Happy Halloween, Muppet Fans!

It's finally here! The one day a year where most of us (Disney World and Disneyland employees excluded) get to dress up as fictional characters or bad visual puns! It's also the one day that candy surplus stores live for! Yes, it's Halloween! And what better way for a Muppet blog to celebrate than with a collection of Muppet videos for your viewing pleasure?


















The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Fan Testimonials: Aaron Buitron

Greetings, Muppet fans! We're very excited here at The Muppet Mindset today because we've got a great new series entitled Muppet Fan Testimonials. Credit for this great idea for a new series goes to our friend Aaron Buitron, who wrote this first article for us. The premise for this series is that you, the Muppet fans, write an article that chronicles how exactly you became a Muppet fan. We want to know what sparked your interest, what held it, what sort of Muppet stuff you had as a kid--whatever you'd like to tell us! We're really excited to hear from Muppet fans about this. If you would like to write your own Muppet Fan Testimonial, write up your article and email it to Ryan Dosier at muppetmindset@gmail.com and it will be posted on The Muppet Mindset shortly after!

Without further ado... The Muppet Mindset is proud to present our very first Muppet Fan Testimonial by Aaron Buitron!

Aaron Buitron - I was born on June 1, 1990, two weeks after Jim Henson’s death, so I suppose I’m what you’d call a second generation Muppet fan. I don’t think I could say exactly when I became a fan, but the circumstances around my upbringing certainly allowed for it. For as long as I can remember, three Muppet VHS tapes have been in my possession:  It’s Not Easy Being Green, a sing-along compilation with clips ranging from The Muppet Show to The Jim Henson Hour. Another was the Billy Bunny's Animal Songs, another sing-along which still makes me grin whenever anyone says “knee deep.” The last was Sesame Street’s 25th anniversary special, which I watched least of the three but still loved. I used to go around the house screaming “Count it Higher.” Overall, it was a pretty solid foundation for a three year old, I’d say (if I could say much of anything when I was three).

Growing up I was home-schooled, which meant I was home in the morning and afternoons to catch Nickelodeon’s Muppet Matinee which allowed me to see rare things like “The Secrets of the Muppets” and classics like Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas. Years passed and my Muppet fandom was casual but devoted, I watched my tapes and the rare TV appearances that occurred in the 90's but missed most of Muppets Tonight and all three theatrical movies that have been released in my lifetime. It wasn’t until 2002 when I discovered Muppet Central that my fandom reached a fever pitch. I acquired anything I could get my hands on, particularly pertaining to Rowlf. I received a Rowlf puppet that I carried around for months as well as the "Ol’ Brown Ears is Back" CD, which resides on my iPod to this day.

As a final testament to the depths of my fandom, for a home school project I once wrote a three page paper on the history of the Muppets complete with a paragraph for each principal Muppeteer and which characters they performed. I also included random details about the various buyouts of the Muppets in recent years. I guess I’m a weirdo, but to paraphrase the great Dr. Teeth, I’m proud of it too!

Well if that's not the greatest quote to represent us Muppet fans, I don't know what is! We really look forward to seeing more of these wonderful Muppet Fan Testimonials and we hope you'll contribute some to The Muppet Mindset. If there's anything we all share, it's a love for the Muppets--so now let's share how that love came about, shall we?

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Call for Proposals: Kermit Culture Sequel

Greetings, Muppet fans! We at The Muppet Mindset have a very exciting opportunity for you all today. Remember waaaay back when we first started the blog, our friend Arianne Gallagher reviewed the book Kermit Culture, a collection of academic essays about the Muppets? Well because of that review, the fine people over at McFarland publishing have reached out to me so I can reach out to you (that's a lot of reaching) for academic essays to be published in a companion volume to Kermit Culture. That's right, you, Muppet fan, could have the opportunity to be published! The Call for Proposals follows my boring text here, but if you do decide to submit an essay, please let us know--we'd love to feature it on The Muppet Mindset as well! 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Jennifer C. Garlen and Anissa M. Graham, editors of Kermit Culture: Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson’s Muppets (McFarland, 2009), seek proposals for essays to be included in a companion volume, tentatively titled, Fraggle Rock to Farscape: Essays on the Worlds of Jim Henson. Interested individuals should note the following guidelines.

