Talk: Sesamstraat

Big Bird in Dutch show

I noticed that Big Bird is on the American character voice actors list below the page. Did they ever use footage of him on the show or just in video releases and other stuff like I read in other articles relating to Sesamstraat? MasterYoshi 12:08, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

They used dubbed footage occasionally on the show itself, renaming him "Neef Jan" (Cousin John), and explaning that he was Pino's cousin. Andrew Leal (talk) 16:20, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Actually no, Big Bird (or Neef Jan) was never on the series. His voice was dubbed in (in chronological order) dubbed Sesame software (late 90's), Elmo in Grouchland (2000), the Sesame Street Live Shows (When I Grow Up from 2001 and Let's Make Music from 2006), and a few newer DVD releases (Best of Elmo, Best of Bert and Ernie, and Elmo Saves Christmas, all released around 2004/2005). The name "Neef Jan" was first mentioned in the song Best Friend Blues, which was dubbed around 1993. In merchandise, he always got a different name, from 'Pino' to 'Veervogel' (Featherbird) and from 'Big Bird' to 'Grote Vogel' (a literal translation). -- Jog 11:53, 30 July 2006 (UTC) Jog

Character Name Translations

Pity we haven't seen Jog around in ages, because I need help with some names. I found a nifty Sesamstraat presskit with a full list of the dubbed character voices. However, there's quite a few names I can't figure out. Here's the list, with voice, if anybody who knows Dutch can help.

Karel, Daanwortel, and Kobus Kraai: Paul Haenen

Donna Schaap: Doris Baaten

Dirk: Tom Meijer

Rinus Reis: Bill Van Dijk

Phil: Reinder van de Naalt

Loretta: Marjolein Algera

Miesje Mooi: Hellen Huisman and Marlies Somers

Marijke and Selma Duim: Marijke Merckens

Debby: Laura Vlasblom

Any and all help would be appreciated! Andrew Leal (talk) 23:47, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

I know some Dutch, but I'm not sure about the proper names; basically I've left most of those out. Anyhow

"Wortel" is a carrot. Not sure about the "Daan" prefix; occasionally in dutch combining two words makes for a completely different meaning, but it could also just be a name.

"Kraai" is a crow.

"Schaap" is a sheep

"Reis" is a trip or journey

"Miesje" appears to be a name. The "je" is an affectionate diminutive (sort of like "ie" in english). I thought at first you had possibly mis-spelled "meisje" which means little girl.

"Mooi" means beautiful.

"Duim" is a thumb.

Hope that helps! -- Wendy (talk) 14:36, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

That does help a little, actually! "Donna Schaap" was most likely Meryl Sheep, though I can't think of any recurring Muppet who woulf dit the "crow" designation. "Selma Duim" sounds like it may be Thelma Thumb, an animated character in the late 70s, early 80s, though I'm reluctant to assume there. Still, every bit helps. Thanks, Wendy! Andrew Leal (talk) 15:51, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

"Miesje Mooi" is apparently Prairie Dawn -- check out this kid's picture with a walkaround version here. It's at the bottom of the page. I also found some random postings of people claiming that this is the right id but wanted a pic.... -- Wendy (talk) 17:27, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Aha! I should have guessed, considering Huisman's bio lists the character so prominently. Andrew Leal (talk) 17:38, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Browsing around on some more dutch conversation boards (not very official I know) I've found "Selma Duim" referred to as a girl superhero who could maker herself small in an animated spot on Sesamstraat. She apparently had a black bird or crow with her frequently. From a few recent (w/in the last year) dutch episode summaries there are segments where she fixes a piano string, meets a giraffe, and helps a friend travel home in the dark. So if she is indeed "Thelma Thumb", then perhaps "Kobus Kraai" is from the same skit. I found an english guy, Brian Narelle who claims to have done "Cyrus the Magpie" for Thelma.... I'm not sure how common a magpie would be in the Netherlands so they may have swapped it for a more common bird?? -- Wendy (talk) 02:31, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I'm familiar with both Brian Narelle (I've contacted him) and Thelma Thumb (never seen them, but director John Korty produced several spots for Sesame, and Narelle worked with him). It surprises me that they still air in the Netherlands. Wow. Thanks, Wendy! And yeah, it sounds like they just changed the bird species, which is pretty vague in paper animation anyway. Andrew Leal (talk) 02:39, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

I just came back to fix that name... and it's actually good practice for my dutch, which I can certainly use, so it's good to have something to look for now and then. The stuff on recent skits comes from the dutch "tv guide"; I can't tell if they are rerunning old episodes or if it's new though. -- Wendy (talk) 02:47, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

I'd be very surprised, since Korty has since gone into strictly live-action, and I'd be even more surprised if some Dutch studio was producing new shorts with the character, especially given the technique (someting Korty called Lumage, which was basically stop-motion of paper cutouts). I think I've found a site that may have clips. I'll see if I can get an image. Andrew Leal (talk) 02:51, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Addendmum: Seems I was wrong. Dash misleading Dutch sites. Ah, well. With your synopsis (Thelma's power was indeed that she could shrink, apparently the purpose was to teach basic pre-science concepts), it's definitely Thelma Thumb. Andrew Leal (talk) 02:53, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Ah sorry -- I meant possible new eps of Sesamstraat not the animated short itself; I assumed that it wasn't being produced any more. Too bad on the clips though - I'm getting curious at this point myself. If I ever saw Thelma Thumb (and I was watching every day in the late 70s in the US so I should have), I can't seem to remember it! -- Wendy (talk) 03:12, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I saw a lot of Korty's segments (he had a unique style, which he also used in the animated feature Twice Upon a Time, which includes a Muppet Mention, Miss Piggy appearing in the belly of "Ibor the Television Gorilla.") But I nver saw Thelma (the date given in the CTW Archive document list at University of Maryland is 1978, at least for when the series began, but Korty was still doing Sesame stuff through 1982 or so at least). Where's Jog (or some other Dutch benefactor who can make screengrabs) when we need him?? Andrew Leal (talk) 03:15, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Just popping in for a really short time to make things clear... Karel is Buster the Horse. I don't know who Daan Wortel is, but my guess is that he is a one-shot humanoid cartoon character from a clip that taught the viewer to eat different things. Kobus Kraai is, indeed, Thelma Thumb's bird companion. Donna Schaap is Meryl Sheep. Rinus Reis is another one-shot humanoid character from a classic cartoon; he travelled in different vehicles ('That was Rinus Reis, travelling on a helicopter!' 'That was Rinus Reis, travelling on a pogo stick!'). Loretta is Kingston Livingston's best friend, a purple Anything Muppet girl who is usually the first to notice that Kingston has his own style. Miesje Mooi is Prairie Dawn. Marijke is the girl who turns into Selma Duim (Thelma Thumb) whenever necessary; yes, those classic toons are still a part of the Dutch series every now and then! Debby is the Dutch name for Ruby Monster. I don't know who Phil and Dirk are; my guess is that they are one-shot Muppet characters. I guess the reason why they're mentioned is because these voicepeople and clips were featured in the season this press kit was made. -- Jog 11:53, 30 July 2006 (UTC)Jog

Guest Stars

I'm going to take out the "Guest Star" section for now. Apart from the fact that it looks odd without a cast list for the show regulars, there's no source for it that I can find outside of Wikipedia. All three names are German actors, and Ben Becker, I've confirmed, appeared on Sesamstrasse, but nothing about going to the Netherlands and speaking Dutch on Sesamstraat. Andrew Leal (talk) 04:40, 19 July 2006 (UTC)