50 Fun Facts About Mr. Men

Who created the Mr. Men, first published in August 1971?

He wrote them as a side project while working as an advertising creative director; by 1976 he had quit the day job.

Which character was the very first Mr. Man, and the first book in the series?

He is orange with extraordinarily long, bendy arms and a small blue hat, and spends the book tickling everyone he meets.

According to the famous (and disputed) story, the first Mr. Man was inspired by the author's son asking what?

The son, Adam, was eight; a biographer later admitted the anecdote 'became too good to dispute'.

How many Mr. Men books were published on the launch day, 10 August 1971?

Tickle, Greedy, Happy, Nosey, Sneeze and Bump all arrived together.

The female counterpart series began in 1981 with which character?

The author created the Little Misses to appeal to his twin daughters and produced 21 of them himself.

What was the author's 1978 series in the same style but with animal characters called?

It never matched the Mr. Men, which had sold over 250 million copies in 28 countries by 2021.

The author's earlier ad characters The Miseries, precursors of the Mr. Men, promoted what?

The commercials were titled 'Askit Fights the Miseries' and ran from 1971 all the way to 1994.

The creator of the Mr. Men was born in 1935 in which West Yorkshire town?

A commemorative plaque now marks the house on Halifax Road where he grew up.

Which ad slogan is credited to the Mr. Men's creator while at Foote, Cone & Belding?

The full line was 'Emigrate to Canada Dry (for the sake of your Scotch)'.

The Mr. Men's creator died in 1988 of what?

His son took over the books fifteen years later, but the covers still say 'by Roger Hargreaves'.

Which family member took over writing and illustrating the Mr. Men in 2003?

He initially found the series 'a bit clichéd', had worked as a dairyman, and said it took three years to learn to draw the characters.

Which three Mr. Men did Adam Hargreaves introduce in 2003 when he took over?

They came with Little Miss Scary, Little Miss Bad and Little Miss Whoops.

Which Mr. Man was created by an eight-year-old girl who won a 30th-anniversary Sunday Times contest?

Gemma Almond's character got his own book, sold only in W H Smith with proceeds to a leukaemia charity.

In 2004, the rights to the Mr. Men were sold to the entertainment group Chorion for how much?

Chorion later went into administration and the characters passed to Sanrio in 2011.

Which Japanese company, creator of Hello Kitty, acquired the Mr. Men and Little Miss rights in 2011?

It was the first third-party character the company had licensed since Osamu Tezuka's Unico in the late 1970s.

The first Little Miss based on a real person, made as a fashion-show invitation in 2006, honoured whom?

Little Miss Stella was a limited edition of 1,000 copies.

Adam Hargreaves's 2017 Mr. Men-style series was based on which BBC show?

Editions based on the Spice Girls followed in 2019.

As of 2021, roughly how many Mr. Men and Little Miss characters had featured in the series?

The 50th anniversary that year added Mr. Calm and Little Miss Brave by public vote.

The Mr. Men and Little Misses live in a fictional world called what?

Ordinary humans like shopkeepers and postmen live there too, along with Walter the Worm.

If you line up all the Mr. Men books in order, what appears across the spines?

The Little Miss set spells 'My Little Miss library' with a flower instead.

The illustrations in the original books were drawn with what?

Each book has 16 to 18 text pages and 15 to 17 colour pictures, in a 14 cm by 12.6 cm paperback.

Which actor narrated and voiced the original 1974 BBC animated series The Mister Men?

The Dad's Army star used regional accents for some characters; Tony Hymas wrote the theme.

Which married couple voiced the 1983 BBC Little Miss series?

The episodes were paired with reruns of The Mister Men under the title Little Misses and the Mister Men.

The 2008–09 series The Mr. Men Show is set in which fictional town?

It was a sketch-and-song variety show made by Renegade Animation for Cartoon Network and Channel 5's Milkshake!.