Proposal Guidelines: Please submit a brief abstract (no more than 250 words) outlining your intended contribution. Proposals may include the following topics: Fraggle Rock, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, The Storyteller, or any other productions of The Jim Henson Company or Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, EXCEPT those already covered in Kermit Culture (the characters and programs associated with the original Muppet Show cast). Sesame Street proposals may be considered, depending upon the proposed discussion and the number of submissions received. Brief queries are welcome should there be questions about appropriate submission topics. Please include a short biographical blurb along with the proposal.

Send proposal and biographical blurb to:

Jennifer C. Garlen          (jennifer.garlen@gmail.com)

AND

Anissa Graham    (anissa.graham@gmail.com)

Proposals will be accepted through May 15, 2011

Note to non-academics: We welcome proposals from qualified writers, regardless of their occupation. However, non-academics should know up front that compensation is limited to a free copy of the volume once it is published. No other remuneration should be expected. This is typical of academic publications.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

"?" with Jarrod Fairclough: What is Going on with the Fraggle Rock Movie? - The ANSWER

 

Jarrod Fairclough Presents: "?"

Because Asking Questions Is A Good Way To Find Out Things

Question: What the heck is going on with the Fraggle Rock Movie?

Hello sports fans, and welcome to my follow up article to my last post, “What the heck is going on with the Fraggle Rock Movie?”

We had some fair discussion on this topic over at the Muppet Central Forum just after it was posted, with a few people giving their opinions, mainly on the proposed "edgy" factor and the Weinstein Company. I was pretty impressed to see people’s thoughts, and, without them giving their written consent, I am going to tell you a few things they said. Please don’t sue me. (Ryan's Note: Or me.)

Frequent Muppet Mindset contributor James Gannon wrote, “Weinstink is clearly waffling and maguffening the movie so they never have to spend their precious money to make it...  Henson... GET OUT OF WEINSTINE FAST OR THIS MOVIE WILL NEVER GET MADE!”

Ha! I love this guy’s passion--and I totally agree. I can’t see this film coming out any time soon, which really sucks. I have been looking forward to this since it was announced years ago, but here we have the Whinysteins mucking around, trying to make a wholesome, family classic into a money making franchise. By the way, I only just realized James said Weinstink... That’s comedy right there.

Muppet Central Forum member Luke wrote that he doesn’t see this film being made by Weinstein, and that he believes that Henson will go and co-produce with someone more traditional. I think to keep the Fraggles with the integrity they already have, this is a good idea. I can’t see Weinstein doing a good job with this film.

And then my new favorite person this week, James Gannon, came back for more, and he did not hold back: "The 'edginess' thing seems like a complete and utter ploy. There's no way they'll get this into production if they keep ordering a set of phony baloney rewrites...Weinstein was Henson's partner back several years ago when all they contributed was making little CGI kiddy flicks. Lionsgate has been a strong partner...releasing the back catalog of older specials and projects owned by Henson...much better than even Disney and Sesame Workshop have been doing. I say, jump ship... go to Lionsgate... let Weinstein go under."

But all this time, I’ve known the answer to my question. Truth be told, I got an answer before I submitted the first article with the question, otherwise I wouldn’t have submitted it. I said that I was going for a particular person’s answer, and I don’t think many people had a problem realizing that someone was Cory Edwards, the (hopefully) writer and director of the film. So, with his actual written consent, I am going to copy and paste his answer to "What the heck is going on with the Fraggle Rock Movie?"

"Jarrod,


I'm always up for talking to Fraggle fans. I wish I had something more definitive and less frustrating to share. But the answer to your question is the same as it has been for months: Nothing. Nothing is going on with the movie... or if it is, I am not being told about it (sadly, this could also be possible). After two years and ten drafts of what many insiders called a very good script and something that was very true to the original series, the Weinstein Company has placed the project on an indefinite hold.

The studio has talked about bringing in a new writer and an entirely fresh take on the story, which I am open to. I remain cautiously optimistic (emphasis on "cautious"). But it's been a really, really long time with no new communication from the studio. The ball is entirely in their court. Both the Weinstein Company and the Jim Henson Company are very aware of my excitement and eagerness to move forward, in whatever way they eventually decide to proceed. But right now, there's not a lot of proceeding. Believe me, if there is even the slightest "break in the case," as the Law & Order boys say, I will post it on my blog immediately!


