The Wheel Stealer (1966), sketch from Jim Henson's Designs and Doodles.
The Wheel-Stealer
Proto-Cookie from The Coffee Break Machine (1967).
Another proto-Cookie (Arnold) with Munchos spokesman Fred (1969).
Kermit yells at proto-Cookie in a Season 1 sketch, as seen in The Sesame Street Book of People and Things.
C is for Cookie, that's good enough for him.
Cookie Monster in Christmas Eve on Sesame Street.
Cookie Monster is a voracious Muppet and one of the main actors on Sesame Street. Covered with blue fur and possessing a pair of googly eyes, Cookie Monster has an insatiable appetite. As his name implies, his primary craving is cookies, but he can (and often does) consume anything and everything, from apples and pie to letters, flatware, and hubcaps. When Cookie Monster eats something, he makes a very distinct, loud munching "noise", often interpreted as "OMM-nom-nom-nom..."
Cookie Monster has a deep, growly voice, and generally speaks with simplistic diction, saying everything with "me" - for instance, "Me want cookie!", as opposed to "I want a cookie!". Cookie occasionally displays an unexpectedly complex vocabulary, however, and is at his most gentrified when in his Alistair Cookie persona, hosting Monsterpiece Theater.
Origin[]
Jim Henson explains Cookie Monster's early life: "In 1966, Henson discovered three monsters who appeared to be obsessed with three crunchy snack foods: Wheels, Crowns and Flutes. Each snack was represented by a different monster. The Wheel-Stealer was a short, fuzzy monster with wonky eyes and sharply pointed teeth. The Flute-Snatcher was a speed demon with a long, sharp nose and windblown hair. The Crown-Grabber was a hulk of a monster with a Boris Karloff accent and teeth that resembled giant knitting needles.
- "These monsters had insatiable appetites for the snack foods they were named after. Each time the Muppet narrator, a human-looking fellow, fixes himself a tray of Wheels, Flutes and Crowns, they disappear before he can eat them. One by one, the monsters sneak in and zoom away with the snacks. Frustrated and peckish, the narrator warns viewers that these pesky monsters could be disguised as someone in your own home, at which point the monsters briefly turn into people and then dissolve back to monsters again."
The Crown-Grabber went on to the Ed Sullivan Show, in which he ruins a girl's beautiful day. Known from then on as the Beautiful Day Monster, he made a number of appearances on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. The Flute-Snatcher turned into Snake Frackle, a background monster from The Great Santa Claus Switch and The Muppet Show.
And then there's the Wheel-Stealer, who was destined for much greater things.
In 1967, Henson cast the Wheel-Stealer for an IBM training film called "The Coffee Break Machine." In this film, the monster devoured a complex machine as the machine described its purpose and construction. His greed gets the better of him, however, as the machine's recording continues (within his stomach), announcing that it is wired to self-destruct. The monster promptly explodes. This was also performed in October 1967 on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Two years later, he was again cast (sans teeth) in three commercials selling Munchos, a Frito-Lay potato chip. This time, the monster was called Arnold. After the three ads were produced, Henson had the opportunity to renew the contract. He chose not to, because at that point he was working on Sesame Street -- and that little monster was moving on to the next stage in his career.
Sesame Street[]
The monster gained his signature blue fur when he first appeared on Sesame Street as a generic unnamed muppet with an undefined personality. Early on in the show's first season, he often played the role of a toddler who got in the way of everything without thinking, acting fussy when he didn't get his way, and was scolded whenever he ate Kermit's property during lectures. Ironically, in these early appearances, Cookie seemed somewhat scary to younger viewers, as he personified the childhood fear of "being eaten by a monster."
A defining moment in Cookie's evolution was a skit written by then head-writer Jeff Moss, in which the googly-eyed monster kept nipping at Ernie's milk and cookie. Another breakthrough, according to Jon Stone, was a game show sketch where the winning contestant chose a cookie over other luxurious prizes. Ultimately, this craving would be fully integrated his name by the second season. With that, Cookie Monster quickly became one of the most popular and beloved actors on the show. Cookie Monster's theme song, "C is for Cookie," is one of the most famous songs from Sesame Street.
