Sesame Street Puppeteers Explain How They Control Their Puppets | WIRED

Ever wonder how the puppets on Sesame Street operate? The puppeteers for some of Sesame Street's most famous characters share their insights on how they bring their iconic characters to life. The puppeteers for Elmo, Big Bird, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Abby Cadabby, and Rudy explain the various functions and features of their Muppets.

You can catch Snuffy and all his friends in the new season of Sesame Street on HBO or everyday on HBO Family or PBS Kids.



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Sesame Street Puppeteers Explain How They Control Their Puppets | WIRED

[reginaobrien]

Imagine going on a date with one of these guys...

“So what do you do for a living?”
“Oh I’m Elmo.”

[iCanBeHeroic]

Big Bird wearing jeans is something I really didn’t need to see this morning

[mandymckk]

I never thought about how physically demanding this job must be- just holding your arm straight up in the air for long periods of time has got to be exhausting!

[firefli]

Really gotta love how the puppeteer for Elmo is the only one that refers to them as "muppets" instead of "puppets".

[antsinmyeyes]

Honestly the dude for snuffleupagus looks exactly like how I would expect him to look

[CelesteRug]

There's something so amusing about watching a bunch of grown people on scooters rolling around sesame street

[alyssa]

The fact that they scoot around on little rolling ottomans is hilarious, I never thought about how they moved

[morgienie]

If Martin told me at a bar that he played Snuffleupagus, I would believe him.

[phoenixofcolorado]

3 year old stumbling upon this video: *say sike right now*

[Kummahndough]

RIP Caroll Spinney, the man who did Big Bird previously.

[andreanoble]

“Elmo is not going to play with zoey any more.” “Wh where are you going?”
“ALASKA!” “It’s faster if you drive.”

[EvanLeon]

Okay but Martin Robinson looks EXACTLY how I'd imagine someone playing Snuffleupagus would look and that's the best thing in the world.

[aprilynnmycorey]

I'm so glad they found someone that actually sound like the old elmo

[shc]

Awe Elmo’s voice is adorable.didn’t know the voice actor was also the puppeteer, what a talented group!

[heeman]

Is it weird that it’s impossible for me to see “elmo’s voice” come out of the mouth of the puppeteer? I can’t really explain it.

[Oscardtt]

When i was a kid, i thought Big Bird was the most scary puppet i ever seen, but not so long since I saw Snuffy... im 20, it’s still scared me...

[SunnyTheOpossum]

2:33 “Elmo doesn’t have eyelids”
Possibly the most unnerving thing I’ve ever heard.

[abcdefghijkl__mnopqrstuvwxyz]

When you look at the behind the scene. Holy crap, the production value looks high.

[meganrausch]

As a former kid myself, and a mother of a toddler, Sesame Street is one of the best programs there is ❤️

[stephaniepowell]

I love this. Puppeteering is such an art form. I am fascinated by the behind the scenes of it all. I want to thank them for the incredible job they do!