Remember Hungry Hungry Hippos? Those spectacular plastic hippos who were so very, very hungry that you just ached to bring them home and feed them? Oh the desire, the lust, for your very own hippopotami! It was practically a child's rite of passage to whine, beg, and plead until you obtained them, in the grand spirit of marble-eating American consumerism.
Well, those hippos have names, you know. They're not just anonymous, abstract possessions to be displayed as a trophy (like those vague seal pup posters that were supposed to fund something-or-other rescue... oh who cares? they were cute)... those hippos have names! And those names are Lizzie (purple), Homer (green), Henry (orange), and Harry (yellow).
Or they were until poor Lizzie was replaced by a younger, perkier, pink hippo named Happy. (Typical.)
But wait! You say the hippos have been dumped once again? The beloved hippos of yesteryear have been replaced? Yes, in 2009 Hasbro introduced their latest assortment of voracious Hippos, all in pastel. Bottomless Potamus (yellow), Picky Potamus (orange), Veggie Potamus (green (duh)), and Sweetie Potamus (pink).
I am a little confused at the subliminal messaging here, given the names. Are the makers of the game trying to promote healthy eating? Is this a comment on the changing trends about diet and health? Or are they picking on eating disorders and alternate diet lifestyles?
Things were so much easier when it was just all about consumption.
[source 1 | source 2]
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