Mr. Bean: The Animated Series

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Mr. Bean
Mr-bean-animated-episode-opening-card.PNG
GenreAnimated sitcom
Comedy
Based on
Directed by
  • Richard Purdum (series 1)
  • Miklós Varga (series 1)
  • Sergey Gordeev (series 1)
  • Katalin Móré (series 1)
  • Mihály Sikur (series 1)
  • Evgueni Pavlenko and Elena Rogova (series 1)
  • Andrei Ignatenko (series 1)
  • Tim Fehrenbach (series 1)
  • Dave Osborne (series 1)
  • John Howard Davies (series 2)
  • John Birkin (series 2)
  • Clark Johnson (series 2)
Voices of
ComposerHoward Goodall
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series5
No. of episodes130 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Rowan Atkinson
  • Katherine Senior
  • Peter Bennett-Jones (series 1)
  • Christopher Skala (series 1)
  • Karla Sakas Shropshire (series 1)
Producers
  • Claudia Lloyd (series 1)
  • Tom Beattie (series 1)
Editors
  • Mark Edwards (series 1)
  • Thomas Ernst (series 1)
  • Graham Silcock (series 1)
  • Luke Robinson (series 1)
  • Richard Curtis (series 2)
Running time11 minutes
Production companies
Distributor
Release
Original networkITV (2002–2004)
CITV (2004–present)
Audio formatDolby Surround (2002)
Dolby Digital (2003–present)
Original release5 January 2002 (2002-01-05) –
8 October 2019 (2019-10-08)
Chronology
Related showsMr. Bean
External links
Website

Mr. Bean: The Animated Series, also known as Mr. Bean, is an animated sitcom produced by Tiger Aspect Productions 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 name created by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, the series centres on Mr. Bean (voiced by the latter), Teddy, Irma Gobb and the Reliant Regal's mysterious driver, with the addition of new characters such as Bean's landlady Mrs. Wicket and her disobedient cat Scrapper in her house in the London Borough of Kensington. In February 2001, the series was officially announced.[3][4]

Debuting on 5 January 2002 and originally ending on 2 June 2004, the first series of 52 episodes was broadcast, each consisting of two 11-minute segments. Episodes 1-34 were originally broadcast on ITV1 at a prime time Saturday night slot. In May 2004, the series left the Saturday night prime-time timeslot on ITV1 and the subsequent seasons were instead broadcast daily on CITV due to the show's popularity with younger audiences.

In January 2014, CITV announced a revival of the series with Rowan Atkinson returning as the voice of Mr. Bean, along with other cast members reprising their roles. The revival featured two series and 78 new episodes; the new episodes began airing from 16 February 2015.[5] The revival contained more actual dialogue than in the original series, which mostly featured little sound effects and mumbling. The series was also aired as part of Cartoon Network's Sunday Pants.

Characters[]

Mr Bean animated characters.jpeg

Main[]

  • Mr. Bean (voiced by Rowan Atkinson) – The title character and main protagonist, a childish buffoon who brings various unusual schemes and contrivances to everyday tasks. He is almost always seen in his trademark tweed jacket and a skinny red tie. He also usually wears a watch. Mr. Bean rarely speaks, and when he does, it is generally only a few mumbled words which are in a comically low-pitched voice. His first name (he names himself "Bean" to others) and profession, if any, are never mentioned. Atkinson has acknowledged that Bean "has a slightly alien aspect to him". In the episode "Double Trouble", the alien aspect of him was used in a storyline in which he is taken inside a spacecraft with aliens who look exactly like him and even have their own plushy toys. Towards the end, the aliens send him back home in a beam of light and music similar to the opening of the original live action series. Whether Bean is an extraterrestrial is not made clear.
  • Teddy – Mr. Bean's teddy bear and lifelong best friend. Despite being an inanimate object, Bean pretends that Teddy is alive, much like in the original live action series.
  • Mrs. Wicket (voiced by Sally Grace) – Mr. Bean's mean-spirited and elderly landlady who often despises Bean, though deep down, she does care about him. As a running gag, she screams out loud during bad situations, which often scares the birds outside the apartment. She also enjoys wrestling on television with her friend that occasionally drops by for tea. She served as an antagonist from episodes 1-18 of Series 1, and becomes nicer, but still mean to Mr. Bean from episodes 19-52 of Series 1 and onwards.
  • Scrapper – Mrs. Wicket's mischievous one-eyed pet cat who despises Mr. Bean, much like his owner.
  • Irma Gobb (voiced by Matilda Ziegler) – Mr. Bean's long-suffering girlfriend, just like she is in the live action series. From Series 2 onwards, Irma is frequently seen working at the library. Matilda Ziegler was also the actor for Irma Gobb in the original live action series.
  • Miss Wince – A friend of Mrs. Wicket, she is called Mary in the episode A Royal Makeover.
  • Mr. Bean's Mini – Mr. Bean's vehicle, a citron-green Mini with a matte black bonnet. In the animated series, the registration number is "STE 952R" when in the original live action series the registration number is "SLW 287R". Throughout the sitcom, Bean keeps it locked with a bolt-latch and padlock rather than the lock fitted to the car, just like the running gag in the original live action series.
  • Reliant Regal – A light-blue, three-wheeled car that is always getting turned over or crashed out of its parking space by Mr. Bean in his Mini, who is usually oblivious to the results just like the running gag in the original live action series. In the animated series, the registration number is "DUW 742" when in the original live action series the registration number is "GRA 26K".

