Teeny Little Super Guy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Teeny Little Super Guy |
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| Directed by | Paul Fierlinger |
| Produced by | Edith Zornow |
| Written by | Jim Thurman |
| Starring | Jim Thurman |
| Music by | Larry Gold |
| Cinematography | Paul Fierlinger Dave Connell |
| Editing by | Patrick McMahon |
| Distributed by | Children's Television Workshop |
| Release date(s) | November 8, 1982 |
| Running time | 3 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Teeny Little Super Guy was a fun animated show that appeared on PBS's Sesame Street. It was about a tiny animated man, the Teeny Little Super Guy, who lived in a real-life kitchen. He was a small, bald character with a yellow hat, yellow shirt, red pants, and black shoes. He was also attached to a clear plastic cup! These short cartoons often taught important lessons about everyday problems and trying your best.
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Meet Teeny Little Super Guy
Teeny Little Super Guy was created by an animator named Paul Fierlinger. He made 13 short cartoons for Sesame Street in 1982. The very first cartoon took two months to finish! These shorts were shown often on Sesame Street for many years. They taught kids about sharing, being safe, and trying new things.
How Teeny Little Super Guy Was Made
The team started working on Teeny Little Super Guy in May 1982. This team included Paul Fierlinger, Larry Gold, and Jim Thurman. By August 1982, they started filming the first two shorts. The very first episode was shown on Sesame Street on November 19, 1982.
Larry Gold wrote the catchy theme song, and Stuart Horn wrote the words. Jim Thurman, who was also a writer for Sesame Street, did all the voices for the characters. The show was filmed at Paul Fierlinger's house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It ran on Sesame Street from 1982 until 2001.
Today, you can even see one of the original Teeny Little Super Guy cups! It's on display at the Brooklyn Public Library. There's also a picture of Paul Fierlinger moving the cups to make the animation. A sign there explains that the show was made using everyday objects. Most of the animation was done by Paul Fierlinger, Tom Sloan, Ondre Ocenas, and Helena Fierlinger.
The filming was done mainly in Paul's house and his studio next door. They used a special camera called a 16mm Bolex. This camera helped them make the 3D objects look clear and in focus. Some scenes even used early video technology to see how the animation looked on a TV screen.
Teeny Little Super Guy's Adventures
Here are some of the fun and helpful episodes of Teeny Little Super Guy:
| Airdate | Theme | Episode Title | What it Was About |
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| 1982 | Sharing | Swing of Cooperation | Two boys were fighting over a swing. Teeny Little Super Guy showed them how to share nicely. |
| 1982 | Social Skills | School | Teeny Little Super Guy told his friend Eugene about his own first day at school. Eugene was starting kindergarten soon. |
| 1982 | Social Skills | Baseball | Teeny Little Super Guy saw his friend Alice wanting to join a baseball game. He helped her be brave and ask if she could play. |
| 1986 | Practice | Practice Riding Eggbeaters | Teeny Little Super Guy found his friend Janey giving up on learning to "ride" an eggbeater. He taught her that practice helps you get good at things. |
| 1986 | Pets | Pet Spoon | R.W. learned how to take care of a pet. |
| 1983 | Health & Safety | Danger | Teeny Little Super Guy talked about learning how important safety is. |
| 1987 | Health & Safety | The Red Hat | R.W. Shipshape got a cool hat for his birthday, but it blew into the street. Teeny Little Super Guy reminded him not to cross the street alone and helped him get it back safely. |
| 1985 | Health & Safety | Sleep | Teeny Little Super Guy showed his friend Harry why getting enough sleep is important. |
| 1987 | N/A | Cereal | This was a short ad for Nickelodeon. Teeny Little Super Guy danced around a cereal box, then poured the cereal. The box turned into the Nickelodeon logo! |
Who Made the Voices and Music?
Voices
- Jim Thurman did all the voices for the characters in the shorts.
Music
- Larry Gold wrote the theme song and all the other music.
- The main singer for the theme song was Essra Mohawk.
- The voice of the Teeny Little Super Guy himself was Jim Thurman.
- Stuart Horn wrote the words for the theme song.
You can watch some of the episodes online! Check out the "Baseball game" and "Cooperation Swing" episodes on Sesame Street's YouTube channel.
