AAaaAA! No thanks, officer! I've got one big round one!
Mr. Atom is a character created for The Mr. Men & Little Miss Show. He is always seen with his best friend, Mr. Microscopic, and speaks almost entirely in random phrases that Mr. Microscopic can understand. His design is based on Homsar from Homestar Runner. He lives in Mr. Short's hat with Mr. Microscopic.
Distinctive Characteristics[]
Speech[]
Mr. Atom's most distinct characteristic is his unusual manner of speaking, which has varied over time. His tone of voice is generally quite exaggerated, and he often begins sentences by wailing "DAAaaAA!". His speech tends to range from perfectly normal English to often random and disconnected phrases that have little to no connection to the scene. Many believe that he speaks in word salads (a speech disorder characteristic of Receptive aphasia in which grammar and sentence structure is often intact, but the words themselves have no particular meaning), but this is not always the case. Instead, it seems that Homsar can and does relate well to his environment and other characters when he needs to, but is also prone to saying completely random things when there's no particular reason for him to stay in context.
It has been argued that his unusual speech patterns are the result of being crushed by Mr. Heavy. This could be evidenced by the fact that in Sports, he is able to speak "normally" to Miss Tiny. Some find this unlikely, considering that he was able to speak more or less normally when he called Miss Solo after that event. Others suggest that it is possible that the negative effect was a delayed reaction.
He can make his voice sound like a whole crowd of people, even when he is alone. He can also make chiming noises when hit on the head.
In a number of episodes, we hear Mr. Atom talking how Mr. Microscopic hears him. This version of Mr. Atom has a slightly different voice (his original voice from Sports, Hospital, and Storms), and quite visibly understands everything that's going on around him in a very coherent manner, though he also has a tendency to talk a lot.
Mr. Atom and the Laws of Physics[]
Another bizarre aspect of Mr. Atom is his ability to defy the laws of physics through means that are not entirely explained. In many cases it would appear that he can bend reality to his will, performing feats that other characters cannot. Various feats of science defiance include levitation, self-duplication, sound manipulation, possible time manipulation, teleporting, possible metamorphosis, retracting his head like a turtle, morphing/bending terrain, and can possibly cause (or at least reflect back) the jibblies. On top of this, Mr. Atom's yellow bowler hat can levitate and float around, as well as transmute into different shapes. It is possible that this hat, which levitates when he speaks (including when he is upside down), is actually being manipulated, as opposed to just flying about on its own. He is, after all, a character lacking visible arms. However, a scene in Androids & Robots involves his hat flying farther than arms on a character his size would allow. Another theory for this is that Mr. Atom, and quite possibly the other characters lacking arms, have limited psycho-kinetic abilities. Indeed, it appears that the laws of both science and logic do not apply to him.
Mr. Atom, like Mr. Microscopic, lives in Mr. Short's hat. Everything in this location seems to defy the laws of physics as much as Mr. Atom himself.
Naming of Other Characters (and Himself)[]
Mr. Atom often assigns the other characters, including himself, strange names. This could be because he has forgotten their real names, is confused, or disregards their real names. These "names" are sometimes based on the character's appearance or a similar-sounding name. In one episode, he calls Miss Solo "Matzah Ball." One might reason that the epithet is used due to the fact that both "Marzipan" (Miss Solo's first name) and "Matzah Ball" have the same starting letter and amount of syllables. They are also both foods. Others hardly make sense. This is assuming that he is speaking to/about these characters and that he is not just disoriented or believes he is talking to someone else. His way of naming may also be used to describe how a character looks at the time. Mr. Atom also thinks up strange names for himself, such as "Homsar", "the captain of the gravy train", "the human wedgie", "a friendly reminder", "A knock-knock joke about jogging suits", and "a song from the '60s". He doesn't seem to repeat any of his made-up names (except "a song from the '60s"), in keeping with his tendency to forget or disregard things or become confused.