Supporting characters[]

  • The Burglars – A duo of thieves (one stocky and the other small) who frequently commit crimes while in various disguises, but are nevertheless frequently defeated and arrested by the police, mainly when Mr. Bean is their victim or witness.
  • The Bruisers – Mr. Bean and Mrs. Wicket's neighbours, a working class overweight family consisting of a father, mother, three spoiled children and a Doberman. While they do appear as a whole family in the episodes "Neighbourly Bean", "Scaredy Bean" and "Super Spy", the Bruisers appear as father and son in most episodes.
  • Queen Elizabeth II – The queen regnant of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, of whom Mr. Bean is a fan.
  • The Traffic Warden – A parking enforcement officer who appeared previously in the original live action series episode "The Trouble with Mr. Bean", who locates and tickets illegally-parked cars across London. Due to Mr. Bean habitually parking his Mini illegally, she promptly gets in his way, which puts Bean at odds with her. She is very committed at her duty, even to the point of ticketing a police vehicle once.
  • The Librarian – The co-worker of Irma Gobb who also works at the library, 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 - Sometimes seen from Series 3 onwards playing video games at Mrs. Wicket's flat.
  • Mr. Pod – A man who is identical to Mr. Bean. Instead of having a Teddy, he has a toy penguin called Pengy. He also has a citron-green mini with a matte black bonnet. However, the registration number is "POD XT1" and the car is not locked with a bolt-latch and padlock attached to the door.[6] He only appears in the episode "Double Trouble". Mr. Pod is not the only doppelgänger of Bean to appear in the episode; in it, Bean boards a spaceship and the inhabitants of the ship all look exactly like him.[7]
  • Declan – A friend of Irma Gobb, seen from Series 3 onwards. He is also a rival of Mr. Bean when it comes to winning her heart.

Episodes[]

Main article: List of Mr. Bean (animated TV series) episodes
SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1185 January 200226 March 2002
21616 February 20035 April 2003
3186 May 20042 June 2004
45216 February 201510 March 2016
Special130 October 2018
5269 April 20198 October 2019

Reception[]

The show was met with mostly positive reviews from television critics. Common Sense Media, an education and advocacy group that promotes safe technology and media for children, gave the show 3 stars and wrote that the "UK slapstick cartoon [is] geared toward older kids, adults."[8]

Home media[]

Mr. Bean: The Animated Series has been released on DVD by A&E Home Video in Region 1, and by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment 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 of the 52 episodes, to which the 'Art Thief','Haircut'and 'Scaredy Bean' episodes instead appeared each as extra features on DVD 4 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 in the United Kingdom, they were each given a PG certificate instead of a U certificate, unlike the other episodes. It was decided that all the 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; nowadays, it is no longer available.[9]

