Mr. Men

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Mr. Man is a character from the Boohbah television show.
Mr. Tickle, 1971
Mr. Tickle, 1971
Little Miss Chatterbox, 1984
Little Miss Chatterbox, 1984

Mr. Men is a series of 43 children's books by Roger Hargreaves started in 1971. Little Miss was an accompanying series of 30 books by the same author with female characters that started in 1981. After Hargreaves' death in 1988, his son, Adam Hargreaves, began writing and illustrating new stories involving the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters, including the creation of six new characters.

Contents

[edit] History

Mr. Tickle was the first Mr. Men character created by Hargreaves, a round, orange figure with long, bendy arms drawn after Adam asked him what a tickle looked like.

Each book in the original Mr. Men and Little Miss series introduced a different title character and their single dominant trait in order to convey a simple moral lesson. The Mr. Men and Little Miss characters would frequently reappear in the later books of other characters. The books' simple and silly stories, with bright-colored, boldly drawn illustrations, made them quite popular, with sales over 100 million worldwide in 22 languages.

In 2001, a competition was held in the Sunday Times for children to submit their own Mr. Men character, which was to be published in a limited edition to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the series. Mr. Cheeky by 8 year-old Gemma Almond was the winner, and her creation was then published and sold only in branches of W H Smith, with a portion of the proceeds going to a charity for children's leukemia.

In April 2004, Hargreaves' widow, Christine, sold the rights to the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters to the UK entertainment group, Chorion.

In 2006, to celebrate 35 years of Mr. Men (and 25 years of Little Miss) Mr. Birthday and Little Miss Birthday were published. There was also an art exhibition at the Art Animation Gallery in Central London, and in October 2006, Adam Hargreaves created the first Little Miss character based on a real person; 'Little Miss Stella', based on Stella McCartney, appeared in a limited edition of 1000 books produced as fashion show invitations. [1]

The Mr. Men characters have been adapted into three animated television series. The first was produced in 1975, by Terry Ward's Flicks Films, with the voices and the narration provided by Arthur Lowe (better known for his role as Captain Mainwaring in the sitcom Dad's Army). During 1983, a second series by Flicks Films featured the Little Miss characters, and was narrated by John Alderton and Pauline Collins. The third series, Mr. Men and Little Miss, was produced from 1995 until 1997.

In 2006 Renegade Animation is in pre-production for Mr. Men & Little Misses, a new animated series to debut in 2008.

[edit] List of Characters

[edit] List of Mr. Men

[edit] Not published in English

[edit] Adam Hargreaves characters

[edit] List of Little Miss

[edit] Not published in English

[edit] Adam Hargreaves characters

[edit] Advertising

[edit] Special Characters

  • Mr. Nobody
  • Little Miss Nobody
  • Wilfred the Wizard
  • Grandfather Clock

[edit] Humans

  • Andy Robinson
  • Jack
  • Jane (Only Mentioned)
  • John (Only Mentioned)
  • George (Fisherman)
  • Peter (Only Mentioned)
  • Susan (Only Mentioned)
  • William
  • Mr. Bacon (Wobbletown Butcher)
  • Mr. Barley (Farmer/Orchard Owner)
  • Mr. Black (Coalman)
  • Mr. Bottle (Dairy Owner)
  • Mr. Bowler (Hat Seller)
  • Mr. Brick (Builder)
  • Mr. Bustle (Twin Busy-Body)
  • Mr. Busy (Twin Busy-Body)
  • Mrs Crumb (Baker)
  • Mr. Daily (Newspaper Seller)
  • Mr. DoubleChin (Twotown's Mayor)
  • Mr. Doublechop (Twotown Butcher)
  • Mr. Meat (Butcher)
  • Mr. Packet (Grocer)
  • Mr. Potts (Painter)
  • Mr. Robinson (Mr. Small's Neighbour)
  • Mr. Stamp (Postman)
  • Dr. Makeyouwell
  • Dr. Plump
  • Farmer Fields
  • Father Christmas
  • The Giant
  • The Goblin
  • The Tramp
  • The Wizard
  • King of Miseryland
  • King of the Goblins
  • Nasty Queen of Miseryland (As seen in Christmas Rescue)
  • Muggles the Jester (As seen in Christmas Rescue)
  • Dark Knight (As seen in Christmas Rescue)
  • Stormy Knight (As seen in Christmas Rescue)
  • Starry Knight (As seen in Christmas Rescue)
  • Mrs. Crumb (Baker's Wife)
  • Mrs. Fairy (Cake Seller)
  • Mrs. Humbug (Sweetshop Owner)
  • Mrs. Page (Librarian)
  • Mrs. Parcel (Post Office Lady)
  • Mrs. Scrub (Laundry Lady)
  • Mrs. Twiceslice (Baker's Wife in Twotown)
  • Mrs. Twinkle
  • Wilfred the Wizard

