User Reviews

This cartoon version of the hit live action TV series, "Mr. Bean", certainly hasn't managed to match its predecessor's wide appeal, and has disappointed certain fans, but it has managed to impress some viewers, including me. I saw just a little bit of an episode on TV a few years ago, but didn't actually sit down to watch any episodes until a while later, when I rented the first of the three DVD sets. Like the original series, it made me laugh, that's for sure. This year, I've finally seen every episode, and while it is somewhat inferior to the live action series, it has still given me plenty of laughs, and I would say it's superior to both of the movies.

Mr. Bean is still the same kind of person he's known to be. He is still a goofy, naive, self-centred loner, constantly struggling with life, with his Teddy as his best friend. Having the mind of a child, he keeps getting himself into trouble and finding himself on little adventures, thinking of bizarre ways to try and solve his problems! This time, however, he is in cartoon form. Some episodes also feature Irma Gobb, Bean's girlfriend from the live action series, and like before, the couple certainly doesn't have the most steady relationship. The show also introduces some new characters who were not in the live action show, most notably Bean's wrathful landlady, Mrs. Wicket, and her vicious cat, Scrapper! Bean sometimes gets in trouble with his landlady, and Scrapper sometimes adds more challenges to his life as well!

There are some clear differences between live action and animated "Mr. Bean" material, which is not a bad thing. "Mr. Bean: The Animated Series" has less of the realistic sitcom style that the original series has, and sometimes has more of a fantasy touch to it, an example being the episodes involving Bean having encounters with animals, definitely cartoon-style animals. Since this is a cartoon, it makes sense that it has more cartoon-style qualities. The show also has different theme music (piano music instead of choir music this time). The two also have their similarities. Like before, the humour here is pretty visual. The animated Mr. Bean does make more sounds and mumble more than the original live action version of the character does, but it's still mostly about the visual humour, and as a fan of the original series, I've gotten some big laughs from this cartoon, though not quite as consistently. Mrs. Wicket's aggressive tendencies, with her shouting and fits, also tend to be funny, sometimes hilarious, so when it comes to the humour of the show, she definitely helps when she appears.

Overall, this animated remake of a hit comedy series is not as consistent (some of the gags might be just a bit TOO simple, and the show may sometimes seem a bit more childish than the original), and may have some lacklustre episodes, but with all the laughs I've gotten from it (more than I've ever gotten from "Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie" and "Mr. Bean's Holiday", though they both have their moments), and the impressive animation, I certainly can't complain too much. "Mr. Bean: The Animated Series" is polarizing with fans of the original "Mr. Bean", but I think they did a decent job bringing Rowan Atkinson's world-famous antisocial buffoon to a different format (with Atkinson still providing the voice, of course). If you can't stand the character, you should obviously avoid this show, since he's not much different here. For fans, well, don't expect the exact same thing, but hopefully, you will get a decent number of laughs.

I love Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean who I always felt was more of a cartoon character than an actual human being. Mr. Bean is quite childlike in his nature. We don't know where he come from or who is his parents or anything else. We see him constantly try to handle life on earth without guidance unless you count his teddy bear as his true companion. He seems clueless yet he continues to drive around his little yellow car and act quite naive. We barely here him talk. The character could remind me of a Samuel Beckett character or play where he is quite minimal. The character of Mr. Bean is one to study. He appeals to a wide audience who may not get British humor. The show is more done without scripting but direction just like the show itself.

I wasn't expecting much and part of me knew it wouldn't be as good as the brilliant live-action TV series. It is inferior, I agree one or two jokes are a tad too simple and somewhat childish. But actually, this animated series is very good. The animation is very nice, the colours and backgrounds are done with care and Mr Bean still acts and looks zany as an animated character. The music, for piano this time, is very fitting, the visual gags and physical comedy still makes me laugh, most of it is really quite hilarious and the characters are as cute and as zany as ever. Rowan Atkinson excels still as the lovable character we all know as Mr Bean. Overall, this animated series is surprisingly very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I absolutely love this cartoon. I love the live action series as well, and I'm delighted that this animated version captures the essence of the originals.