Mr. Bean: The Animated Series home video releases
Series Episodes Release dates
 United States  United Kingdom  Australia
1 2002 18 Volume 1: Bean There, Done That: 30 September 2003[10]
Episode(s) featured: "Nurse!" – "The Bottle"
Volume 4: Grin and Bean It: 28 September 2004[11]
Episode(s) featured: "No Parking" • "Bean's Bounty"
Volume 6: It's Not Easy Being Bean: 28 September 2004
Episode(s) featured: "In the Wild" • "Missing Teddy" • "Mime Games" – "Homeless"		 Volume 1: Eight Amazing Adventures: 29 August 2005; twentieth anniversary reissue: 6 September 2010; twenty-fifth anniversary reissue: 20 July 2015
Episode(s) featured: "In the Wild" – "Spring Clean"
Volume 2: Eight Exciting Escapades: 27 March 2006; twentieth anniversary reissue: 6 September 2010
Episode(s) featured: "Birthday Bear" – "Homeless"
Volume 4: Seven Smashing Stories: 13 November 2006; twentieth anniversary reissue: 6 September 2010
Episode(s) featured: "Nurse!" – "The Bottle"
The Bean Boxset!: 18 March 2008; twentieth anniversary reissue: 6 September 2010
Cat-Sitting and More Paw-some Adventures!: 29 August 2016
Episode(s) featured: "Birthday Bear" • "The Mole" • "Dead Cat" • "Magpie" • "Cat-Sitting"
Egg and Bean and Other Springtime Surprises: 3 April 2017
Episode(s) featured: "Spring Clean"		 Volume 1: Eight Amazing Adventures: 18 August 2004
Episode(s) featured: "In the Wild" – "Spring Clean"
Volume 2: Eight Exciting Escapades: 4 July 2007
Episode(s) featured: "Birthday Bear" – "Homeless"
Volume 4: Seven Smashing Stories: 28 October 2009
Episode(s) featured: "Nurse!" – "The Bottle"
2 2003 16 Volume 1: Bean There, Done That: 30 September 2003
Episode(s) featured: "Goldfish" • "Inventor"
Volume 2: Whatever Will Bean, Will Bean: 30 March 2004[12]
Episode(s) featured: "Royal Bean" – "Restaurant"
Volume 3: It's All Bean to Me: 30 March 2004
Episode(s) featured: "Art Thief" – "Wanted"		 Volume 3: Eight Terrific Tales: 31 July 2006; twentieth anniversary reissue: 6 September 2010
Episode(s) featured: "Royal Bean" – "Toothache"
Volume 4: Seven Smashing Stories: 13 November 2006; twentieth anniversary reissue: 6 September 2010
Episode(s) featured: "Neighbourly Bean"
Volume 5: Eight Eventful Escapades: 19 March 2007; twentieth anniversary reissue: 9 September 2010
Episode(s) featured: "Inventor" • "Car Trouble" • "Restaurant" • "Wanted"
The Bean Boxset!: 18 March 2008; twentieth anniversary reissue: 6 September 2010
Cat-Sitting and More Paw-some Adventures!: 29 August 2016
Episode(s) featured: "In the Pink"
On Thin Ice and Other Winter Wonders: 2 October 2017
Episode(s) featured: "Young Bean" • "Dinner for Two"		 Volume 3: Eight Terrific Tales: 28 October 2009
Episode(s) featured: "Royal Bean" – "Toothache"
Volume 4: Seven Smashing Stories: 28 October 2009
Episode(s) featured: "Neighbourly Bean"
Volume 5: Eight Eventful Escapades: 28 October 2009
Episode(s) featured: "Inventor" • "Car Trouble" • "Restaurant" • "Wanted"
3 2004 18 Volume 3: It's All Bean to Me: 30 March 2004
Episode(s) featured: "Gadget Kid" – "Keyboard Capers"
Volume 4: Grin and Bean It: 28 September 2004
Episode(s) featured: "Artful Bean" – "Egg and Bean"
Volume 5: The Ends Justify the Beans: 28 September 2004
Episode(s) featured: "Camping" – "Double Trouble"		 Volume 1: Eight Amazing Adventures: 29 August 2005; twentieth anniversary reissue: 6 September 2010; twenty-fifth anniversary reissue: 20 July 2015
Episode(s) featured: "Artful Bean" • "The Fly"
Volume 2: Eight Exciting Escapades: 27 March 2006; twentieth anniversary reissue: 6 September 2010
Episode(s) featured: "No Pets" • "Ray of Sunshine"
Volume 3: Eight Terrific Tales: 31 July 2006; twentieth anniversary reissue: 6 September 2010
Episode(s) featured: "Camping" • "Chocks Away"
Volume 5: Eight Eventful Escapades: 19 March 2007; twentieth anniversary reissue: 9 September 2010
Episode(s) featured: "Gadget Kid" – "Keyboard Capers"
Volume 6: Eight Sticky Scrapes: 22 November 2007; twentieth anniversary reissue: 9 September 2010
Episode(s) featured: "A Royal Makeover" – "Egg and Bean" • "Hopping Mad!" • "A Grand Invitation" • "Bean in Love" • "Double Trouble"
The Bean Boxset!: 18 March 2008; twentieth anniversary reissue: 6 September 2010
Cat-Sitting and More Paw-some Adventures!: 29 August 2016
Episode(s) featured: "The Fly" • "Hopping Mad!" • "No Pets"
Egg and Bean and Other Springtime Surprises: 3 April 2017
Episode(s) featured: "Egg and Bean" • "Hopping Mad!" • "Ray of Sunshine"		 Volume 1: Eight Amazing Adventures: 18 August 2004
Episode(s) featured: "Artful Bean" • "The Fly"
Volume 2: Eight Exciting Escapades: 4 July 2007
Episode(s) featured: "No Pets" • "Ray of Sunshine"
Volume 3: Eight Terrific Tales: 28 October 2009
Episode(s) featured: "Camping" • "Chocks Away"
Volume 5: Eight Eventful Escapades: 28 October 2009
Episode(s) featured: "Gadget Kid" – "Keyboard Capers"
Volume 6: Eight Sticky Scrapes: 28 October 2009
Episode(s) featured: "A Royal Makeover" – "Egg and Bean" • "Hopping Mad!" • "A Grand Invitation" • "Bean in Love" • "Double Trouble"
4 2015–16 52 N/A Volume 7: Nine Tremendous Tales (Original release) / Home Movie and More Tremendous Tales! (2017 New Cover Re release): 7 September 2015
Episode(s) featured: "Home Movie" – "Valentine's Bean"
Volume 8: Nine Splendid Stories (Original release) / Holiday For Teddy and More Tantalising Tales! (2017 New Cover Re release): 19 October 2015
Episode(s) featured: "All You Can Eat" – "Lord Bean"
Volume 9: Racing Adventures and More Exciting Escapades!: 23 May 2016
Episode(s) featured: "Car Wars" – "Taxi Bean"
Volume 10: Halloween and More Awesome Stories!: 3 October 2016
Episode(s) featured: "Muscle Bean" – "Halloween"
Volume 11: SuperBean and Other Splendid Stories!: 30 January 2017
Episode(s) featured: "Wrestle Bean" – "Ice Cream"
Egg and Bean and Other Springtime Surprises: 3 April 2017
Episode(s) featured: "Holiday for Teddy" • "Scout Bean" • "A New Friend" • "Ice Cream"
Volume 12: Birthday Bean and Friends: 24 July 2017
Episode(s) featured: "Bean Painting" • "Birthday Party" – "Bean Shopping"
On Thin Ice and Other Winter Wonders: 2 October 2017
Episode(s) featured: "Green Bean" • "Rat Trap" • "Viral Bean" • "Lord Bean" • "Jurassic Bean"		 Volume 7: Nine Tremendous Tales: 24 September 2015
Episode(s) featured: "Home Movie" – "Valentine's Bean"
Volume 8: Nine Splendid Stories: 24 September 2015
Episode(s) featured: "All You Can Eat" – "Lord Bean"
Volume 9: Racing Adventures and More Exciting Escapades!: 16 June 2016[13]
Episode(s) featured: "Car Wars" – "Taxi Bean"
Volume 10: Halloween and More Awesome Stories!: 2017
Episode(s) featured: "Muscle Bean" – "Halloween"
Volume 11: SuperBean and Other Splendid Stories!: 2017
Episode(s) featured: "Wrestle Bean" – "Ice Cream"
5 2019 26 N/A Mr.Bean Volume 13: TBA

