The evolution of Cookie Monster.
Image | As seen in / Year | Notes |
---|---|---|
unaired Wheels, Flutes, and Crowns commercial (1966) |
Cookie Monster, first known as the Wheel-Stealer in an unaired commercial for General Foods' Wheels, Flutes, and Crowns snacks. | |
IBM training film "Coffee Break Machine" and The Ed Sullivan Show (1967) |
The monster retains his teeth and his fur is dark green with a few brown-black patches. | |
Munchos commercials (1969) |
Arnold, a smaller, younger-looking version of the Wheel Stealer puppet, is created for commercials for Munchos. The puppet has lost its teeth and has light purple fur, appearing closer to the Cookie Monster that will debut on Sesame Street. | |
Sesame Street Season 1 - late Season 2 (1969 - 1971) |
Back to his normal size and gaining his trademark blue fur, the monster puppet becomes Cookie Monster during the first season of Sesame Street. This puppet is loose and floppy, giving him much more expressiveness, and has scruffier fur. Years later, the puppet would be repurposed as Apple Monster. | |
Sesame Street later Season 2 (1971 - 1982) |
Starting with Episode 0260, a more refined Cookie puppet with a squarer jaw is used. His eyes are moved higher on his head; further away from his mouth. For a few seasons, Cookie's googly pupils are placed slightly lower, occasionally giving the impression that he's looking downward. This puppet is also used for Cookie Monster's Mommy during "Me Gotta Be Blue" and an angel in "Don't Eat the Pictures." | |
Sesame Street Season 14 (1982-1984) |
Cookie is rebuilt with a similar design as the former puppet and with brighter blue shag fur. | |
Sesame Street (1984-2016) |
Two subtly different Cookie Monster puppets have been used interchangeably since the 1980s: One puppet (pictured at top) first appeared in season 16 and has a larger, wider mouth; the other (bottom), which appeared in Follow That Bird and thereafter, has a smaller, more curved mouth. Overall, Cookie's googly pupils have shrunk, and his fur is fluffier and lighter in color. An example of the use of both Cookie Monsters is Monsterpiece Theater: Twin Beaks, with one puppet for the Alistair Cookie scenes and the other for the storyline's "Agent Cookie." | |
The Furchester Hotel (2014 - present) |
A new Cookie puppet with a more circular mouth and longer, frizzier fur first appears in episodes of The Furchester Hotel. The puppet is used more regularly starting with season 46 of Sesame Street. | |
Sesame Street Season 46 (2016 - present) |
Another Cookie puppet, with deeper blue fur and a squarer mouth, debuts in season 46 and is used concurrently with the previous puppet. This puppet prominently appears in chroma key scenes, including the Smart Cookies segments and "B is for Book." |