A collection of comic sketches.

Rowan Atkinson first came to prominence in Not The Nine O'Clock News and his natural acting ability set him up to achieve huge success as Blackadder. In the 1980s he created Mr Bean with Richard Curtis and the autumn of 1997 saw Mr Bean released as a film. This is his biography.

While comedy writers are responsible for creating clever scripts, comedic animators have a much more complicated problem to solve: What makes a physical character funny? Comedy for Animators breaks down the answer by exploring the techniques of those who have used their bodies to make others laugh. Drawing from traditions such as commedia dell’arte, pantomime, Vaudeville, the circus, and silent and modern film, animators will learn not only to create funny characters, but also how to execute gags, create a comic climate, and use environment as a character. Whether you’re creating a comic villain or a bumbling sidekick, this is the one and only guide you need to get your audience laughing! Explanation of comedic archetypes and devices will both inspire and inform your creative choices Exploration of various modes of storytelling allows you to give the right context for your story and characters Tips for creating worlds, scenarios, and casts for your characters to flourish in Companion website includes example videos and further resources to expand your skillset--check it out at www.comedyforanimators.com! Jonathan Lyons delivers simple, fun, illustrated lessons that teach readers to apply the principles of history’s greatest physical comedians to their animated characters. This isn’t stand-up comedy—it’s the falling down and jumping around sort!

England is wet, and Mr. Bean is fed up. He dashes off a note to the queen to let her know he won't be available to chat for a few days, indulges in a few fantasy drawings of himself as a tanned man in swimwear, and sets off for the south of France. Mr. Bean has a new video camera (although he had intended to buy a kettle) and records every detail of his journey, culminating in his trip to the Cannes Film Festival, where the results of his home video will be screened. This is the story recounted in the hilarious Mr. Bean's Holiday, which releases September 28. But all the while Mr. Bean kept a diary of his creative peregrinations, and this book is the definitive and marvelous result. Here he turns his hand to travel writings and extreme scrapbooking, and has even developed his own rating system (a range of Post-it notes saying everything from "excellent" and "as good as fish and chips" to "a pile of poo"). Also included are souvenirs, menus, sugar wrappers, postcards, and photographs that he collected en route. The first Bean movie, Bean, grossed $255 million worldwide and was an instant surprise hit in America. Much more than a straight tie-in, Mr. Bean's Definitive and Extremely Marvelous Guide to France is a hilarious stand-alone book that will appeal to anyone who loves Mr. Bean, no matter how young or old.