THEN AND NOW: The muppets of 'Sesame Street'

August 2024 ยท 3 minute read

Here's how some of the most popular "Sesame Street" muppets have transformed over the years.

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Getty/Don Emmert/NBC

Over the years, Elmo's look has largely remained the same, but his head has gotten slightly bigger and his fur appears to be a bit fluffier.

YouTube/Sesame Street

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Oscar the Grouch is probably the Muppet who has been through the most changes throughout the years. When he first appeared in "Sesame Street," he was orange and he was just a head and neck. Throughout the first season, he appeared with a right arm, and then two arms. Now,he is green and his mouth is larger than it once was.

YouTube/Sesame Street

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With yellow eyes, a sunken body, and a morose-sounding voice, Snuffleupagus looked slightly forlorn when he first debuted on "Sesame Street." Now, he has lighter eyes, prominent lashes, and a fuller body. His fur has also become more of a reddish brown.

Getty/PeterBischoff/Revierfot

Bert was first spotted in the first season of "Sesame Street" with a turtleneck, rumpled hair, and an immobile unibrow. His style hasn't changed much, but his unibrow is now inches above his eyes and his nose appears to have moved closer to his eyes.

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Barkley's design has changed little throughout the years, with his fur becoming slightly less shaggy and brighter orange. He also doesn't have a lot of yellow in his fur as he once did.

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Getty/Matthew Simmons/picture alliance

When Ernie was shown in the first season of "Sesame Street," he had a slightly different type of striped sweater and it had thick stripes. Now, his sweater has thinner stripes. Over the years, his head has also become more round instead of football-shaped and his fur is more vibrantly colored than it once was.

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YouTube/jtomally9681/Sesame Street

Big Bird was originally rougher around the edges than he is today, with a skinny body, dark legs, and ruffled feathers. Over the decades, Big Bird was given many makeovers, getting fuller feathers, a rounder body, a taller forehead, and bigger eyes.

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YouTube/MuppetVoicesAndMore/Sesame Street

He then debuted on "Sesame Street" as Cookie Monster, a much bigger Muppet with blue fur, no teeth, and a floppy, expressive body. From then on his design has mostly stayed the same, but his mouth is slightly more square.

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YouTube/theboxofme/Sesame Street

Now, Grover has a larger pink nose and vibrant blue fur. Over the years, his arms have also been placed lower on his body and his eyes have been angled differently.

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YouTube/Sesame Street

Herry Monster made his first appearance as a Muppet with light blue fur, a furry nose, and no tongue. His fur later became darker and he was also given a tongue.

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