Cookie Monster

Cookie Monsteris a blueMuppetcharacter on thePBS/HBOchildren's television showSesame Street.He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating catchphrases, such as "Me want cookie!" As his name suggests, his preferred food is cookies, though he eats almost anything, including inedible objects.Chocolate chip cookiesare his favorite kind. His speech is oftengrammaticallynonstandard; for example, he always uses "Me" to refer to himself in place of "I", "My", and "Mine".Despite his voracious appetite for cookies, Cookie Monster shows awareness ofhealthy eatinghabits for young children and also enjoys fruits and vegetables.
In a song in 2004, and later in an interview in 2017, Cookie Monster revealed his real name as "Sid",though in the first season he was referred to as both "tiny" and "Harry".He is known to have a mother, a younger sister, and a cousin, identical in design,  who does not like cookies. All three share his characteristicbluefur and "googly eyes". He also has a father, who appeared in aMonsterpiece Theatersketch promotingenergy conservation,water conservationandenvironmentalism. Cookie Monster's mother and father both share his enormous appetite and craving for cookies.
The bookJim Henson's Designs and Doodlesexplains Cookie Monster's origin as follows: "In 1966, Henson drew three monsters that ate cookies and appeared in a CanadianGeneral Foodscommercialthat featured 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 aBoris Karloffaccent 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."
As it turns out, these commercials were never aired — but all three monsters had a future in the Muppet cast. The "Crown-Grabber" was used in a sketch onThe Ed Sullivan Show, in which he ruins a girl's beautiful day. Known from then on as theBeautiful Day Monster, he made a number of appearances onSesame StreetandThe Muppet Show. The "Flute-Snatcher" turned intoSnake Frackle, a background monster fromThe Great Santa Claus SwitchandThe Muppet Show.
In 1967, Henson used the "Wheel-Stealer" puppet for anIBMtraining film,Coffee Break Machine. In the sketch, "The Computer Dinner", the monster (with frightening eyes and fangs) devours a complex coffee-making machine as it describes its different parts. When he is finished, the machine announces the monster has activated the machine's anti-vandalism system, which contains the most powerful explosives known to man. The monster promptly explodes. This sketch was also performed in October 1967 onThe Ed Sullivan Show. It was also later performed on theGeorge Burnsepisode ofThe Muppet Showusing the Luncheon Counter Monster.
Two years later, Henson used a similarly-designed and equally hungry monster for three commercials sellingMunchos, aFrito-Laypotato snack. This time, the puppet was named Arnold, the Munching Monster. 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 onSesame Street— and that monster puppet was moving on to the next stage in his career.According to Frank Oz, in a later routine the then unnamed monster won a quiz show and for winning was "given the choice of $10,000 cash, a new car, a trip to Hawaii, or a cookie." He took the cookie and from then on he was Cookie Monster.
Cookie Monster, still unnamed, made hisSesame Streetdebut in the first episode, interfering withKermit the Frog's "famous W lecture" by eating a model "W" bit by bit. He turns it into an "N", a "V", and finally an "I", to Kermit's frustration. He then tries to eat Kermit.
It was during the first season that Cookie Monster got his name and began using the growly vernacular (e.g., "Me eat cookie!") that would become part of his character. His signature song, "C Is For Cookie", was first aired during the 1971–72 season, and it became one of the best-known songs fromSesame Street.
Over the years, different approaches to the cookies have been tried.  The cookies must be thin and soft so they shatter satisfactorily, preferably into many pieces.They must also not make a mess on the expensive puppet.The ones made ofrice crackerscrumbled well, but the crumbs tended to stick to Cookie Monster's fur.Artificial foam cookies did not look like cookies when they broke apart.In 2000, Lara MacLean developed a fat-free cookie recipe withno added sugar.The main ingredients are drypancake mix,puffed rice,Grape-Nutscereal, andinstant coffee(for color), mixed together with water and decorated with brownhot glue(to look like chocolate chips or raisins).The glue is inedible, and the edible parts of the cookie do not have an appealing flavor.
In 2005, in response to growing concerns about record levels ofchildhood obesityin the United States,Sesame Streetbegan airing segments titledHealthy Habits for Life. In these segments, the Muppet characters ofSesame Streettalk about healthy habits, such as eating properly and exercising. TheHealthy Habits for Lifesegments spawned Internet rumors that Cookie Monster's name had been changed to Veggie Monster or would be taken off the show entirely.Since then, Cookie Monster has eaten not only cookies (and the plate they are served on) but also fruits and vegetables.There is a small hole in the puppet's mouth, so that something like an apple or banana can be "swallowed" by the puppet.
In a 2007 appearance onMartha Stewart's TV program, Cookie Monster explained his new philosophy that "Cookies are a sometimes food."
