Cookie Monster

Cookie Monster is a popular Muppet character on the children's television show Sesame Street. He's covered with blue fur and has "googly eyes", and he has an infinite appetite. He can (and often does) eat anything and everything, but his favorite choice of food above everything else is cookies.

Cookie Monster has a deep, growly voice, and speaks with a simplistic diction (e.g., "Me want cookie!"). He is at his most gentrified when presenting Monsterpiece Theater, a reference to the real-life Masterpiece Theatre, as "Alistair Cookie", a reference to broadcaster Alistair Cooke.

He has been referred to as "The Cookie Monster," and "Cookie" for short. In a 2004 episode of Sesame Street, Cookie Monster revealed in song that before he started eating cookies (and became "Cookie Monster") he was called Sid.

Origin
Jim Henson's Designs and Doodles explains Cookie Monster's early life: "In 1966, Henson drew three monsters that appeared in a General Foods commercial that featured three crunch snack foods: Wheels, Crowns and Flutes. Each snack was represented by a different monster. The Wheel-Stealer was a short, fuzzy monster with wonky eyes and sharply pointed teeth. The Flute-Snatcher was a speed demon with a long, sharp nose and windblown hair. The Crown-Grabber was a hulk of a monster with a Boris Karloff accent and teeth that resembled giant knitting needles.

"These monsters had insatiable appetites for the snack foods they were named after. Each time the Muppet narrator, a human-looking fellow, fixes himself a tray of Wheels, Flutes and Crowns, they disappear before he can eat them. One by one, the monsters sneak in and zoom away with the snacks. Frustrated and peckish, the narrator warns viewers that these pesky monsters could be disguised as someone in your own home, at which point the monsters briefly turn into people and then dissolve back to monsters again."

As it turns out, these commercials were never aired -- but all three monsters had a future in the Muppet cast. The "Crown-Grabber" was used in an Ed Sullivan Show sketch, in which he ruins a girl's beautiful day. Known from then on as the Beautiful Day Monster, he made a number of appearances on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. The "Flute-Snatcher" turned into Snake Frackle, a background monster from The Great Santa Claus Switch and The Muppet Show.

And then there's the "Wheel-Stealer", who was destined for greater things.

In 1967, Henson used the "Wheel-Stealer" puppet for an IBM training film called "Coffee Break Machine". In the sketch, the monster (with frightening eyes and fangs) devoured a complex machine as the machine described its purpose and construction. At the end of the sketch, the talking machine explains that it's wired with a security system that's set to explode if it's tampered with. The monster promptly explodes. This sketch was also performed in October, 1967 on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Two years later, Henson pulled the puppet out of the box again for three commercials selling Munchos, a Frito-Lay potato chip. This time, the puppet was called Arnold, the Munching Monster. After the three ads were produced, Henson had the opportunity to renew the contract. He chose not to, because at that point he was working on Sesame Street -- and that monster puppet was moving on to the next stage in his career.

Sesame Street
In his early appearances on the show, Cookie Monster seemed somewhat scary to younger viewers, as he personified the childhood fear of "being eaten by a monster" - which is somewhat ironic, since during the show's first season, he mostly played the role of a toddler who got in the way of everything without thinking, acted fussy when he didn't get his way, and was scolded by Kermit whenever he ate Kermit's property (see right). However, this contradictory image did not last long, and Cookie Monster quickly became one of the most popular and beloved characters on the show. Cookie Monster's theme song, "C is for Cookie", is one of the most famous songs from Sesame Street.

Since Sesame Street's major reformat in 2002-2003, Cookie Monster has hosted a regular segment called "Letter of the Day". In each episode he is presented with a cookie, upon which is written the letter of the day, in icing. Despite his best intentions, and various implausible schemes, he always succumbs to temptation.

To counter concerns that the character encourages poor eating habits, there are a number of "Healthy Habits for Life" segments and plotlines introduced in Season 36 (2005), in which Cookie encourages viewers to eat a balanced diet, and enjoy cookies as a "sometimes food". However, the idea of Cookie Monster setting a good example for children with respect to their eating habits has been used since the 1970's, with public service announcements and individual sketches.

Casting History
Main Performers
 * Frank Oz - From 1969 to present
 * David Rudman - From 2001 to present

Alternate Performers
 * Jim Henson - in The Ed Sullivan Show
 * Joe Raposo - in Everyone Likes Ice Cream
 * Eric Jacobson - occasionally in 2001

(David Rudman officially became Cookie Monster in Sesame Street's 2002 season (taped 2001) but the year before that, David shared the part with Eric Jacobson. Once Eric was cast as Grover and Bert, Sesame Workshop chose David as Cookie to allow for more interaction between Cookie and Bert/Grover.)

International
Sesame Street is localised for some different markets, and Cookie Monster is often renamed. Here are some of Cookie Monster's international aliases...


 * Arabic : "Kaa'ki" ("????")
 * Germany : "Krümelmonster" (Krümel means Crumbs)
 * Israel : "Ugifletzet" ("&#1506;&#1493;&#1490;&#1497;&#1508;&#1500;&#1510;&#1514;")
 * Mexico : "Lucas"
 * Netherlands : "Koekiemonster"
 * Norway : "Kakemonsteret"
 * Spain : "Monstruo de las Galletas" or "Triki"
 * Sweden : "Kakmonstret"
 * Taiwan : "Pingkan Kuaishou"

He is not re-named in the UK however, despite the fact that the word cookie has a different usage there.

Trivia

 * Cookie Monster appears on Episode 518 of The Muppet Show, and there's a gag about how he and guest Marty Feldman both have googly eyes.