Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures is an animated series developed by Sesame Workshop in which clay-animated versions of Bert and Ernie use their imaginations to travel to strange places and into entertaining situations.
The shorts were shown in the United States as inserts on Sesame Street, appearing irregularly from Season 39 through Season 43 and only occasionally since. Internationally, the shorts are shown as a standalone series in various overseas markets; the first season debuted in September 2008.[1] The animation for the series was produced by Italy's Misseri Studio. Two seasons of 26 five-minute episodes each were produced.
The characters' performers, Steve Whitmire and Eric Jacobson, provide the voices for the American Great Adventures segments. Additional voices are provided by Sesame puppeteers Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Joey Mazzarino, and Tyler Bunch.
Each episode begins with Bert and Ernie climbing into their beds for a night's sleep. Suddenly, Bert's bed starts shaking and tapping, and Ernie hops aboard as the bed flies out of their apartment and into their next great adventure. Each adventure has Bert and Ernie in a new location and a new situation. Sometimes they're accompanied by Bert's trusted pigeon-friend Bernice or Ernie's toy Rubber Duckie. Often they encounter new and old friends, and also adversaries, along the way.
The segment's theme song was written by Sarah Durkee (lyrics), Michael Abbott, and Joseph Franco.
Episodes[]
Season One | |||||
| Picture | Adventure/ First Appearance |
Description | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Tiny Town Episode 4161 |
Ernie and Bert find themselves in Tiny Town, where they are tiny, and everything around them is enormous. They have fun playing with a remote-control car and making friends with a giant puppy. Written by Sara Compton
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Pirates Episode 4163 |
Ernie and Bert are pirates, looking for treasure on the open sea. They come to an island, where a monkey steals their map, and they have to swap Bert's clothes to get it back. They find a happy face and dig up a treasure chest full of socks, which Bert (but not Ernie) finds exciting. Their lifeboat has floated away from the shore, so they use the treasure chest as a floating device and the socks as sails. Written by Todd Neale
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Planet Bert Episode 4166 |
Ernie and Bert are astronauts, traveling through space in their Rubber Duckie-shaped spaceship. They land on a distant planet and befriend a group of aliens, who bear a striking resemblance to Bert. They invite Ernie to play with them, which makes Bert feel left out and very shy about making friends. The aliens then discover that they all share Bert's love for pigeons. They all have fun doing his pigeon dance. Written by Mark Saltzman
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Bakers Episode 4170 |
Ernie and Bert are working in a bakery. They get a call from Big Bob, who makes a huge rush order for "Chocolate Surprise," a pastry they're never even heard of before. In a panic, Bert carefully follows the instructions from a cookbook for big orders; meanwhile, Ernie makes a mess of the bakery as he carelessly throws the ingredients together. Big Bob arrives and is very pleased with their work, as their mess turns out to be exactly the Chocolate Surprise that he had ordered. Written by John Weidman
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Cavemen Episode 4174 |
Ernie and Bert are cavemen. Since they have no grocery stores or restaurants, they must find food on their own. Ernie finds a nest with a giant egg, which he and Bert remove to take back to their cave. When Bert starts to cook the egg, it hatches and a baby dinosaur emerges, calling the attention of the mother dinosaur. After getting chased, Bert and Ernie see how sad the mother is without her baby, so they give him back and are rewarded with bananas to eat. Written by Billy Aronson
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Rainforest Episode 4177 |
As ecologists, Bert and Ernie must preserve and protect the plants and animals of the rainforest. Unfortunately, this rainforest has a displaced beaver with the ambition to build a grand opera house! It's up to Bert and Ernie to convince the beaver about the importance of the rainforest before he gnaws down all the trees for his opera house. Written by P. Kevin Strader
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Penguin Episode 4179 |
Bert and Ernie find themselves in Antarctica befriended by a bossy penguin who enlists Bert to be Daddy Penguin. As Bert learns, keeping an egg safe and warm is easier than it sounds, especially when you're surrounded by snowy hills and ice! Written by Luis Santeiro
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Wild Wild West Episode 4183 |
Now cowboys in the Old West, Sheriff Ernie and Deputy Bert must find Clarice the Cow, the only source of milk in the area. A singing cactus tells them she's in Horseshoe Gulch. They head for the town on their "taxi" (a donkey named Speedy). Ernie hears "cow sounds" coming from the saloon; looking more closely, he and Bert see Clarice dancing with Billy the Bull. They use the element of surprise to enter, but she reveals that she and Billy are going on a world tour, and their carriage is arriving at "high noon." They try to convince her to stay by making Bert be her dancing partner, but his dancing is not up to her standards. Bert believes she could make the world come to her, which touches her, and she decides to stay. Ernie, Bert, and Speedy enjoy some fresh milk. Written by P. Kevin Strader
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Three Wishes Episode 4184 |
Ernie and Bert are now in an Arabian town, where Ernie finds a dusty old lamp. He rubs it, and a genie waitress comes out and grants them three wishes. Ernie wishes for a "Duckie Touch," where everything he touches turns into Rubber Duckies. (This story is a mixture of the Aladdin story from One Thousand and One Nights and the King Midas story from Greek mythology.) Written by Rodney Stringfellow
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Inventors Episode 4185 |
Bert and Ernie are now the world's greatest inventors, making their latest creation. They name their new robot Frankie and begin commanding it to do things, such as squeaking Ernie's duckie or yodeling. Bert makes him do something "useful" by making Frankie knit him some argyle socks. He leaves to get a pair as a visual aid, leaving Ernie alone with the robot. Frankie gets carried away with Ernie's orders and makes a mess of the lab. Bert stops the madness by asking Frankie to "please stop." He makes Ernie and Frankie clean up, then joins them in their clean-up dance. Written by Sarah Durkee
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Museum Guards Episode 4552 |
Bert and Ernie are night museum guards, and a lady in a portrait has magically asked them for help. They enter the world of the painting where they discover that she only needs help getting her son Angelo to eat his dinner.
