It all started in 1971, when eight-year-old Adam Hargreaves asked his father Roger, a British author and illustrator, about what a tickle looks like. His father’s creation led to a book series.
Hargreaves made the character, “Mr. Tickle,” who was the first in the cast of characters in the book series Mr. Men. The series sold a million copies within its first three years. The books showed readers how personality traits would affect a character’s life and inspired people to create comic and song remixes.
Later on, Hargreaves created his spinoff Little Miss series, creating “Little Miss Bossy,” “Little Miss Naughty,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” and more. The website for the book series described the characters, “They identify with a multigenerational audience through self expression, color, simplicity and humor.” After Roger Hargreaves died in 1988, Adam Hargreaves took over his father’s book series, and added new characters such as “Mr. Calm” and “Little Miss Spice Girls.”
Today though, there are now memes involving the Little Miss name. “LittleMissNotesApp,” an Instagram account that has accumulated almost two million followers, posts the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters with darker captions like “Little Miss Lexapro,” “Mr. Vape Cloud,” and “Little Miss Aggressive Drunk.”
Giorgio Angelini, a filmmaker who tracked the Pepe the Frog comic meme in “Feels Good Man,” saw similarities with the Little Miss meme and described it, “She’s no longer just grumpy. She’s reeling from anxiety and depression because the world is warming, democracies are crumbling and those in power seem to be more Mr. Greedy than Mr. Actionably Concerned.”
Many people described the trend as ridiculous and relatable, making it even more popular, with the “Little Miss” hashtag gaining over 140 million views on TikTok. Nicole Gagliardi, a 22-year-old student, talked about why she thinks the trend is so popular, “I think people resonate with this meme for the same reason they like knowing their personality type or zodiac sign: They like seeing something that they can identify with, and there’s something for everyone.”
Some people do miss the originals though. Jamie Cohen, a CUNY Queens College assistant professor in media studies and culture, talked about his thoughts, “I do think the corporate trajectory of this meme takes away from its initial pureness. I’ve seen so many ads using the format, and many companies and organizations that have caused so much harm to humanity try to jump in on the trend. It has definitely dulled my enthusiasm on the whole trend. It’s a double-edged sword, creating something that can be shaped to fit any identity.”
Sources: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/e2-80-98little-miss-5bblank-5d-e2-80-99-how-a-kid-book-meme-became-viral-comedy/ar-AA107VG8
https://mrmen.com/pages/about-us
Hargreaves made the character, “Mr. Tickle,” who was the first in the cast of characters in the book series Mr. Men. The series sold a million copies within its first three years. The books showed readers how personality traits would affect a character’s life and inspired people to create comic and song remixes.
Later on, Hargreaves created his spinoff Little Miss series, creating “Little Miss Bossy,” “Little Miss Naughty,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” and more. The website for the book series described the characters, “They identify with a multigenerational audience through self expression, color, simplicity and humor.” After Roger Hargreaves died in 1988, Adam Hargreaves took over his father’s book series, and added new characters such as “Mr. Calm” and “Little Miss Spice Girls.”
Today though, there are now memes involving the Little Miss name. “LittleMissNotesApp,” an Instagram account that has accumulated almost two million followers, posts the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters with darker captions like “Little Miss Lexapro,” “Mr. Vape Cloud,” and “Little Miss Aggressive Drunk.”
Giorgio Angelini, a filmmaker who tracked the Pepe the Frog comic meme in “Feels Good Man,” saw similarities with the Little Miss meme and described it, “She’s no longer just grumpy. She’s reeling from anxiety and depression because the world is warming, democracies are crumbling and those in power seem to be more Mr. Greedy than Mr. Actionably Concerned.”
Many people described the trend as ridiculous and relatable, making it even more popular, with the “Little Miss” hashtag gaining over 140 million views on TikTok. Nicole Gagliardi, a 22-year-old student, talked about why she thinks the trend is so popular, “I think people resonate with this meme for the same reason they like knowing their personality type or zodiac sign: They like seeing something that they can identify with, and there’s something for everyone.”
Some people do miss the originals though. Jamie Cohen, a CUNY Queens College assistant professor in media studies and culture, talked about his thoughts, “I do think the corporate trajectory of this meme takes away from its initial pureness. I’ve seen so many ads using the format, and many companies and organizations that have caused so much harm to humanity try to jump in on the trend. It has definitely dulled my enthusiasm on the whole trend. It’s a double-edged sword, creating something that can be shaped to fit any identity.”
Sources: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/e2-80-98little-miss-5bblank-5d-e2-80-99-how-a-kid-book-meme-became-viral-comedy/ar-AA107VG8
https://mrmen.com/pages/about-us