Mr. Bean (animated TV series)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Mr. Bean: The Animated Series'' (simply known as ''Mr. Bean'') is a British
animated sitcom An animated sitcom is a subgenre of the sitcom that is animation, animated instead of live action and is generally made or created for adult animation, adult audiences in most cases. ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''The Simpsons'', ''South Park'', and ...
produced by
Tiger Aspect Productions Tiger Aspect Productions (formerly known as Tiger Television from 1988 until 1993 and also known as Tiger Aspect Films for theatrical films) is a British television and film production company, particularly noted for its situation comedies. Fo ...
in association with Richard Purdum Productions and Varga Holdings (for the first three series). Based on the 1990–1995 British live-action television sitcom of the same title created by
Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...
and
Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...
, the series centres on
Mr. Bean ''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside Curtis and R ...
(voiced by Atkinson), Teddy, Irma Gobb and the
Reliant Regal The Reliant Regal is a small three-wheeled car and van that was manufactured from 1952 to 1973 by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England, replacing the earlier Reliant Regent three-wheeled cyclecar van which had its origins in a des ...
's mysterious driver, with the addition of new characters such as Bean's landlady Mrs. Wicket and her cat Scrapper. In February 2001, the series was officially announced. Debuting on 5 January 2002 and originally ending on 2 June 2004, the first three series featuring 52 episodes in total was broadcast, each consisting of two 11-minute segments. The first two series were originally broadcast on
ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...
at a
prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
Saturday night slot. In May 2004, the series left the Saturday night prime time timeslot on ITV1 following the broadcast of the first two series and the third series was instead broadcast daily on
CITV CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
, due to the show's popularity with younger audiences. In January 2014, a revival of the series was announced, with
Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...
returning as the voice of Mr. Bean, along with other cast members reprising their roles. The revival featured two new series and 78 episodes; it premiered on 16 February 2015 and ended on 8 October 2019 on CITV. The revival contained more actual dialogue than in the original series, which mostly featured little sound effects and mumbling. On November 22, 2022, Tiger Aspect Productions resumed production of the revival television series.


Characters


Main

*
Mr. Bean ''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside Curtis and R ...
(voiced by
Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...
) – The series' title character and main
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
, a childish, self-absorbed and extremely competitive individual living in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
who is almost always dressed in his trademark
tweed jacket A sport coat, also called a sport jacket (or sports coat or sports jacket in American English), is a men's smart casual lounge jacket designed to be worn on its own without matching trousers, traditionally for sporting purposes. Styles, fabrics, ...
and a thin red tie, and often brings various abnormal schemes and contrivances to everyday tasks like his live-action counterpart. Despite this, he is depicted in the animated series as more competent and less buffoonish than his live-action counterpart as well as that he talks more in complete sentences compared to his live-action counterpart, who rarely spoke a few mumbled words that are all in a comically low-pitched voice (especially in the later series). * Teddy – Mr. Bean's
teddy bear A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy b ...
and lifelong best friend. Despite being inanimate, Bean pretends that Teddy is alive like in the original live action series. * Mrs. Julia Wicket (voiced by
Sally Grace Sally Grace (born 10 September 1951) is an English actress who has worked extensively on radio and television and in animation. Life and career Grace was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, and trained at the Guildhall School of Music ...
) – Mr. Bean's elderly and grouchy landlady who often despises Bean and his antics, though deep down, she does have a soft spot for him (which becomes more prominent in the later series). As a
running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not ...
, she screams out loud during bad situations, which often scares birds outside the flat. As depicted in the episode "Young Bean", the reason why she hates Bean so much is because in the past, a young Bean accidentally ruined her wedding by riding his go-kart down a hill and crashing into her and her groom. In the three Seasons, she is playing an antagonistic role of each episodes. * Scrapper – Mrs. Wicket's mischievous one-eyed pet
cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
who despises Mr. Bean, much like his owner. * Irma Gobb (voiced by
Matilda Ziegler Matilda Ziegler (born 23 July 1964) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Donna Ludlow in ''EastEnders'', Irma Gobb in ''Mr. Bean'', and Pearl Pratt in ''Lark Rise to Candleford''. Television and film career Ziegler's first screen r ...
) – Mr. Bean's long-suffering girlfriend who debuted in the original live-action series episode " The Curse of Mr. Bean". Like her original live-action counterpart, Irma is depicted as more intelligent and significantly less buffoonish than Bean, which often results in her having an often-strained relationship with the latter. She is also depicted in the series as a worker at a local library. * Miss Mary Wince – Mrs. Wicket's best friend, who often stops by her flat for tea and watches wrestling with her. She is called Mary in the episode "A Royal Makeover". * Mr. Bean's
Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
– Mr. Bean's vehicle, a citron-green Mini with a matte black
bonnet A Bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include Scottish * Blue bonnet, a distinctive woollen cap worn by men in Scotland from the 15th-18th centuries And its derivations: ** Fea ...
. As a running gag, Bean keeps it locked with a bolt-latch and padlock rather than the lock fitted to the car like in the original live action series. Unlike in the live action series where the Mini's registration number is "SLW 287R", the registration number in the animated series is "STE 952R". *
Reliant Regal The Reliant Regal is a small three-wheeled car and van that was manufactured from 1952 to 1973 by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England, replacing the earlier Reliant Regent three-wheeled cyclecar van which had its origins in a des ...
– A light-blue and three-wheeled car which, as another running gag, is always getting turned over or crashed out of its parking space or into anywhere by Mr. Bean in his Mini, who is usually oblivious to the results like in the original live action series. Unlike in the live action series where the Reliant's registration number is "GRA 26K", the registration number in the animated series is "DUW 742".