Thanks to all the fans who remain enthusiastic. Be patient, that's all I can say. These things take time!


Cory Edwards"

Well, didn’t that just ruin your day?  So the answer to this week's question is... Not a lot!

Well, all I can say Muppet fans is cross your fingers, your toes, your eyes, your arms, your legs, and your ears. But don’t go out in public like that, or old ladies will throw rocks at you. Believe me. It’s a long story; I don’t want to go in to it. All I’ll say is that charges are pending, and I’m taking that old lady down.

Well, that’s it for another installment of "?".  I shall be back soon with another question. Also, feel free to comment here, or on the Muppet Central Forum, or on Facebook to request questions or characters you want questioned. Someone wrote on my Oscar article “Questions about Pepe!” which I’ll hopefully get on to soon, when I can think of a question about him!

As for now, I’m about to finish my last week of university for the year--studying animation, by the way. And then I’m going away, or technically for the majority of you, coming to your country. I’m spending three weeks in the U.S soon, and, hopefully, I’ll be able to have a Muppet experience to tell you I already have something planned with Muppeteer Paul McGinnis.

But I’ll be seeing you before I go, and I hope you all have a Fraggle-icious day, and dance your cares away.

Cheers,
Jarrod

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Weekly Muppet Wednesdays: Grover

Today's article was a joint effort between Michael Wermuth, Jr. and Ryan Dosier.

GROVER

Performed by...

Frank Oz (1969-present, sort of)

Eric Jacobson (1998-present)

First appearance...

Sesame Street, Season 1 (1969)

Most recent appearance...

Sesame Street, Season 42 (2011)

Notable quotes...

“Hello, everybody!!!!”

“It is I, your cute, adorable, lovable pal, Grover.”

“Hey, froggy babyyyyyy!!!”

WHO IS GROVER?

Grover is one of the furry blue monsters on Sesame Street. He often gives demonstrations (such as "Near and Far") and lectures, and sometimes assists others in their lectures as well (and often either gets them wrong or gets worn-out from doing them). Grover apparently still lives with his mommy, while his father is rarely even mentioned. Grover works a variety of different jobs that range from waiter to cowboy, has the superhero identity Super Grover, and also talks without using contractions.

The first Grover puppet was reused from Gleep, a gray green monster who appeared in a Christmas sketch with Art Godfried on The Ed Sullivan Show. During the first season of Sesame Street, Grover was more of a generic monster, though in many of his first season sketches he showed mannerisms that we all know him for today--such as getting things wrong and getting worn-out from certain demonstrations. In Grover’s first few years on the show, his voice also sounded a bit deeper and gruffer than it later would.

As stated in the book Sesame Street Unpaved, as well as an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Grover’s best friend is Kermit the Frog. Grover has often assisted Kermit in his demonstrations, and usually ended up a victim. In other sketches, Grover comes to Kermit’s house, usually as a door-to-door salesman (or a plumber), and in these instances it is Kermit who is the victim.

Grover has also appeared in many sketches paired with the likes of Elmo, Herry Monster, Mr. Johnson (though he wouldn’t consider himself Grover’s best friend), Big Bird, and Herbert Birdsfoot.


In recent years, Grover has become more and more prominent on the show and in merchandising. This all started with 2004's pseudo Grover revival that included the direct-to-video A Celebration of Me, Grover and starring roles for Grover in quite a few of Season 35's street stories, along with "Global Grover," which was a staple on the show for years. Most recently Grover was given his own, brand new short-form series in Season 41, "Super Grover 2.0."

GROVER'S JOBS

Grover has had many different jobs on Sesame Street, but his most frequent job is that of a waiter employed at Charlie’s Restaurant. His most frequent , both at Charlie’s and other various locations, is Mr. Johnson (aka Fat Blue). Grover’s service is the bane of Mr. Johnson's existence--although he almost always reacts in shock whenever he sees that Grover will be serving him wherever he goes.

In addition to being a waiter, other jobs Grover has had include...

