The Mr. Men Show is an animated children's television series based on the Mr. Men series of books created by the British author and illustrator Roger Hargreaves—later continued by his son Adam Hargreaves. It is a variety program—unlike the original basis for the show, it primarily features comedy sketches, pantomimes, dance numbers, and music videos.
The series aired in the US on Cartoon Network in 2008, and aired in the UK on Channel 5's Milkshake! on February 25, 2008. The series ended on October 19, 2009.
Contents
Summary
Loosely based on the classic children's book series Mr. Men and Little Miss, the show focuses on the Mr. Men and Little Misses and their everyday adventures in the fictional town of Dillydale. Each episode is composed of short sketches centred around a specific theme, location or object, interspliced with short pantomime skits and music videos.
The Mr. Men that appear in the show in order of the original publication of their respective books are: Mr. Tickle, Mr. Happy, Mr. Nosey, Mr. Bump, Mr. Messy, Mr. Small, Mr. Jelly (under his American name Mr. Nervous), Mr. Noisy, Mr. Lazy, Mr. Funny, Mr. Fussy (under the name Mr. Persnickety in the American dub and Mr. Pernickety in the British dub, both in season 1), Mr. Bounce, Mr. Strong, Mr. Grumpy, Mr. Quiet, Mr. Tall, Mr. Rude, along with 2 new show-exclusive Mr. Men: Mr. Scatterbrain and Mr. Stubborn.
The Little Misses that also appear in order of the original publication of their respective books are: Miss Bossy, Miss Naughty, Miss Sunshine, Miss Giggles, Miss Helpful, Miss Magic, Miss Chatterbox, Miss Curious, Miss Scary, Miss Whoops, along with 2 new show-exclusive Little Misses: Miss Calamity and Miss Daredevil.
Voice cast
Original American version
Donald Corren (credited as Sam Gold) as Mr. Happy, Mr. Grumpy and Mr. Bounce
Jeff Stewart as Mr. Tickle and the Aliens
Paul Greenberg (credited as Aaron Albertus) as Mr. Bump and Mr. Quiet
Alicyn Packard as Little Miss Naughty, Little Miss Sunshine and Little Miss Whoops
Phil Lollar as Mr. Lazy, Mr. Small and Mr. Strong
Katie Leigh as Little Miss Chatterbox, Little Miss Daredevil and Little Miss Helpful
Peter Rida Michail as Mr. Messy
Joey D'Auria (credited as Joseph J. Terry) as Narrator, Mr. Fussy, Mr. Rude and Mr. Scatterbrain
Richard Epcar as Mr. Noisy
Susan Balboni as Little Miss Scary
Rick Zieff (credited as Danny Katiana) as Mr. Nosey and Mr. Nervous
Godfrey Danchimah as Mr. Stubborn, Mr. Tall and Mr. Metal
Kamali Minter (credited as Prudence Alcott) as Little Miss Calamity and Little Miss Magic
Cheryl Chase (credited as Sophia Roberts) as Little Miss Bossy and Little Miss Curious
Rebecca West as Little Miss Giggles
British re-dubbed version
Simon Greenall as Mr. Happy (season 1), Mr. Strong, Mr. Grumpy, Mr. Bump, Mr. Quiet and Mr. Bounce
Rob Rackstraw as Mr. Happy (season 2), Mr. Tickle, Mr. Messy, Mr. Noisy and Mr. Fussy
Jo Wyatt as Little Miss Sunshine (Season 1), Little Miss Scary (season 1), Little Miss Helpful (season 1) and Little Miss Naughty (season 1)
Teresa Gallagher as Little Miss Naughty (season 2), Little Miss Chatterbox, Little Miss Daredevil and Little Miss Whoops
Keith Wickham as Mr. Small and Mr. Tall
Steven Kynman as Mr. Nosey
Tim Whitnall as Mr. Strong (singing voice), Mr. Lazy and Mr. Nervous
Lewis MacLeod as Mr. Stubborn
Aline Mowat as Little Miss Calamity
Emma Tate as Little Miss Sunshine (season 2), Little Miss Helpful (season 2) and Little Miss Magic
Alex Kelly as Little Miss Scary (season 2) and Little Miss Bossy
Claire Morgan as Little Miss Curious and Little Miss Giggles
Simon Callow as The Narrator
Jeff Stewart as The Aliens (reprise roles)
Joey D'Auria (credited as Joseph J. Terry) as Mr. Rude and Mr. Scatterbrain (reprise roles)
Production
The Mr. Men Show was produced in Los Angeles by Renegade Animation and Chorion for Five and Cartoon Network, respectively. Preproduction of the show began in 2004, when Roger Hargreaves' widow Christine Hargreaves sold the franchise rights to Chorion. According to Adam Hargreaves, "in order to grow the success of these loveable characters and expand into new territories", a new television series would need to be produced. The show's art style was inspired by the television series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and the works of United Productions of America. Showrunner Eyrk Casemiro stated "we wanted a nod to the '70s, when the books were originated. A lot of the songs in the show have a funkdelic/disco/Bootsy Collins quality to them. A lot of props look like they're out of The Mike Douglas Show, like the microphones and chairs on set for the talk show segments."
Artistic license was taken in order to adapt the books for television, including name changes, design alterations, and the creation of several new characters. Little Miss Calamity, Little Miss Daredevil and Mr. Metal were created exclusively for the series. Due to the large amount of characters in the book series, only a select amount were included in the show, of which, Little Miss Fickle, Little Miss Fabulous and the Little Miss Twins were originally planned to be included, but they were removed per request by Cartoon Network for fear of turning off boy audiences. In Roger Hargreaves' original book series, each of the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters were given a separate hometown, such as Happyland, Tiddletown and Nonsenseland. In the television series, all of the characters live in the same city, the township of Dillydale. 25 characters were featured in the first season. A second season was greenlit in late 2008 and aired in late 2009, it added 6 more characters to the cast, while removing the character of Little Miss Calamity in turn. The series has been said to have helped expand the Mr. Men franchise globally.
Episodes
Season 1 (2008)
Note: All episodes in this season were directed by Mark Risley.
Season 2 (2009)
Note: The first 11 episodes in this season were directed by Mark Risley and the remaining 15 episodes were directed by Mark Risley and Darrell Van Citters. All episodes in this season were written by Kate Boutilier and Eryk Casemiro except "Up and Down", which was written by Mark Risley and Michael Daedalus Kenny and "Library" which was written by Mark Risley and Sean Pendergrass.
Reception
Upon the show's announcement, fans of the book series were critical of the redesigns of the characters. After its debut, The Mr. Men Show received positive reviews. Animation Magazine wrote "Using a sketch comedy format and more than 25 main characters, the new Mr. Men Show boldly goes where few other preschool toons have dared to roam!". The Hollywood Reporter stated "Episodes pick up where Hargreaves’ pages left off...while the animation is imaginative and lively, the best part is the show's savvy sense of humor...The Mr. Men Show will touch everyone who tunes in".