In Sesame Street Magazine issue 144 (May 1985), CTW's associate research director Istar Schwager allayed the fears of some parents about Cookie Monster's bad habits:
- "Each of the muppets on Sesame Street is designed to exaggerate a familiar human foible, and Cookie Monster is babyishness personified... When parents object to Cookie Monster's grammar, we remind them that children learn from a variety of sources -- including other Sesame Street muppets who speak properly. Cookie's eating habits, too, are a point of concern for some parents. The inedible things that Cookie eats (a car fender!) make it clear to children that his behavior is out of the ordinary. Other muppets, such as his arch-enemy Captain Vegetable, of course, are vocal advocates of good eating habits."
Arlene Sherman recalled in a 1998 Museum of Television and Radio seminar; "We used to have a typist that corrected Cookie Monster's grammar!"
When Sesame Street's format changed in 2002, Cookie Monster hosted a regular segment called "Letter of the Day." In each episode he is presented with a cookie, upon which is written the letter of the day, in icing (and later, actual foam letters). Despite his best intentions, and various implausible schemes, he always succumbs to temptation.
To counter concerns that he encouraged poor eating habits, a number of "Healthy Habits for Life" segments and plotlines were introduced in Season 36, in which Cookie wretchedly was forced to encourage viewers to eat a balanced diet, and enjoy cookies as a "sometimes food." However, the idea of Cookie Monster setting a good example for children with respect to their eating habits has been used since the 1970s, with public service announcements (most notably the rap spoof "Healthy Food").
However, the move toward highlighting healthy eating habits in 2005 led to a persistent rumor circulating in the media and on the internet that Cookie Monster would be dropped from the show, or renamed "Veggie Monster." Sesame Street poked fun at the media firestorm in a Season 37 episode. In a 2006 episode, Matt Lauer of The Today Show confronts Cookie Monster about the rumors that he's giving up cookies and becoming a "Fruit Monster." Cookie Monster refutes the rumor, explaining that he eats the fruit first, and then has cookies for dessert. Cookie Monster also says that the media is always blowing things out of proportion.
In a 2004 Sesame Street episode, Cookie Monster revealed in song that before he started eating cookies (and became "Cookie Monster"), he was called Sid.
In an interview with NPR, Cookie Monster explained he eats everything, demonstrating by eating his headset and a plate of broccoli. However, upon being served sardine ice cream, he says he draws the line at sardine ice cream. In a later interview, he added that he also drew the line at eating bugs.
Notes[]
- Cookie Monster appears on episode 518 of The Muppet Show, and there's a gag about how he and guest Marty Feldman both have googly eyes.
- Cookie Monster's birthday is November 2nd.
- Very rarely does Cookie Monster actually eat real cookies on the set. That would be ridiculous, as cookies are expensive and Cookie often requires multiple takes. He mostly gobbles on rice crackers, which are sometimes decorated to look like cookies.
- In the Ready To Learn parody of Mission: Impossible, Agent Cookie's entire body is shown. Other instances where his feet are shown include The Street We Live On (when he pretends to be a baby), episode 4075 (as he sits on a throne during his story), and Abby in Wonderland.
- For the 2005-2006 season, when the Dutch co-production Sesamstraat received new sets and scenery, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster and Elmo flew over to Holland for this special occasion. It was the first time the American muppets visited the Dutch street.
- In the 1995 video Cookie Monster's Best Bites, it is revealed that the letter C is "the favorite letter of all Cookie Monsters everywhere". However, in a 1976 episode, he claims to be the last Cookie Monster left in the world.
- Cookie Monster appeared in the June 19, 2008 episode of The Colbert Report, begrudgingly defending his new position that cookies were a "sometimes food". He ended the episode by eating Stephen Colbert's Peabody Award.
- Unlike most other Muppets of Sesame Street, Cookie Monster has four fingers and a thumb.
- Munchin: Impossible is a proposed spin-off series.
- In A Muppet Family Christmas, Animal observes Cookie Monster eating Janice's cookies in his signature manner, and comments, "That my kinda fella!"
- In response to the Facebook campaign to get him to host SNL, Cookie was the guest in the monologue with Jeff Bridges. During the monologue, the two sang "Silver Bells".
- In season one, in which Cookie Monster used Ernie's phone, Cookie Monster referred to himself by the name "Tiny" and also mentions having a brother named Fred.