Mickey Mouse Is Top Money-Spinner

　　米老鼠、维尼熊、皮卡丘……这些形象都是虚构的，但它们创造的财富却是真实的。根据美国财经杂志《福布斯》推出的“虚构形象富豪榜”，2003年最能挣钱的“卡通富翁”是米老鼠和它的朋友们。

A top 10 of fictional characters, including Mickey Mouse and SpongeBob SquarePants, made more than $25 billion dollars (￡13.7m) in 2003.

The list, by finance magazine Forbes, of top-earning fictional characters puts Disney's Mickey Mouse at the top of the pile, grossing $5.8bn (￡3.17bn).

Winnie the Pooh and friends are close behind with $5.6bn (￡3bn). Spider-Man, the X-Men's Wolverine, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings' Frodo Baggins also made the top 10. Box office takings increased the chances of characters making the list - fictional faces from films such as Star Wars and Monsters Inc made the list for 2002 but dropped off without a film release to back them in 2003. In order to qualify for the Forbes list, characters must have debuted in a narrative story on screen, in print or in a videogame. Japanese comic-book star Yu-Gi-Oh! made $1.6bn ($87m) with the help of trading cards and videogames. Pikachu from Pokemon, who was created in 1996 and has a TV show, made $825m (￡450m).