• Elevator operator
• Plumber
• Salesmonster
• Exercise instructor
• Stagehand
• Actor
• Taxi driver
• Limo driver
• Mailman
• Farmer
• Flight attendant
• Game show host
• Photographer

GROVER'S ALTERNATE IDENTITIES

Grover has had a variety of different identities in addition to himself and his various jobs. His most famous alternate identity is Super Grover (whose true identity, in the context of “The Adventures of Super Grover” sketches, is Grover Kent), who often tries to help others with their problems in some ridiculous way. Usually this means that Super Grover is oblivious to the fact that the people he's trying to help normally figure out how to solve the problems on their own. In season 41 the Super Grover costume got an upgrade for a series of sketches called “Super Grover 2.0," though the classic costume is still used outside of those sketches.

Other alternate identities include Marshall Grover, who is often paired with his trusty companion Fred the Wonder Horse, Professor Grover, who sometimes taught The Spanish Word of the Day, and Global Grover, a world traveler.

GROVER SONGS
Grover has performed many songs in Sesame Street's 41 years. Here's a list of some of his most famous songs...

• What Do I Do When I’m Alone?
• Over, Under, Around, and Through
• I Stand Up Straight and Tall
• Me
• How Do You Do? with Lena Horne
• Sing After Me with Madeline Kahn
• Fuzzy and Blue with Cookie Monster, Herry Monster, and Frazzle
• My Furry Little Shadow
• Monster in the Mirror

MEMORABLE GROVER MOMENTS

One of Grover’s signature routines is his demonstration of "Near and Far," in which he keeps running near and far from the screen to show the difference, until he gets worn out and faints. Grover first performed this routine in the Season 1. Grover would later show the difference between near and far while riding on a surf board in a sketch from the 1990s.

Other Grover sketches include a three-part sketch where Grover wants to talk about the number 2, his favorite number, in another, Grover and Biff appear as cavemen who try to move a rock up a hill, Grover has also echoed on a mountain, conducted an off-screen stereo, hosted awards ceremonies, provided an Outrageous Makeover: Home Addition, and, most recently, he has smelled like a monster while riding a horse--erm... cow. 

WHY DOES SESAME STREET NEED GROVER?

Sesame Street needs Grover for so many reasons. Grover represents the tenacity within us all--the drive we all have to never give up and never surrender, no matter how difficult, trying, or exhausting something might be. Yes, no matter how far (or near) Grover has to run, he never gives up. Whether he is Super Grover attempting to turn off a light, Waiter Grover trying to serve alphabet soup, or Marshal Grover riding into the sunset, Grover is the most tenacious of anyone on Sesame Street and he teaches kids watching how important it is to keep going, no matter the odds.

Grover is also fun-loving, funny, adorable, hugable, eager, talented, untalented, loving, and one of the greatest teachers anyone could ever ask for. What more or a reason do you need to see why Grover is a core, unmovable part of Sesame Street? Still need something? Fine... take this and call me in the morning.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Halloween Costume Spooktacular 2010, Part 2

Ryan Dosier - It's almost Halloween, Muppet fans! Do you have your candy and your Bean Bunny costume ready to go? Did you finally convince your wife to go as Spamella/your husband to go as a Pa and Ma Gorg couple? ...Good luck with either of those things.

Today we return with another review of some more hideous Muppet-related costumes! This time we look at the new Fraggle Rock costumes that were, shockingly, approved and released by The Jim Henson Company. I'm sure the suspense is killing you... which is awesome, because I could use an army of zombies for Halloween this year.

Anyway... here are the "Fraggle" (you'll see why I used the parentheses in a second) costumes.

GOBO FRAGGLE COSTUME - $110

LIKENESS - It's everyone's favorite Fraggle: Hobo! (Not a typo.) Good grief, what the WHAT?! I don't even know where to begin... for starters, $110 for this? Really? Really? I'd be extremely interested to know how many of these get sold. What is that hair made of? Cheerleader pom-poms? Did Gobo mug a cheerleader when he entered male pattern baldness--which he obviously inherited from Uncle Traveling Matt? Hmm... I smell a fan-fic! 2 STARS
FUN FACTOR - At this point I'd like to measure Fun Factor against Price... just to make it clear that it's highly difficult to have enough fun with this costume to make it worth $110. In fact, I would argue that staging a live-action remake of a Fraggle Rock episode would be one of the only ways to have $110 worth of fun with this costume. 2 STARS
SCARE FACTOR - Well... I'm certainly freaked out. No amount of dancing my cares away could save this worry for another day. This looks like something that would be hanging in the Gorgs' pantry in the Henson Haunted House. I really think it's the head that scares the most on this thing... there's just so much wrong with it. 4 STARS

