redvers Briggs (18 January 1934 – 9 August 2022) was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story ...

. The character Excreman is also similar to '' South Parks

Mr. Hankey '' South Park'' is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. The ongoing narrative revolves around five children, Stan Marsh, Eric Cartman, Kyle Broflovski, Kenny M ...

, another cartoon excrement character associated with Christmas.

McDull in the media

Comics

McDull first appeared as a comic book character. Most of the books mainly depicted his daily life: *Yellow Bus Magazine *McDull's Touching Short Stories (麥兜感人至深小故事) *McDull - From Honey to BBQ Pork (麥兜從蜜汁到叉燒) *McDull's Stories (麥兜故事) *McDull's 'Tiny'

Novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s (麥兜 . 微小小說) *McDull's Hundred Thousands Questions Collection (麥兜十萬個為什麼) *McDull's 'Dam' 'Dam' Noodles (麥兜的擔擔麵) *McDull's Fishball (麥兜的魚蛋) *McDull's Stitching - A Day of McDull (麥嘜縫縫縫——麥兜的一天) *Dear McDull (麥肉兜兜) *Mrs. Mac's Stories (麥太兜兜) *Unplugged Version of Young McDull's Troubles (少年麥兜的煩惱Unplugged版(非賣品))

Films

;'' My Life as McDull'' (2001) The first McDull movie documented his life and the relationship between him and his mother. As in the comics, McDull is a piglet who lives with his mother, Mrs. Mak, in

. He is a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

student. He has a happy school life with his classmates including

geese A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the she ...

tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like ot ...

s and other pigs. McDull and his mum love each other very much. McDull tries his best to make his mother proud of him and his mother tries hard to give McDull a happy childhood. McDull wanted to go to the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives,, ) and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is a country and archipelagic state in South Asia in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about from the A ...

. His mother could not afford a trip there but she tricks him by taking him to The Peak by

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

. The tram has a sign "Go to the Maldives". It made McDull very happy as he thought that he was really going to the Maldives. After realizing his dream, McDull set himself another target: to become an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

champion just like female windsurfer

Lee Lai Shan Lee Lai Shan () (born in Cheung Chau, Hong Kong, 5 September 1970) is a former world champion and Olympic gold medal-winning professional windsurfer from Hong Kong. She was the first athlete to win an Olympic medal representing Hong K ...

. The McMug Story ''My Life as McDull'' is also being translated into

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and shown in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. In this version, Mak Bing is the ''father'' of McDull, not his father. ;'' McDull, Prince de la Bun'' (2004) The sequel, whose Chinese title was:麥兜菠蘿油王子 (lit. ''McDull, the prince of the pineapple bun with butter''), was shown in cinemas in Hong Kong. There was again significant

word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, pho ...

in this movie, some of it is based on the "

pineapple bun A pineapple bun () is a kind of sweet bun predominantly popular in Hong Kong and also common in Chinatowns worldwide. Despite the name, it does not traditionally contain pineapple; rather, the name refers to the look of the characteristic to ...

". For example, in slang Cantonese, a 菠蘿蓋 ("bo1lo4 goi3", "pineapple cap") is colloquial for

kneecap The patella, also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in many tetrapods, such as m ...

. The movie's theme, by the Pancakes, was named Best Original Film Song at the 24th

Hong Kong Film Awards The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, ...

. ;'' McDull, The Alumni'' (2006) ;''

McDull, Kung Fu Kindergarten ''McDull, Kung Fu Kindergarten'' (麥兜響噹噹) is a 2009 animated Hong Kong film directed by Brian Tse. Telling the story of the fictional piglet McDull entering a kung fu academy, the film is the fourth in the line of film starring McDull ...

'' (2009) ;'' McDull, The Pork of Music'' (2012) '' McDull, The Pork of Music'' (traditional Chinese title: 麥兜噹噹伴我心) was first shown on 10 July 2012 in

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater Chin ...

