Why are there blue, short and squatty gumbys all over Shanghai?

I think it is time for all of you to meet ‘Smumby.’ He is the official mascot of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and the love child of Smurfette and Gumby. You can find him about every 10 feet no matter where you go in Shanghai. You can even find a 5ft version of him in our own apartment complex. His real Chinese name is Haibo which is supposed to be created from the Chinese character meaning “people.” His sweet wavy hair (ala Jeff 1998) is supposed to represent the waves of the ocean. A lot of great info for why it is designed this way and what each piece of him means can be found on the goshanghaiexpo website.

However, we heard a story that this little guy was created by a guy who was inspired by Jason Seaver of ‘Growing Pains’. I decided to do a little research and discovered that his ‘Gumby’ likeness actually stirred quite a controversy and threats of plagiarism. Either way we think Smumby is sweet and for the bargain price of $7, we now have our own little guy to take home to Doozer.