Thelma Thumb

Thelma Thumb was a series of animated segments on Sesame Street, dating at least to 1978, according to CTW archives. Designed to teach pre-science concepts, the series was produced by John Korty using his Lumage system, which utilized fabric cut-outs.

The central character was little Marcia Middlewell, a seemingly average girl who harbored a secret alter-ego. When accidents appeared inevitable or other trouble spots occurred, Marcia would enter a phone booth. With the utterance of her magic phrase, "Zapper jiffy squincher scrum, make me into Thelma Thumb!", she would shrink to the size of a salt shaker and fly to the rescue. Thelma's size allowed the segments to examine objects and places from a unique perspective. Also featured was Marcia's pet magpie, Cyrus, designed by Brian Narelle. As with other Korty shorts, the dialogue was partially improvised by San Francisco-based actors; Judith Kahan supplied the voice of Marcia/Thelma, and James Cranna was Cyrus.

While the segments have not aired on the US Sesame Street in decades, they still occasionally surface in the Netherlands, on Sesamstraat. Marcia Middlewell/Thelma Thumb is renamed Marijke/Selma Duim and voiced by Marijke Merckens. Cyrus, now Kobus Kraai, is voiced by Sesamstraat voice veteran Paul Haenen.

Individual Sketches

 * Thelma meets Cyrus Magpie.
 * A giraffe in the zoo swallowed a whistle. Thelma flies inside the giraffe's throat to find it.
 * A racing skelter loses its front wheel. Thelma comes to the rescue by pulling the skelter.
 * Thelma rescues an acrobat in the circus when the trapeze breaks.
 * During a piano recital, a string snaps. Thelma flies inside the grand piano to hold the loose ends together.
 * A friend of Marcia's is in danger: he has no light on his bike. Thelma asks the fireflies for help.
 * All the children's bicycles are stolen. Marcia asks Cyrus to watch her bike, but the thieves steal the bike and kidnap Cyrus. Thelma locates the thieves, locks them up in the garage and calls the cops.
 * A ship is about to crash on the rocks: there's a part missing from the helm. Thelma flies inside the engine to find it.
 * Thelma rescues a kitten from a building that's about to be destroyed with a wrecking ball.
 * The boys try to sabotage a game of baseball because they don't want the girls to play along. Thelma helps the girls set things straight by letting them win.

Credits

 * Director/Producer: John Korty
 * Designer/Writer: Brian Narelle
 * Art Director/Set Designer: Harley Jessup
 * Editor: Michael Rosenthal
 * Animator: Amanda Bereny
 * Ink and Paint: Kevin Richardson