, and on 16 Aug 2012 in

. Directed by Brian Tse, this movie elaborated on the musical education in McDull's Kindergarten. The principal of the kindergarten contributed all his efforts to teaching music to kids. However, the kindergarten was under continuous financial crisis and was facing the threat to be shut down. Therefore, the principal decided to run a fund-raising dinner and invited the alumni of the kindergarten to donate. The dinner, however, turned out to be a failure because the alumni weren't able to donate much money. Later, the principal found an agent to publicize the choir of the kindergarten and help them earn performing opportunities. After attending several performances, including one in the concert of

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...

, the agent took away all the money the choir earned and ran away. The kindergarten shut down eventually, but the musical education the alumni received had a profound influence on them. This cartoon was noted by its music, which incorporated classical music and modern elements. ;'' McDull: Me & My Mum 麥兜．我和我媽媽'' (2014) ;'' McDull: Rise of the Rice Cooker 麥兜．飯寶奇兵 (2016)

Soundtrack

In 2002, the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

of ''My Life as McDull'' was released. It was produced by

Steve Ho ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve A ...

(何崇�

a Hong Kong musician who won Best Original Film Score at the 21st

. His blend of european classical music, classical music and "modern" themes in this soundtrack led to a surge of interest in classical music amongst Hong Kong moviegoers. Notably, McDull's theme song is Moments Musicaux No. 3 in F minor by

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

set with Cantonese lyrics. The songs in the movie are also available in a

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music i ...

DVD format.

Television

;''McDull and Chinese Culture'' (2006) McDull and his fellow nursery pupils featured in five animated

RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...

educational episodes running from April 2006 to May 2006. In keeping with the

surreal humour Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviours that are obviously illogical. Portrayals of sur ...

of the McDull franchise, the series used humour to make Chinese history and culture accessible. In keeping with RTHK's

public service A public service is any Service (economics), service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through pub ...

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

remit these episodes (as of July 2007) remain partially available to watch from its website. The episodes follow the same basic format with McDull and friends being lectured by their headmaster about Chinese culture, before being interrupted by one pupil or the other. The narrator would then answer the pupil's questions with examples from the life of McDull's ancestor Mc Zi (麥子, literally ''wheat'', a character sharing the name with 墨子

Mozi Mozi (; ; Latinized as Micius ; – ), original name Mo Di (), was a Chinese philosopher who founded the school of Mohism during the Hundred Schools of Thought period (the early portion of the Warring States period, –221 BCE). The an ...

, the founder of

Mohist Mohism or Moism (, ) was an ancient Chinese philosophy of ethics and logic, rational thought, and science developed by the academic scholars who studied under the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi (c. 470 BC – c. 391 BC), embodied in an eponymo ...

order). This is followed by a short history lesson from McDull's teacher Miss Chan, often featuring a Chinese festival. The episode than finishes with the evolution of a

Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as '' kan ...

Episodes

* Episode 1: Hygiene and health.

Qingming Festival The Qingming festival or Ching Ming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English (sometimes also called Chinese Memorial Day or Ancestors' Day), is a traditional Chinese festival observed by the Han Chinese of mainland China, Hong Ko ...

(a much older McDull is seen at the grave of his mother and grand mother) * Episode 2: Building and construction.

Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival (Chinese language, Chinese: / ), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan (), Korea (), Vietnam (), and othe ...

(the older McDull is seen thinking of his

heimat ''Heimat'' () is a German word translating to 'home' or 'homeland'. The word has connotations specific to German culture, German society and specifically German Romanticism, German nationalism, German statehood and regionalism so that it ha ...

from what looks like the Brooklyn Bridge) * Episode 3: Food and Agriculture.

Ghost Festival The Ghost Festival, also known as the Zhongyuan Festival (traditional Chinese: 中元節; simplified Chinese: ) in Taoism and Yulanpen Festival () in Buddhism, is a traditional Taoist and Buddhist festival held in certain East Asian countri ...

* Episode 4: Chinese martial arts, medicine, alchemy. * Episode 5:Episode 5
/ref> People and what it is to be a modern Chinese child.

References

External links

McMug and McDull sole licensor official websiteMcMug and McDull official websiteImage of Mrs. Mak Tam Yuk LinExcreman website
* :zh:麥兜噹噹伴我心 {{Hong Kong topics Fictional pigs Films based on comic strips Hong Kong comics Hong Kong comics titles Hong Kong films Television shows based on comic strips Yellow Bus