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Mountain Climbers |
While climbing the Alps, Bert and Ernie meet Heidi and her rambunctious goat. When the goat tries to take a bite of Ernie's cuckoo clock, it is nearly thrown off a cliff, and it's up to Bert and Ernie to save it.
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Deep Sea |
Ernie is in high spirits to dive to find the Eight-Legged-Wonder. However, he's going solo as Bert is reluctant to join in the watery fun. But when Rubber Duckie's safety is on the line, Bert takes a chance, saves Duckie, and realizes just how fun new things can be. Written by Billy Aronson
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Pigeonia |
Ernie, Bert, and Bernice travel the deserts of Pigeonia looking for a lost pigeon temple that contains "The Treasure of the Golden Pigeon." | |||
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Ernlock Holmes |
In a parody of Sherlock Holmes, with Ernie as Holmes and Bert as Watson, they solve the mystery of Lady Lulu's missing duckling, Lily. The trail leads them to discover that maybe Lily wasn't what Lulu thought she was after all.
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Superheroes |
Bert and Ernie find themselves in Superheropolis, which means they're superheroes! As Super Pigeon and Rubber Duckie Man they must stop the Mad Pancake -- who's stolen Super Pigeon's breakfast!
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Kung Fu |
Bert and Ernie are the guardians of the Royal Chrysanthemum, the most beautiful and fragile flower in the kingdom. While they're practicing their kung fu, a flower-loving monkey sneaks into the palace and steals the flower. Bert and Ernie use their kung fu to get the Royal Chrysanthemum back.
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Wizards |
Elmo joins Bert and Ernie at Wizard School. Unfortunately, Elmo turns their teacher Marlon into a frog, and now they need the feather of a two-headed Fangriff to cast the spell that will turn him back.
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Beach |
Ernie and Bert visit the beach with Bertina, Bert's surfer cousin. They are accompanied by Moose, Bertina's hyper-competitive friend. He makes every beach game they play a competition, until Moose and Bertina get taken by the Big Wave. Bert and Ernie go into lifeguard-mode to rescue them. | |||
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Invisible |
Bert and Ernie visit their friend Doug in Invisible Land, where nobody can be seen. They're having fun until they're asked to babysit Doug's little sister Zippy. | |||
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Piano Movers |
Bert and Ernie are movers who are asked to move a grand piano up the stairs of Ostrich Lady's mansion. Of course, this is much easier said than done. | |||
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Cliptecs |
Bert and Ernie are being given a tour of the land of the Cliptecs by their guide, Lorenzo Llama. The Cliptecs are a tribe of people who love paperclips. Bert has brought with him a magnet to attract paperclips, and the Cliptecs think he has special powers. They instantly declare him king. But their time is short, and Ernie wants to hear the Squeaking Duckies of Quacku Picchu, so Bert must give up his throne. | |||
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Knights |
Sir Bert and Sir Ernie are knights who must rescue Princess Duckie from her high tower, which is guarded by a dragon. They discover that the dragon has two weaknesses: fear of water and love of praise. After scaring the dragon a bit, they convince it to help them save the Princess by giving it a little praise. | |||
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Secret Agents |
00-Bert and 00-Ernie are secret agents whose mission is to stop the mischievous Dr. Nose from putting fake noses on everyone and everything. They chase him to his hideout on Nose Mountain where they try to unmask Dr. Nose and reveal his true identity. | |||
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Rodeo |
Bert and Ernie are rodeo clowns at a Western State Fair. While they are rehearsing their act, Ernie gets recruited to stand in for a missing bull rider. Macho Miguel, one of the regular riders, doesn't like the competition and decides to make sure Ernie gets a very dangerous ride. Bert catches wind of the plan and tries to save his buddy Ernie. | |||
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Chariot |
Bert and Ernie are chariot racers in ancient Rome. They must race Porkus Maximus and Horsus, the fastest racers in the Empire. All they've got is Fred the Donkey to pull their chariot. They discover that every time they make Fred laugh, he sprints faster than any horse could. Now they need to make sure they keep Fred laughing in order to catch Porkus Maximus. | |||
Season Two | |||||
| Picture | Adventure/ First Appearance |
Description | |||
