Since 1971, the Mr Males and Little Miss characters created by Roger and Adam Hargreaves have entertained kids and impressed creatives worldwide. Whereas we consider them as a quintessentially English creation, they’re a global phenomenon. When rights proprietor Sanrio determined to create a brand new YouTube collection that includes 12 of the Mr Males and Little Misses, Maga Animation Studio in Monza, Italy, stepped as much as the duty.
Bringing characters designed over 50 years in the past to life in 2025 meant some updating can be obligatory. The inventive workforce at Maga wished to protect the spirit of the unique Hargreaves creations whereas attracting a brand new era. The graphic qualities of the books – which have impressed everybody from graffiti artists to brand designers – shaped the place to begin for the look.
“The thought was to maintain the simplicity of the weather and the originality of the shapes,” says artwork director and manufacturing designer Alessia Garofalo. “Within the books, there may be a whole lot of respiratory house, so we selected to not overload the backgrounds with too many parts to not lose this lightness. We initially experimented with completely different prospects, like including textures and shades, however the usage of flat colors was your best option to protect the authenticity of the model and the unique design.”
Nevertheless, whereas within the books, you will discover that the heavy linework of the characters is usually replicated within the background, for the animated collection, a lighter strategy was chosen. This resolution was taken in session with Sanrio’s UK workforce. “We additionally labored collectively to boost the color palettes, making them extra energetic and vibrant,” says Alessia.
The storyboard sketches.
Planning a transition.
Toon Growth Storyboard Professional.
These inventive choices set the stage for placing the Mr Males and Little Miss characters in movement, which was the area of director and animation supervisor Francesca Peitrobelli. The in-print characters had been studied intimately to make sure the animators would not miss a single nuance or trait. The main focus was on creating movement that was fluid, easy, theatrical and charming, with a contact of humour.
“The pose-to-pose type was good for these animated shorts that should resemble an illustrated e-book coming to life and to maintain the characters persistently aligned with their unique fashions,” explains Francesca. “For a similar motive, in every episode, there are scenography transitions with parts coming into and exiting from all instructions, just like a theatrical set altering because the characters carry out.”
The characterisation of every Mr Man and Little Miss was deliberate earlier than animation started, taking into consideration their visible types in addition to their dialogue and the expressions and feelings they’d have to convey.
“For instance, Little Miss Princess must have candy and shy poses, and when she laughs or cries, it must be extra restrained. Then again, Little Miss Shock and Little Miss Sunshine categorical their enthusiasm in all the pieces they do with open poses and a continuing smile. Quite the opposite, Mr Grumpy has extra closed-off poses and a tragic or offended mouth, besides when he explodes with anger,” says Francesca.
A standard, paperless 2D animation course of was adopted, utilising Toon Growth Concord, with pose-to-pose animation rigs supported by a custom-built library to realize consistency and effectivity. Compositing was additionally carried out in Concord.
Left to proper Francesca Pietrobelli, Serena Beltrame, Eleonora Di Nardo; entrance centre Alessia Garofalo.
“I grew to become very keen on Little Miss Princess as a result of she’s a bit clumsy and awkward,” says Francesca.
“Whereas engaged on this collection, I grew very keen on Little Miss Sunshine, who actually impressed me together with her optimistic vitality and optimist view of life, though I feel it’s very high-quality to narrate extra to Mr Grumpy typically,” provides Alessia.