On February 10, 2008,NPRhost Elizabeth Blair interviewed Cookie Monster for theAll Things ConsideredsegmentIn Character. He answered theProust Questionnaire, as well as revealing some of his favorite and non-favorite things.
In a June 19, 2008, appearance onThe Colbert Report, Cookie Monster again explained that "Cookies are a sometimes food." Colbert had asked agitatedly why Cookie Monster had "abandoned the pro-cookie agenda" and thus causedfruitto become the favorite snack of American children, according to a study Colbert had heard. Colbert criticized Cookie Monster for not wearing a cookielapel pin. Cookie Monster also claimed to have "crazy times during the '70s and '80s", referring to himself as "theRobert Downey Jr.of cookies." After eating a cookie to prove he still likes cookies, Cookie Monster asked if thePeabody Award, a round medallion on a small pedestal, was a cookie.When Colbert returned to speak to Cookie Monster at the end of the show, the award had disappeared and Cookie Monster was wiping his mouth with a napkin.
On November 24, 2010, Cookie Monster started a Facebook page as part of a campaign to hostSaturday Night Live.Though his bid to hostSaturday Night Livefailed, he was allowed to appear withJeff Bridgeswhen Jeff hosted the show and sang the Christmas song "Silver Bells".
Main performers
Rudman officially became Cookie Monster's performer inSesame Street's2002 season (taped 2001). Oz continued to occasionally perform Cookie Monster until 2004.
Various toys and other icons of the Cookie Monster have been produced over the years. The most obvious is acookie jar, of which numerous types have been available.
Numerous children's books featuring Cookie Monster have been published over the years:
Familiar to generations ofSesame Streetwatchers, Cookie Monster is remembered for his gluttony and his deep, rumbly distinctive voice.
In 1990, U.S. Budget DirectorRichard Darmanwrote an introduction to thefederal budgetwith a section "Green Eyeshades and the Cookie Monster" in which he called Cookie "the quintessential consumer", and the enormous budget "the Ultimate Cookie Monster."
In theFood NetworkprogramGood Eatsepisode "Three Chips for Sister Marsha" (first aired December 13, 2000), a puppet named Maj. Wilfred D. Cookie who looks like a green version of Cookie Monster appears. Asked about his well-known "brother", he responds, "I told you never to mention that ruffian. All he knows about cookies is how to shovel them into his face."In theFoxanimated seriesFamily Guyepisode "Model Misbehavior", Cookie Monster is shown in apsychiatric hospital, repeatedly foilingdrug rehab-styled efforts to cure his cookie addiction.
In theSesame StreetparodyAvenue Q, the character of Trekkie Monster is loosely based on Cookie Monster, sharing his speech pattern and addictive personality.
Theguttural singing styleindeath metalbands is commonly (if facetiously) compared to Cookie Monster's low-pitched, gravelly voice.
John Lennon's song "Hold On", recorded in 1970 (only a year afterSesame Streetdebuted), features Lennon shouting "Cookie!" in Cookie Monster's voice, in the middle of the instrumental break in an otherwise calm, quiet song.Ringo Starr, aware of Lennon's love for Cookie Monster, also screams "Cookie!" in Cookie Monster's voice in his song "Early 1970", released in 1971.
In theFamily Guyepisode "Back to the Pilot", due to alterations in the past, Stewie thinks Cookie Monster could have inventedFacebook; in this timeline, he would have called it "Cookiebook".InThe Empire Strikes Backspoof "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side", Cookie Monster is cast as theWampa.
In anothersci-firelated takeoff, theStar WarsspoofHardware Warsfeatures "Chewchilla the Wookiee Monster" in the role ofChewbacca.
Cookie Monster also appears inMad, first in "Mouse M.D", a parody ofHouse M.D., then as the main character in "Cookie Blue", a parody ofRookie Blue.
When theApplepersonal assistantSiriis asked the question, "what iszero divided by zero", Siri responds with the answer: "Imagine that you have zero cookies and you split them evenly among zero friends. How many cookies does each person get? See? It doesn’t make sense. And Cookie Monster is sad that there are no cookies, and you are sad that you have no friends."
On March 16, 2016,Applereleased an ad titled "Timer" starring Cookie Monster, where he uses the "Hey Siri" feature in theiPhone 6Sto set a timer and play an album while he waits for cookies to bake.
A popular internet parody ofThe Great Wave off Kanagawa, titled "Sea is for Cookie", was created for anAdobe Photoshopcompetition onReddit. The piece features the wave withgoogly eyesand cookies in the crest, resembling Cookie Monster eating cookies.
This article incorporatesCreative Commons licenseCC-BY SA 3.0 text from the Muppet Wiki article "Cookie Monster".