The Dog (franchise)
| Artlist Collection: The Dog | |
|---|---|
 The Dog logo since September 2020 | |
| Created by | Artlist |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Artlist Collection: The Dog (formerly known as Artlist Collection: The Dog and Friends, better known as The Dog) is a media franchise created by Artlist in Japan in 2000.[1] The franchise began as collection of calendars and postcards of dogs photographed with a fisheye lens.[1] Afterwards, the franchise became so popular that new animals such as cats, pigs, rabbits, ducks, hamsters, and birds were added to the collection.[2]
In 2003, 4Kids Entertainment bought the rights for this franchise outside of Asia.[1][3] In 2004, to celebrate 25 years of the McDonald's Happy Meal, toys of this franchise were sold as Happy Meals from April 2 to April 29.[4] Select locations featured dog adoption events.[5] They were sold once again the next year, but with "The Cat" plushes.[4]
In 2003, the series introduced its first video game, The Dog Master, which was released exclusively in Japan for the PlayStation and developed by Visit.[6] In 2006, The Dog: Happy Life was released, also exclusively in Japan, which was followed up by a 2007 adventure game, The Dog Island,[7] both developed by Yuke's. In 2009, the series also released a pet simulation game on mobile phones and smart phones.[8] In 2016, they were featured as themes for the Japanese Nintendo 3DS home menu.[9]
From 2003 to 2008, McDonald's sold "The Dog" Happy Meal toys in China, where they were called "BFF Big Head Dog".[10] They were brought back in July 2025, with it becoming popular online due to its nostalgia in the region.[10][11]
References
- ^ a b c Garton, Nicole (July 11, 2004). "Big-nose puppy line a charmer". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
- ^ *Loveday, Samantha (August 20, 2010). "Artlist Collection adds to photography franchise". Licensing.biz. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- "「THE BIRD」柄のニンテンドー3DS用テーマが配信開始". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). July 19, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "4Kids Entertainment selected as agent for The Dog". Kids Today: 12. January 2003.
- ^ a b "The Cat & The Dog at McDonald's". Raving Toy Maniac. April 13, 2005. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
- ^ "Shelters get a boost with Happy Meal pets". Chicago Tribune. April 9, 2004. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
- ^ "THE DOG MASTER - (NTSC-J)". PlayStation DataCenter. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ "The Dog Island Review". IGN. June 3, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ Spencer, Spanner (February 5, 2009). "Artlist Collection's The Dog coming to mobile". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ "魚眼レンズで撮影した大きい鼻のかわいい犬たち「THE DOG」がニンテンドー3DSテーマに！｜Gamer". Gamer (in Japanese). October 5, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ a b "麦当劳"顶流"，大头狗又回来了！". finance.sina.com.cn (in Chinese). July 15, 2025. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
- ^ "麦当劳大头狗，竟然要回归了". www.163.com (in Chinese). July 2, 2025. Retrieved July 31, 2025.