Lego Sesame Street: Sesame Super-Heroes

Lego Sesame Street: Sesame Super-Heroes is a Sesame Street video game released on August 22, 2022 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X platforms. The game takes inspiration from the Lego Batman and Lego Marvel Super-Heroes video games. It was produced by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games, and Sesame Workshop, with additional animation provided by Valve Corporation.
It centers around the Super Morphin Mega Monsters (Elmo/Elmosaurus, Zoe/Zoeceratops, Telly/Telly Dactyl, and Rosita/Rosita Raptor) as they unite to battle Zaftig, the evil ruler of the planet Enormous; a diabolical megalomaniac with plans for complete world domination, who will stop at nothing to achieve this goal. Aware that the SMMM are unfit to actually battle, Zoeceratops travels to Planet Ganz (a landscape known as the most beautiful in the universe) to train under the mysterious Super Fraggle (Red Fraggle in a majestic blue Superman-inspired outfit), who, while training, tells her to always control her emotions, and to resist the "power of hate", which, according to Super Fraggle, "ruins you from the inside out," and "turns honorable heroes into wrathful monsters." She also reveals that she once trained Zaftig to be a superhero, until arrogance and a thirst for more power led him to be expelled from her teachings and banished to Planet Enormous, an act she herself calls "the biggest mistake [she's] ever made in [her] life," as now, all of her fellow superheroes, a league of which Super Fraggle was a member, have been killed as part of a revenge-driven long game, leaving her in expectation that she herself will be next. To escape Zaftig's wrath, she isolated herself from the rest of the galaxy on Ganz, where she has remained since.
Unfortunately, while training, Zoeceratops receives disturbing visions of first her fellow SMMM, and then all of her friends kidnapped and killed by Zaftig. After discussing her troubles with Super Fraggle, she leaves Ganz to desperately try to save her friends from certain death (to the dismay of Super Fraggle, who protests that Zoeceratops hasn't completed her training). Upon confronting the villain, she eventually discovers a deep, dark secret about her past...Zaftig is her father. With the dynamic of the battle changed and heroic forces growing in numbers, will Zoeceratops give in to the "power of hate", kill Zaftig as revenge, and descend into darkness?
The game received positive reviews from critics, lauding the story, gameplay, graphics, characters, voice performances, and music, but were more divisive on the darker tone.
==Playable Characters/Voice Cast==
Abby Cadabby/Abbylosaurus - Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
Alphabet Bates - Non-speaking
Alice Snuffleupagus/Snuffle Baby - Pam Arciero
Baby Bear/Iron Bear - David Rudman
Baby Natasha/SuperBaby - Ryan Dillon
Barkley the Wonder Dog - Non-speaking
Bear/The Furry Thing - Noel MacNeal
Benny Rabbit/The Lone Rabbit - Tyler Bunch
Bernice the Pigeon - Non-speaking
Bert/Super Pigeon - Eric Jacobson
Betty Lou/Doll Girl - Pam Arciero
Biff - Matt Vogel
Big Bird/Bird Man - Matt Vogel
Bip Bippadotta - John Kennedy
Bruno the Trashman - Non-speaking
Buster the Horse - Martin P. Robinson
Captain Vegetable - Peter Linz
Caroll Spinney - Non-speaking
Charlie - Violet Tinnirello
Chicago the Vegetable Lion - David Rudman
Chris - Chris Knowings
