By Alice Baghdjian
LONDON | Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:41pm EDT
LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Monsieur Chatouille, Don Cosquillas, Unser Herr Killekille all tickled the butcher and the policeman and no matter what language you speak, Mr Tickle's extraordinarily long arms continue to delight young readers all around the world.
The bright orange character celebrated his 40th birthday on Wednesday.
Mr. Tickle, created by Roger Hargreaves as an answer to his six-year-old son's question "what does a tickle look like?", along with Messrs Greedy, Nosey, Happy, Bump and Sneeze, formed the foundation of the Mr. Men children's books when they were first published in 1971.
The series of 49 Mr. Men and 36 Little Miss books has sold 120 million books worldwide since their first appearance -- an average of one copy sold every 2.5 seconds.
"It is truly incredible that something so personal to my father went on to become such a global phenomenon," Adam Hargreaves, son of creator Roger Hargreaves and now the face of the Mr. Men empire, said in a statement.
"If he were alive today, I think he would be ecstatic to see how popular his creations have become. My dad managed to capture basic human characteristics that can be recognised as part of each and every one of us. We've all been a Mr. Happy, Mr. Funny and even a Little Miss Naughty at times," he said.
In the last decade Roger Hargreaves became one of best-selling British authors, alongside Harry Potter creator J.K Rowling.
Adam Hargreaves took over the Mr. Men series after his father's death in 1988 and has continued to create characters, even special editions based on real people.
The latest Little Miss character, Little Miss Princess, was published in March this year to coincide the British royal wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William, while British designer Stella McCartney was the inspiration for Little Miss Stella in 2006.
The brand has spawned two television series across the globe, beginning with the 1970s series in Britain, narrated by Arthur Lowe. A modern-day Mr. Men Show, produced by entertainment group Chorion, who now own the rights to the Mr. Men characters, airs in Britain, the United States, France and Australia.
(Edited by Paul Casciato)
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