Journey to Ernie

Journey to Ernie is a recurring Sesame Street segment which focuses on Big Bird's hide-and-seek game with Ernie. It premiered in Season 33 and features the Muppet characters interacting with computer-animated backdrops. 
In the original format, Ernie hid inside a box with a striped pattern similar to that of his shirt and a rubber ducky. Big Bird had to locate Ernie's box, a task he usually accomplished after finding two other, similar boxes which did not contain Ernie. Big Bird's discovery of an incorrect box triggered a non-Ernie sketch or film while the revelation of the correct box launched a segment prominently featuring Ernie.
In season 34, the format was changed. The segments began with the announcer interrupting Big Bird's normal routine with a challenge to play the game. The animated environments in the new format are more fully realized than in the previous incarnation of the segment and Ernie no longer hides in a box. Big Bird now searches based on clues from Ernie, and the Two-Headed Monster appears regularly to offer some not-so-helpful advice. The new format also featured a closing song sung by Big Bird and Ernie at the end of every segment.
"Journey to Ernie" started to appear less frequently in season 36 and was dropped the following season. According to the book Sesame Street: A Celebration - 40 Years of Life on the Street, 
Matt Vogel performed Big Bird in all "Journey to Ernie" segments.
==Sequences from the Original Format (2002)==
All of these sequences were repeated in other Journey to Ernie sketches during season 33, in different sequence orders. With the exceptions of the introduction and closing, each sequence ended with Big Bird finding Ernie. These parts were edited from sketches that showed these sequences as the first and second sequences.
Picture	Location / First Appearance	Description
 	Park
Episode 3981 	Introduction of Journey to Ernie.
 	Outer Space
Episode 3981 	Big Bird is in Outer Space, asking a Martian for help finding Ernie's box.
 	Antarctica
Episode 3981 	Big Bird follows a penguin pattern at a snowy location in search of Ernie.
 	The Disco
Episode 3982 	Big Bird looks for Ernie at a disco.
 	Supermarket
Episode 3982 	Big Bird searches for Ernie's box at the supermarket.
 	Circus
Episode 3983 	Big Bird looks for Ernie after walking the tight rope at a circus.
 	Dinosaur Land
Episode 3984 	Big Bird asks a dinosaur for help finding Ernie.
 	Chicken House
Episode 3984 	Big Bird talks to chickens in search of Ernie.
 	Vortex
Episode 3984 	Big Bird looks for Ernie's box by repeating a clapping pattern.
 	The Farm
Episode 3993 	Big Bird looks for Ernie's box by singing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" with the Three Little Pigs.
==Segments (2003-2005)==
Picture	Title / First	Description
 	Music Land
Episode 4031	Big Bird looks for Ernie in a land that is filled with musical instruments, many of which play "Rubber Duckie." (Footage from this sequence could be seen in the opening of the show beginning in Season 34.)
 	Old MacDonald's Farm
Episode 4032	Big Bird looks for Ernie at Old MacDonald's Farm by asking questions to the animals there.
 	In The Jungle
Episode 4033	Big Bird looks for Ernie in the jungle.
 	Beach
Episode 4034	Big Bird looks for Ernie at the beach.
 	Shapes
Episode 4037	Big Bird hunts for Ernie in a land full of floating geometric shapes. Telly Monster appears hanging out in his favorite shape: a triangle.
 	Rubber Duckie World
Episode 4042	Ernie hides in a land filled with Rubber Duckies.
 	Nursery Rhyme World
Episode 4057	Big Bird meets characters from nursery rhymes while searching for Ernie.
 	Circus
Episode 4058	Ernie and Big Bird switch places and Ernie looks for Big Bird at a circus.
 	Growing My Way
Episode 4059	Big Bird climbs a beanstalk in search of Ernie.
 	One of These Things
Episode 4062	Big Bird looks for Ernie in a land full of animated boards for the classic song/game. Here, he learns that sometimes more than one answer is right.
 	Dancing
Episode 4063	Ernie hides in a land full of dancing creatures, plants, and other natural objects; even the sun dances in the sky there.
 	Playground
Episode 4064	If Big Bird finds something that rhymes with the words that he saw written in chalk on the pavement, he will find Ernie.
 	Snow with #3
Episode 4071	Big Bird looks for Ernie in the snowy land.
 	Going for a Ride
Episode 4093	Ernie hides in a land full of transportation vehicles and other things to ride on.
 	Dinosaurs
Episode 4095	Ernie hides in the land of dinosaurs.
 	Letter B
Episode 4096	Ernie hides in a museum where all the exhibits have names beginning with B. Bob makes a cameo appearance in this one—not as an exhibit, but as a visitor on his way home.
 	Journey to Bert
Episode 4108	Bert replaces Ernie in the game, and Big Bird looks for Bert in a land full of food.
==Gallery==
Alternate versions of the title screen when other characters take Ernie's place:
JTBB1.jpg|Journey to Big Bird
Journey To Bert.png|Journey to Bert
==Sources==
==See also==
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Category:Sesame Street Recurring Sketches
Category:Ernie and Bert Sketches
Category:Big Bird Sketches