A very quick word from me today, as I’m still attempting to get over just what they’ve done to the Mr Men, as detailed in yesterday’s Square Eyes.
A little further investigation has led me to the official Mr Men website that ties in to the new, noughties take on the legendary Roger Hargreaves characters.
It all looks very colourful, bright and bouncy, just the ticket to entertain young children. So far, so good. Yes, there are little aesthetic ticks that are annoying to a child of the 70s who grew up on the fantastic version of the Mr Men as narrated by Arthur Lowe. I can cope with Mr Strong now looking like a triangle on steroids. That’s fine. It’s progress…
But what’s this? Mr Fussy has been renamed with the rolls-off-the-tongue moniker of Mr Pernickety. Eh? Ah, I’m guessing that “Fussy” just isn’t OCD enough for a modern audience.
Obviously Mr Greedy is a no-no, as he could single-handedly escalate the country’s obesity crisis exponentially. Perhaps he could be renamed Mr Moderation. Or Mr Watches What He Eats But Occasionally Has a Mars Bar, But Really, That’s Fine. Sigh.
But, as I mentioned yesterday, it’s Mr Rude who is the great worry here. He’s French and rude. Well, not so much rude in the generally accepted sense that Frenchman are rude, but merely flatulent. Just go and play the game on the website that comes with Mr Rude. Go on, I’ll wait…
I must have missed the memo detailing the links between Frenchmen and flatulence. And yes, in the game, Mr Rude really does ask you to “Pull my finger!” Is nobody worried about a certain level of racism inherent within this character, or am I just being silly? And if it wasn’t the much-loved Mr Men and a part of my childhood, would I really be paying this much attention to a farting cartoon Frenchman?
For fear of coming over all Daily Mail about this, I will concede that most children love fart jokes as much as… well, most adults. But really… I don’t know, I just wonder what Arthur Lowe would have to say…
The Mr Men Show is on at 7.30am daily on Five
I'm French, and I fart in your general direction, as they'd put it in Monty Python. :o)
Yours!
A Frenchman who doesn't think it's that rude to be rude with the French.
"Le Pétomane" was a famous flatulent frenchman and Vic and Bob did the "Le Corbussier et Papin" sketches about 2 parping Parisians. A fine trumping tradition indeed.
I'm very glad to hear it - you have both put my mind at rest. I do worry about the silliest things, don't I?
We actually even have an expression for people who stress too much about something little: "have a fart, you'll feel better".
:-)
Like the French aren't rude and they don't fart. Please, I had a Frenchman for a boyfriend who though giving a woman a "Dutch oven" was the height of comedy.
And honestly, the original Mr. Men designs are mostly rubbish! Anyone with a sense of style would know that. Most of Roger and Adam Hargreaves' original characters look like they were drawn with a broken crayon by a very retarded man-child. I happen to love the new designs AND the new characters in The Mr. Men Show ~ when I went back to read the source material THAT'S when I became disappointed.
I agree with what Kimberlee Jennings said on 27 February 2008 at 8:02 PM: The kerfuffle over the redesign of the original characters is a bit of a knee jerk reaction, isn't it? Those characters were clearly re-named and re-designed by necessity...I mean, many of those original designs are unspeakably ugly! Have you seen some of those dreadful drawings on the original book covers; Mr. Lazy, Mr. Nosey, et al? Whoever redesigned them deserves kudos not sneers. Come on people, lets be realistic! The show looks great and now we're able to share the Mr. Men & Little Miss experience with a whole new television generation. It's to be celebrated! Well done, Chorion & co.!
I'm horrified to think that any person or CORPORATION would be audacious enough to defile the great works of Roger Hargreaves! Our son and daughters grew up learning, loving and laughing with the likes of Mr. Tickle, Mr. Sneeze, Mr. Nosey, Mr. Bandage and Little Miss Contrary. We've just recently seen this new version with our grandchildren on Milkshake and it is nothing but an assault on the senses. Allowing this monstrosity to be made is tantamount to murdering a lot of fine Mr. Men memories. The responsible parties should be ashamed of themselves.
Apologies, I entered the subject of my comment in the author box instead of my name. The comment above should be attributed to me.
I have two words for the creator's of this Mr. Men Show: "Tsk. Tsk".
I've just recently seen the show on the telly and it's an abomination. Our Mr. Men dancing a boogie and singing the hip hop? God awful. Terrible, just terrible.
Why couldn't a soft-voiced fellow just narrate the still images from the books?
I happen to think the show is terrific. I can separate the two versions, books and telly, and I love them both.