Clementine/Ranger's Bride - Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Commissioner Stone - Tau Bennett
Cookie Monster/Dr. Brownie - David Rudman
Count von Count/The Count - Matt Vogel
The Countess - Louise Gold
Curly Bear/Bear Girl - Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Detective Colambo - Tyler Bunch
Detective Hemlock - Matt Vogel
The Dingers - Non-speaking
Dr. Nobel Price - Tyler Bunch
Don Music - Ryan Dillon
Elizabeth - Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Elmo/Elmosaurus - Ryan Dillon
Ernie/Rubber Duckie Man - Peter Linz
Farley/Green Farnet - Peter Linz
Ferlinghetti Donizetti - Peter Linz
Forgetful Jones/The Ranger - Matt Vogel
Francine Lloyd Wright/Frankie the Marvelous Worm - Jennifer Barnhart
Frank Oz - Himself
Frazzle/Orange Fangtern - Matt Vogel
Fred the Wonder Horse - Matt Vogel
Gabrielle - Megan Piphus
Gladys the Cow/Cow-Woman - Jennifer Barnhart
Gonger the Butler - Warrick Brownlow-Pike
Googel - Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Grover/Super Grover - Eric Jacobson
Grundgetta/Lead Grouch Lantern Warrior - Pam Arciero
Guy Smiley - Eric Jacobson
Harvey Kneeslapper/The Jester - Eric Jacobson
Hero Guy - David Rudman
Herry Monster/Hulking Herry - Peter Linz
The Honkers - Non-speaking
Hoots the Owl/Captain Hooters - Christopher Hayes
Horatio the Batkaderm - Peter Linz
Jim Henson - Non-speaking
Joan Ganz Cooney - Non-speaking
Joey and Davey Monkey - Frankie Cordero (Joey), David Rudman (Davey)
Jon Stone - Non-speaking
Julia/Yellow Manta - Stacey Gordon
Karli/Green Widow - Haley Jenkins
Kermit the Frog - Matt Vogel
Kingston Livingston III/Captain Kingston - Peter Linz
Lefty the Salesman/Green Lefturn - Ryan Dillon
Lily/Violet Bliss - Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
Little Bird/Yellow Robin - Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Little Chrissy - Christopher Cerf
Little Jerry - Matt Vogel
Little Murray Sparkles - Non-speaking
Lulu/Indigo Girl - Stephanie D'Abruzzo
The Martians - Martin P. Robinson (blue), Matt Vogel (red)
Marty - Matt Vogel
Mel - Peter Linz
Merry Monster/Merry Canary - Pam Arciero
Miss Piggy/Wonder Pig - Eric Jacobson
Mr. Johnson (The Customer) - Matt Vogel
Mr. Noodle - Non-speaking
Mr. Snuffleupagus/Super Snuffy - Martin P. Robinson
Mumford the Wizard - John Kennedy
Murray Monster/Mighty Murray - Matt Vogel
Narf - Frankie Cordero
Neil Patrick Harris - Himself
The Numerosity Baker - Non-speaking
Oscar the Grouch/Grouch Lantern - Eric Jacobson
Ovejita/El Lambaba - Carmen Osbahr
Phoebe - John Tartaglia
Poco Loco - Martin P. Robinson
Prairie Dawn/Pteradawn - Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Preston Rabbit/Preston Hood - John Kennedy
Red Fraggle/Super Fraggle - Karen Prell
Roosevelt Franklin/Flash Franklin - Chris Knowings
Rosita/Rosita Raptor - Carmen Osbahr
Roxie Marie/Bugwoman - Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Ruby/Trucker Monster - Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Rudy/The Rudester - Frankie Cordero
Sam the Robot/Cyborg Sam - Matt Vogel
Samuel/Superhero Samuel - Spencer Lott
Segi/Super Segi - Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
Shelley the Turtle/Mr. Steady - Martin P. Robinson
Simon Soundman - Matt Vogel
Slimey/SuperWorm - Dick Maitland
Stinky the Stinkweed - Frankie Cordero
Sully - Non-speaking
Teeny Little Super Guy - Rickey Boyd
Telly Monster/Telly Dactyl - Martin P. Robinson