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Maltese Ducky Episode 4187 |
Duck-Detectives Bert and Ernie are called upon by Veronica Lambshank to investigate the strange behaviors of her friend, Malty, who claims to be a "Maltese duck." Written by Nancy Sans
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Flower Shop Episode 4189 |
Mr. Boss, flower shop owner, asks his newest workers, Bert and Ernie, to watch his plants while he goes out, only Ernie doesn't pay attention to the very careful instructions he lays out. Written by P. Kevin Strader
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Gopher Broke Episode 4193 |
Ernie and Bert look for Rubber Duckie in a series of gopher tunnels. | |||
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Dr. Bird Whistle Episode 4195 |
Secret Agents 00-Bert and 00-Ernie (along with Bernice) parachute into a Guatemalan jungle to capture the notorious Dr. Bird Whistle, who uses bird calls to capture rare birds for his collection. This time, he is in Guatemala to capture the native bird, the quetzal. They try to trap Dr. Bird Whistle, but Bernice ends up caught in a cage. Bird Whistle releases her, finding pigeons common. He finds the quetzal and chases it, while Bert discovers Bernice is gone. They set another trap for him, which accidentally traps the quetzal, while another trap gets Bird Whistle. Now seeing how the birds feel, he promises to release the birds. Agent Bernice appears and reveals she set the trap.
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Raiders Lost Duckies Episode 4197 |
Ernie, Bert, and Rubber Duckie are about to travel through the treacherous Duck Cave to find the Wise Old Duck and ask him a very important question. Using their map, they come across the first landmark of the cave – The Feather Tunnel, which causes anyone who touches the feathers to laugh. Next, they swing across the Great Egg Pit. Finally, they find a large duck egg, which means the Wise Old Duck is near. The Wise Old Duck emerges, and Ernie asks the question: "Which came first – the Duckie or the egg?" The WOD cannot think of an answer, as Bert accidentally knocks over the large duck egg, and it begins to roll. They all escape, and Ernie realizes the answer to his question: to him, Rubber Duckie will always come first. Written by Christine Ferraro | |||
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Raincloud Episode 4200 |
Ernie and Bert are now owners of a farm with a poor crop. Ernie thinks that if he asks the single, small cloud in the sky, he will rain, and the crops will liven up. The cloud complies and replenishes their crop. However, he follows them inside their home to make it rain inside as well. Bert explains he belongs outdoors, and the cloud agrees. Written by Rodney Stringfellow | |||
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Car Mechanics Episode 4203 |
Bert and Ernie are now car mechanics, and Ernie now has an affinity to become a singing car mechanic. A Lady Ostrich brings her car in and heads out. Ernie discovers the car moves when he sings, so he and Bert get in and make it fly by singing, but Ernie takes them on a treacherous trail. After they land back in the garage, the ostrich comes back and tries singing but is horribly off-key. Bert plays the radio, and she goes flying.
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Under the Sea Episode 4205 |
Bert and Ernie are enjoying a day at sea, when Ernie spots a character in the water, which Bert doesn't believe. Ernie dives under and meets Ethel Mermaid, who plays tag with him. Meanwhile, a nasty rat parks his boat right next to Bert and begins tossing trash into the water. Ethel agrees to meet Bert but gets caught in some of the rat's garbage. Bert and the rat hear her air bubbles popping with yelling coming from them and offer to help. The rat attaches his anchor to the trash and pulls, setting her free. They then collect the trash from the ocean floor.
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Lost Elephant Episode 4212 |
On safari in East Africa, Ernie and Bert find a baby elephant who has lost his mommy. Written by Nancy Sans
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Three Ducketeers Episode 4214 |
When King Louie Louie's queen won't let him back into the castle, Ernie, Bert, and Rubber Duckie scheme to get him back inside with an apology cake. | |||
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Loch Ness Episode 4215 |
Bert and Ernie are visiting Loch Ness in Scotland, and Ernie is determined to get a photo of the Loch Ness Monster. | |||
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Super-Frog Episode 4216 |
Ernie tries his new frog friend, Froggy, to win the frog leaping race. The frog seems to be more interested in eating and giving Bert kisses. Written by Nancy Sans
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Walk Buttercup Episode 4218 |
Ernie and Bert have been hired to take care of Lady Ostrich's sad dog.