Supporting

* Burglars – A duo of criminals (one stocky and the other small) who are masters of disguises and regularly go across London committing various crimes, but nevertheless suffer defeat at the hands of Mr. Bean (mainly at times when Bean is their victim or witness), who then has the local police arrest them. * Bruiser family – Mr. Bean and Mrs. Wicket's next-door neighbours, a
working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
overweight family who sometimes act as Bean's adversaries. While appearing as a whole family in the episodes "Neighbourly Bean", "Scaredy Bean", "Home Movie", "Litterbugs", "Super Spy" and "Dig This", the Bruisers appear as father and son in most episodes. *
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
– The queen regnant of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, of whom Mr. Bean is a fan. *
Traffic Warden A parking enforcement officer (PEO),United S ...
– An unnamed parking enforcement officer who previously appeared on the original live action series episode " The Trouble with Mr. Bean". As the name of her job implies, she locates and tickets illegally-parked cars across London. As Mr. Bean habitually parks his Mini in the wrong places, she promptly gets in his way which puts him at odds with her. She is very committed at her duty, even to the point of ticketing a police vehicle once. * Librarian – The boss of the library where Irma works, who is seen from Series 2 onwards. * Lottie – Irma Gobb's teddy bear who looks identical to Teddy, except she has eyelashes, a red bow and a skirt. She is portrayed as Teddy's girlfriend, but Mr. Bean disapproves of this relationship (with the exception of the episode "Double Trouble"). * Mrs. Wicket's nephew - The unnamed nephew of Mrs. Wicket who debuted in Series 5. He is usually seen playing video games at his aunt's flat. * Declan – A friend of Irma Gobb who debuted in Series 5. He is also a rival of Mr. Bean when it comes to winning her heart.


Voice cast

*
Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...
as Mr. Bean *
Sally Grace Sally Grace (born 10 September 1951) is an English actress who has worked extensively on radio and television and in animation. Life and career Grace was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, and trained at the Guildhall School of Music ...
as Mrs. Julia Wicket *
Matilda Ziegler Matilda Ziegler (born 23 July 1964) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Donna Ludlow in ''EastEnders'', Irma Gobb in ''Mr. Bean'', and Pearl Pratt in ''Lark Rise to Candleford''. Television and film career Ziegler's first screen r ...
as Irma Gobb


Episodes

A sixth series will start in November 2022 before Christmas. A seventh series (half of Season 4) was announced.


Reception

The show was met with mostly positive reviews from television critics.
Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.
, an education and advocacy group that promotes safe technology and media for children, gave the show 3 stars and wrote that the "UK
slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...
cartoon sgeared toward older kids, adults."


Home media

''Mr. Bean: The Animated Series'' has been released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
by
A&E Home Video A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company o ...
in Region 1, and by
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...
in Regions 2 and 4. In the United States, the first three series of the series were released entirely on six volumes while in the United Kingdom and Australia, the six volumes only contained 47 out of all the 52 episodes, to which the remaining five episodes instead appeared as extra features on DVDs of the original live action series. The reason for this was that when the five episodes were classified by the
British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...
in the United Kingdom, they were each given a PG certificate instead of a U certificate unlike the other episodes. It was then decided that all DVDs of the series should have a U certificate each, resulting in the five PG-rated episodes not being included. In Region 4, the DVD ''Mr. Bean: The Animated Series: Season 2, Volume 3 – Racing Adventures'' was an exclusive product for
Big W Big W (stylized as BIG W) is an Australian chain of discount department stores, which was founded in regional New South Wales in 1964. The company is a division of Woolworths Group and as at 2019 operated 176 stores, with around 22,000 employee ...
; nowadays, it is no longer available.


In other media

A third-person
platform video game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
based on the series was released in the late 2000s on multiple platforms. It was first released in
PAL region The PAL region is a television publication territory that covers most of Europe and Africa, alongside parts of Asia, South America and Oceania. It is named PAL because of the PAL (Phase Alternating Line) television standard traditionally used in ...
s as ''Mr. Bean'' on the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
,
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
and
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. A
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
of the game, titled ''Mr. Bean's Wacky World'', was also released shortly after those versions in the same regions, with a North American localisation of the port being available in 2011. Multiple apps based on the series have been released such as ''Mr. Bean: Around the World'', ''Mr. Bean: Flying Teddy'', ''Mr. Bean: Sandwich Stack,'' and ''Mr. Bean: Special Delivery,'' which are available globally on
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
, Android and
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
mobile devices.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mister Bean: The Animated Series Mr. Bean 2000s British animated television series 2010s British animated television series 2000s British animated comedy television series 2010s British animated comedy television series 2000s British sitcoms 2010s British sitcoms 2002 British television series debuts 2019 British television series endings Animation based on real people British children's animated comedy television series British adult animated comedy television series English-language television shows British television series revived after cancellation Television series created by Rowan Atkinson Television series created by Richard Curtis Television series by Tiger Aspect Productions Television series by Endemol Television series by Fremantle (company) Television shows set in London Television shows adapted into video games