Mr. Men and Little Misses: Ticklish Christmas

Mr. Men and Little Misses: Ticklish Christmas (also titled Mr. Men and Little Misses: A Journey to the North Pole in the United States and some territories) is a 2026 computer-animated adventure comedy fantasy Christmas film loosely based on the 1971 children's books by the British author and illustrator Roger Hargreaves—later with his son Adam Hargreaves, with some elements from the 2008 TV adaptation, The Mr. Men Show. The movie was directed and co-written by Adam Hargreaves, produced by the American studio, 21 Laps Entertainment in collaboration with The Imaginarium Studios, Cinesite, Heyday Films, Aniventure, and M6 Films, and funded by Endeavor Content. It follows an orange Mr. Men named Mr. Tickle who has to save The Winter Spirit Festival and get all the Dillydians trust back after accidentally ruining it, causing a big dilemma, with the hope of Mr. Happy, Mr. Strong, Mr. Bump, Miss Sunshine, and Miss Chatterbox. The film is also the first adaptation as a full-length animated feature of The Mr. Men and Little Misses, as well as the first 3D animation one.

It was reported in 2011 that 20th Century Fox Animation was developing an animated feature film based on the Mr. Men book series, with Shawn Levy producing the film through his company, 21 Laps Entertainment. Fox Animation confirmed that it had acquired the film rights to the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters, but due to the acquisition of 21st Century Fox's assets by Disney in 2019, 21 Laps Entertainment later acquired the film rights in late 2023. Roger Hargreaves was confirmed as director and co-writer, with Shawn Levy serving as producer in collaboration with The Imaginarium Studios, Cinesite, THOIP, Heyday Films, Aniventure and M6 Films. The film's animation was provided by the studios ON Animation Studios, Reel FX Creative Studios, Cinesite Animation, & Mikros Image.

Mr. Men and Little Misses: Ticklish Christmas was premiered and released in the United Kingdom on November 13, 2025, by StudioCanal UK, in France on November 22nd, 2025, by StudioCanal at at the Grand Rex in Paris, and in the United States on December 1, 2025, by Paramount Pictures. In most international releases, the movie is distributed by Paramount Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics for its story but was still a commercial success, grossing over $193.9 million under a $61.3 million budget while receiving two nominations at the BAFTAs: Best Original Music and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Plot
In Misterland, which is inhabited by the Mr. Men and Little Misses themselves, Mr. Tickle, a mischievous but overall good-hearted Mr. Men with long, bendy arms, who lives in Dillydale of Happyland (one of Misterland regions), decides to help out on The Annual Snow Spirit Fest, a very special festival as well as day that is celebrated in the winter where a spirit named Flakes would often stop by Misterland to give various presents to the fellow Mr. Men and Little Misses, followed by activities and traditions such as decorating trees, singing, baking, ice-skating and exchanging gifts, followed by an ornament-making contest, on whoever wins by picking the best one, will put on an special snowflake topper, that would guide Flakes to Dillydale.

After crafting one at Miss Sunshine's house with Mr. Happy, Mr. Strong, Mr. Bump, and Miss Chatterbox, Mr. Tickle won, but while putting it on in the big pine tree, he decides to tickle some Mr. Men and Little Misses, however, this results in him accidentally dropping the topper, as well as plummeting the pine tree to the ground, breaking everyone's ornaments and wrecking the Snow Spirit decorations, lights, and stalls. It also results in the festival itself being cancelled. After being angrily told off and shunned by the other Mr. Men and Little Misses for what he did, Mr. Tickle decides to make amends by getting a new pine tree and repairing the ornaments as well as some of the decorations, stalls, and lights with the help of his friends overnight. While the festival was no longer cancelled, the Mr. Men and Little Misses (expect Mr. Happy, Mr. Strong, Mr. Bump, Miss Sunshine, and Miss Chatterbox) were still grudgeful to Mr. Tickle, as neither he nor his friends fixed the topper.