[edit] Animals

  • Ginger (Farmer Field's Cat)
  • Walter the Worm (Lives near Mr. Small)
  • Koko the Gorilla (Seen in the TV Series)
  • Mr. Parrot (Owned by Mr. Fussy, seen in the TV Series)
  • Rex the Dog (Owned by Mr. Clever, seen in the TV Series)

[edit] Advertising

  • Mr. Stupid (Only seen on Railway Safety Poster)
  • Mr. Beefeater

[edit] List of Mr. Men Product Range

There are 80 licensees selling Mr. Men and Little Miss products.

  • Mr. Men Snakes and Ladders
  • Mr. Men Switchplate Switch Plate
  • Mr. Men & Little Miss Little Miss Helpful Gel Pack
  • Mr. Men Puzzle Clock
  • Beanies / Plush toys
  • Catch-It-All Wipe Clean Bib
  • Mr. Greedy Doughnuts
  • Mr. Bump plasters
  • Mr. Cool bags
  • Mr. Messy baby bibs
  • Mr. Funny's Runny Honey
  • Mr. Lazy slippers
  • A Mr. Men Colorforms playset

[edit] Trivia

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
This article has been tagged since December 2006.
  • The most popular books in the series are Mr. Tickle and Little Miss Naughty.
  • Little Miss Twins was written for Roger Hargreaves' twin daughters, Amelia and Sophie.
  • The Writers' favourite characters are Mr. Silly and Mr. Bump.
  • Roger Hargreaves created 52 Mr. Men and 39 Little Misses, but only 43 of those Mr. Men and 30 of those Little Misses had stories about them in English, and Adam Hargreaves, not Roger, created the last 6 Mr. Men and the last 7 Little Misses, which were special-edition ones.
  • Throughout all the series, numerous places/lands have been introduced. All of them are Happyland, TiddleTown, Coldland (Capital is Shivertown), Nonsenseland (Which had Whoopee Wood), Bigtown, Kingdom of the Goblins, Wobbletown, Sleepyland, Seatown, Cleverland, Loudland, Fatland, Badland, Goodland, Miseryland (Soon changed to Laughterland), Twoland, Tiddlyville, Muddleland, Sensibleland, Sunnytown (With Sunnytown Public Lending Library) and Jollywood (Parody of Hollywood).
  • Real places have been featured too, being Africa, North Pole, and Australia.
  • A 'spin-off' Mr. Man called Mr. Spendy was written by Kathleen Smith to teach kids how to save money. The book also featured Mr. Thrifty, and his two kids Penny and Prudence. They are not considered part of the series however. (See article with pic)
  • Former Ontario Premier Mike Harris listed his favourite children's book as Mr. Silly source.