Tessie Twiddlebug/TwiddleWoman - Rickey Boyd
Thomas Twiddlebug/TwiddleMan - Rickey Boyd
Timmy Twiddlebug/TwiddleBoy - Rickey Boyd
Tina Twiddlebug/TwiddleGirl - Rickey Boyd
Trevor Monster/Terrific Trevor - Grant Baciocco
Two-Headed Monster/The Hairy Twins - Eric Jacobson, David Rudman
Watson - Non-speaking
Wolfgang the Seal/Seal of Justice - Matt Vogel
Zaftig - Tim Lagasse
Zaftig's Underlings - Alice Dinnean (blue), David Rudman (purple)
Zoe/Zoeceratops - Jennifer Barnhart
==Downloadable Characters/Voice Cast==
Abby Cadabby/Furry Tornado - Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
Abby Cadabby/Glitter Girl - Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
Abby's Mom - Jennifer Barnhart
Abelardo Montoya - Hector Loeza
Aristotle - David Rudman
Athena - David Rudman
Baby Bear's Mama - Jennifer Barnhart
Baby Bear's Papa - Frankie Cordero
Baby Breeze - Peter Linz
Bel - Thais Carvalho
Big Bird/Yellow Avenger - Matt Vogel
Big Bird's Granny - Jennifer Barnhart
Big Jeffie - John Kennedy
Brad - David Rudman
The Busby Twins - Matt Vogel (Joe), Eric Jacobson (Moe)
Chamki - Ghazal Javed
Cookie Monster's Mom - Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Dani - Gabriel Velez
Deena - Pam Arciero
Dexter - Peter Linz
Elmo/Asking Elmo - Ryan Dillon
Elmo/Captain Fuzzy - Ryan Dillon
Elmo/Furry Flash - Ryan Dillon
Elmo/Super Elmo - Ryan Dillon
Elmo's Dad - Tyler Bunch
Elmo's Mom - Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Ernestine - David Rudman
Finchen - Andrea Bongers
Georgie - Pam Arciero
Granny Nesselrode - Rickey Boyd
Grover/Spider-Monster - Eric Jacobson
Grover/Super Grover 2.0 - Eric Jacobson
Grover's Mom - Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Hardhead Henry Harris - Noel MacNeal
Herbert Birdsfoot - Matt Vogel
Hilda the Hare - Lesa Gillespie
Ieniemienie - Catherine Van Woerden
Irvine - Martin P. Robinson
Julia's Dad - Peter Linz
Julia's Mom - Kathleen Kim
Kami - Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Leo the Party Monster - David Rudman
Lily the Tiger - Patty Mattson
Lola - Rocio Lara
Mega Mommy - Kathleen Kim
Melsoon - Maher Mzowak
Meryl Sheep - Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
Miami Mouse J.P. - Peter Linz
Miami Mouse Tito - Martin P. Robinson
Moishe Oofnik - Gilles Ben-David
Natasha's Dad - David Rudman
Natasha's Mom - John Tartaglia
No'man - Abdullah Qassim
Old MacDonald - Martin P. Robinson
Oscar's Mom - Martin P. Robinson
Pearl - Rickey Boyd
Pferd - Carsten Morar-Haffke
Phoebe Furchester-Fuzz - Sarah Burgess
Placido Flamingo - David Rudman
Polly Darton - Stephanie D'Abruzzo
Potto - Paul Currie
Professor D. Rabbit - Tyler Bunch
Professor Hastings - Eric Jacobson
Raya - Jennifer Barnhart
Rodeo Rosie - Rickey Boyd
Roosevelt Franklin's Mom - Megan Piphus
Rosita/Muchacha Fantastica - Carmen Osbahr
Rosita the Runner - Carmen Osbahr
Rudy's Dad - David Rudman
Sherry Netherland - Alice Dinnean
Shivers the Penguin - Peter Linz
Sloppy - Non-speaking
Smart Tina - Alice Dinnean
Snuffy's Mom - Jennifer Barnhart
Sonny Friendly - David Rudman
Super Chicken - Jennifer Barnhart
Super Nanny - Louise Gold
Suzetta Something - Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
Tamir - Tau Bennett
Telly Monster/Mr. Furry - Martin P. Robinson
Telly Monster/Soup Telly - Martin P. Robinson
Telly Monster/Triangle Guy - Martin P. Robinson
Tingo - John Tartaglia
Tommie - Bert Plagman
Tuktuki - Sayma Karim
Wesley - Bradley Freeman Jr.
