Mr. Men Show Blog

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

A new friend

We are busy as ever over here at the Mr. Men Camp, and I'm happy to report I have a new friend to introduce you to. Meet Adam Idelson, a new producer on the Mr. Men Show. Adam is working with Kurt and I to supervise production of the series. I figured rather than me tell you about him, I'd have him speak for himself.

Meet Adam

SM: Hey Adam! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
AI: I live in New York City with my wife and 2 kids, Simon (age 9) & Talia (age 6) plus their pet snail named “Buffalo.”  I don’t know how old he is.

SM: Hello Buffalo. So how did you get into Producing/Children’s television?
AI: My first job in kids TV was at Nickelodeon.   I wrote and produced the “interstitials” - which is a fancy word for the short films and promos that are in-between the shows.  It was great training for working on The Mr. Men Show, since the half hour show is made up of short sketches.   And its also where I first met Eryk Casemiro & Kate Boutelier, years before they created the Mr. Men Show.

SM: When you were a kid, what was your favorite children’s book or television series?
AI: I loved (and still do) the old Warner Brothers Looney Tunes, especially Bugs Bunny.  They were such a perfect combination of verbal humor and silly slapstick and they still influence cartoons today.  I think the Mr. Men Show follows proudly in that tradition.   I also loved this weird Japanese show that would come on some afternoons, “Ultraman.”  It was a live-action show where every week a monster would destroy Japan and then this giant silver guy would destroy the monster.

SM: What was your first experience with the Mr. Men brand?
AI: We had a few of the books when my kids were in pre-school and kindergarten.  I always liked the quirky sense of humor (plus how short they were when trying to get the kids to bed).   

SM: Which is your favorite MMLM character and why?
AI: I was going to say “Mr. Grumpy” because he reminds me of me, especially first thing in the morning.  But that’s not a good thing to say when you’re producing a show and trying to keep everybody upbeat and inspired.   So how about Mr. Happy?  Yeah, that’s it... Mr. Happy.  (But really its Mr. Grumpy.)

SM: What’s your favorite thing about the show?
AI: The first time I watched the show, I was a little overwhelmed by all the characters running around on screen, literally bouncing off each other.   But now that I know each of them better, I love that.   It’s a lot of fun getting a new script from Eryk & Kate, seeing who shows up and trying to guess what will happen.

SM: Have you been to the website, what do you think? Have a favorite game?
AI: The website is looking great!  Its cool that there is so much original content – something for each character.   There’s a new Mr. Bump pinball game that’s a lot of fun.  My kids like to just go to the homepage and rollover characters to hear them speak.  Plus, you can pick a different language and hear Mr. Rude not just sound French, but speak actual French!

SM: What was the most surprising thing about joining the Mr. Men team/working on the show?
AI: So far no big surprises but there’s plenty of time...

SM: If you weren’t working on Mr. Men what would you love to be doing right now?
AI: Drawing with my son.  Only he’s getting better than me.  And my daughter is catching up on him.  They both love to draw Mr. Men characters and sometimes make up their own.

Stay tuned for more fun - Sarah