RED FRAGGLE COSTUME - $110 (now $59.99)

LIKENESS - Yay! It's everybody's favorite Fraggle Rock character, Red Platypus! Don't you just loved her webbed feet and her off-colored skin-tight legging legs? My favorite Red Platypus aspect is the bulky orange short shorts. Remember her trademark purple hair ribbons and her "AHHHH!!! A dingo!!" facial and body expression? Ah, such fond memories... (By the way, who knew Red had such a curvaceous mid-section?) 2 STARS
FUN FACTOR - No one who shows up to a highly populated Halloween party wearing this is going to have fun. Imagine everyone tugging your tail and your pigtails and laughing at your horribly disfigured head and pointing out that your wearing this is probably single-handedly delaying production on the Fraggle Rock Movie. (Kudos to said makers of fun if they've actually heard of the Fraggle Rock Movie.) 2 STARS
SCARE FACTOR - If this doesn't say "run and hide," I don't know what would. Well... maybe ToughPigs' Joe Hennes wearing this--that would certainly say "run and hide." (Woot! I've made fun of Joe twice this week. Three more times and I get a free sub-sandwich at any participating Quiznos.) 4 STARS

WEMBLEY FRAGGLE COSTUME - $110 (now $59.99)

LIKENESS - Oh no!! Oh no, no, no! It's happened! Someone has poisoned the Fraggle Rock water supply! Look what they've done to poor, poor Wembley!! Oh gosh, it's gotten so bad that his brains have literally exploded out of his head. Worst. Halloween. Special. EVER. I like the banana tree shirt though--I'd like to just own that. 1 STAR
FUN FACTOR - Not even Wembley would wemble about whether or not this thing is fun to wear. What on earth might compel someone to put this on and go out in public? Certainly not a fan of Wembley--because they'd be disgracing themselves. I'm trying to come up with some sort of creature to compare this heap to... but I've got absolutely nothing. It's a brand new homunculus mass of bad designing. 2 STARS
SCARE FACTOR - Fraggle Zombies are always scary--and Wembley Fraggle Zombie is the scariest of them all. This wins the Scare Factor award for the 2010 Muppet Halloween Costume season... Poor Wembley. The one time he wins... 5 STARS

MOKEY FRAGGLE COSTUME - $110 (now $59.99)

LIKENESS - This must be Mokey... the only time she gets merchandise is when it's absolutely hideous. Mokey looks like that blue haired great aunt that your parents always invite to your birthdays that gives you a check for ten dollars then steals all of your Fig Newtons and smells like cats. ...Psychotherapy, here I come! What on earth were they thinking when they saw this costume's head? "Oh, yes, delightful. My favorite character from Farggle Lock, Monkey!" 1 STAR
FUN FACTOR - Mokey's idea of fun is writing bad poetry... imagine all the awful poetry you could write about this thing. Here's a sample--run with it. "There once was a costume of Mokey/That made me want to choke-y/Her head gave me nightmares/I want to maul it with bears/And put it out of its misery." 1 STAR
SCARE FACTOR - The aunt image I put in my head in the Likeness section has freaked me out enough already. But I dare you to try to go to sleep while thinking about this costume's head portion. And you thought Freddy Krueger was scary! 4 STARS

Well... there you have it, Muppet fans. Sorry to spoil any ideas you ever had about how awesome Fraggle costumes could be... because as these have certainly proved, it's a lot easier to imagine than to actually create. Yeesh. Until next year... this has been The Muppet Mindset's Muppet Halloween Costume Spooktacular!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Comic Mondays: Muppet Mash #4

The Muppet Show Comic Book #11

Muppet Mash Part Four: The Curse of Beaker

Written and Illustrated by Roger Langridge

James Gannon - As the werewolf bays to the blood red full moon, and the vampires get set for Daylight Standard Time (earlier hour for them to skulk around, you know), our "Muppet Mash" journey comes to a close with Part Four: The Curse of Beaker.

This time, some weird science is going down at the Muppet Theater, care of one Bunsen Honeydew. Which wouldn’t be too much of a bother on anyone else, but the theater suffers blown fuses and power outages from his latest project. For once, Bunsen actually feels that the work load is overstressing Beaker. Something it apparently took years of explosions and sharpened bananas to do. So, Bunsen decides it’s time for a more robotic assistant. 