Wesley's Dad - Christopher Hayes
Wesley's Mom - Megan Piphus
Wolle - Martin Paas
Zoe/WonderZoe - Jennifer Barnhart
==Notes==
A new character is introduced, created exclusively for the game: Commissioner Jay Stone (named after longtime Sesame Street director, writer, and producer Jon Stone), voiced by Tau Bennett (who had previously trained as a Muppeteer under Kevin Clash). Stone appears in a few scenes, evacuating areas whenever Zostic attacks Earth.
Instead of Ryan Dillon, Trevor Monster is voiced in this game by Jim Henson Company puppeteer Grant Baciocco.
The game features narration over a Star Wars-esque opening credit scroll, introducing the player to the characters, setting and conflict, provided by veteran Muppet performer Dave Goelz, using his Gonzo voice.
This is Teeny Little Super Guy's first speaking role in 35 years, voiced now by Rickey Boyd.
Muppets who have not appeared on Sesame Street in decades, such as Bruno the Trashman, the students from Roosevelt Franklin Elementary School, Placido Flamingo, Professor Hastings, Herbert Birdsfoot, Sam the Robot, and even Shivers the Penguin, return in this game.
Before the game's release, TT Games held a contest to determine which non-Sesame Street characters should be included as playable characters, with the four top-rated characters making the final cut. Suggested characters included: ALF from the sitcom of the same name (as "Captain Melmac", a ripoff of Captain America); Baby Sinclair from Dinosaurs (as "Dino-Baby"); Bear from Bear in the Big Blue House (as "The Furry Thing", a ripoff of The Thing); Gary Gnu from The Great Space Coaster (as "The Galloping Gnu"); Gonzo from The Muppets (as Dearth Nadir); Kermit the Frog from The Muppets; Miss Piggy from The Muppets (in her "Wonder Pig" persona from The Muppet Show); Red Fraggle from Fraggle Rock (as "Super Fraggle"); Rowlf the Dog from The Muppets (as a "space-dog"); Ruffus the Dog from the show of the same name (as "Dr. Ruffus"); Walter from The Muppets (as "Mr. Fantastic"); and Yoda from Star Wars. Kermit, Piggy, Red, and Bear received the most votes. Soon after, Matt Vogel, Eric Jacobson, Karen Prell (who is also an animator at Valve), and Noel MacNeal began recording new dialogue for the characters.
To promote the game, Sesame Street's official YouTube channel uploaded trailers featuring the Muppet versions of Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Red Fraggle and Bear recording dialogue for their animated Lego counterparts, and giving interviews explaining their roles. While not the voice of any character from the game, Uncle Deadly (voiced by Matt Vogel) is the announcer for its promotional trailers, appears alongside Miss Piggy in her interview video (continuing the relationship between Piggy and Deadly first established in the 2015 The Muppets series) and appears in a series of promotional videos as acting coach for the Sesame Street Muppets. As a joke, the character is credited for "Voice Acting Coach" and "Personal Assistant to Miss Piggy".
Kermit serves a similar role to Stan Lee in the Lego Marvel Super-Heroes games, as the "frog-in-distress." Miss Piggy, as "Wonder Pig", and Bear, as "The Furry Thing", serve as the game's "guides" during free play mode, as well as presenting their own challenges throughout the game; Wonder Pig's characterization in the game (compassionate, warm, playful) is a stark contrast to Piggy's default personality (a bombastic diva who craves the spotlight), while Bear is his usual friendly, warm self, despite portraying a hulking giant. Red, as "Super Fraggle", serves an important role in the game itself as Zoeceratops' sweet and playful yet wise and sympathetic trainer (as opposed to the competitive and rather arrogant but still friendly and outgoing Red from Fraggle Rock), and a legendary superhero in the game's universe; in free play mode, she shows the player around the open worlds, presenting numerous challenges in each world along the way. Both WonderPig and Super Fraggle have a unique way of gaining extra currency; they can approach a fellow superhero and pull a harmless practical joke to startle them. After this, they laugh cheerfully and give the other hero a hug.