I'll start off by saying the animation style is brilliant. Very refreshing. Kind of a retro style with regards to the simplified backgrounds. Really nice colours. The trees are like the ones in Looney Tunes or Pink Panther cartoons. The characters are superbly drawn, capturing the rubbery facial expressions of Rowan Atkinson. I like the heavy outlines on the characters to set them off from the backgrounds, and I find it amusing that their feet aren't attached to their legs, lol. I'm a graphic designer and I'm a sucker for the retro style artwork. And I'm a sucker for anything truly British in nature.

Like the live action series, there isn't much talking. But I think it's wonderful that Rowan Atkinson supplies what mumblings there is for Mr.Bean. And you've got to love his horrid landlady Mrs.Wicket when she yells "BEAN" at the top of her lungs. (She makes him do all the house and yard work and her grocery shopping; does she give him a break on the rent?!) The plots are terrific. Most of them are imaginable as plots that could have been done for the live action series. Mr.Bean buys a new sofa, Mr.Bean loses his ship-in-a-bottle, Mr.Bean irritates a mime... problems he causes, but then resolves in in an outlandish way, and sometimes with a bit of vindictiveness. Sure, there are a few that are a bit more "cartoony" like when burglars steal all the teddy bears, or Mr.Bean's nemesis tenant invents a robot, but that's the beauty of animation, and they never carry it too outlandishly far.

Oh, and the music. Howard Goodall's theme is marvelous. I have it in my head all of the time. The one from the live action series was never singable! Goodall even provides piano music for it at his website. If only I could read sheet music. Or had a piano....

The DVDs have some nice behind the scenes on the making of this series. The work and care they put into every aspect really shows through. Months of work for an 11 minute episode, 52 episodes in all! I highly recommend this show. It has a hilarious subtlety, and a lovely charm I haven't seen since the Wallace & Gromit movie. But don't get me wrong, I like things like Family Guy and Simpsons as well, so there's room for everything!

So it was decided to return the bumbling figure in a new setting. Mr. Bean made a comeback in 2002, but this time as a cartoon. Atkinson himself made a comeback to lend the voice. Additionally, Mr. Bean's beloved teddy bear made an appearance.

The animation merely continued where the first one left off, with Mr. Bean encountering numerous absurd circumstances. He also enjoyed driving around in his car or causing commotion at home. He would always come up with the most peculiar solution to any issue. Other recurring characters included Mrs. Wicket, the fairly elderly and grouchy landlord, and her cat Scrapper. Mr. Bean's patient girlfriend was also present.

This is Bean in name only. While this purports to be an animated version of Mr. Bean, it really is so unlike the original brilliant shows that I cringed when I first began watching an episode. However, after a bit I realized that my daughter was repeatedly laughing and having a lovely time watching. And, while I was NOT overjoyed with the show, it was watchable if you think of it only as a kids' show and not Mr. Bean. Why is it so un-Bean-like? Well because this incarnation of Bean just isn't as selfish and mean-spirited as the real thing. Plus, all too often the situations he gets himself in for NEVER would have been seen in the original show. It's like they took away the hard edge in order to make it acceptable for kids. Too bad, as I really just want to see more Bean--and not those washed out movies, either! Watchable but that's about all.

It reminds me of my childhood when my father and myself used to be glued to the TV and watched it and laughed. The charm still persists and fun to watch with each episode of just 10 mins. Love it !

Absolutely amazing amazing show!!! The Artist who drew these did awesome and it's just so funny me and my kids have seen every episode like 10 times over!! A Must See!!

Am I the only one who got ASMR sensations from watching this show?

Mr Bean was a huge part of my childhood. I remember sitting with my family on the sofa in the kitchen watching the live action series.

Good times.

I even saw the Bean movie in the cinema. I still like it despite it's flaws. (See my review for the second movie if one is interested)

So fast forward to 2002, there's an animated series.

I was excited, but sadly I was let down.

The biggest problem with this show is that Mr Bean makes TOO MUCH NOISE!

In the live action series, he barely spoke and was more about actions than words, which made the character and show work.

Here, he's just babbling in baby talk, which gets REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEALLY ANNOYING AFTER 30 SECONDS! He does this throughout the whole episode and it's very difficult to sit through.

This show is made for really, really, young kids, I understand that you can't have a silent character for 10 minutes. But even for a kids' show, Mr Bean is really annoying.