After multiple failures with bad artificial computer brains, Bunsen realizes the only way the robot won’t malfunction is if he puts Beakers brain in the robot instead. Of course, Beaker has to make do with putting a Poob named Hugh in his brain’s place (justified only because it says “meep”). And that’s not all... Gonzo has a mishap with his Morris dancing while being shot out of a cannon that leaves him a little hunchbacked, and Miss Piggy gets a shocking new hair style when fidgeting with the fuse box. Add chickens with pitchforks and you get... well, you should know by now.

I’ve seen stories before that focused on Fozzie, Scooter, Kermit, Piggy, and even the band, but this time Bunsen and Beaker get a turn in the spotlight. I don’t even think they managed to get an actual episode of The Muppet Show to become their character piece.  Bunsen is quite mad, but in a logical sense, and deep down, you can tell he does care about Beaker (funny way of showing it trying to remove his brain).

The one thing you won’t find in this issue is "Link Hogthrob, Monster Smasher." Which is a shame, since it was a nice variation on Pigs in Space. A much more subject matter appropriate Vet’s Hospital takes its place, but all the rest of the skits have significance to the plot. Plus, after the Vet’s Hospital skit, Piggy was holed up in her room for a good portion of the issue, refusing to go on--similar to last issue’s Howlin’ Jack story line. 

The Muppet Mash story arc really doesn’t connect outside of being a series of themed issues, though there was a Poob in the Calistoga Cleo arc. I don’t know exactly what a Poob is, if we’re ever going to see them again and how they’ve managed to live without them for so many years. It didn’t really need any major story connecting force (like On the Road, The Treasure of Pegleg Wilson, or Family Reunion had), but it wouldn’t have hurt it too much either if there was some small gag that unified everything.  But it's still a frightfully good read nonetheless.

 

As a whole, this has been a good theme based arc, even though two of the monsters were misunderstandings (one was actually founded, but that’s just Kermit and Scooter’s secret). And it really seemed that two of the issues experimented with guest stars more akin to the actual human guest stars on The Muppet Show. There were other guests before, but they felt like the weird Muppets that just happen to be in one episode and never again (like Angus McGonagle the Gargling Argyle Gargoyle). So, until November’s start of the "Four Seasons" story arc, goodnight out there, WHATEVER you are!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Halloween Costume Spooktacular 2010, Part 1

Ryan Dosier - Greetings, Muppet fans! It's that time of year again--Halloween is coming, and coming fast. Yes, it's time for dentists to break out the new drills and put a down-payment on that brand new yacht, time for girls to wear an outfit in public that consists of less than they wear to bed, and time for small children to dress up as their favorite cartoons, super heroes, and teenage pop stars!

But what is an adult Muppet fan like you (or I) to do at this festive time of year when everywhere we see Darth Vader costumes or his-and-her electrical outlet and plug costumes? How do we, the Muppet fans, show our love for Muppets, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock on Halloween? Well, lucky for you, we here at The Muppet Mindset have a look into some of the new, official Muppet costumes available through Sesame Workshop and The Jim Henson Company this year.

As you surely recall, last year we featured a similar two-part series of articles looking at the Muppet costumes from The Muppets Studio and the Sesame Street costumes from Sesame Workshop. These costumes were ranked in three categories: Character Likeness, Fun Factor, and Scare Factor. Each factor will receive a rating of up to five stars to help you determine whether it's worth your purchasing.

Today we're looking at costumes from Sesame Workshop as we see their attempts to appeal to college-aged girls (which is exactly who I'm trying to appeal to). Let's get started, shall we?

SEXY COOKIE MONSTER COSTUME - $50.00

LIKENESS - Ah, yes, everyone's favorite Sesame Street character: Sexy Cookie Monster. Riddle me this, Sesame Workshop, what on earth makes a preschool character with googly eyes who spends all of his time eating sexy? I mean, besides the girl in the costume... But honestly, is it really a good idea to produce costumes of your characters that encourage girls to dress like this? Isn't that kind of the opposite of your curriculum? Just wondering. Get back to me on that. The worst part is, it looks nothing like Cookie Monster! Kudos on the cookie-shaped belt buckle, though. 1 STAR
FUN FACTOR - I guess this depends on what sort of fun you want to have. 3 STARS
SCARE FACTOR - The only thing scary about this costume, to me, is the fact that someone at Sesame Workshop approved this and thought it was a good idea. "Yes, yes! Let's whore out our beloved children's characters for 'sexy' costumes. What could parent groups possibly have against that?" However, there is nothing scary about the girl within the costume. Call me, Sexy Cookie Monster girl! 3 STARS

