Director to the Mr. Men Stars

Hey Guys! Hope you are all enjoying the last days of summer. Thanks for your feedback on the last posting. We figured we'd keep the interview ball rolling, and take a moment to learn more about Mark Risley, the awesome director of the Mr. Men Show. Now, you all know Mark Risley...but how well do you really know him? :) Mark was nice enough to take time and answer our questions so without further introduction...

MEET MARK

SM: Hey Mark! Tell us a little bit about yourself (5 sentences or less)
MR: I’m a native Californian; born and raised in San Diego.  My favorite pastimes are baking macaroons, watching Chicago Bears football and playing practical jokes on the crew of the Mr. Men Show.  I have 3 basenjis (that’s a kind of dog) and a transient coyote (that’s also a kind of dog).

SM: How did you get into Animation, what was your first job?
MR: I  actually answered a want ad in the newspaper: “creative-minded person wanted”.  First job specifically in animation was as an inbetweener  (that’s a kind of assistant animator) on a series called “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes”

SM: When you were a kid, what was your favorite children's book or televisionmseries?
MR:  I loved the original Jonny Quest TV show.

SM: What was your first experience with the Mr. Men brand?
MR: I’ve been peripherally aware of the books since the 70’s, but just weeks before I was contacted about directing the series, a friend gave me a copy of Mr. Grumpy.  I think it was their way of saying that I share attributes with the title character (Hey! Just like Adam!).   I can’t say that I disagree.

SM: Which is your favorite MMLM character and why?
MR:  Poor Mr. Bump…I think it’s his unwavering spirit.

SM: What's your favorite thing about the show?
MR: I love the world of Dillydale and the way the characters interact with one another.

SM: The Visual style of the Mr. Men is so unique, where did the inspiration for this come from?
MR: The style was inspired by few sources; the television series LAUGH-IN and the cartoons produced by UPA (United Productions of America) in the 1950’s.   Although much of what you see is straight out of the very talented brain of Peter Michail, the series’ art director (and the voice of Mr. Messy in the USA!)

SM: Sketch comedy, as a director, what is the most challenging and rewarding aspects?
MR: The most challenging aspect is keeping track of all the sketches; there can be literally hundreds in a given season.  The most rewarding is getting to work with so many fantastic and funny stories!

SM: Are there other TV shows/Movies that you pull inspiration from?
MR: Benny Hill, Saturday Night Live, Monty Python, Kids in the Hall, Ren & Stimpy.

SM: Do you have a favorite sketch/show from season 1?
MR: I adore The Dark.  As far as individual sketches go, I love Mr. Persnickety Washes His Car (Car Wash) and Mr. Nervous on Mars (Heatwave)

SM: If you weren't working on Mr. Men what would you love to be doing right now?
MR: Hanging out with the basenjis!

SM: Anything else you want to tell our readers?
MR: I’d like to give a shout out to super fan, Mutt Girl!  She’s been watching since day one and I’d like to thank her for her loyalty!

- Sarah

Comments

[Mr.H]

think you could mention me or at least my characters next post?

[allison]

I started school today. :(

[MuttGirl]

WOW!!! YOU MENTIONED ME!!! :D

You're very welcome, Mr. Risley! You did an awesome job on this show, and it was very interesting to read more about you!

Wow! I feel so honored! ^^

By the way, I would really like to show you my deviantART gallery. I've done a lot of MMS fan art on there. I hope you like it! :) http://woof91.deviantart.com/

[Jane]

i think it's funny how his initials make "MR"! it's was like he was made for this job!
allison, i hope you had a good day at school;) i start on wednesday; junior year baby!!!

[Daniel Coffey]

Quite awesome about Mark Risley (Director of The Mr Men Show), because I really liked it both UK and US from day 1 after UK Version debuted on Channel 5! :)

Hope to see more interviews from other people, even the UK Casts and Crew. :)

Daniel Coffey

[Daniel Coffey]

Anyways, I hope he'll also liked my Character Ideas, especially Little Miss Splendid and Mr Perfect (My two favourite top characters as Little Miss Daredevil is my second as Miss Splendid as my first favourite little miss character) :)

[Sarah]

Good luck in school, Allison! -Sarah

[MR. H]

i'd expect you to confirm my characters.

[Daniel Coffey]

And Dont forget to say Hello to Alicyn Packard and Teresa Gallagher (UK Voice of Miss Daredevil, I just to wish her that she had the most beautiful voice of Miss Daredevil ever in the UK!) for me! :) (well, I befriends with Alicyn since July where I posted on her blog of the second season of the show and she was really nice to me, so why not tell her about me getting along with her?)

Daniel Coffey

[TyrannoRanger]

I hope he'll like my character list...

[MR. H]

Io do i.

[Summer-chan]

Hello mr Director sir!

And well done to Mutt girl (who's a friend of mine on deviantART). I really suggest you check out her gallery Mr Risley

[MR. H]

i can't help but notice, the show's official website isn't secure on the Wii.

[boobear]

hi thanks for makeing such a great i LOVE it!!!!!!

[boobear]

i meant:hi thanks for makeing such a great _s_h_o_w_ i LOVE it!!!! (sorry bout the mistake)

[Disneyfan]

After viewing this blog for awhile I decided to finally comment! I love the show and am looking forward to the second season! Mr. Messy is my fave. It's an honor to finally meet you Mr. Risely! Keep up the great work!
And a special congrats to MuttGirl! She's always leaving nice comments on my artwork in deviantArt(I'm OddballArtist over there) and her work is awesome!

[A2(hello)]

Hi, I'm Allison's sister. She posted some of my ideas(and some I posted ;)). I'm 14 and Allison's 11. I want to say that The Mr. Men Show rocks! Allison says it's awesome, while our brother says we're too old for it(HA!). So, keep up the good work! I really want to see Season 2!

[Drarin1 the Parabones]

Oh, wow! You mentioned Mutt Girl! (Also known as Woof91 on DeviantART...) I have been a fan of the Mr. Men Show as well ever since it came out. (I do have a few pieces of Mr. Men artwork on DeviantART, too...) Anyway, could you tell Aaron Albertus that he makes a cute Mr. Bump and Jeff Stewart that he makes an awesome Mr. Tickle? It would be great if you could, and it would make me happy. Also, it is an honor to hear from you, Mr. Risely. I am really looking forward to seeing Season 2!

[Disneyfan]

Oh, and tell Peter Rida Michail that he does an awesome job voicing Mr. Messy and on the artwork for the show. Could you do an interview with him maybe?

[MuttGirl]

Hi, Mr. Risley! :)

First of all, thanks again for stopping by my gallery! ^^

Second, I think you ought to check your deviantART account sometime! A lot of people are giving you comments and adding you to their friends list! In fact, you already have 15 watchers! (Including me! ;) ) There are a LOT of MMS fans at dA who are very happy to have you there! Be sure to check out their fanart! I just know you're going to love it! :D

Bye for now! :)

[Little Miss Chatterbox]

OMG! I love the mr.men show!

[A2(hello)]

Hey, MuttGirl,

I went to your site to see the Mr. Men art, and I noticed one of the pictures looked a lot like my sister's(Allison)Little Miss Accident(without the bandages on her limbs)! And all the pictures are so cute! :D

[MuttGirl (responding to A2)]

Thanks, A2! I'm very glad you like my pictures! :D

That picture you said looked like your sister's character, it wouldn't happen to be the one with me next to Mr. Quiet falling over, would it? XD

[Mr. H]

I see that the show had been out in Canada, but its Ytv page dosen't seem to have too much.

[Mr. H]

Do you know when the official website gets updated next?