The puppet versions of the game's characters were created by the Creature Shop for the game; their puppetry was to be used as reference for TT Games' animation department. Karen Prell provided the reference puppetry for Super Fraggle (Red Fraggle, her most famous character). Rickey Boyd and David Barclay served as supervising animation puppeteers; other puppeteers included Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Alice Dinnean, Ryan Dillon, Eric Jacobson, Matt Vogel, Carmen Osbahr, Pam Arciero, Peter Linz, Mike Quinn, Noel MacNeal, Louise Gold, John Tartaglia, Tyler Bunch, John Kennedy, Tim Lagasse, Cheryl Blaylock, Vicki Kenderes-Eibner, Lisa Buckley, Warrick Brownlow-Pike, Victor Yerrid, Bruce Lanoil, Julianne Buescher, Grant Baciocco, Ronald Binion, Colleen Smith, Drew Massey, Dorien Davies, Donna Kimball, BJ Guyer, Jayden Libran, James Kemp, Tau Bennett, Avery Jones, David Quesal, Rachel Herrick, and Brian Jones.
Credited for the Creature Shop are Ed Christie, Rollie Krewson, Jane Gootnick, Jason Weber, Paul Andrejco, Constance Peterson, Lara MacLean, Heather Asch, Tom Newby, Michelle Hickey, Polly Smith, Paul Hartis, Stephen Rotondaro, Anney Fresh Ozar, Melissa Creighton, Tim Lagasse, Ronald Binion, Jim Kroupa, Ann Marie Holdgruen, Andrea Detwiler, Mary Brehmer, Michael Schupbach, Carol Binion, John Orberg, Victoria Ellis, Jane Pien, Isabelle Dufour, Deborah Hertzberg, Matthew Brooks, Ceili Clemens, Rob Gardner, Henri Ewaskio, Amanda Maddock, Lisa Buckley, James Godwin, Cheryl Blaylock, Carole D'Agostino, Vanessa Gifford Gillis, J. Douglas James, James Wojtal, and David Valentine.
Several dedications to deceased Sesame Street cast and crew members can be seen in the Sesame Street open world. If one walks to Hooper's Store, on the outside of the store above the door, you will see this message in graffiti: "To our founder and friend HAROLD HOOPER 1908-1983", a dedication to late actor Will Lee and Mr. Hooper, the character he played. Moving to Oscar's trash can, if you go in the can and enter Oscar's bedroom, you will find a note on his door reading "Oscar was here," in honor of Muppeteer Caroll Spinney, who originally performed Oscar and Big Bird. Building Rubber Duckie will result in your playable character dancing to the classic song of the same name, a nod to songwriter Jeff Moss, who wrote "Rubber Duckie". Rescuing Kermit in all locations will reward you with the frog as a playable character, and a new open world: Kermit's swamp from The Muppet Movie. There, you'll find Kermit's banjo on a log (which you can briefly play) and a rainbow shining over the swamp, as a tribute to Jim Henson, Kermit's original performer and creator of the Muppets. If you head to the Count's castle and walk down a hallway, among the framed photos of the Count's relatives hangs a picture of Jerry Nelson, the Count's original Muppeteer, with a caption below reading "My Best Friend". Other dedications that can be found include those for Northern Calloway, Tony Geiss, Richard Hunt, Kermit Love, Bud Luckey, Bill McCutcheon, Joe Raposo, Alaina Reed, Matt Robinson, Don Sahlin, Jon Stone, James Thurman, and Caroly Wilcox.