Untitled Sesame Street school movie

In 1993, meetings were held to develop concepts for the second theatrical Sesame Street movie, following after Follow That Bird. Among the more developed ideas was a film about the Muppet characters attending a real-life school. The film's educational goal would be to show how fun school can be and bringing new life to the typical experiences a child might already have at school.
The film was proposed to center on a six year old human child, nervous to attend school. The development notes for the project suggest his fears could stem from such problems as being the among his first days at school and has yet to get acclimated or having to appear in front of the student body. Rather than face these experiences alone, the boy tells his parents he will only go to school if his Sesame Street friends accompany him. The notes do not indicate whether the characters are treated as real within the universe of the story or fictional characters from their TV show, but one suggested scene for the film has the boy's older sister being taunted for her association with him, being called a "baby" for "[hanging] out with Muppets," suggesting the latter.
The Muppet characters would naturally get into a variety of shenanigans at the school. Ernie was suggested to ruin nap time as he does with Bert, Grover fails being quiet in the library, Cookie Monster makes a meal of snack time, and Count von Count handles a math lesson as only he can. Big Bird would potentially miss the bus and make it to the school on foot, wandering around the various classrooms and experiencing different kinds of classes (such as a history class where he imagines himself as a Founding Father). A proposed scene would turn an art class into a musical number, where the kids' works of art (including Bert's paper clips) would become stop-motion animation. It was also suggested that some of the human cast members of the show appear as the school staff (whether as themselves or playing the roles of staffers).
The boy's story would resolve with him finally overcoming his fears in some manner, potentially as a result of having to play "grown-up" to his Muppet friends and keep them in line or working up the nerve to appear in front of a crowd of students for an assembly or play. Coming home from school, he tells his parents "nothing much" happened that day.
The concept was also considered as a TV special, but ultimately did not follow through to the production stage.
==See also==
*Big Bird Goes to Washington
==Sources==
*Tony Geiss papers at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University
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Category:Unfinished Movies
Category:Unfinished Sesame Street Projects
Category:School