 | |
| PERFORMER | Cheryl Wagner body |
| Sally Kellerman voice | |
| DEBUT | 1985 |
| DESIGN | Michael Frith designer |
| Caroly Wilcox builder | |
The formidable Miss Finch appeared in the first Sesame Street movie, Follow That Bird. As a social worker for the Feathered Friends Society, Miss Finch is distressed by the case of Big Bird, with no birds around him. She takes it upon herself to meet Big Bird and persuade him to leave Sesame Street for a new foster family, the Dodos, with a father, mother, sister, and brother.
When Big Bird runs away from the Dodos, Miss Finch cannot fathom why he could possibly be unhappy with "his own kind." She sets out in the Feathered Friends Society van to pursue "Big", but is thwarted.
Miss Finch first finds Big Bird walking down the street with the children Ruthie and Floyd and tries to capture him, but he manages to escape before she does. She begins looking for Big Bird in a hayfield, unknowing that he is hiding in a haystack, and leaves continuing her search. She also finds Big Bird reading a sign in Toadstool but he manages to run away from her yet again. She tries to chase Big Bird in the Toadstool Mushrooms Parade but loses him. When finally trailing him to Sesame Street, Miss Finch is convinced by Maria and the others that Big Bird does have a family, right in the neighborhood, one which includes all kinds of people.
Although Miss Finch functions as an antagonist, she has good intentions and wants only the best for Big Bird. Underneath her icy cool exterior, she does care about Big Bird and believes she is only doing what is right by him.
Miss Finch also appeared in The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years with Donnie and Marie Dodo.
Miss Finch is one of the few people to refer to Big Bird as just "Big" (assuming Bird to be his surname).
Notes[]
- Big Bird mentions a Mrs. Finch in passing during a conversation with Mrs. Twitter in Episode 0937.
- Episode 4187 introduced a real estate agent named Freddy Flapman, who played a similar role to Miss Finch in trying to convince Big Bird to move away from Sesame Street.
Book appearances[]
- Follow That Bird Activity Book (1985)
- Follow That Bird coloring book (1985)