Rowan, I love you and Mr Bean, but this version is Mr Bean is not your finest work.

This show is about an animated Rowan Aktinson making more trouble than the original Mr. Bean. There is crazy stuff that happens in London so Bean attempts to put a stop to it. This was a fantastic show that I believe Nicktoons Network is an idiotic channel for taking this good of a show out. Its funny has good plots, and is way better than the other shows airng on Nicktoons Network. Except, The X's and Mr. Meaty and My Dad's a Rockstar are good. They need to bring back old shows like Catscratch and Rocko's Modern Life. These shows (and other classics), the others I listed above, and MB:TAS could make Nicktoons Network a perfect channel. Too bad they don't realize.

It's decent but it can't compete with original TV series, sorry.

About four years when I was twelve, I loved this series. I used to run all the way home to see the cartoon at about six o'clock in the evening to watch it. This series stills aires on Sunday Morning television for Children but since I've seen the original Mr. Bean at the cinema I now find this inferior. First off, this lacks an resemblance: it doesn't contain the wit and the humour the live action series has and the jokes are a bit too childish compared to the live-action series. Secondly, bad animation: the animation is lazily drawn and lacks the image of Rowan Atkinson. I've never seen Rowan with two big, blotty eyebrows before. And finally, the recruiting characters: a lot of these characters in the cartoon didn't even appear or were even invented in the live action series like the old woman landlord and her cat. These characters has just come out of nowhere and always offers no real depth to the series. This will keep kids happy but fans of Bean are better of sticking to the live action series as this doesn't really have a lot of to do with the original, only that Rowan Atkinson is doing the voice of his character Bean.

4/10

The live-action version of Mr. Bean was hilarious. The movie was a little disappointing (being a rehash of some of the more famous sketches, but inserted into an actual plot). The animated series is visually gorgeous, with the use of the latest technology in animation, but a cartoon caricature of a cartoonish real-life character is somewhat redundant. Maybe Rowan Atkinson is getting a little old to do even more outrageous antics than in his first series, so is letting an animated character take the reins. The series certainly does capitalize on the freedom of animation, being more comedically surreal, but is essentially the same old Mr. Bean, voiced by Mr. Bean. Entertainment for all ages based on entertainment for all ages.

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Mr Bean. The humor is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical physics most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer's head. There's also Beans anihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his characterization - his personal philosophy draws heavily from Narodnaya Volya literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these jokes, to realize that they're not just funny- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Mr Bean truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the humour in Bean's existential catchphrase "Teddy," which itself is a cryptic reference to Turgenev's Russian epic Fathers and Sons I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Rowan Aktinsons genius unfolds itself on their television screens. What fools... how I pity them. And yes by the way, I DO have a Mr Bean tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- And even they have to demonstrate that they're within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand.

Bravo and kudos to Rowan Atkinson and the makers of this cartoon for both its undertaking and a job well-done. This is "the real Mr. Bean" making his noises and reading lines for the character while the animators caught his most signature expressions and movements, even down to splendid little nuances -- a real must-see for fans of the original show. The original Mr. Bean series (the real actor on film) can actually be devoured and completed in one or two moderate binges, as the extent of this incredibly unique and addictive work is not as voluminous as one may wish, leaving us pining for more. While the target audience may be slightly different (if not overlapping) and there's a brief adjustment period for some (esp. those who are limited in their contemporary cartoon appreciation) even this skeptical and often cynical viewer caved in and had to have every episode. If one don't do it for you, make sure to watch several, because most of them are very well-done and capture (and even add to) the nature of all things Bean. Even the concerns and reservations Rowan Atkinson has about continuing playing the role on film, as he gets older, are moot in this arena. Here, Bean can forever be someone having only just recently reached pseudo-adulthood which is even indicated by the fact that the landlord's cat is still alive and well (one which he "gave" to her as a little boy, and one which was already no kitten and had seen better days). In fact, while each episode appears to have custom lines mumbled characteristically by Atkinson to fit the episode, the series could live on even with less per-episode involvement from Atkinson if he so chose (without shutting its doors forever) -- by way of leaving a thorough library of his genuine utterances which can be re-used time and time again. Perhaps even "Master Bean" (English title for a youngster, as has been touched upon in a flashback episode or two). There's something very unique about Mr. Bean (they key to his success is not just some simple love of slapstick by a gargantuan, sub-intelligent, worldwide fan base), and so it will be sad the day any new material from any incarnation of him is surely gone forever. He is almost a kind of archetype hidden within the best of us, waiting to be uncovered en masse when he came along. So many roles can be played by so many people, but Mr. Bean being played by anyone else would likely go over as well as anyone but Peter Sellers playing Inspector Clouseau. His distinctive character is tied to the exclusive skills in Atkinson's toolbox, for better or for worse.

