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Grouches singing their anthem (note Irvine minus her hair and bonnet).
The Grouches of Grouchland
Grouches are an eccentric race of pessimistic, argumentative, unhygenic furry creatures who prefer to live wherever there is garbage: trash cans, city dumps, even the occasional landfill. It is essential to note that they are not Monsters.
A Grouch's mission in life is to be as miserable and grouchy as possible, and pass that feeling on to everyone else. Only then will a Grouch feel in touch with his or her world and be happy. Yet, even though a Grouch may show happiness at anyone's misfortune (including his or her own), a Grouch would never admit to being happy. Such is the stability of a Grouch's life: so balanced, and yet so unbalanced. Oscar is especially aware of this.
Anything a Grouch likes is best described (to you and me) as rotten, smelly, yucky, awful, dirty and trashy to name a few. A Grouch will only buy appliances that don't work, keep pets no person would keep in a house (such as elephants and worms), eat foods that are undesirable for any reason (they have a particular affinity for sardines in anything), sing out-of-tune, play the radio at high volume, and bathe in mud. More about Grouches can be learned in the book How to Be a Grouch.
Whomever your favorite celebrity is, or whatever your favorite TV show or attraction is, the Grouches are sure to have their own grouchy analogue. Examples include TV show host Sally Messy Yuckyael, reporter Dan Rathernot, and the Grouch theme park Six Crabs Yucky World. With their many parallels of real aspects of American culture and of the human condition, the Grouches are an important element of Sesame Street's diverse environment.
Grouch Index
Oscar's relatives from Sesame Street Stays Up Late.
Grouches as "Ichies" in a Trash Gordon segment.
Grandpa Grouch with a young Oscar
Oscar meets Moishe Oofnik on Shalom Sesame
Bob as a Grouch from Grouch Eye for the Nice Guy.
(in order of first appearance)
- Oscar the Grouch – The resident Grouch of Sesame Street (0001)
- Granny Grouch – Oscar's grandmother (0131)
- Otto the Grouch – Oscar's brother (How to Be a Grouch)
- Smiling George - Oscar's friendly cousin (How to Be a Grouch)
- Leon the Grouch – Oscar's friend (The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook)
- Timothy Grouch - Oscar's nephew (Fair Is Fair)
- Osvaldo, el Gruñón – Oscar's Puerto Rican counterpart (1316)
- Grundgetta – Oscar's girlfriend (Season 14)
- Filthomena – Oscar's niece (When Oscar Was a Little Grouch)
- Grandpa Grouch – Oscar's grandfather (Season 18)
- Irvine the Grouch – Oscar's niece (2606)
- Filthomena – Oscar's schoolmate (What's in Oscar's Trash Can? and Other Good-Night Stories)
- Prunella – Tourist Grouch (3119)
- Sally Messy Yuckyael - Grouch talk show host (3120)
- Uncle Hank – Oscar's uncle (Sesame Street Stays Up Late!)
- Travis the Grouch - Junkband member (Oscar's Grouch Jamboree)
- Mrs. Grouch – Oscar's mother (Sesame Street Magazine: issue 249)
- Grizzy – Young girl grouch (The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland)
- Grouch Mayor – Mayor of Grouchland (The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland)
- Grouch Cop – Police office in Grouchland (The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland)
- Grouch Cab Driver – Cab driver in Grouchland (The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland)
- Grouch Jailer – Jailer in Grouchland (The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland)
- Bad Humor Man – Ice cream salesgrouch (The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland)
- Grouch Ice Cream Customer – Resident of Grouchland (The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland)
- Sharon Groan – Grouch celebrity (The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland)
- Felix the Grouch – Oscar's old friend (3891)
- Donald Grump – famous Grouch entrepreneur (4104)
- Omagrossa – Contestant for Grump's helper (4104)
- Swampy - Contestant for Grump's helper (4104)
- Ernest the Grouch – Oscar's brother (2895)
- Walter Cranky - Grouch Newscaster (4160)
- Dan Rather-not - Grouch Newscaster (4160)
- Meredith Beware-a - Grouch newscaster mentioned in (4160) by Oscar
- Diane Spoiler - Grouch newscaster mentioned in (4160) by Oscar
- Oprah Grouchy - Grouch talk show host mentioned in (3120) by Sally Messy Yuckyael
- Dirtothy - Character in “The Wizard of Blahs” story told by Oscar to his niece Irvine. (???)
- Snow Grouch Character in the Grouch fairy tale of the same name read by Oscar the Grouch to his niece Irvine
Grouches from Around the World
- Moishe Oofnik from Rechov Sumsum
- Mordicus from 1, Rue Sésame
- Rumpel from Sesamstrasse
- Bodoque, Paco and Pancho Contreras from Plaza Sésamo
- Kirpik from Susam Sokağı
- Ferrão from Rua Sésamo
- Kiko Matsing from Sesame!
- Gugu from Vila Sésamo
Human Grouches
Though Grouches are usually presented as a unique species much like Monsters or Honkers, occasionally humans have shown up as Grouches, likely designated as such because of a similarity and sympathy in temperament and personality.
- Danny DeVito as Vincent Van Grouch, curator of the Museum of Trash on Sesame Street
- Bob received a Grouch make-over in Season 36 of Sesame Street
- Sandra Bernhard as the Grouch waitress in Follow That Bird
- Paul Bartel as the Grouch cook in Follow That Bird
- Tracey Ullman as a student of a Grouch etiquette school taught by one of Oscar's relatives.
- And of course Oscar also has the Grouchketeers.
Trivia
- The most famous Grouch is Oscar the Grouch but many other Grouches have surfaced over the years. Grouches figured prominently in both Sesame Street films Follow That Bird and especially The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. The latter explained that most Grouches come from Grouchland USA, presented as Oscar's hometown, though many grouches are also found internationally. According to the production notes for Elmo in Grouchland 25 new Grouch puppets were made for the film (and reused in variations to create a large Grouch population). Many of these are still used on the show today.
- According to Sesame Street Magazine, October 15th is National Grouch Day.