In other media[]

A third-person platform video game based on the series was released in the late 2000s on multiple platforms. It was first released in PAL regions as Mr. Bean on the PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS and Microsoft Windows. A Wii port of the game, titled Mr. Bean's Wacky World, was also released shortly after those versions in the same regions, with a North American localization of the port being available in 2011.

Multiple apps based on the series have been released such as Mr. Bean: Around the World,[14] Mr. Bean: Flying Teddy, Mr. Bean: Sandwich Stack, and Mr. Bean: Special Delivery, which are available globally on iOS, Android and Amazon mobile devices.

An animated CGI movie based on the Mr. Bean character is in development.[15]

References[]

  1. ^ "Toonhound – Mr Bean: The Animated Series". 19 May 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
  2. ^ https://www.c21media.net/news/broadcasters-still-keen-on-tigers-bumbling-bean/
  3. ^ Deans, Jason (6 February 2001). "Mr Bean turned into cartoon". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Mr.Bean To Become A Cartoon". 10 October 2000. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Rowan Atkinson working on new animated Mr Bean series". British Comedy Guide. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  6. ^ Double Trouble and More (YouTube video). Official Mr Bean Channel. 4 October 2017. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Mr Bean: 25 facts and figures for his 25th anniversary". Radio Times. 15 February 2015.
  8. ^ "Mr. Bean: The Animated Series". Common Sense Media. 29 June 2011.
  9. ^ Mr. Bean: The Animated Series: Season 2, Volume 3 – Racing Adventures DVD, retrieved 24 July 2018
  10. ^ "Mr. Bean (2002): It's Not Easy Being Bean / Bean There, Done That". Amazon.com. 2 September 2003.
  11. ^ "Mr. Bean (2002): Grin and Bean It / The Ends Justify the Beans". Amazon.com. 31 August 2004.
  12. ^ "Mr. Bean (2002): Whatever Will Bean, Will Bean / It's All Bean to Me". Amazon.com. 2 September 2003.
  13. ^ "Mr. Bean Animated Season 2 – Volume 3 DVD R4 for sale online". eBay.
  14. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ "Mr.Bean Movie". 5 January 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.

External links[]

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