Meet LinaBell, The Most Popular Disney Character You've Never Seen (Unless You're In China)

A new character within the Walt Disney Co’s DIS canon that has yet to be introduced in the U.S. has become a sensation in China.

What Happened: According to the South China Morning Post, LinaBell, a pink fox with a penchant for solving mysteries, was introduced in September as the latest addition to Duffy and Friends, a toy line that is sold at Shanghai Disney Resort but is not part of the retail outlets in the company's U.S. theme parks.

LinaBell’s popularity has become so profound in China that thousands of people queued up outside of Shanghai Disney Resort in late December for a limited-edition Christmas version of a LinaBell doll. The resort ran short of supply and apologized on the Weibo social media site that it “regrets that demand could not be all met.”

Why It Matters: The sudden popularity of LinaBell has occurred without the character being featured in any Disney film or television series.

Instead, the admiration for the character has been fueled by fans sharing LinaBell imagery across Chinese social media platforms including Weibo and Xiaohongshu, video-streaming platforms including Bilibili and the messaging app WeChat owned by Tencent Holdings TCEHY. A video of a woman crying upon meeting a costumed character version of LinaBell has become a viral hit on the Weibo platform.

Disney plans to bring LinaBell to its Hong Kong and Tokyo theme parks later this year, but no plans have been announced to have the character cross the Pacific for appearances in its U.S. parks. Disney has also not announced any plans for LinaBell to appear in any animated productions scheduled for this year.

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Photo: Shanghai Disney Resort