Which actor narrated the UK version of The Mr. Men Show (2008)?

In the US the narrator was Joey D'Auria, credited as Joseph J. Terry.

In The Mr. Men Show, Mr. Jelly was renamed what for American audiences?

Mr. Fussy likewise became Mr. Persnickety in the US and Mr. Pernickety in the UK for the first season.

What colour is Mr. Bump?

Wrapped in bandages, he eventually finds the perfect job knocking apples out of Mr. Barley's trees.

Mr. Strong gets his strength from eating a great many of what?

He puts out a farmer's cornfield fire by picking up a barn, filling it with water and pouring it on.

Which two Mr. Men turn up to clean Mr. Messy's house and give him his first ever bath?

Mr. Messy is a pink scribble with a nice smile; the bathroom had been the messiest room in the house.

Mr. Greedy's story teaches him a lesson when he is picked up by whom?

The giant makes him eat all the enormous food until he feels he will burst; his shape is officially a figure eight.

Where does Mr. Small live?

After failing at putting mustard in jars and matches in boxes, he settles on writing children's books.

Mr. Funny lives inside what and drives a car shaped like what?

A large pig and a worm both laugh at the car; a zoo signpost sends the plot on its way.

Mr. Lazy lives in Sleepyland, where a day lasts how many hours?

It takes two regular hours for water to boil there and three for bread to toast.

Mr. Sneeze lives in Shivertown, capital of which land, where everyone has a red nose?

He was the fifth of the original six books.

Mr. Silly lives in Nonsenseland, where the scenery is what colours?

Every year the land holds a contest for the silliest idea, and he cannot think of one.

What is Mr. Uppity's punishment for being rude to a goblin?

Rich, rude Mr. Uppity of Bigtown is shrunk small enough to fit into a hole in a tree.

Mr. Forgetful is asked to pass on a message that a sheep is loose in the lane. What does he actually say?

The message was for Farmer Fields; it did not get through.

Which Mr. Man is the only one drawn with visible ears?

He lives in Cleverland and is one of the smartest people in the world.

Mr. Mean is so miserly that he gives his brother what as a festive present?

A wizard in disguise puts spells on him each time he refuses to help someone in need.

Mr. Chatterbox is sold a magic hat that does what when he talks too much?

Mr. Bowler the hatter, fed up of cold dinners, sells it to him.

Which Mr. Man's uncle is Santa Claus?

He was one of two special stories from 1984–85, the other being Mr. Nobody; a Little Miss counterpart came later.

Which was the final regular Mr. Man created and published before the original author's death?

It took him until New Year to open his presents and until Easter to write the thank-you notes.

Mr. Tall goes for a walk with which Mr. Man he finds standing under a daisy?

Mr. Tall hates his long legs, but a walk with a friend at the other end of the scale sorts him out.

Mr. Nosey is reformed after the other characters do what?

The fourth book in the series is a small parable about respecting privacy.

Mr. Bump's job in Mr. Barley's orchard is what?

In a later book he loses his memory and is told his name is Mr. Careful.

Which four characters were launched in 2016 for the series' 45th anniversary?

A special Little Miss Explorer book was also made for Heathrow.

Roughly how many Mr. Men and Little Miss books have been sold worldwide?

They have reached readers in 28 countries, and Screen Rant has called the series iconic.

Which two characters won the 2021 public vote to join the main cast for the 50th anniversary?

Five candidates were unveiled on 10 August 2021, fifty years to the day after Mr. Tickle first appeared.

Which pair of characters was published in 2006 to mark the series' 35th and 25th anniversaries?

That same year Adam Hargreaves made Little Miss Stella, the first Little Miss based on a real person, for Stella McCartney.

Which producer's company, 21 Laps Entertainment, was attached to a planned Mr. Men animated film in 2011?

Fox Animation confirmed it had the film rights in January 2015; by December 2025 a new adaptation was in development with StudioCanal and Heyday Films.