Olympic authorities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil have unveiled their 2016 Olympic mascots revealing two odd, Japanese anime-like creatures that are supposed to be an amalgam of all the animals and plants in the South American nation.
The pair of mascots, one for the 2016 Olympics and a second for the 2016 Paralympics, are to be named by input from Olympics fans. Both, we are told, were “born out of an explosion of happiness” in 2009 when it was announced that the Olympics were coming to Brazil.
For the Olympics proper we are treated to a cat-like creature that would be at home in the Pokemon universe. The creature is said to be “a mixture of all the Brazilian animals” but it looks more like a skinny, blue-fisted cousin to Japan’s Pikachu.
Olympics officials do not inform us of just which Brazilian animals are combined to create this chimeric cat-like thing, but at least one of them can wink as the animated “who am I” pages reveals.
This cat-tastic creature tells us that he lives his life “playing, jumping, running and smiling, just like all the kids.” School seems to be out of the picture for this kid, though. “I always hang out around the city! My favorite pastime is making new friends, that’s why I’m always connected,” it tells us in the about me section of the 2016 Olympic website.
As to the Paralympic mascot, this one is even odder. It is supposed to be a tree-like plant that can “pull things” out of its leafy head. Seriously.
This little treeman supposedly likes chillaxing in the forest, “playing a lot and adventuring outdoors,” listening to Brazilian music, taking naps, sun-bathing in order to “make the most of photosynthesis,” and “inspiring everybody to use creativity” to do something or another.
Contrary to his wild and crazy catster buddy, this little leafer says it likes to “open a book and learn about the world.” But its strangest characteristic is that it sometimes pulls things out of its head. “I use my head. I really do! To get myself out of any jam, I pull the craziest objects out of my head of leaves,” we are told.
As noted, fans can vote to name this pair of rambunctious cartoons. Apparently your choices for the mascots’ names are as follows:
- Oba and Eba
- Tiba Tuque and Esquindim
- Vinicius and Tom
Of the latter, presumably the “Tom” is for the cat-like thingy.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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