Discovering Virkiki, the Monchhichi of Spain.

Dear Monchhichi friends, today I am delighted to share an article that traces a part of the history of Kiki and Monchhichi. To become an expert on the subject, feel free to check out our page that compiles all the articles dedicated to their history.

You will know everything about Virkiki. Indeed, this plush counterpart of Kiki and Monchhichi, the iconic plush of the eighties, is not a licensed product by Sekiguchi. However, it has a range overflowing with fascinating varieties to discover, which I will present a bit further down. So, let's not wait any longer and embark on its discovery.

To start with, due to its Iberian origins, the name Virkiki varies according to gender: masculine words end in "I," while feminine words end with the letter "A." Therefore, we should refer to Virkiki and Virkika. Virkiki and Virkika, here we come!

Information on VIR

credit photo : www.peluches-cel.com

VIR started as a small family business born from the love of Don Virgilio Pérez and Doña Celia Machancoses for plush toys, in 1967 in Valencia, under the name Peluches VIR. Their affection for plush toys? Simply the fact that they are a timeless sign of affection.

Originally, they made small plush bulls for foreign tourists, and this passion for plush toys never left them, as they made all their plush toys with love, by hand, in the cradle of toys, in Beniparrell, near Valencia. This love led them to become one of the most well-known toy brands from the 70s to the 90s in Spain.

While manufacturing many types of plush toys, VIR is especially known by Monchhichi enthusiasts for marketing Virkiki in the late 70s, and this is what we will focus on in this article.

If due to the disappearance of Virkiki, VIR might seem to no longer exist today and only persists as a relic of the past for those nostalgic for their childhood, think again! In fact, it has never ceased its activity and is now part of the CEL Manufactura Artesanía Española SL group, still based in Beniparrell. They market plush animals under the CEL and VIR brands.

They currently have a large catalog of plush animals and are also dedicated to the manufacture of promotional items for museums, sports clubs, theme parks, the Olympics... For example, they made the Curro plush, the famous mascot of the Expo in Seville.

The Virkiki Range :

Over the years, Virkiki has benefited from a very extensive range of models, sizes, variations, and clothing. For many, these are things that cannot be found anywhere else in the world of Monchhichi, but also for others, elements directly inspired by what Sekiguchi or Ajena produced.

Virkiki originally is a small 20 cm plush monkey with a plastic head, feet, and hands, born in 1979. It can put its index finger, thumb, and toe in its mouth and quickly comes in many colors. Unlike Kiki, it does not have a tail. They are easily distinguishable by their particular look, but especially by their tag and small plastic badge on their bodies.

The original models are Virkiki and Virkika, the boy and the girl, sold with a scalloped-edged bib, in packaging like this.

Unlike the Kiki range, Virkiki outfits were not sold separately from the plush toys. On the contrary, from 1979, each set came with its Virkiki or Virkika, as well as a piece of furniture or an accessory matching their clothes.

Here are all the outfits. As you can see, many resemble the outfits of Sekiguchi's Monchhichi and Kiki, although they are all relatively different.

To give you a more precise idea of the differences, here is the schoolgirl outfit of Virkika and Kiki.

The furniture was made of beautifully varnished wood, with labels in Virkiki colors. Much more numerous than Kiki's red plastic elements, it included a car, a kart, a tricycle, beds, a stroller, a rocking horse...

Two new colors then appeared in the early 80s: gold for Virkiki and pink for Virkika.

Like we had in France with the Kiki Star, Kiki Clowns, and Kiki Hairdresser sets, there were beautiful little cases containing a plush toy and many accessories, including two outfits. This image shows Virkika's Villa, but I assume there were several varieties.

At the same time, the Virkiki Pinza appeared, small "clip" monkeys full of tenderness to clip everywhere: on your bag handle, your clothes, your hair... The Pinza existed in many colors: turquoise, yellow, pale yellow, purple, green, brown, black, white, beige, pale pink, and orange.

In the same style, there were also these small mascots called Mini-Vir. These worked like the Pinzas but had a small ribbon around the neck and animal ears. They came in three colors: white, purple, and green. The yellow one shown in close-up is not a Vir, it's from another brand, but I included it with the originals to give you a better idea than the poor photo of the real ones alone.

As you may notice, from the early 80s, the Virkiki family greatly diversified, even though it was far from reaching its peak. This whole little world is designated by the slogan "La Panda de los Virkiki," which means "The Virkiki Gang." New models appeared in new clothes like this athlete and this clown, sold with the outfit in pretty little boxes. If VIR now focuses on gold, the same existed in brown.

A new model arrives in the Virkiki Gang, this one with rolling eyes, like old dolls. Easily identifiable by its atypical look and green and yellow cap. It comes in 25, 35, and 55 cm versions. The same existed in brown.