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Bird Games Episode 4221 |
Bert and Ernie are coaching Rubber Duckie and Bernice in the bird Olympics.
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Dustbusters Episode 4223 |
Bert and Ernie, "Dustbusters," have been hired by a woman to remove all the dust from her home. However, Ernie's sophisticated tools to capture the dust bunnies make for a big mess and eventually a large dust bunny. Written by Rodney Stringfellow | |||
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Imagine We're Magicians Episode 4225 |
Ernie and Bert are magicians and are having difficulties pulling a rabbit out of the hat. They end up chasing it inside the magical land in the hat. Written by Sarah Durkee
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Platypus Episode 4226 |
Ernie and Bert are in the Australian wilderness looking for a platypus. | |||
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Invent Wheel Episode 4234 |
Cavemen Bert and Ernie invent several things with rocks while trying to build a house for their pet dinosaur, Spot.
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On the Island Episode 4237 |
Bert and Ernie get a little too far out from the beach on their air mattress. Luckily there's a little island close by that they can reach. Written by Sarah Durkee
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Donnie Quixote Episode 4728 |
Bert and Ernie are squires to the famous knight Donnie Quixote. However, Donnie loses his glasses (thus explaining the delusions traditionally associated with Don Quixote). He attacks a berry bush (seeing a hydra-like monster) to save a beautiful damsel (Fred the donkey). Donnie inevitably ends up charging after a windmill, but the missing glasses are on one of the wheel spokes, and it's up to Ernie to retrieve them. | |||
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Butterfinger |
Bert and Ernie chase the villain Butterfinger. | |||
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The Computer Bug |
Repairman Ernie and repairman Bert try to hunt down a computer bug. | |||
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The extraterrestrials |
Ernie and Bert are camping when two aliens come by and think that Ernie's Rubber Duckie is the planet's leader. | |||
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The quiz show planet |
Bert and Ernie land on a quiz planet. Their Rubber Duckie-shaped spaceship sinks down in the ground. Two aliens offer their help if they are able to win the quiz. | |||
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The Yeti |
Bert and Ernie are going to find a very rare pigeon-shaped flower on the top of a mountain. However they are not alone as a Yeti is nearby. | |||
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Bert the pigeon |
Ernie hypnotizes Bert to believe that he is a pigeon. | |||
Notes[]
"This is kinda kicky!"
- The lyrics for the opening song were changed in Season 40. In the first season of episodes, Bert said, "This is kinda kicky!" In the second season, the word "kicky" was changed to "catchy."
- Ernie and Bert were previously seen molded in clay form by Stef de Reuver for the 1996 book Where's the Duckie?
- The "Secret Agents" episode received the Gold Award for the Children's Animation category at the 2009 World Media Festival as well as being a selection at the 2009 Annecy Animation Festival.
International broadcast[]
Early promotional image featuring original title.
Promotional image.
Promotional image.
The segment was added to Galli Galli Sim Sim in 2013, for its sixth season.[2]
It aired as a standalone program or as part of a Sesame lineup on the following stations:
- Asia: Disney Channel Asia
- Australia: ABC (2008-present), Seven Network (2009-2016), 9Go! (2016-present)
- Canada: Treehouse
- Finland: Yle TV2 (as a segment on Pikku Kakkonen)
- Ireland: TG4
- Italy: Rai 3 and Rai Yoyo
- Japan: As a segment on My Disney Junior.
- Germany (Ernie und Bert im Land der Träume): NDR, KIKA
- India: Cartoon Network
- Israel: Hop! Channel
- Latin America: Discovery Kids Latin America (as part of 3, 2, 1 Vamos!)
- The Netherlands: (De avonturen van Bert en Ernie): previously NPS, currently NTR, as part of Z@ppelin children's TV
- Nigeria: Arewa 24 - available in English and Hausa
- Norway (Bernt og Erling på nye eventyr): NRK - the show airs on both NRK1 and NRK Super
- Poland (Niezwykłe przygody Berta i Erniego): MiniMini, as part of the Sezamkowy Zakątek programming block
- Spain: Disney Channel Spain
- Sweden (Bert och Ernie på äventyr): Airing on SVT's Barnkanalen
- UK: Five's Milkshake preschool block
- Ukraine: Sonce TV
- Portugal: RTP
Credits[]
- Executive Producers: Arlene Sherman, Lisa Simon, Birgit Ponten, Holger Hermesmeyer, Nick Wilson
- Producer: Gina Maria Misseri
- Directors: Monica Fibbi, Francesco Misseri, Gina Maria Misseri
- Head Writer: Luis Santeiro
- Writers: Billy Aronson, Sara Compton, Sarah Durkee, J Milligan, Mark Saltzman, Nancy Sans, Luis Santiero, P. Kevin Strader, Rodney Stringfellow
- Music: Charles P. Roth