To set things right, Mr. Tickle and his friends prepare to leave Dillydale for Snowland after finding Flakes using Miss Sunshine's car. While leaving, to have various adventures, Mr. Tickle and Friends met the Miss Twins in Two Land while encountering weird two-headed creatures. With the twins for help, the group of friends ends up in the sad Miseryland, where laughing, smiling, and being happy are not allowed. Thanks to Mr. Happy and Miss Sunshine smiling at the King, which caused the King to cry even more, Mr. Tickle and the others got captured by the gloomy King guards and taken to the dungeon. Miss Sunshine wondered if the king would ever like to be happy, and the king said he would, but he couldn't because of Miseryland's rule that being happy was not allowed. So, she thought for a moment and brought the king to her car, driving him back to the picket sign. With a large pen, she renamed Miseryland, Laughterland and changed the rules so smiling and laughing were allowed, then she taught him to smile and laugh.

As a result, the king, no longer miserable, decided to proclaim himself as the king of Laughterland, as well as renaming the land and freeing the others. Leaving Laughterland for Cleverland, Miss Sunshine's car broke down; however, Mr. Tickle and his friends met Mr. Clever and Miss Inventor, a duo that often makes as well as invents inventions. With their help, her car was fixed, and became faster than before. They later encountered Mr. Ditzy, who thought they were going to the South Pole when they asked her for directions. As a result, they ended up in the South People, but thanks to Mr. Christmas, their ended up to Muddleland, where their met Miss Contrary, who offered them to stay with her, much to their own confusions.

After meeting Mr. Muddle and Mr. Clumsy, Mr. Tickle and his friends went to Non-Sense Land, getting confused at all times, and due to a mix up with the traveling signs, they ended up in Fat Land, but one of the residents, Mr. Skinny, gave them directions on getting to Sleepyland, while going to one of Miss Fun Snow Spirit Fest parties on heading back to Non-Sense Land. While at Sleepyland, Mr. Tickle and his friends encounter Miss Sparkle, who sings them a melody that causes them to fall asleep. Mr. Strong was the first one to wake up, and with his strength, he carried his friends while driving Miss Sunshine's car while asking a very tired Mr. Lazy for help. They ended up on Cold Land. But Mr. Tickle and Mr. Bump have an argument, shouting which way the North Pole is, causing an avalanche to begin. Before the Mr. Men and Little Misses can get buried in snow, Mr. Sneeze pulls them into a cave. The snow covers the entrance. Mr. Tickle admitted it was all his fault because he ruined everything and caused awful things to happen. With the help of teamwork, Mr. Tickle and his friends managed to get to the North Pole thanks to directions by Mr. Sneeze, despite his sneezing and Mr. Snow.

Meanwhile, at Dillydale, during the actual Snow Spirit Fest, the residents learn that Mr. Tickle and his friend are gone (thanks to Pinky, Mr. Tall pink butterfly-like pet) Learning that they were no better either, especially since they were being more selfish and relying on the gifts from Flakes, some of the residents left Dillydale to find them, but accidentally ended up in Badland, during a bad snow storm. On the way to the North Pole, a blizzard happened, causing Miss Sunshine's car to break down again. Realizing the dead end, all six Mr. Men and Little Misses decide to give up and return by walking; however, snow has blocked the path exit, leading them to get stuck in the North Pole forever. But as there were about too, Flakes (which is also what he revealed is Santa nibling), Miss Christmas, and Santa himself. After heading to Santa's workshop, Mr. Tickle confessed everything he did, including breaking the topper, which was supposed to guide Flakes to Dillydale. However, Flakes revealed to him and his friends that they actually knew where Dillydale was all along. Since Mr. Tickle did many good deeds on his way to the North Pole, Santa decides to put him on the nice list as well as forgive him for what he did.

On the way back to Dillydale, Flakes, Miss Christmas, Mr. Tickle, his friends, and Santa saved the residents that got trapped in the snowstorm at Badland and luckily headed back to Dillydale just before Christmas and the Snow Spirit Fest itself. After hearing about his apology, all the Mr. Men and Little Misses forgive Mr. Tickle, forgetting about the gifts by Santa and Flakes, as they celebrate Mr. Tickle and his friend's journey.

During the mid-credits, the camera zooms out of Dillydale, revealing more lands and islands that are yet to be discovered by the Mr. Men and Little Misses.

