Teeny Little Super Guy

PERFORMER	Jim Thurman
DEBUT	1983
DESIGN	Paul Fierlinger designer

Teeny Little Superguy as part of the display at the Brooklyn Public Library

Teeny Little Super Guy appeared in animated segments created by Paul Fierlinger for Sesame Street, beginning in Season 15. Though ostensibly a superhero, Teeny Little Super Guy was actually more of a practical problem solver. Writer Jim Thurman provided the character's gravelly voice, and scripted the segments. The segments were distinguished by Fierlinger's unique animation method, wrapping cels around transparent plastic cups, so that a movement cycle could be achieved by simple rotation of the cups. This also allowed Fierlinger to use a kitchen counter and assorted dishes and kitchenware as props, inside his own kitchen. Some segments featured flashbacks to Teeny Little Super Guy's childhood. Reruns of these segments carried on until 2001.

The first Teeny Little Super Guy cartoon took two months to create. Fierlinger spoke at length about the character and production process in a 2005 Livejournal post. He initially pitched the idea to producer Dave Connell.

“It was his [Connell's] idea that the character be a super hero, which made me hate him for that for about a week. I couldn’t understand people who couldn’t come up with anything more original for an animated character than yet another super guy. But Jim Thurman started playing him down and I dropped my resentments. We all followed Sesame Street’s curriculum of topics and I was given a contract to develop the series. I had a couple of months to create the hundreds of cups that were needed to play out any possible scenario and create the sound tracks.”

The production started in May 1983, would developed seriously into filming at Fierlinger's House in the Philadelphia suburbs in August 1983 the production for the shorts developed more seriously into filming the first two shorts. A total of 13 segments were produced. The theme song and background score were composed by Larry Gold, with lyrics by Stuart Horn. Essra Mohawk sang the vocals, recorded to create the illusion of four-part harmony.

Teeny Little Super Guy later appeared in a cameo during Episode 4196, as one of the seven items Luis manages to extract from Leela's troubled washing machine. Luis, Leela and Elmo give a rather befuddled look, indicating that they're surprised to see the famous character after so many years.

Segments

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Picture	Theme / EKA	Description
[[Image:|250px|center]]	Egg Beater Episode 2243	Teeny Little Super Guy finds his friend Janey giving up on learning how to ride an eggbeater (as one would ride a bicycle) because she keeps falling off. Teeny Little Superguy tells her that it takes practice to be good at something and gives her a set of training beaters to help keep her balance.
	Sharing a Swing Episode 2363	Two boys are fighting over a swing. Teeny Little Super Guy shows them how to share.
[[Image:|250px|center]]	Baseball Episode 2481	Teeny Little Super Guy notices that his friend Alice wants to join a baseball game. He encourages her to go over there and ask them whether she can play.
	The Importance of Sleep Episode 2613	Teeny Little Super Guy shows his friend Harry the importance of sleep.
File:Superguy school.jpg	School Episode 2621	Teeny Little Super Guy reminisces to his friend Eugene, who starts kindergarten tomorrow, about his own first day at school. Video: 40 Years of Sunny Days
	Pet Spoon Episode 2640	R.W. Shipshape wants a pet spoon, so Teeny Little Super Guy teaches him the importance of being responsible with a pet.
	Safety and Danger Episode 2675	Teeny Little Super Guy talks about the time he learned the importance of safety.
	Redhat Episode 2755	R.W. Shipshape gets a "really good hat" for his birthday, and it blows into the street. R.W. remembers not to cross the street without an adult; Teeny Little Superguy helps him across. Note: The pet spoon that appears in this cartoon is given the name "Arthur J. Cronk", a reference to a character from The Electric Company.

Credits

The Teeny Little Super Guy's cameo in episode 4196 in 2009.

• Executive Producer: Dave Connell & Dulcy Singer
• Producer: Lisa Simon
• Supervising Producer: Edith Zornow
• Director: Paul Fierlinger
• Writer/Voices: Jim Thurman
• Engineer: John Avarnese
• Editor: Patrick McMahon
• Music Composer: Larry Gold
• Theme song vocals: Essra Mohawk

External Links

IMDB