Oscar the Grouch

[Super Scooter]

Originally posted by fragglerockr

green shaggy fur (this will be tricky as Oscar's fur is somewhat rare...you might have to buy the fabric and dye the fur green yourself)

This can be pretty difficult. Last year I bought some white fur that I could die. It's the same type of fur used for characters like Grover or Oscar (I think their fur is rather similar, isn't it?). I was going to dye it a dark brown for a rabbit puppet I was making. The color didn't hold right, and, while the puppet still looks good, it is now a light brown.

I think there's a specific type of dye you need for dying furs. Just don't ask me what.

Guys,

I was wondering something. I have a puppet that everyone keeps telling me looks quite a bit like Cookie Monster. He is not made of fur, but, he does have the ping-pong eyes, is a live hand puppet, and has a very loose face. To me, while I can see the similarities, he looks distinctively different. I was wondering if their would be any problems using him. I could email it to someone if they'd like to see for themselves...

 

[Buck-Beaver]

A few years ago back when I still had a company building puppets for other people we did this hand puppet called Ned (for a picture click here and look at the "Ned" photo). Ned was "inspired" by an old FP Ernie hand puppet the puppeteer brought in (you can see it lying on the workshop table in the picture) but the look was changed quite a bit.

Henson folks actually sent a letter to the puppeteer because - even with the changes - they believed that it was too much like Ernie. When "Ned" got picked up for the Comedy Network in Canada he had to be resdesign so his look was distinct enough.

 

[MIKEB97]

If I build a charicature of Oscar and give him a different name, would it make a much of a difference?

 

[Super Scooter]

You could make an Oscar for your personal use.

Originally posted by Buck-Beaver
A few years ago back when I still had a company building puppets for other people we did this hand puppet called Ned. He was "inspired" by an old FP Ernie hand puppet the puppeteer brought in but he was changed quite a bit.

Henson actually sent a letter to the puppeteer because - even with the changes - they believed that it was too much like Ernie. When "Ned" got picked up for the Comedy Network in Canada he had to be resdesign so his look was distinct enough.

The thing is, he wasn't "inspired" by Cookie Monster. He had a pair of eyes that you just couldn't see on film, so, I tried building a pair of Gonzo-like eyes, but those made him look droopy. So, I got rid of the eyelids and gave him a pair of eyebrows. But, he wasn't based, inspired, or designed after Cookie Monster. People just think he looks like him.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

It doesn't really matter if it was "inspired by" Cookie Monster, the only question is could people be confused in to thinking it was Cookie Monster?

 

[Blink]

I try to be very cautious when I am building my own puppets. I made a character over a year ago that whenever someone saw they would say "Oh I love Kemit!" or "He is my favourite Muppet." My first reaction was to speak up and point out that Kernit did not have red on his eyes or body and that my character clearly did.

Bottom line is that if people see your character as another "more identifiable character" then it would be a good idea to change it so that it looks less "like" the Muppet in question.

I have made several changes to this character but an old picture of him is up on my new website.

www.chensational.com

A word of warning. The piture is only on the FLASH site, so unless you have FLASH or can run FLASH then I am sorry but you won't be able to see it.

Did it really look that much like Kermit?

According to the vast majority, yep.

 

[Super Scooter]

Originally posted by Buck-Beaver
It doesn't really matter if it was "inspired by" Cookie Monster, the only question is could people be confused in to thinking it was Cookie Monster?

Like I said, I think one of the only reasons people say he looks "sorte like Cookie Monster" is because of his eyes. I have done a bit to change them, but, still, people say he looks kinda like him...

I also have another puppet that people say looks like Kermit, but that's only because he is green. He looks NOTHING like the frog.

Buck, do you have email that I could show you what he looks like?

 

[Super Scooter]

Blink,

Yeah, he's most deffenitely NOT Kermit, but he does look like him in the face. His eyes and stomach are very much different. I think the color probably has something to do with it too.

I love your puppets though, man! They all look absolutely great!

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Hey, Blink--who does your website?

FOZ

 

[Blink]

Super Scooter:

Thanks for the support in the idea that he does NOT look like Kermit. I have since added fangs (actually one), and black nostrils, which gives him a meaner look. I'll try to take pictures of him and get some feedback on how he looks now.

I am very interested in seeing a picture of your "Cookie Monster" type puppet.

Do you have one that you could post?


FOZ:

Yes I am very happy with the site. My website was designed by my long time friend and business partner. We are starting our own company together, that offers a variety of services including web design. When our company website is up I'll be sure to post in on the forum.

And yes it will offer puppet related services as well.