Teeny Little Super Guy



Teeny Little Super Guy appeared in animated segments created by Paul Fierlinger for Sesame Street, beginning in Season 15. . Though ostensibly a superhero, Teeny Little Super Guy was actually more of a practical problem solver. Writer Jim Thurman provided the character's gravelly voice, and scripted the segments. The segments were distinguished by Fierlinger's unique animation method, wrapping cels around transparent plastic cups, so that a movement cycle could be achieved by simple rotation of the cups. This also allowed Fierlinger to use a kitchen counter and assorted dishes and kitchenware as props, inside his own kitchen. Some segments featured flashbacks to Teeny Little Super Guy's childhood.

The first Teeny Little Super Guy cartoon took two months to create. Fierlinger spoke at length about the character and production process in a 2005 Livejournal post. He initially pitched the idea to producer Dave Connell. "It was his [Connell's] idea that the character be a super hero, which made me hate him for that for about a week. I couldn’t understand people who couldn’t come up with anything more original for an animated character than yet another super guy. But Jim Thurman started playing him down and I dropped my resentments. We all followed Sesame Street’s curriculum of topics and I was given a contract to develop the series. I had a couple of months to create the hundreds of cups that were needed to play out any possible scenario and create the sound tracks."

A total of 13 segments were produced. The theme song and background score were composed by Larry Gold, with lyrics by Stuart Horn. Essra Mohawk sang the vocals, recorded to create the illusion of four-part harmony.

In Episode 4196, Luis was inspecting Leela's troubled washing machine. He managed to extract seven items, including the famous Teeny Little Super Guy. Luis gives a rather befuddled look, indicating he is surprised to see the famous character after more than 30 years.

Today, one of the Teeny Little Super Guy cups, along with a picture of Firelinger rotating the cups, is actually inside the public display case at the Brooklyn Public Library along with the other Sesame Street contributors. The display also includes another picture of the character with a yellow balloon.

Credits

 * Executive Producer: Dave Connell & Dulcy Singer
 * Producer: Lisa Simon
 * Supervising Producer: Edith Zornow
 * Director: Paul Fierlinger
 * Writer/Voices: Jim Thurman
 * Engineer: John Avarnese
 * Editor: Patrick McMahon