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 to ...

pig

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

character created by

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

cartoonists 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 a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

McDull's background

McDull is a male pig who can be distinguished by a birthmark on his right 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. 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: Chuntian Huahua Kindergarten * Dream: To be an Olympic windsurfing champion; to travel to the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

* Personality: Pure, straightforward, open-minded * Favourite food: Chicken * Most hated food: Vegetables * Raised pet: Goldfish named Umbanana * Mother: Mrs Mak Tam Yuk Lin 麥譚玉蓮 (麥太) * Father: Mak Bing 麥炳 * Paternal older cousin: McMug 麥嘜

Family of McDull

His mother's name is ''Mrs. Mak Tam Yuk Lin'' (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) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

, 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.

Excreman

Excreman is a human-shaped faex produced by McDull, debuting in an eponymous story featuring the character. 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 Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

s Mr. Hankey, another cartoon excrement character associated with Christmas. One

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

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

jyutping The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme, also known as Jyutping, is a romanisation system for Cantonese developed in 1993 by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK). The name ''Jyutping'' (itself the Jyutping ro ...

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

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 an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

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 cen ...

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'' (grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyp ...

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

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

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

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

. 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 champion just like female windsurfer Lee Lai Shan. The McMug Story ''My Life as McDull'' is also being translated into French and shown in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. 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, ph ...

in this movie, some of it is based on the " pineapple bun". For example, in slang Cantonese, a 菠蘿蓋 ("bo1lo4 goi3", "pineapple cap") is colloquial for

kneecap The patella (: patellae or patellas), 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 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 typically take place in April, and have mostly been held at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre since 1991. The a ...

. ;'' McDull, The Alumni'' (2006) ;'' McDull, Kung Fu Kindergarten'' (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", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

, 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 ( zh, order=t,j, t=劉德華, j=Lau4 Dak1 Waa4; born Lau Fook-wing; 27 September 1961), is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He was named the "Fourth Tiger" among the Five Tiger Generals of TVB in the 1 ...

, 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 a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

of ''My Life as McDull'' was released. It was produced by Steve Ho (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 period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

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

karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. 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 of 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 causality, causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviors that are obviously illogical. Portra ...

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 or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

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, personal name Mo Di, was a Chinese philosopher, logician, and founder of the Mohist school of thought, making him one of the most important figures of the Warring States period (221 BCE). Alongside Confucianism, Mohism became the ...

, the founder of

Mohist Mohism or Moism (, ) was an ancient Chinese philosophy of ethics and logic, rational thought, and scientific technology developed by the scholars who studied under the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi (), embodied in an eponymous book: the '' ...

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 logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only on ...

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, Ancestors' Day, the Clear Brightness Festival, or the Pure Brightness Festival), is a traditional Chines ...

(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 (for other names, see § Etymology) is a harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid- ...

(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 h ...

from what looks like the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...

) * Episode 3: Food and Agriculture.

Ghost Festival The Ghost Festival or Hungry Ghost Festival, also known as the Zhongyuan Festival in Taoism and the Yulanpen Festival in Buddhism, is a traditional festival held in certain East Asia, East and Southeast Asian countries. According to the Lunar c ...

* 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 Comics about anthropomorphic pigs Comics about talking animals Anthropomorphic pigs Films based on comic strips Hong Kong comics Hong Kong comics titles Hong Kong film series Television shows based on manhwa Yellow Bus