French entertainment studio Watch Next Media has signed a far-reaching deal with Mr. Men Little Miss, part of the Japanese company Sanrio’s catalog of popular characters, securing the TV and VOD rights to the global brand.
With this, the studio announced it is developing a 78 x 7’ 2D-animated preschool comedy series for the property. Paris-based international distributor, Kids First, which sells all series produced by its shareholder Watch Next Media, has global distribution rights to the new show.
“The Mr. Men Little Miss characters are universally recognizable by their simple illustrations and iconic names and are relatable to every age, culture, personality and gender, and we are excited to be bring them to life in this latest iteration of the brand,” said Philippe Alessandri, President of Watch Next and Kids First.
The Mr. Men Little Miss family now consists of more than 90 characters. The brand’s extensive publishing heritage boasts 250 million book sales worldwide, stories translated in 17 different languages and available in 28 countries. The Mr. Men Little Miss titles continue to top the book ranking charts across the world as well as heritage markets in France and U.K.
The book series, created by Roger Hargreaves, began publication in 1971 with Mr. Tickle. Roger’s son Adam Hargreaves continues to write and illustrate the books, with new characters continuing to be added to the family.
Watch Next Media has a number of scripts for the new series written by British writers James Walsh (Hey Duggee, Pip & Posy) and Myles McLeod (The Rubbish World of Dave Spud, Lloyd of the Flies), featuring much-loved characters including Mr. Happy, Mr. Messy, Little Miss Sunshine and Little Miss Chatterbox, with a another script being written by the award-winning The Black Sheep writing duo Ciaran Murtagh and Andrew Barnett Jones (Mr. Bean: The Animated Series, The Amazing World of Gumball).
The new Mr. Men Little Miss animated series will continue development throughout 2025, with production starting in 2026.
“Sanrio and Watch Next Media and Kids First have worked together on the hit TV series Hello Kitty: Super Style! and we are now excited to announce this new partnership to produce the Mr. Men Little Miss TV series, bringing the humour and values of our beloved brand into the homes of all new and existing fans,” said Silvia Figini, COO Sanrio (EMEA, India & Oceania) / Mr. Men (Worldwide).
