Ryan, who works for Los Angeles-based Z animation, admitted that when he first saw the London 2012 mascots he thought they were similar to Izzy, the first computer-generated mascot that caused a storm when it was launched.

He told the Atlanta Journal Constitution: "It’s funny, it did feel a little like déjà vu all over again.

"It is a similar concept ..that idea of the alien twist on things.

"We both came at the design solution from the same angle, creating something kids would look at and say ‘I want to play with that,' so there was a little simpatico there."

Izzy was named Whatizit - What is it? - at its first introduction at the close of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, the computer animated character with the ability to morph into different forms was a departure from the Olympic tradition in that it did not represent a nationally-significant animal or human figure.

It was mocked by the media, who called it "The Sperm in Sneakers".



Ryan believes that if London 2012 wanted the mascots to appeal to children then they have achieved their aim.

Ryan told the Altanta Journal Consitution: "My first reaction [on seeing Wenlock and Mandeville] was, ‘Oh those are cool'.

"They are somewhat nondescript, but that lends itself to something that kids can put their imprint on."

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