Teeny Little Super Guy

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Teeny Little Super Guy appeared in animated segments created by Paul Fierlinger for Sesame Street, beginning in Season 15. Though ostensibly a superhero, Teeny Little Super Guy was actually more of a practical problem solver. Writer Jim Thurman provided the character's gravelly voice, and scripted the segments. The segments were distinguished by Fierlinger's unique animation method, wrapping cels around transparent plastic cups, so that a movement cycle could be achieved by simple rotation of the cups. This also allowed Fierlinger to use a kitchen counter and assorted dishes and kitchenware as props, inside his own kitchen. Some segments featured flashbacks to Teeny Little Super Guy's childhood.

The first Teeny Little Super Guy cartoon took two months to create. Fierlinger spoke at length about the character and production process in a 2005 Livejournal post. He initially pitched the idea to producer Dave Connell.

“It was his [Connell's] idea that the character be a super hero, which made me hate him for that for about a week. I couldn’t understand people who couldn’t come up with anything more original for an animated character than yet another super guy. But Jim Thurman started playing him down and I dropped my resentments. We all followed Sesame Street’s curriculum of topics and I was given a contract to develop the series. I had a couple of months to create the hundreds of cups that were needed to play out any possible scenario and create the sound tracks.”

A total of 13 segments were produced. The theme song and background score were composed by Larry Gold, with lyrics by Stuart Horn. Essra Mohawk sang the vocals, recorded to create the illusion of four-part harmony.

In Episode 4196, Luis was inspecting Leela's troubled washing machine. He managed to extract seven items, including the famous Teeny Little Super Guy. Luis, Leela and Elmo give a rather befuddled look, indicating they are surprised to see the famous character after more than 30 years.

Today, one of the Teeny Little Super Guy cups, along with a picture of Firelinger rotating the cups while filming the baseball segment, is actually inside the public display case at the Brooklyn Public Library along with the other Sesame Street contributors. The display also includes another picture of the character with a yellow balloon.

Segments

Picture	Theme	Earliest Known Appearance	Description
File:Tlsg.jpg
	Sharing a Swing	Episode 2363	Two boys are fighting over a swing. Teeny Little Super Guy shows them how to share.
	Baseball	Episode 2481	Teeny Little Super Guy notices that his friend Alice wants to join a baseball game. He encourages her to go over there and ask them whether she can play.
	The Importance of Sleep	Episode 2613	Teeny Little Super Guy shows his friend Harry the importance of sleep.
File:Superguy school.jpg	School	Episode 2621	Teeny Little Super Guy reminisces to his friend Eugene, who starts kindergarten tomorrow, about his own first day at school.
	Egg Beater	Episode 2628	Teeny Little Super Guy finds his friend Janey giving up on learning how to ride an eggbeater (as one would ride a bicycle) because she keeps falling off. Teeny Little Superguy tells her that it takes practice to be good at something and gives her a set of training beaters to help keep her balance.
	Pet Spoon	Episode 2640	R.W. Shipshape wants a pet spoon, so Teeny Little Super Guy teaches him the importance of being responsible with a pet.
	Redhat	Episode 2755	R.W. Shipshape gets a "really good hat" for his birthday, and it blows into the street. R.W. remembers not to cross the street without an adult; Teeny Little Superguy helps him across. Note: The pet spoon that appears in this cartoon is given the name "Arthur J. Cronk", a reference to a character from The Electric Company.
	Safety and Danger	Episode 3039	Teeny Little Super Guy talks about the time he learned the importance of safety.
	Grouch Messing Machine	Episode 4196	Luis pulls the Teeny Little Super Guy out of the broken washing machine.

Credits

• Executive Producer: Dave Connell & Dulcy Singer
• Producer: Lisa Simon
• Supervising Producer: Edith Zornow
• Director: Paul Fierlinger
• Writer/Voices: Jim Thurman
• Engineer: John Avarnese
• Editor: Patrick McMahon