[edit] List of Books

Following is a list of published book titles with associated summaries of their texts.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Mr. Men Series

Book Cover # Character Name/Book Title First Published ISBN
1 Mr. Tickle 1971
Mr. Tickle's story begins with him in bed and making himself breakfast without getting up because of his "extraordinarily long arms". He then decides that it is a tickling sort of day and so goes around town tickling people - a teacher, a policeman, a greengrocer, a station guard, a doctor, a butcher and a postman. The book ends with a warning that Mr. Tickle could be lurking around your doorway, waiting to tickle you.
2 Mr. Greedy 1971
One day, while exploring a gigantic room, Mr Greedy was caught by a giant and the giant forced him to eat all of the dinner on his plate. He appears in the book of the same name as well as several other books, including Little Miss Chatterbox and Little Miss Contrary.
3 Mr. Happy 1971
Mr Happy has quite a simplistic story, as do most of the other characters. It involved him discovering Mr Miserable and teaching him, bit by bit, to be happy. Mr Miserable is the exact spitting image of Mr Happy, except for the fact he frowned rather than smiled. He did not have a book of his own.

Mr Happy probably appeared in more other Mr Men and Little Miss stories than any other character. He is seen in Mr Rude's story, as well as Little Miss Magic, Little Miss Helpful and more.
4 Mr. Nosey 1971
Mr Nosey cannot help but to poke his nose into other people's business which the people of Tiddletown do not like one bit. They attempted to stop him by hurting his long nose, and after the plan worked, Mr Nosey stopped being nosey and became good friends with everybody in Tiddletown. He appears in the stories of Little Miss Bossy and Little Miss Scatterbrain, among others.
5 Mr. Sneeze 1971
Mr. Sneeze lives in Shivertown the capital of Cold Land and he always has a cold.

He went on a journey to cure himself, where he encountered sunshine and magic in equal proportions.

His poor red nose often needs a good blow, and he is never without his trusty hanky. But his sneezing ends up saving the day.
6 Mr. Bump 1971
Poor Mr. Bump - he’s always covered in bandages. He just can’t avoid bumping into things.

His accident-prone nature has cost him many jobs; but his luck changes when Mr. Barley the farmer employs him to work in his apple orchard. Now our bumping beauty spends his time wandering around the orchard, and knocking all the apples off the trees.
7 Mr. Snow 1971
The story of Mr. Snow, the snowman is a heart-warming Yuletide tale of an over busy Father Christmas who choosing Mr Snow to help him deliver presents to the children.
8 Mr. Messy 1972
Mr. Neat and Mr. Tidy turned Mr. Messy’s life around and made him neat and tidy!

The two men “brushed, swept, polished and scrubbed”his house until it sparkled. And after they’d turned their attention to Mr. Messy, and bathed him, he looked in the mirror and remarked: “I’m going to have to change my name!”
9 Mr. Topsy-Turvy 1972
muddled very is Turvy-Topsy Mr

His whole backwards life is; and his jumbled come out words. He comes to hotel in a stay, where he chaos causes town in the.

Going nightmare is a shopping for hapless shopkeepers; and street down the walking is very drivers for hazardous.
10 Mr. Silly 1972
As a resident of Nonsenseland, Mr. Silly was plain silly with his idea for the Nonsense Cup by painting the red leaves of the tree in the City Square green awarded him not only the coveted trophy, but also the silly respect of the King.
11 Mr. Uppity 1972
Mr Uppity is probably the most stuck-up, snootiest, richest, most rude man in the whole world. And so it follows that he is not very popular.

Thankfully our little friends the goblins take an interest in Mr Uppity, and use their magic powers to frighten him into behaving like a decent person.
12 Mr. Small 1972
He’s as cute as ickle pickle, and probably just as tasty.

Mr. Small is, unsurprisingly, the smallest of the Mr. Men. He lives in a house underneath a daisy, at the bottom of Mr. Robinson’s garden. His tiny size is an occupational hazard, as he soon finds out when he falls into sweet jars, mustard pots and match boxes. But he finds eternal happiness and fame when a man decides to write a book all about his adventures.
13 Mr. Daydream 1972
Mr Daydream brightens up any boring day by whisking away an adventure as he daydream.
14 Mr. Forgetful 1976
Mr Forgetful keeps forgetting everything. He can't remember a thing.
15 Mr. Jelly (Also published as Mr. Nervous) 1976
Mr Jelly is scared of everything - even his own shadow! He is famous for blowing things out of all proportions, and being absolutely terrified by the slightest noise.
16 Mr. Noisy 1976
Mr. Noisy slammed doors and clumped down the hill; and even when he was asleep, his snore could be mistaken for a herd of elephants. He changed his ways when the residents pretended they couldn’t hear him. Eventually Mr. Noisy got so fed up of not being heard, he succumbed to their plan and began to whisper.
17 Mr. Lazy 1976
Mr Lazy lies in bed most of day. He only wakes up to yawn! But when he does get out of bed, he falls asleep in the garden!

