In 1935 Roger Hargreaves, creator of the Mr Men & Little Miss characters, was born. Roger, christened Charles Roger Hargreaves, grew up in Cleckheaton, Yorkshire, the son of a laundryman. He was a successful advertising copywriter for 20 years, working with such clients as Lindt Chocolates, Timex and Pimms. However, his burning ambition since childhood was to be a cartoonist.
In 1971, over breakfast one morning, a young Adam Hargreaves asked his father a question - "What does a tickle look like?" Roger proceeded to draw a little orange person, with impossibly long arms, a toothy grin and a blue hat! And so, Mr. Tickle was born...and with him a children's phenomenon that has been enjoyed by generations ever since.
From Mr. Tickle onwards, each of the characters creatively captured an individual human characteristic that everyone could recognise as part of themselves. Surprisingly, it was initially a struggle for Roger to get the books published. The first 6 Mr. Men books - Mr. Tickle, Mr. Greedy, Mr. Happy, Mr. Nosey, Mr. Sneeze and Mr. Bump - were rejected by the major publishing houses. When they eventually did find a publisher, the little square, white format story books were an instant success, selling more then 1,000,000 copies in the first 3 years! There are now over 40 Mr. Men characters and stories.
In 1975, the books soon found even greater fame, with the production of a BBC television series narrated by Dad's Army star Arthur Lowe (known to be somewhat of a Mr. Uppity!).
In 1976, the growing success of the Mr. Men franchise allowed Roger Hargreaves to give up his office job altogether to concentrate on his creations.
In 1981, Little Miss Bossy, the first Little Miss book was published. Little Miss Naughty, Little Miss Sunshine and all of the other Little Misses soon followed. There are now over 30 Little Miss characters and stories.
In 1982, the Little Miss characters got their own BBC television series, narrated by husband and wife team John Alderton and Pauline Collins.
In 1988, Roger Hargreaves passed away. His son Adam, whose innocent childhood question had precipitated the entire Mr. Men and Little Miss empire, now holds the pen in creating new characters and stories to the Mr. Men and Little Miss family.
In 2002, Mr. Christmas was created, introducing a brand new story to the Mr. Men range. Since his release, Mr. Christmas has sold nearly 500,000 copies.
In 2005, Roger Hargreaves was named the 3rd Best Selling author in Britain to date, after JK Rowling and Jaqueline Wilson. Roger's role as 'Mr. Triumphant' emerged from a fiction league table compiled by Waterstones and Nielsen Bookscan. Roger beat authors such as John Grisham, Dan Brown and JRR Tolkien!
Today, there are now over 80 Mr. Men and Little Miss characters, enjoyed by children and grown-ups around the globe. Roger's iconic designs are ingrained in popular culture and his characters strike a chord of recognition in all of us. The Mr. Men and Little Miss characters have given rise to a diverse range of licensed products, for both children and adults.
Over 100,000,000 books have been sold worldwide, translated into 15 languages.
Over 100,000,000 books have been sold worldwide, translated into 15 languages.
Now, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters, we at www.fidelityentertainment.com bring you a fantastic range of 25 collectable resin figurines.
Supplied in Mr Men gift box.
· Cool & Collectable Figurines
· Characters that fit family, friends or work colleagues
· Ideal gifts for Chritmas, Birthdays or Leaving Presents
· Position them were ever you want, on your Computer, in your car or house
· These figurines will never tire
· Characters that fit family, friends or work colleagues
· Ideal gifts for Chritmas, Birthdays or Leaving Presents
· Position them were ever you want, on your Computer, in your car or house
· These figurines will never tire
For the full range visit www.fidelityentetainment.com
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