"Oh, poopity poop!"note
Mr. Men In Real Life is a video created by animator Luke Palmer. The video was uploaded to Vimeo on March 9, 2014.The video is a deconstruction of the Mr. Men book series by Roger Hargreaves. In it, several of the Mr. Men (as well as three of the Little Misses) are shown to have landed in depressing, realistic situations because of their distinctive personalities and characteristics.
You can watch it here
, but you'd better make sure you have some tissues on deck...
This video includes examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Little Miss Sunshine can be interpreted as having an abusive father, as someone is shown to be scolding her as she hides under her bed covers, implying that she's going through some particularly nasty abuse and that her Genki Girl personality is just a façade to hide her true, broken emotions.
- Adaptational Jerkass:
- Little Miss Bossy was certainly rude and abrasive in the original series, but she also had her kinder moments, such as using her Compelling Voice to order a bunch of escaped animals back to the zoo. Here, she's a Domestic Abuser who frequently beats up Mr. Bump, leaving the poor guy an emotional wreck.
- In the original show, Mr. Impossible was an all-powerful man who could defy the laws of physics at the drop of a hat. Here, he's a Fake Faith Healer who tricks terminally-ill people into thinking they've been cured when they haven't really.
- Mr. Nosey's nosing was relatively harmless, although sometimes annoying in the original series. Here, his personality makes him a prime candidate to join a Church of Happyology and meddle in people's lives.
- Mr. Mischief goes from being a mere prankster to a straight-up delinquent whose pranks escalated to the point of being criminal.
- Mr. Grumpy was already a jerk in the original series, but this video takes his anger towards the world and warps it into him joining an extremist group.
- Mr. Wrong goes from being a Cloud Cuckoolander to an abuser of women, meaning that he's "wrong" for far different reasons.
- Adaptational Name Change: Mr. Tickle is given the full name of "Randy Philip Ticklesworth" on the sex offender register. Simularly, Mr. Sneeze gains the middle name of Donald.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In the video, Mr. Bump and Little Miss Bossy are shown to be a couple.
- Agony of the Feet: Mr. Tall's height puts overwhelming pressure on his feet, causing them to necrotize.
- The Alcoholic: The reason Mr. Bounce bounces so much? His life is booze, which causes him to stagger around and bounce off of any object he sees.
- Appearance Angst: Mr. Skinny is depicted as having BDD, as looking in the mirror makes him see nothing but a fatter version of himself.
- Asshole Victim:
- Mr. Grumble and Mr. Snooty share the same fate as each other; while they are no doubt Jerkasses, they don't deserve to be all alone, especially during Christmastime with Mr. Grumble.
- Mr. Clever's arrogance has also led to him having no friends.
- Bait-and-Switch: At first glance, Mr. Strong's fate seems to be much lighter than the others, implying that he spends a lot of time at the gym. But then his hat blows off to reveal a bottle of steroids, and Mr. Strong's facial expression changes to one that shows just how much he's addicted to the stuff.
- Basement Dweller: Mr. Dizzy still lives with his parents because of his unintelligence.
- Beggar with a Signboard: Mr. Funny is depicted as a homeless person, complete with a signboard begging for money so he can buy a lawnmower.
- Bleak Abyss Retirement Home: Mr. Slow's fate is being committed to an old peoples' home because of his old age.
- Casanova Wannabe: Mr. Tickle is shown to be a registered sex offender.
- Church of Happyology: Played for Drama; Mr. Nosey's fate is becoming a Scientologist given how nosey he is.
- Crappy Holidays: A miserable Mr. Grumble is shown celebrating Christmas all by himself.
- Crapsaccharine World: It takes place in a cold, depressing world populated by colorful Mr. Men, who are shown to have either spiraled out of control because of their attributes, or have landed in saddening situations because of them.
- Crazy Homeless People: Mr. Funny, of all characters, is depicted as being a homeless person, who lives in a box with a teapot on it and holds a sign that reads "Need £ for Lawn-mower".
