Twiddlebugs



Twiddlebugs are a species of colorful insects who live in Ernie's window box. While the species was established in season 2, the main Twiddlebug family was introduced in season 5.

The Twiddlebugs seen most frequently on Sesame Street are a family of four. These Twiddlebugs often find themselves facing difficult challenges, such as taking their car to the zoo or hanging a postage stamp on the wall. Presented with such daunting situations, it would an easy thing for them to simply give up, and indeed they express despair when their initial attempts at solving these problems meet with agonizing failure. However, the Twiddlebugs persevere in the face of adversity, and through collective brainstorming and cooperation, they always manage to overcome even the most seemingly insurmountable tribulations, such as figuring out how to exit a roller rink. These moments of triumph are cause for celebration for the Twiddlebugs, who remain blissfully unaware that their ultimate solution is rarely the most logical.

A secret of Twiddlebug reproduction is revealed in the Sesame song "Let's Lay an Egg". "Snails do it, slugs do it," two gastropods sing. "Even tiny Twiddlebugs do it!" the Twiddlebug family (only without Timmy) chirps. "Let's do it! Let's lay an egg!"

Characters
The main Twiddlebug family consists of:
 * Thomas Twiddlebug (Papa Twiddlebug), performed by Jim Henson
 * Tessie Twiddlebug (Mama Twiddlebug), performed by Frank Oz
 * Timmy Twiddlebug (son), performed by Richard Hunt
 * Tina Twiddlebug (daughter), performed by Jerry Nelson

Other Twiddlebugs have appeared in books, including Mayor Thaddeus Twiddlebug. The Twiddlebug species is seen in great numbers and a wider variety of colors, and different aspects of Twiddlebug life and culture are examined therein. Other Twiddlebug homes and communities exist in other windowboxes on Sesame Street. Twiddlebug Town is located in Elmo's windowbox.

The CGI versions of the Twiddlebugs are animated by Magnetic Dreams.

Performing the Twiddlebugs
The high-pitched effect of the Twiddlebugs' voices was accomplished by recording the performers at [[Media:Slowspeed.ogg|slow speed]], then playing the vocal tracks back at [[Media:Fastspeed.ogg|normal speed]]. The characters' very deliberate enunciation is a result of the performers' attempts to keep the dialogue comprehensible after it was sped up.

In addition to being Muppets, the Twiddlebugs first appeared in computer-generated form in Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic. Additionally, new computer-generated Twiddlebug sketches premiered on the show starting in season 37. Magnetic Dreams animation studio, Nashville, adapted the Twiddlebugs for CGI. The CGI versions of the Twiddlebugs also made a cameo in an advertisement for Sesamestreet.org. The CGI versions are all voiced by Rickey Boyd.

Twiddlebug books

 * When Oscar Was a Little Grouch ("Tina Twiddlebug's Big Adventure")
 * Big and Little Stories ("Betty Lou's Twiddlebug Story") (1982)
 * Sherlock Hemlock and the Great Twiddlebug Mystery
 * The Adventures of Ernie & Bert in Twiddlebug Land
 * The Twiddlebugs' Dream House
 * Twiddlebugs at Work
 * Ernie and the Twiddlebug Town Fair
 * Who's Hiding?

Book appearances

 * More Sesame Street Finger Puppets (1972)
 * The Sesame Street ABC Storybook (1974)
 * Count with the Count (1975)
 * See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Smell No Evil (1975)
 * Bert's Big Band Paint-with-Water Book (1976)
 * The Count's Number Parade (1977)
 * The Sesame Street Mystery Coloring Book (1977)
 * The Amazing Mumford Presents the Magic Weather Show (1981)
 * Put & Play Magic Show (1981)
 * Put & Play Grover's Wishes (1981)
 * Which One Doesn't Belong? (1981)
 * Trace & Color Alphabet (1984)
 * Big Bird's Book of Rhymes (1985)
 * Ernie's Finish the Picture (1985)
 * A Bird's Best Friend (1986)
 * A My Name Is Annabel (1986)
 * ABC (1986)
 * Find the Shapes (1986)
 * Sesame Street ABC (1986)
 * Through the Year (1986)
 * Colors (1987)
 * A Rainy Day on Sesame Street (1987)
 * The Runaway Soup and Other Stories (1987)
 * Museum of Monster Art (1990)
 * 1-2-3 (1991)
 * Sesame Street 123 (1991)
 * Sleep Tight! (1991)
 * Elmo's Little Playhouse (1993)
 * Elmo's Mother Goose (1993)
 * Around the Corner on Sesame Street (1994)
 * Elmo's Big Lift-and-Look Book (1994)
 * Me Cookie! (1994)
 * Elmo's Lift-and-Peek Around the Corner Book (1996)
 * B is for Books! (1996)
 * Elmo Loves You! (1997)
 * Elmo's Valentine (1997)
 * The Poky Little Puppy Comes to Sesame Street (1997)
 * Pumpkin Patch Party (1997)
 * Elmo's Tricky Tongue Twisters (1998)
 * It's Not Easy Being Big! (1998)
 * Where Is Elmo's Blanket? (1999)
 * Sounds of Sesame Street (2000)
 * 123 Sesame Street (2001)
 * Clap Your Hands! (2002)
 * The City Sings a Song! (2005)
 * Sesame Subjects books (2006-2007)
 * Abby Cadabby's Rhyme Time (2007)
 * Elmo's Piano (2007)
 * Friendly, Frosty Monsters (2007)
 * Lots of Opposites (2007)
 * Music Player Storybook (2007)
 * My First Trip to the Farm (2007)
 * Rosita's Easter on Sesame Street (2007)
 * Sesame Street Super Sticker Book (2007)
 * What Makes You Giggle? (2007)
 * Everybody Dance! (2008)
 * Let's Help the Earth (2008)
 * Ding Dong, Elmo's Here! (2009)
 * Love, Elmo (2009)
 * Out & About (2010)
 * Potty Time for Monsters (2011)

Trivia

 * In the Who's Who on Sesame Street coloring book, the characters are incorrectly listed as Thomas (father), Tina (mother), Teddy (son) and Tessie (daughter).


 * The Spanish version of Sesame Street, Barrio Sésamo, translated the names of the characters as Los Nabucodonosorcitos, literally "The Little Nabucodonosor's", for King Nebuchadnezzar II the Great of Babylon, called Nabucodonosor in Spanish.


 * The German version of Sesame Street, Sesamstrasse, called them Krabbelkäfer, which basically means "Crawlingbugs" or "Scuttlebugs".


 * Most of the time, Twiddlebugs are depicted on TV as miniature creatures, small enough to live in a window box. However, in an early segment, Kermit the Frog counted "happy little Twiddlebugs" at a Twiddlebug Party - most of whom were bigger than Kermit.


 * In a 2006 Halloween card, Ernie is dressed as a Twiddlebug.