My Theory On Elmo

[That Announcer]

I actually really like Baby Bear, but you know who my favorite newer character is? ROSITA!! I love her personality and she has a cool look to her.

Of the five newer characters (which practically are the only characters used today)- Elmo, Rosita, Zoe, Telly and Baby Bear- Telly is my favorite. He may not be a great character, but compared to the other four, he's more like the 'old' SS gand (Cookie, Bert, etc.). He in my opinion is the most believable of the lot today, and so that's why I like him. Oh- he's pretty funny too!

 

[DTF]

I don't mind Baby Bear in short segments, if he improves his speech. I disliked some segments but I did like the street scenes where they found out Curly didn't like porridge, and the one where her growl is so huge. Though I think even that could come from a latent dislike of him, as that 2nd one was basically his being used as a straight man of sorts for the comical Curly growl. I just wish they'd used more older characters int hat one.

Elmo, however, is on way too much, and just isn't all that educational. His impediment is actually worse than CM's, but for another important reason. Cookie sounds gruffer, more like a monster, and I have heard 2YOs or 3YOs get their 1st person pronouns mixed up - "I want I ice cream" or "Me want that." That's normal for a child, so it makes sense that it'd be normal for a monster.

But, while several friends have assured me their kids don't try to copy Elmo's talk, it's totally abnormal for a child to keep inserting 3rd person into 1st person - the only poeple who do that are egotistical ballplayers and probably some Hollywood stars

And, you can picture CM shouting "Me want cookie!" just as he's about to graab and gobble up a cookie, the plate, maybe some silverware, too. It's actually less logical to picture him as a refined gentleman saying "I am going to eat this cookie and the plate and the table..."

But, it's totally un-monster-like for Elmo to say "Elmo wants to play ball. Does Telly want to play ball with Elmo?" His voice is not that of a monster, nor are his actions or attitudes, whereas Cookie Monster, 90% of the time when he's talking like that, it stands to reason that he's more than a little excited, and sometimes kids when they're excited sort of lapse back a bit in their language. ("Gimme" instead of give me, please" for instance.)

 

[BEAR]

Of the five newer characters (which practically are the only characters used today)- Elmo, Rosita, Zoe, Telly and Baby Bear- Telly is my favorite. He may not be a great character, but compared to the other four, he's more like the 'old' SS gand (Cookie, Bert, etc.). He in my opinion is the most believable of the lot today, and so that's why I like him. Oh- he's pretty funny too!

Remember though that Telly has been around for a while (since the 70s) so he can hardly be called a "new" character. I gotta give him props though. He has lasted a long time (and in the street segments) and isn't considered to be one of the more popular characters from what I can tell. You are right, he is very convincing as the neurotic, constant worrier. He is almost a hypocondriac, like many other kids out there.

 

[BEAR]

Also the Guy Smiley version was actually a parody of a long discontinued car commercial. I don't think anyone who wasn't around in 1987-1989 When the commercial probably aired. Even still, it's a pretty obscure refference.

Personally, I dislike Elmo being the central focus, but I like the character. I mean, love him or hate him, Kevin Clash did take the charater turned down by two puppeteers and gave him a personality, and ran off with it. And you have to admit, he's 3 and a half years old, and three and a half year olds like to watch other three and a half year olds. Kids like other kids, and IMO, Elmo is one of the few Muppet kids I actually believe is a child, right up there with Big Bird and TMS Robin. I mean, I can't believe Grover's a child. He works odd jobs. To me, he's a college student trying to make ends meet. Ernie and Bert seem like 20-30 year olds who act childlike and share an appartment. Cookie... well, he seems anywhere from 20-40 to me. Telly seems like a worried 40 year old in a 20 year old's body (i.e. me). But Elmo has the exact mannerisms of a 3 year old.

You are right on about Elmo. He has taken over a bit too much lately, but the character is great for young kids to relate to. In recent years, the audiences have been younger, hence Elmo's coming out.
I don't think Bert and Ernie are meant to represent children. They are basically ageless, meaning they are not intended to represent any specific age group. They are two friends and we can probably just assume they are in their "young" 20s. Grover is another one of these. He is supposedly representing the psychological age of a four year old, but is not necessarily a "child", especially nowadays. The character seems to have matured a lot, especially since Elmo came about. He is still cute and lovable, but he is more like Elmo's older brother type. He is the teacher of the show. He is the one to explain all the basic concepts. He does them the hard way, but we always get the point of his lessons. Big Bird has grown up a little too, in my opinion. He is still a kid, but a little older it seems. In recent years, I feel he has gone from 6 to maybe 8. Cookie Monster is not really a child but shows childlike qualities. Prairie, I feel, definitely shows her age well as a bright 7 year old. Just some thoughts.

