Globi is a Swiss cartoon character often referred to as Switzerland's Mickey Mouse. He is pictured as an anthropomorphic blue parrot with a yellow beak wearing a black beret and a pair of red and black checked trousers. He was created by the Swiss cartoonist Robert Lips, as an advertising character for the Swiss department store Globus in 1932 for the company's 25th anniversary. He was originally planned to be called “Kimbukku”, but later renamed Globi after the local Basel German (Baseldytsch) dialect word for the department store that created him.
He initially appeared in a cartoon strip called “Der Globi”, and later appeared in a cartoon picture-book form called “Globi's World Voyage” in 1935. By 1944, the character got so big that Globus created a separate company to deal with, and in 1948 Globi had sold over one million picture books. He was tried in other markets such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Brazil, but did not do as well. In the 1970s, he was accused of being sexist, racist, and promoting violence, which was based on the attitudes of the forties and fifties, but these accusations did not hold.
Today, he is one of the most popular characters in Switzerland, with sales of over 9 million books, and in October 2003, Globi was given a full-length film, “Globi and the Stolen Shadows”. It was directed by Robi Engler in atypical Anime-style. Beside the books, there is also lots of Globi merchandise, including cuddly toys, crockery, cutlery, clocks, school equipment, card games, food. From December 2008, the Swiss town of Engelberg hosts a Globi theme park.