SEXY ELMO COSTUME - $39.99

LIKENESS - Umm... likeness of what? Elmo? A girl wrapped in a red towel and wearing red stockings? Someone with an Elmo-looking alien eating through their skull from the inside out? Honestly... with the right amount of orange ribbon and a fluffy enough red towel, you could probably make this costume for about $10. Incidentally, about $10 is probably all this girl plans to spend on Halloween--guys like me will be buying her all the drinks she wants. 1 STAR
FUN FACTOR - Who wouldn't want to tickle that Elmo? 3 STARS
SCARE FACTOR - Once again... frightening that this was allowed to happen, but I certainly wouldn't mind being in Elmo's World for awhile. And really, there are so many other sexy Sesame costumes they would be much scarier to parental groups... 2 STARS

SEXY BIG BIRD COSTUME - $39.99

LIKENESS - Well... it is feathery... sort of. And I rather like what they did with the legs--they should've done that for the adult Big Bird Costume from last year! I cant' see the weird Big Bird thing on her head... but I just have to assume that it doesn't look anything like Big Bird. However... it's a cute blonde in a Big Bird costume. Isn't that the dream, fellas? 2 STARS
FUN FACTOR - Just tune me out for a minute here, ladies... Think of the possibilities, guys! She goes as Big Bird, you go as Snuffy--"Don't worry baby, I'm not imaginary." So many great pick up lines too... "Hey, can I buy you a bird seed milkshake?" "What say you and me go say the Alphabet later? Maybe we can put U and I together." ...And I wonder why I can't pick up girls. Okay girls, you're welcome to tune in again. 4 STARS
SCARE FACTOR - Big Bird... the face of Sesame Street for 41 years... reduced to a cute blonde girl in a frilly yellow towel with orange and pink striped leggings. Well... if she's giving me her phone number I guess that's okay. 2 STARS

BIG BIRD TODDLER COSTUME - $39.99
 

LIKENESS - See! SEE?! Now THIS is a costume! Adorable, acceptable, and well done. Some great Big Bird-like pants--even better with the orange sneakers--a fantastic Big Bird hat... now see, this is a costume I can support. I guess it just shows that Sesame Street costumes always work better on kids. Even the likeness of Big Bird is good enough that I can't really even complain! 4 STARS
FUN FACTOR - What kid doesn't want to be Big Bird for a day? Bonus points for parents who put their kids on stilts to make them as tall as Big Bird. Less bonus points if said parents end up with kids in the hospital on Halloween due to falling from stilts. 3 STARS
SCARE FACTOR - There is absolutely nothing scary about this costume. Wait... I take that back. It's scary to think that one day this little girl might wear the Sexy Big Bird costume. *shudder* 1 STAR

ABBY CADABBY DELUXE COSTUME - $44.99

LIKENESS - Everybody say it with me now... "Awww!!!" Alright, now that we have that out of our systems... How great is this costume? It even comes with Abby hair! This is adorable and I can't imagine any little girl not wanting to be Abby Cadabby for Halloween. They get to carry a wand, they get to have wings, they get to have awesome Abby hair, they get to turn things into pumpkins... Win! 5 STARS
FUN FACTOR - To quote Abby... "[This costume] is so magic!" Look at that! The girl in the picture is already having fun--and she's not even trick or treating yet (presumably)! If you can figure out a way to rig your little fairy-godchild on some sort of rope or other hanging object so that she could actually fly like Abby, more power to you! (Please don't do that.) 4 STARS
SCARE FACTOR - The only way for this Abby costume to be scary is if someone other than a little girl was wearing it. Yes, I'm looking at you Joe Hennes from ToughPigs! Don't get any ideas! 1 STAR

And with that, I bid you farewell until Part 2 of our Muppet costume spotlight. Next time we'll look at too-hideous-to-be-real Fraggle costumes. Trust me... you won't want to miss this. Look for it on Tuesday!

To see all of the Sesame Street costumes and merchandise available for Halloween this year, be sure to check out the online Sesame Street store!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier