Mr. Tickle is the first book in the Mr. Men series by Roger Hargreaves which was published on August 10, 1971. The titular character is an orange Mr. Man who has long, bendy arms and a small, blue hat.
The character was originally based on a question by Roger's son Adam Hargreaves, who asked him what a tickle would look like; the claim of which is currently being disputed.
Plot Mr. Tickle's story begins while he is in bed, getting himself a biscuit without getting up, because of his "extraordinary long arms". He then decides that it is a tickling sort of day, thus he journeys into town to tickle people: a teacher, a policeman, a greengrocer, a station guard, a doctor, a butcher, and a postman. The book ends with Mr. Tickle thinking about all the people he tickled that day and the author warning the reader that Mr. Tickle could be seen at the reader's door, wanting to tickle them.
It is a Mr. Men book where the main character is amoral, tickling everyone, yet there is no corrective action taken to mend his ways. Because of this, Mr. Tickle is left free to tickle the next day, learning nothing from his behaviour.
Translations Mr. Tickle appears under the titles:
Translation LanguageMonsieur ChatouilleFrenchΟ Κύριος ΓαργαλίτσαςGreekMeneertje KietelDutchコチョコチョくん (Kocho-kocho-kun)Japaneseמר דגדוגHebrew搔癢先生Mandarin挠痒痒先生Mandarin (Simplified Chinese)Unser Herr KillekilleGermanFætter KilderikDanishDon CosquillasSpanishMr. GoglaisWelshMister SolleticoItalian간지럼씨KoreanSenhor CócegasPortugueseGubben KillekillSwedishPan ŁaskotkiewiczPolishMr. CsikiHungarian
The Mr. Men Show In the 2008 TV series The Mr. Men Show, Mr. Tickle remains relatively the same in looks, though his hat is aqua with a stripe on it and his arms have a normal size, but can stretch out when needed. However, he tickles other Mr. Men and Little Misses due to the absence of the humans of Dillydale. He is still determined to tickle everyone he interacts with as far as some character traits go, but, instead of doing it for mischief, he does it to make people happy, and will stop when nobody wants him to tickle them—save for when the opportunity knocks with Mr. Grumpy, who is his favourite target. He speaks with a Canadian accent in the US dub and a Welsh accent in the UK Dub. He has a catchphrase: "I think somebody needs a tickle!" In both of the US and UK dubs, he is voiced by Jeff Stewart and Rob Rackstraw, respectively.
Criticism The Mr. Tickle character has been invoked in discussions over whether tickling children may violate their bodily integrity. Critiquing the unequally applied justice in the realm of Mr. Men, Charlie Brooker decries the fact that Mr. Tickle goes unpunished despite being a "1970s children's entertainer with wandering hands who runs around town touching strangers inappropriately from dawn till dusk". Journalist Eleanor Mills compared Mr. Tickle to sex offender Harvey Weinstein in a discussion of misogyny in the Mr. Men books.
See also
List of Mr. Men Mr. Men The Mr. Men Show Tickle torture
References