The Relaunch of the Mr Men
Roger Hargreaves’ Classic Children’s Series is Back
The much loved Mr Men characters will soon be back on TV screens but the relaunch is not without controversy.
The first of the Mr Men, Mr Tickle, was created by Roger Hargreaves in 1971 in response to his son’s question, “What does a tickle look like?” The answer, a jolly orange circle with long, wavy arms, proved so popular that a series of characters were born which have entertained children worldwide. Hargreaves went on to create 42 Mr Men and 35 Little Misses.
Following Roger Hargraves’ death in 1988, his son Adam took over writing and illustrating duties for the Mr Men, creating ten new Mr Men and seven new Little Miss characters before selling the rights to the Mr Men franchise to UK entertainment group Chorion in 2004.
The Mr Men’s simple stories and brightly-coloured illustrations made them hugely popular, with over 100 million copies of the books having been sold. This success led to three spin-off television series, including the much-loved 1970s BBC series voiced by Arthur Lowe. Now, after a break of nearly ten years, the Mr Men will soon be returning to TV screens in the UK and US in a series created by LA-based Renegade Animation that will feature comedy sketches set in the colourful town of Dillydale.
New Characters
The series will include four new characters, including Little Miss Daredevil, a stunt rider who wears a crash helmet and a rocket pack. Undoubtedly the most controversial new character is Mr Rude, who can currently be seen on the official mrmen.com website telling viewers how rude he is and then blowing a raspberry. While all the other Mr Men speak with regional British accents, Mr Rude plays up to the long-held British cliché and is given a French accent. When asked about the decision to make Mr Rude French, a spokeswoman for programme-makers Chorion said "It is a kids' comedy show, it is not meant to be offensive or anything like that. It is very light-hearted". she said.
Old Favourites
Only twenty-five of the original Mr Men and Little Miss characters will appear in the new series and nearly all of them have been given a makeover. For some characters the changes will be relatively minor, such as Mr Fussy now being known as Mr Pernickety, while others will receive a more extreme revamp. Mr Lazy has been given a complete image change and a beanbag to lounge in while Mister Strong will no longer be a loveable red square as he will now sport broader shoulders, a small waist and bulging biceps.
The Mr Men Show will air from the end of February and can be seen on Channel 5 in the UK and on Cartoon Network in the US.