However boring his life sounds, it soon becomes exciting when Mr Busy and Mr Bustle come to visit him. They've got all sorts of things for Mr Lazy to do, but he is never too keen to be getting on with them, not when there's sleeping to be getting on with!
18 Mr. Funny 1976
Mr. Funny is similar to Mr Happy. He drives about in his little shoe car making people laugh.

He performed his unique act of amusing magic at the zoo, which was closed due to all the animals having colds. Good old Mr. Funny pulled funny faces at the elephant, the lion, the bear, and the giraffe, and left them in fits of giggles.
19 Mr. Mean (also published as Mr Stingy) 1976
Mr Mean lived on his own, doesn't have any friends, and a wizard is always checking up on him.
20 Mr. Chatterbox 1976
Mr. Chatterbox brings about his own downfall when he decides to buy a new hat. Mr. Bowler sells our talkative hero a beautiful red hat, which just happens to be magic. The more Mr. Chatterbox talks, the more the hat grows! Superb!
21 Mr. Fussy 1976
Mr Fussy is so fussy that he'll polish you, scrub you, straighten you, clean you, mend you, dust you, iron you, tidy you up, and throw you away.
22 Mr. Bounce 1976
Looking rather like Mr. Happy with a hat, Mr. Bounce is the Mr. Man who can’t sit still. Luckily, the superbly named Dr. Makeyouwell gives him a pair of tiny red boots. But being Mr. Man land, they aren’t ordinary boots. These boots are extremely heavy, and keep Mr. Bounce’s feet firmly on the ground. But the best thing about Mr. Bounce is the noise he makes when he hits the ground.
23 Mr. Muddle 1976
Poor muddled Mr. Muddle. He can’t do anything right.

He’s only too happy to lend a hand, but instead, usually ends up making the situation worse. Ask him to push and he’ll pull. Ask him to pick something up, and he’ll put it down.

But the clever people of Seatown realised that the way to get him to do the right thing, is to ask him to do the opposite.
24 Mr. Dizzy 1976
Poor Mr. Dizzy is the laughing stock of Cleverland.

He’s not very bright; and all his neighbours delight in making him look stupid. When Mr. Dizzy drinks the water from the wishing well, he magically becomes intelligent; and is able to outwit the pig and the elephant who had both made him look silly earlier.

And it just goes to prove that if clever people can be confused by nice but dim Mr. Dizzy, then they should dobbit.
25 Mr. Impossible 1976
Mr Impossible is able to read backwards, upside down, hanging from the light shade whilst juggling with eggs.
26 Mr. Strong 1976
Mr Strong is so strong that you can barely believe it. He is the nearest thing to a super hero in Mr Man land. He gets all his strength from eating hundred of eggs!

His strength sometimes gets him in trouble, and he regularly breaks everything he touches by accident. But sometimes it helps save the day, especially if there is something really heavy that needs carrying.
27 Mr. Grumpy 1978
Mr. Grumpy is grumpy & he stamps on Mr Happy's foot, but he never apologised to Mr. Happy...
28 Mr. Clumsy 1978
The story of Mr Clumsy is a catalogue of disaster!

Everything he touches, breaks or ends up where it shouldn't. Everywhere he goes, chaos erupts.
29 Mr. Quiet 1978
Mr Quiet lives in LOUD LAND, not a place suitable for him.