Virkiki Corazón and Virkiki Hucha also appeared. Corazón is a kind of slightly larger and different Virkiki Pinza, with a heart drawn under the foot. It also existed in at least brown, purple, and turquoise. 

Virkiki Hucha is a piggy bank, but you probably guessed that since this model is familiar to us.

The Virkiki range visibly experienced a pause, a decline, or a total stop during the 90s, as no new products seem to have emerged. It resurfaces in the early 2000s with new models...

These 45 cm models date from 2002. They are easily identifiable by their silhouette but also thanks to the much more modern tag than their counterparts. There is a classic model and a crying one, likely available in several outfits. They could put their fingers and toes in their mouths.

The same year saw the emergence of these small 15 cm Virkiki, also very specific and easily recognizable by their unique proportions. Sold already dressed, there are a wide variety of more than 10 models, including a nurse, a sailor, a raincoat, and outfits from around the world: Asian, Oriental, Scottish...

Since these 2002 models, nothing more... Virkiki has gradually fallen into oblivion, persisting through collectible toys and the memories of past generations.

During my stays in Spain, I searched for Monchhichi there, a plush toy that seemed completely unknown to the employees of the visited toy stores.

Finally, a few years ago, Bandai Europe announced that it had introduced the European Monchhichi range to the Iberian territory, but although after checking the websites of national toy store chains such as Drim, Poly Jugetes, or Toys R Us for this article, I found none of them commercializing it.

Advertisements :

Relics of the past, real time capsules, advertisements are choice elements to trace the history of an object and discover it in its context. While writing this article, I found these few gems:

 

Spanish toy catalog from 1980.

Queremos ser tus amiguitos preferidos. 

("We want to be your favorite friends.")

Juega con tu amigo fiel. 

("Play with your faithful friend.")

Llega la "Panda" de los Virkiki a TVE. 

(The "Virkiki Gang" arrives on TVE.)

Flyer presenting the range and new products on the back and announcing on the front the broadcast dates of Virkiki on TVE, Televisión Española, the Spanish television channel. Although I found no information on this, I think it was probably the broadcast of advertisements, as no cartoon involving Virkiki was ever made.

Virkiki, a Copy of Kiki :

I think that looking at the entire range, it is quite clear that Virkiki is not a licensed Sekiguchi model, but rather a little monkey largely inspired and developed independently of the Japanese firm. But, the rest of the Vir plush range will confirm this.

Here on the right is Tristón, a plush dog produced by Panava, accompanied on the left by the imitation that VIR made.

Very popular in the 80s, the Care Bears largely served as inspiration for the range of Angelosos produced by VIR.

It is therefore evident that the same is true with Monchhichi, with the Spanish firm witnessing its success in Japan, the FRG, France, and all the countries that adopted it. It did not take much for a VIR-style Kiki to emerge.

Thus, we can see that VIR was accustomed to the practice of creating bootleg versions of popular plush toys from their competitors. These versions were sufficiently different to avoid being counterfeit, yet still heavily inspired to capture the hearts of customers, and the same goes for Virkiki.

Without a tail, with a different look, no freckle between the eyes, different models and colors, a different appearance, different quality, and also the absence of any mention of Sekiguchi copyright, all produced by a brand that was accustomed to drawing inspiration from trendy toys... There is no need to go further to prove that these are imitations. Not to mention that, unlike Kiki and Mon Cicci, Virkiki was never mentioned as one of the nominal variations of Monchhichi abroad by Sekiguchi Japan, which is very strict about the variations made of its products. They would never have tolerated a manufacturer taking such liberties with licensed products, since, worldwide, whether produced by Mattel, Chad Valley, Politoy, Bandai, or Ajena, the characteristics of Monchhichi remained completely unchanged.

This does not change the fact that Virkiki is a plush monkey just as endearing as Monchhichi, and that Spanish children owe it hours of fun. It also served to spread the values that Monchhichi instills, regardless of its origin. The fact that it is a "bootleg" does not diminish its charm; on the contrary, I have rarely seen such an extensive range of plagiarized products, which ultimately created its own universe for Virkiki, in which it evolved in its own way...

I hope you learned more about it, let us know in the comments!

See you soon!

🙊🙊🙊

Propriété de KikiPlanet.blogspot.com

Article L-1224 du Code de la Propriété Intellectuelle

Toute représentation ou reproduction intégrale ou partielle faite sans le consentement de l'auteur ou de ses ayant droit ou ayant cause est illicite. Il en est de même pour la traduction, l'adaptation ou la transformation, l'arrangement ou la reproduction  par un art ou un procédé quelconque

© Kiki Planet-2017. Tous droits réservés

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