In recent months, there has been a veritable flood of cuteness. One from Labubu and his cohorts have caught the Filipinos in a frenzy. Kaising Lung was born in Hong Kong, grew up in the Netherlands, and designed Labubu inspired by Nordic mythology. Labubu was created with other cute monsters. China’s behemoth Pop Mart bought the rights to Labubu and his monstrous companions and unleashed them to much fanfare.
Labubu is reminiscent of cute colonialism, which Japan has proven very effective with Sanrio’s Hello Kitty. Tie this with the aggressive visage of Labubu and offer a reading of the alignment of symbols between the notion of likeability and the tacit aggression of China in its current expansion.
The “cute” operation has been used by Communist Chinese graphic designers, with ruddy-cheeked babes set against the proletarian cultural landscape. Those rotund kids are present in East Asian traditional visual culture, which features ample roundness. This translates to a modern blend of clashing times, nostalgia, and progress, also used by North Koreans in depictions of their corpulent leaders, who are addressed with dear honorifics of warm paternalism.
I see the Labubu characters, and they strike me as pilyo (childish belligerence). To me, this is a striking divergence from the emotionless Hello Kitty. The blankness of Hello Kitty is meant to be a tabula rasa, allowing kids to project their emotions onto her.
Evolutionary biologists argue that we are programmed to “like” things that are “cute.” But what is cute? If one were to look at the 20th-century icons of cuteness, they usually have big heads, big eyes, and small chins. These characteristics are present in human infants and many baby mammals. Mickey Mouse, Pikachu, Tweety Bird, and successful cartoon characters and mascots all have these infant-like attributes. So do puppies, kittens, cubs, and fauns.
We are attracted to cute because there is a pressing need to protect them. Cuteness, according to evolutionary biologists and marketing design teams, is an attractive agent that makes these characters appear fragile and lovable, keeping them near and prompting protection.
Even Labubu’s mischievous smile and furrowed brows are compelling many of us with this untranslatable ‘gigil’ — an emotion that sweeps us up, either from frustration or cuteness. This would be a fascinating emotion that bridges acquisition (the desire to hug the stuffed toy) and failure (the inability to get the stuffed toy due to sheer demand).
Even the Vatican has contributed to cute culture with its Jubilee 2025, the Luce mascot. Luce and other “Pilgrims” are designed by another pop culture machinery tokidoki.
Luce is from the Latin word for “light,” which means to illuminate and guide. Luce’s eyes are luminous, with a glow at the bottom of the pupils. Luce carries a pilgrim’s cross. The raincoat protects the pilgrims from the elements; they all have muddied boots. This detail of dirt is an exciting detail for cuteness, which is not usually associated with filth and mud (except Charles Schulz’s Peanuts character Pigpen), but symbolizes the paths taken and a willingness to go the distance.
Many critics have cited Luce as an example of joining the fads and generating income. I would argue that the Catholic Church has thousands of years of experience producing and propagating sacred images to their desired effects. Images have been at the forefront of doctrinal leverage and expansion for the Catholic Church. Baroque visual culture would have the figures of the saints in exaggerated poses, lit dramatically with a flurry of billowing clouds or windswept textiles, and faces in the throes of agony or ecstasy.
In Medieval Europe and the Byzantine culture, the images are adorned with bright, gilded colors reminiscent of precious stones and gold. Art historians would cite this as an expression of divine power through the visualization of brilliance. Images are among the realms of expression and veneration in the Catholic faith. The Catholic Church would know about adaptability and recalibration for an institution that outlasted empires.
Today, in a world dominated by K-pop, anime, avatars, and colorful video games, “cute” has become a cultural currency. Once reserved for children, cuteness now drives a billion-dollar industry. Labubu, for instance, has shown through viral TikTok videos that adults are just as captivated by cute, proving it’s more than just a collection—it’s an affection that offers a break from the harsh realities of the world.
Cute has become so powerful that it is now part of the Visual Culture of the Catholic Church that is sanctioned by the hierarchy. How long will it take to have the cute anime Sagrada Family be the Belen for Christmas? There may be already one out there.
You may reach Chong Ardivilla at kartunistatonto@gmail.com or chonggo.bsky.social