No one can hear him, and everything scares him there. Luckily for him, Mr Happy comes to the rescue, and finds him a far more suitable life and job.
30 Mr. Rush 1978
Mr Rush is the fastest person in the world, and he shows it by always being in a hurry.

The trouble is that he goes so fast that he doesn't get anything done properly, that is until he gets his ideal job... A Postman!
31 Mr. Tall 1978
Mr. Tall is one of the luckiest Mr. Men.

It takes him just four minutes to walk 40 miles; he can step over trees; and he can dangle his feet in the sea whilst sitting on the edge of a cliff. But Mr. Tall is gloomy about his long legs.

Luckily, Mr. Tickle, Mr. Nosey and Mr. Greedy are on hand to tell him that over proportioned body parts can be a benefit.
32 Mr. Worry 1978
Mr Worry practically worries on anything & everything.
33 Mr. Nonsense 1978
Mr. Nonsense sleeps in a rowing boat, in his house, which is up a tree.

Being the best friend of Mr. Silly, and living in Nonsenseland, he certainly lives up to his name.

When it snows (yellow snow, of course), the two of them go tobogganning in their makeshift toboggan - Mr. Nonsense’s bed boat!

And somehow he manages to make square snow balls!
34 Mr. Wrong 1978
Mr Wrong hasn't got a clue what he is doing, and he never gets anything right.

Everything about his life is a shambles until he meets Mr Right, someone who looks just like Mr Wrong, but is exactly his opposite.

Mr Right is determined to turn his new friend into someone right, but then everything goes terribly wrong!
35 Mr. Skinny 1978
Mr. Skinny lives in Fatland; a place 100 miles from Mr. Greedy's house. Their lifestyles are just as wide apart.

Mr. Greedy eats anything and everything in abundance; whilst Mr. Skinny survives on one cornflake, a baked bean and the world's smallest sausage.
36 Mr. Mischief 1978
“Oh mischief, glorious mischief … I do so love it!” he cries, as he claims another victim.

Mr. Happy, Mr. Greedy, and Mr. Funny all fall prey to Mr. Mischief and his tricks. Until, that is, he meets a wizard. As Mr. Mischief tries to swap his magic wand for a piece of wood, the wizard grabs him by the nose, and warns him he won’t get away with his tricks again. As the mischievous man goes home, all the pranks he played on the others are repeated on him, and he learns his lesson.

But not for long … as Mr. Fussy finds out to his cost.
37 Mr. Clever 1978
Mr. Clever is the self-acclaimed Cleverest Person In The World!

Not only that, but he has some fantastic gadgets, such as his alarm clock that makes tea; and his toothbrush that squeezes out the toothpaste for him. How clever!

But Mr. Clever is also very smug. He believes that no one can get the better of him, because of his superior intelligence. But of course, many do … and Mr. Happy is one of them.
38 Mr. Busy 1978
It takes Mr. Busy just seconds to do something that would take us half an hour. He is always on the go, and expects others to keep up with him. Which, of course, they can't.

Mr. Busy lives next door to Mr. Slow, which must make life unbearable for both of them.
39 Mr. Slow 1978
Mr Slow is slow at anything & everything.
40 Mr. Brave 1990
Mr Brave is scared of nothing... except for two things.

He's very useful to have around when any of the other Mr Men are in trouble.

Except when it involves heights or getting the wrong side of Little Miss Bossy!
41 Mr. Grumble 1990
"Bah!" says Mr. Grumble.

He hates laughing; he hates singing; he hates people who pretend to be clowns. And he hates being turned into a pig; which is exactly what happens whenever he grumbles.

Luckily the wizard's spell works it's magic, and Mr. Grumble stops his moaning in order to stop himself oinking.
42 Mr. Perfect 1990
Mr Perfect has no faults, and no problems, and absolutely nothing wrong with him.

He is perfect.
43 Mr. Cheerful 1990
Mr. Cheerful was the last Mr. Men to be created, and his story does not contain the usual ‘change for the better’ outcome of the originals. He has a secret which he keeps under his hat.