Development
In February 2011, it was reported that 20th Century Fox Animation was developing an animated feature film based on the Mr. Men book series, with Shawn Levy producing the film through his company, 21 Laps Entertainment. On January 27, 2015, Fox Animation confirmed that it had acquired the film rights to the Mr. Men Little Miss characters. But due to the acquisition of 21st Century Fox's assets by Disney in 2019, 21 Laps Entertainment ultimately acquired the rights, as announced on February 6, 2024. On March 14, 2024, Adam Hargreaves, the current book author of the series, was hired and set to direct the movie. On July 28th, it was reported that The Imaginarium Studios, Cinesite, Heyday Films, Aniventure, and M6 Films would be collaborating on the film with 21 Laps Entertainment. Endeavor Content financed the film with a $61.3 million budget.

After the film received funding, StudioCanal announced distribution rights in the United Kingdom and France. While there were a lot of concepts, it was ultimately settled on being a Christmas special for Mr. Men and Little Misses, with its own story mixed in, with more characters having more personality than what they are or describe as deeper characters. . Brainstorming sessions with each writer to flesh out scenes and dialogue for scenes in the movie itself. In March 2025, the editing of the movie was completed with the cast being revealed as well.

On October 3rd, 2025, it was announced that the movie would be titled Mr. Men and Little Misses: Ticklish Christmas, with a short, animated tease featuring Mr. Tickle put up on StudioCanal UK and Mr. Men and Little Miss Official YouTube Channels on October 18th, 2025.

Animation
It was announced on November 4, 2024, that the movie would be CGI, with ON Animation Studios, Reel FX Creative Studios, Cinesite Animation, & Mikros Image handling the animation. There are 300 filmmakers, with a team of about 60 devoted to the animation. Their biggest challenge was creating high-quality theatrical animation that didn't lose the style of the original books. Additional animation, lighting, and compositing were provided by Dwarf Studio in France.

Release
Mr. Men and Little Misses: Ticklish Christmas was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on November 13, 2025, by StudioCanal UK and on November 22, 2025, by StudioCanal at the Grand Rex in Paris. In late November, it was announced that Paramount Pictures had acquired theatrical international distribution rights for the film, starting with the US on December 1, 2025.

Marketing
Mr. Men and Little Misses: Ticklish Christmas started with a teaser trailer and a teaser poster revealed by StudioCanal UK through Deadline Hollywood, The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, and their official YouTube channel, as well as Twitter, on July 30th, 2025. The movie was promoted through a rather extensive marketing campaign. In the months leading up to the release of the film, the movie was promoted throughout the United Kingdom, including through merchandising, consumer products, and TV spots, such as ornaments, chocolate Kinnerton advent calendars, plushies, hot cocoa powder, cookie cutters, wrapping paper, candy canes, and the topper itself.

Internationally, Promotional toys and mugs were also offered at Quick restaurants in Belgium and McDonald's restaurants in France, Canada, and Australia. Fruit juices, fizzy drinks, chocolates, popcorn, biscuits, cakes, muffins, ice cream, dessert sauces, and mince pies were only sold in France. In the United States, Funables gummies, Good 2 Grow drinks, Jello-O, Pillsbury cookies, and Cakebites snacks were sold.

Home Media
Mr. Men and Little Misses: Ticklish Christmas was released on DVD, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and Blu-ray on February 18, 2026, by StudioCanal in the United Kingdom, with Paramount Home Entertainment releasing the film on DVD, digital download, and Blu-ray in the United States. The film will be streaming on Paramount+ in the US and most territories, with the exception of France and the United Kingdom, where it currently streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Box Office
Mr. Men and Little Misses: Ticklish Christmas was released on November 13, 2025, in the United Kingdom by StudioCanal UK and was projected to gross around $10 million from 3,475 theaters in its opening weekend, where it took in $45 million (£41.495,500) on its opening weekend and topped the box office for two weeks in the UK. The film made $2.4 million on its first day in France, including $550,000 from Thursday night previews. During its North American release by Paramount Pictures, the film grossed $45 million in North America and $152.2 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $197.2 million, against a production budget of $60 million.

Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 68% based on 28 reviews and an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A tickle might not have saved the movie and might save a Mr. Men fan's interest, but if it weren't for the adventure, expansion of Misterland, faithfulness to the main source of the books, animation, voice acting and charm, who knows what might have actually saved the movie?" On Metacritic, the film has a score of 45 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.