Julius takes a swipe at Kitty

The latest distraction for kids.

    It was bound to happen, some marketeer to children could not afford anymore sleepless nights trying to purge his brain of Hello Kittty images.
   It appears artist Paul Frank has been enlisted to harness the boundless feline phenomenon from Japan.
   The creators of the puissant puss cleverly crafted the snuggly creature's backstory, claiming she was born in Britain.
   Nonetheless, Kitty was a stroke of genius by Sanrio and is a staple of little (and sometimes, not so little) girls; she is, after all, a pink-passionate stuffed animal.
   Julius, looking curiously Curious George-like, is a brown critter, seemingly aimed at boys as well as girls. Apparently Frank has other animal creations: Worry Bear, Scurvy, Clancy the Giraffe, Bunny Girl and Elly the Elephant.
   Now, McDonalds is helping Mr. Frank make even more millions from his accessorized art by plastering Julius on their Happy Meals.
   Interestingly, Sanrio has started to work out some of the pink from Hello Kitty and instead are using more black coloring.
   Perhaps Kitty's feelin the heat from this mouth-wide-open simian.