 

[DTF]

I read once, maybe here, that Big Bird was originally said to be 4, very early, and then was 6; nowadays, 8 is probably about right.

Praire as a bright 7 is very true, I see a good deal of a couple girl cousins of mine when they were that age in her.

The other ages make sense, too - B&E reminded me of my childhood dream of having a little brother, but were just as much modeled on a Laurel and Hardy or Abbott and Costello (okay, maybe that's going a little far back, but modeled on great adult cmoedy duos, to be sure.) They may be as timeless as anyone. It's a shame we don't see them ont he street, although getting a classic clip every day is very good. And I just wonder if they're not teaching in ways we don't notice. Because, I see the 2 nephews of my good friend, and when the younger one does something to drive the older one crazy, I can just see Bert in that grumbling growl the older one makes. A good way to teach children to act rather than hitting back or something.

 

[That Announcer]

Remember though that Telly has been around for a while (since the 70s) so he can hardly be called a "new" character. I gotta give him props though. He has lasted a long time (and in the street segments) and isn't considered to be one of the more popular characters from what I can tell. You are right, he is very convincing as the neurotic, constant worrier. He is almost a hypocondriac, like many other kids out there.

Whoops, my bad. I count any character given a good sized role after Marty Robinson took over Mr. Snuffleupagus as 'new', so you can't go by me!

I also go with the idea of Elmo's speech impediment being worse than Cookie's. Think about it- Cookie, for starters, isn't on that much. Cookie is usually seen by himself, and usually only doing one thing. And besides, many kids already talk a lot like Cookie. Elmo, on the other hand, is bad. Why? His 'third person talk' is not something that comes naturally. Can you imagine if every kid took on him as a role model? One guy in my class did, and he's a real dolt!

Unrelated: Does Elmo's voice remind anybody else of Mike Tyson talking whilst scratching a butterknife on a window?

 

[DTF]

And when he does it, well, many kids might talk some like him, which means they'd be much more likely to if they ever ate like him I have only seen one child even on tV eat like him, though, and none in real life. (The one on TV - Michelle, on Full House, crawling on the table and consuming a whole bunch of chocolate cake samples at once.)

 

[BEAR]

I read once, maybe here, that Big Bird was originally said to be 4, very early, and then was 6; nowadays, 8 is probably about right.

Praire as a bright 7 is very true, I see a good deal of a couple girl cousins of mine when they were that age in her.

The other ages make sense, too - B&E reminded me of my childhood dream of having a little brother, but were just as much modeled on a Laurel and Hardy or Abbott and Costello (okay, maybe that's going a little far back, but modeled on great adult cmoedy duos, to be sure.) They may be as timeless as anyone. It's a shame we don't see them ont he street, although getting a classic clip every day is very good. And I just wonder if they're not teaching in ways we don't notice. Because, I see the 2 nephews of my good friend, and when the younger one does something to drive the older one crazy, I can just see Bert in that grumbling growl the older one makes. A good way to teach children to act rather than hitting back or something.

Once in a while you will find them on the street. Mostly Ernie I would imagine. In fact, just yesterday, I was surprised to see Ernie hanging out on the street with everyone. It was Bert's bday and Ernie's gift to him was "peace and quiet" because that is what Bert said he wanted. So, Ernie goes out to play out on the street trying really hard not to go check on Bert cuz he missed him. The others (Gordon, Big Bird, Snuffy, etc.) try to keep him from checking on Bert seeing that Ernie keeps his promise. Later, Bert starts to get tired of reading his new book and misses Ernie so he goes out and plays with his friends.
Anyone else see this one?

 

[SillyRed]

Yup, I remember seeing this one. They all decided to celebrate Bert's Birthday!!

 

[BEAR]

It is true that B & E are rarely on the street these days. The closest we get most of the time is Journey to Ernie. I even find that Ernie is seen more often than Bert. Sometimes Bert will be there, but is it true to say that they are not on the street TOGETHER very much?