- Darker and Edgier: This video is a lot darker than the original book series, with everything from terrorism to domestic violence, to even a suicide at the end.
- Dead-Hand Shot: The last shot is that of Mr. Nobody's hand after he took a lethal overdose of pills and alcohol.
- Deconstruction: Of the Mr. Men children's book series and the characters that populate it.
- Mr. Tickle's antics were harmless in the original series, but in real life, they led to him being put on the sex offender register.
- Several characters' attributes are shown to be the result of drug abuse, such as Mr. Happy only being a Perpetual Smiler because he's on antidepressants, Mr. Strong being so strong because of steroid abuse, and Mr. Daydream being a heroin addict to escape reality.
- Mr. Lazy being a Lazy Bum had no real consequences in the original series, but in real life, he's a deadbeat father, resulting in his poor kids becoming destitute due to his sheer Parental Neglect.
- Mr. Greedy's Big Eater tendencies lead him to suffer a heart attack caused by overeating.
- Mr. Mischief and his "pranks" have escalated to the realm of crimes, resulting in him being arrested.
- Mr. Forgetful's poor memory has led him to be stuck in dementia care.
- Mr. Noisy is shown to have NO INDOOR VOICE because he's deaf and requires a hearing aid, thus not being able to know how loud he is being.
- The jerkassery of Mr. Grumble, Mr. Snooty, and Mr. Clever drives way more people away in real life than it would in the original series
- Descent into Addiction:
- Mr. Happy is shown to be addicted to antidepressants.
- Mr. Daydream is shown escaping from reality by taking heroin.
- Mr. Rush is depicted as a cocaine addict, which is why he's always running.
- Mr. Strong is shown to be abusing steroids.
- Disabled in the Adaptation:
- Mr. Noisy is depicted as a deaf person with a hearing aid when there is no indicator of him being such in the original series.
- Mr. Brave is normally The Determinator in the original series, but here he's depicted as being handicapped and unable to walk due to a stunt Gone Horribly Wrong.
- Domestic Abuse:
- Mr. Bump is shown to be an in emotionally and physically abusive relationship with Little Miss Bossy.
- Mr. Quiet's parents are shown fighting and physically assaulting each other as the reason behind Mr. Quiet's Shrinking Violet tendencies.
- Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male: Averted. Little Miss Bossy physically assaulting Mr. Bump is clearly Played for Drama.
- The Don: Mr. Perfect is depicted as a mob boss because of his perfectionism getting the best of him.
- Dramatic Spine Injury: Mr. Brave is shown to have broken his spine, presumably after a daring stunt went horribly wrong.
- Driven to Suicide: Mr. Nobody's fate. He believed that he was nobody and that no one would care about him, so he overdosed himself, believing that nobody would care if anything happened to him.
- Equal-Opportunity Offender: The video does not have charitable views of religion and social classes in general — Christianity is represented through a Fake Faith Healer (Mr. Impossible) and a Pedophile Priest (Mr. Tickle), Islam is represented by extremist Middle Eastern Terrorists (one of which is Mr. Grumpy), Mr. Nosey joins a Church of Happyology ganging up on one of its critics, the poor engage in petty crime, the rich have no friends, and so on.
- Fake Faith Healer: Mr. Impossible is heavily hinted to have become one, showing off a sickly, wheelchair-bound man to a crowd of worshippers, whose unchanging expression all but says that Mr. Impossible didn't actually cure him.
- The Fundamentalist: Mr. Grumpy is shown among a group of Muslims holding signs that read "massacre those who insult Islam" and "Islam will dominate the world".
- Gone Horribly Wrong: The aftermath of one of Mr. Mischief's "pranks" culminates in him being arrested by the cops.
- He Knows Too Much: Mr. Chatterbox is shown about to be beaten by mobsters because he talks too much.
- Hollywood Heart Attack: Mr. Greedy has a heart attack while eating an entire cake. He tries to reach for the phone to call 911, but he is unable to because his heart attack is really that painful.
- Intelligence Equals Isolation: Mr. Clever is so clever that he is shown to be unable to relate to anyone at a frat party.
- Intimidating Revenue Service: Mr. Worry is paranoid when the revenue service shows up at his door because of him committing tax fraud.
- Jaded Washout: Mr. Cool. He is shown trying to call one of his friends over for a party, but his friend turns it down because he has a family.
- Jerkass Realization: Mr. Grumble, Mr. Snooty and Mr. Mean are shown to have realized how horrible they were to those around them, with Mr. Grumble crying to himself and being alone during Christmastime because of his angry nature, Mr. Snooty having no one to share his mansion with because of his rude nature, and Mr. Mean in group therapy because of his selfish and greedy nature.
- Lonely at the Top: Mr. Snooty is rich and owns a mansion, but he has no friends or family to share it with.
- Lower-Class Lout: Mr. Rude is depicted as a street chav as he is shown throwing a can at passers-by among some other chavs.
- Mad Bomber: Mr. Mischief is implied to be a terrorist as he is shown being arrested after blowing up a couple's home.
- Mess of Woe: Mr. Messy has undergone a bad divorce and cries to himself on his sofa as trash begins piling up around him.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Mr. Bump's fate at the hands of Little Miss Bossy.
- Nothing Is Scarier: We don't see Little Miss Bossy physically hurting Mr. Bump, nor do we hear it (due to the only form of audio being the background music), but we do see a cracked picture of them shaking from the impacts.
- The Paranoiac:
- Mr. Jelly. Because he was so afraid of everything, he has spiraled into never leaving his house again; his mailbox is shown to be overflowing, and there are several envelopes at his doorstep, which implies that he hasn't left his house in months, if not years.
- Mr. Worry is shown to be a victim of tax evasion and doesn't know what to do when the revenue service shows up at his doorstep.
- Parental Neglect: Mr. Lazy is so lazy that he's landed his kids in turmoil and there's garbage scattered all over his living room.
- Pedophile Priest: Implied, as one of Mr. Tickle's "Known Associations" on his entry in the sex offenders register is the Catholic priesthood.
- Pick on Someone Your Own Size: Poor Mr. Small is literally pushed around by a group of bullies who are much taller than him.
- R-Rated Opening: The first shot alone is that of Mr. Happy reaching for a bottle of Prozac in his medicine cabinet, implying that he's abusing antidepressants and setting the tone for the rest of the video.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: It's implied that Little Miss Sunshine was about to be raped in her scene, as she is hiding under the covers in fear as her husband/boyfriend enters the room.
- Repulsive 'Roids: Mr. Strong is shown to have developed rage issues as a result of abusing anabolic steroids.
- Sad-Times Montage: The whole video is a depressing montage of the Mr. Men and Little Misses in depressing real world situations.
- Shadow Discretion Shot: Mr. Quiet's parents' Domestic Abuse situation is shown in silhouettes on the side of the wall.
- Shadow of Impending Doom: The scene with Little Miss Sunshine shows a male figure's shadow peering over her as she hides under the covers in fear.
- Shout-Out: Mr. Noisy can be seen watching The Venture Bros. in his scene.
- Stalker Without a Crush: Mr. Wrong is shown stalking a nervous woman, implying he's about to do something very wrong to her.
- Subverted Kids' Show: Oh, yes. The video features several Mr. Men characters (plus three Little Misses) beloved by children the world over, but puts them in shocking real world situations, with ties to everything from drug abuse and domestic violence, to racial insensitivity and religion extremism, to even suicide.
- Suicide by Pills: At the end of the video, Mr. Nobody is shown to have killed himself by overdosing on pills.
- Taking the Kids: Poor Mr. Busy, whose wife left him and took the kids with her because he never had any time for them.
- Teens Are Monsters: Mr. Small gets picked on by a group of cruel bullies.
- Tragic AIDS Story: Mr. Sneeze is shown to have been diagnosed with AIDS after getting an STD.