Oscar the Grouch Does Crowd Work

On Sunday, May 25, we took a field trip to Seattle's Egyptian Theater to see the West Coast premiere of the documentary film I Am Big Bird.

The movie tracks the rise and rise of puppeteer Caroll Spinney, the man inside the Big Bird costume/puppet on Sesame Street. He's also the performer behind Oscar the Grouch. It's standard fare as far as documentaries like this go, but entertaining and particularly moving if you're a fan of the Muppets. There are even a few revelations that pack a punch, and not just because of the contrast between the child-like innocence of an 8-foot tall yellow bird puppet versus the adult man who inhabits the suit.

Caroll Spinney, Oscar and various puppets.
[Photo courtesy of the I Am Big Bird website.]

Spinney and his wife attended the screening and during the Q and A session after the movie, Spinney brought out Oscar the Grouch. That is, the actual Muppet he uses when filming for Sesame Street.

A room mostly full of adults suspended disbelief and engaged with Oscar as if we were a bunch of preschoolers. Oscar became real. Oscar is real. Some patrons even asked questions directly to Oscar, and the Grouch never skipped a beat, saying things to fans that Spinney himself cannot. Though, to be fair, Spinney is saying those things to fans, but in a way he can't.

A fuzzy green puppet ran that room for ten minutes, and he was like Don Rickles on a cruise ship. See I Am Big Bird when you can. It's worth the time and attention even if you're not a major Muppet geek. The documentary shows how the right performer, in the right role, can make a major impact around the globe. And in Spinney's case, it's all for the positive.

Fred

February 2 marks the true start of spring. And instead of posting a music video or other light entertainment, The Typing Monkey instead encourages you to read AV Club writer Todd VanDerWerff's love letter to the television program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

VanDerWerff makes a strong case in response to the headline "Is Mister Rogers' Neighborhood the Greatest Television Show Ever Made?" It's up there, for sure. Either way, reading it will make you feel better, no matter what it's like outside.

Thunderbirds Are Gone!

Gerry Anderson, creator of Thunderbirds and several other espionage/action shows aimed at kids, died on December 25, 2012.

His puppetry and wonderfully detailed set-pieces influenced many kids who grew up to generate their own crazy shows. Matt Stone and Trey Parker of South Park fame paid homage to Anderson's work with their film Team America: World Police.

We'll speculate that Tim Burton, Henry Selick and Robert Smigel are fans as well, not to mention the Screen Novelties crew and many others.

If Thunderbirds is unfamiliar to you, please enjoy the opening credits from the show, which will tell you just about all you need to know about why those who love it, love it.



(And yes, we already regret that headline. Thank you Mr. Anderson, for what you created. Rest in peace.)

It's Them $@#% Goblins Again!

The animators at Screen Novelties do good work. And The Typing Monkey has swiped their content before to show you why we think that.

Here's another great piece of stop-motion and puppet animation work Screen Novelties crafted, inspired by Wladyslaw Starewicz's seminal work. It's both sweet and creepy, and that's not easy to achieve.

Check it:


You like? Here's a link to their Vimeo page for more, more, more.

"... when someone whistles"

The Tin Pan Alley/hot-jazz tune "Mysterious Mose" spins the ballad of a ghost who haunts the bandstand. Mose hangs around graveyards and deserted houses too -- he's pretty much responsible for that shiver you get when you're alone at night and have that strange feeling that you're. being. watched.

But it's all in the name of fun and er, doing the Charleston. Oh! And puppets and animation:

[courtesy of turbannedruffian]
That version uses the Radio All-Star Novelty Orchestra's recording from 1930, sometimes billed with bandleader Harry Reser's name above the orchestra.

Max Fleisher used "Mysterious Mose" as both a soundtrack and a basis for the "plot" of a Betty Boop cartoon, with Boop's sidekick Bimbo taking the role of Mose. [And yes, Ms. Boop has dog ears. This was 1930 when she was transitioning from her original canine self to the flapper temptress we all know.] Watch all six minutes of the cartoon here.

And if you're not tired of hearing the song yet, a marionette performer and "soft yard haunter" named Larry Schmidt did a puppet routine to another version of "Mysterious Mose."