Scathing Elmo Article

[Drtooth]

Cookie and Grover's not that recent reclamation of their standing on the show I place on no small part of recasting Frank's roles. Elmo came into popularity in part due to diminishing characters due to deaths and departures. Back during their 35th anniversary year, Sesame Worshop sponsored a Super Grover balloon in the Macy*s parade. The only other two Sesame Street balloons were Big Bird before it and Abby after it, due to them marketing the heck out of the character. Meaning borderline mascot Elmo didn't get a balloon. That was also when Grover and Cookie started having bigger roles in the show. For Elmo's 2 segments (granted, EW was long running) Cookie had 3, if you count the Letter of the Day segments. Grover had 2. Elmo and Cookie had an additional projected segment each (Munchin' Impossible and Elmo's Backyard) but they failed to materialize outside of a pilot. Even Big Bird and Ernie shared one, and The Count had his number of the day intros as well.

Cookie is indeed the go to Muppet for Sesame Street appearances. Look at the new iPhone ad with Cookie using Siri as a cooking timer for his cookies. I'm very glad we're getting a lot of Cookie and Grover lately. Only thing that kinda bugs me about the core six focus is some of the other mainstay have been pushed to the side. Really think they should use Ernie and Bert more since Ernie was recently recast. Other than that, while Elmo still has a massive chunk of the show, Grover and Cookie also share in that. Plus, we're also seeing a little more Oscar which is always good.

 

[Muppet Master]

Elmo really doesn't add much, Big Bird is already the naive kid, why do we need another one, seems pointless.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Elmo really doesn't add much, Big Bird is already the naive kid, why do we need another one, seems pointless.

Because Big Bird is older than Elmo. Elmo deals with simpler things so the 1-3 year olds (the majority of the audience) relate to him. While Big Bird can deal with issues that slightly older kids (4-6) face.

 

[Drtooth]

That's another thing I feel the old schoolers forget. Sesame Street had a massive demographic shift since the 1969 premiere. While, granted, Big Bird was originally designed to be something of an ersatz Bullwinkle, he eventually turned into the endearing, inquisitive 6 year old we're more familiar with. I'd say that was about a couple seasons in. Sesame Street originally was the substitute for preschool, which wasn't exactly as available as it was today. Meaning Sesame Street was pretty much an up to first grade demo back then and through the 80's. Since the 90's, when pre-preschool shows started popping up as now preschool was more widely available, the demo shifted, especially to compete with that rising necessity to reach younger audiences. Ones that grow out of the shows by the time they turn five.

So naturally, when Sesame Street was a 4-7 (8 at highest) year old demo, the audience had an age appropriate surrogate in six year old Big Bird. When it became the 2-4 year old demo, of course the shift went to a more relatable character to that age, 3 year old Elmo.