When Little Miss Splendid demands he take his hat off when greeting a lady. In doing so, he reveals that he has only three hairs on the top of his head. Little Miss Splendid reminds him it is not his hair, but his large smile that people love him for. As the final sentence in the final book reads …

“Hats off to Mr. Cheerful!”

[edit] Little Miss Series

Book Cover # Character Name/Book Title First Published ISBN
1 Little Miss Bossy 1981
2 Little Miss Naughty 1981
3 Little Miss Neat 1981
4 Little Miss Sunshine 1981
Little Miss Sunshine turns Miseryland into Laughterland. She appears in the story of Little Miss Bad as well as some of the episodes in Mr. Men and Little Miss.
5 Little Miss Tiny 1981
6 Little Miss Trouble 1981
7 Little Miss Giggles 1984
8 Little Miss Helpful 1981
9 Little Miss Magic 1981
10 Little Miss Shy 1981
11 Little Miss Splendid 1981
12 Little Miss Twins 1984
13 Little Miss Chatterbox 1984
14 Little Miss Dotty (also published as Little Miss Ditzy) 1984
15 Little Miss Late 1981
16 Little Miss Lucky 1984
17 Little Miss Scatterbrain 1981
18 Little Miss Star 1984
19 Little Miss Busy 1990
20 Little Miss Quick 1990
21 Little Miss Wise 1990
22 Little Miss Tidy 1990
23 Little Miss Greedy (also published as Little Miss Plump) 1981
24 Little Miss Fickle 1984
25 Little Miss Brainy 1990
26 Little Miss Stubborn 1990
Little Miss Stubborn who, after a long journey with many stops in the wrong countries, ended up at Mr. Strong's house and ate a gigantic omelette without permission from him. She also appears in Mr. Men and Little Miss.
27 Little Miss Curious 1990
28 Little Miss Fun 1990
29 Little Miss Contrary 1990
30 Little Miss Somersault 1990

[edit] Adam Hargreaves

Book Cover Character Name/Book Title First Published ISBN
Mr. Cool
Mr. Good
Mr. Rude
Image:Mr. Cheeky.jpg Mr. Cheeky
Little Miss Bad
Little Miss Scary
Little Miss Whoops
Little Miss Jealous

[edit] Special Edition

Book Cover Character Name/Book Title First Published ISBN
Mr. Christmas
Mr. Birthday
Little Miss Christmas
Little Miss Birthday
Mr. Happy and the Wizard
Mr. Jelly and the Pirates
Mr. Tickle and the Dragon
Little Miss Lucky and the Naughty Pixies
Little Miss Naughty and the Good Fairy
Little Miss Splendid and the Princess
Little Miss Sunshine and the Wicked Witch
Little Miss Trouble and the Mermaid

[edit] Be My Series

Book Cover Character Name/Book Title First Published ISBN
Be My Mr. Happy
Be My Little Miss Sunshine

[edit] Guides

Book Cover Character Name/Book Title First Published ISBN
Mr. Messy's Guide to Student Life
Mr. Tickle's Guide to Women
Little Miss Chatterbox's Guide to Gossip
Little Miss Naughty's Guide To Love 2 Dec 2001 ISBN 0-7497-4792-7
Little Miss Trouble's Guide to Men

[edit] Mr. Men New Library

[edit] Little Miss New Library

[edit] Chunkies

[edit] Start to series

[edit] Board books

[edit] Miscellaneous

  • Mr. Men Story Treasury
  • Mr. Men & Little Miss Stencil Activity Book
  • Mr. Men & Little Miss Picture Dictionary
  • Mr. Men & Little Miss, The Adventure's of Mr. Tickle
  • Mr. Men & Little Miss Colouring Book, 2 Sep 2002, ISBN 0-7214-8436-0
  • Mr. Men & Little Miss: Bumper Activity Book, 2 Sep 2002, ISBN 0-7214-8439-5
  • Mr. Men & Little Miss: Fun & Games, 2 Sep 2002, ISBN 0-7214-8440-9

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../m/r/2E/Mr._Men_2756.html"
In other languages