New Line Cinema to Create Film Based on ‘Hello Kitty’

For the first time in its 45-year history, a film based on the Hello Kitty property is being made for American audiences, according to Variety. New Line Cinema formed a partnership with Sanrio, the company behind the iconic Japanese character, for a feature film based on the character. It is unknown, however, if the film is going to be fully animated or a live-action CGI Hybrid of the property.

The character was first created in 1974 and since then, is found on over 50,000 brand products each year. This film will be the first English language feature film for the character and will be produced by Beau Flynn and Wendy Jacobson for FlynnPicturesCo. CEO of Sanrio, Shintaro Tsuji, expressed major excitement for the feature film by stating, “Hello Kitty has long been a symbol of friendship and we hope this film will only serve to grow that circle of friendship around the world”.  Beau Flynn also expressed this excitement by stating, “With the positive and family-oriented values that Hello Kitty and Sanrio embody, there has never been a better time than now to share her message with the world!”