The early episodes of this show were aired in prime time and clearly were aimed at both kids and their parents who remembered the live action version.

Newer ones though are buried away on ITV's kids channel, and are far more geared at kids, with Bean speaking a lot more.

Not great overall.

This cartoon was amazing it's defiantly a treat for all Mr Bean fans and a worth introduction to Mr Bean for the newer generation.

I used to enjoy this show when it used to be on back in the early 2000's but when it returned in 2014/2015 something didn't feel right.

When i first heard of this, i thought it would be a cheap spinoff, that was not funny, i couldn't of "bean" more wrong, this cartoon is the best thing since the simpsons, it's hilarious, original, and most importantly, it's not American.

There are a lot of things out there that deserve to be a cartoon. I mean, a lot of classic comedians. Got the pen thrown on them in the sixties and seventies. Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, the Three Stooges even the Marx Brothers (well in 1966 Filmation was going to make a Marx Brothers cartoon, but it never got made. The same situation happened thirty years later. What a shame). Robin Williams and John Candy got cartoonized in the eighties with MORK AND MINDY and CAMP CANDY. Jim Carey got cartoonized with movies based on his hit films (e.g. THE MASK, DUMB AND DUMBER and ACE VENTURA). With that I would like to talk about MR. BEAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES. I remember watching the live-action series since I was a teenager. The man was like the Charlie Chaplin of the 1990's. I even saw two of his films. Like Peanuts, it comes to show that you can still make people laugh without the flow of blood. The design in the cartoon are a mixture between Butch Hartman (FAIRLY ODDPARENTS, DANNY PHANTOM and T.U.F.F. PUPPY) and Danny Antonucci (ED EDD AND EDDY). The feel is a mixture between Mr. Bean and Pink Panther. The dialog is rather slurred when they are speaking. There is plot and conflict just like in those old Looney Tunes cartoons. Also, like any other cartoon, they reference popular culture and that is smart. Most cartoons these days don't reference pop culture. It never aired on American TV, but it went straight to DVD in the U.S. of A. (Calling the Hub, why not air this show, it is clean and funny for crying out loud!) It is fun for the entire family. Nothing good on TV for the kiddies? Are they annoyed by reruns of SPONGEBOB? Slip on MR. BEAN. I highly recommend it. Before I end this review, I would like to say that if there is any British comedy team that deserves to be a cartoon, it's THE GOODIES. Since their adventures are wacky, why can't it be done in the form of a cartoon? Rated TV-G, but some episode might contain mischief and crude humor.

i don't care about the very funny antics in animation! it is just a great semi-silent cartoon. And why was it made in animation? Well, to see if Mr Bean's antics were funny in animation, which they are! Besides this lovable series brings me back to the semi-silent antics of the pink panther, which i adore. Now, with this show as well to my favourite cartoon shows, i could not be better! Besides Rowan Atkinson has been doing well animation, being Zazu in The Lion King! So do not stop him now just because you are over- whelmed from this truly different medium from the live-action series we came to love and enjoy a comedy classic. Besides its just a cartoon! So there is no harm in that is there? So stop complaining and just watch it!

Anyone who giggled at the original Bean series would laugh out loud at this one. Mr. Bean gets himself into all kinds of hot water, but now he can get into things a real person can't. Seeing is believing. This is hilarious!

I always liked the original series, but this animated version is simply not funny. Not even if it had no relation with he Atkinson character at all, but now you can't help thinking of how good the original show was and this cartoon simply does not work.

The new-age simplified drawing style is ugly as well. I'd rather watch a cartoon with animated matchstick men.

I'm glad it's over, it was aired last year on Dutch television. I hope I never have to see it again. It didn't even make me giggle, smile, and I am an outgoing person who likes a laugh. Nuff said.