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I've been having some trouble putting my question into words, so I'll let the below images do a lot of the talking. Are these phone mascots, keychains, or simply plush?
What about these?
Now, why? Is it the chain? What about the size? They seem a little big for a phone mascot and they don't have a ring like a keychain (only a metal ball chain), but there are similar images (not added by me) on the page for Sesame Street phone mascots (Universal Studios Japan). There are also bigger plush (6+ inch) with a chain that have been sold at Universal Studios Japan. I've been reluctant to add a lot of images just because I don't know where to put them.
Do chains make any sort of item a keychain? File:USJ Sesame puppet-HK as Elmo.jpg has chain but I don't think anyone would call it a keychain.
I'm not even 100% sure that many of the images I've added are where they're supposed to be. Obviously, the easiest solution would to add plush mascots or plush chains to Sesame Street plush (Universal Studios Japan), but I think there's a better solution somewhere, I just don't know what.
Size can be difficult to tell from online listings, and not every listing has a 360 view to tell whether or not something has a chain, strap, or something else (File:USJ phone mascot Moppy Easter.jpg, for example). Maybe I'm just overthinking, but I need some guidance on this. - Maddox (talk) 01:55, 20 February 2023 (UTC)
- Such good questions! From my experiences in Japan at USJ and Tokyo Disneyland, my understanding is that phone mascots are a subset of the larger category of "mascots".
- In general, as I understand it, "mascots" are usually small plush characters with a chain or a strap that are meant to be attached to your backpack, purse or bag. This is an example that I saw at Tokyo Disney, in their natural habitat on a young woman's bag:
- They're definitely not keychains — they have chains or straps in order to attach them to a bag.
- There are a couple things that can help you tell the difference between a "mascot" and a regular plush toy like the ones at Sesame Street plush (Universal Studios Japan). Mascots have a chain, and they usually have short, slim or non-functional legs — mascots are meant to dangle. Regular plush toys that are supposed to sit on a shelf or a bed need support at the bottom.
- These are plush mascots from USJ:
- Moving on to phone mascots:
- Phone mascots are smaller than mascots, usually plastic (but not always), and they have a smaller/thinner strap. They're meant to be attached to your cell phone in some arcane way that I never actually figured out. If it has a chain, it's definitely not a phone mascot, because you can't loop a chain through a cell phone case.
- These are phone mascots:
- As you can see, that Oscar phone mascot isn't plastic, but it's some kind of lightweight material that you could comfortably hang on your phone.
- I'm going to try to separate that page into Sesame Street phone mascots (Universal Studios Japan) and Sesame Street mascots (Universal Studios Japan). One thing that was confusing was that there were a few pics on the phone mascots page that should have been mascots.
- I'm splitting them up based on the kind of chain/strap that they have, although that may not be entirely correct — there are a couple there that have the thin strap, but they seem too bulky to be phone mascots, like this one:
- There are actually a few that have both kinds of straps, so I think they're probably intended to be both. I'm going to put them in phone mascots because why not.
- Thank you very much! I was confused in general about what phone mascots are so that helped a lot! The majority of what I have are plush mascots so I can finally sort through that folder, upload it all, and get it cleared out. I appreciate all the effort in your reply and answering all my questions! - Maddox (talk) 05:53, 20 February 2023 (UTC)
- One more question: what would this be classified as? I've come across several like it that have a safety pin-type thing on the back. Would it be Sesame Street pins (Universal Studios Japan)? - Maddox (talk) 23:28, 20 February 2023 (UTC)