Sesame Street Home Video

Background

Sesame Street Home Video was a home video label owned by Sesame Workshop (formerly Children's Television Workshop), established in 1986 as a joint venture with Random House Home Video under the name My Sesame Street Home Video. In 1993, the name was dropped, though it was re-established around 1995 when Sesame Workshop moved distribution to Sony Wonder. The label was retired again in 2001.

My Sesame Street Home Video

Contents

Logo (May 12, 1986-April 6, 1996)

Contents

Logo (September 3, 1996-May 15, 2001)

My Sesame Street Home Video

Logo (May 12, 1986-April 6, 1996)

Visuals: Fading from the 1983 Children's Television Workshop logo and against a white background, the familiar green and yellow Sesame Street sign comes up from the bottom of the screen, but with "MY" (in yellow) taking the place of "CTW", and the rectangle being elongated at the bottom to make room for the words "HOME VIDEO" (also in yellow). An animated version of Cookie Monster is behind the logo (but only his head and arms are shown). He looks back and forth, and then takes a bite out of the top left side of the sign and chews it noisily and messily. He then licks his finger, and then he has a delighted expression on his face, with his eyes spinning around. The logo then fades out.

Variant: There was a shortened version of the logo used in its later years, which opens with Cookie eating the sign.

Technique: Cel animation.

Audio: Cookie Monster (voiced by Frank Oz) munching on the sign with a slow-paced harmonica rendition of the Sesame Street theme tune played by Toots Thielemans, which was used to introduce the show's "street scenes" at the time (until the end of Season 24 in early 1993). As the logo fades out, Cookie says "Delicious!" (lifted from a pre-existing Sesame Street sketch).

Audio Variants:

On some VHS releases, such as Count it Higher: Great Music Videos from Sesame Street and The Best of Ernie & Bert, it uses the normal audio, but without Cookie saying anything after eating the sign.
The Best of Elmo uses the 1992 "calypso" instrumental intro theme—also used to introduce the show's "street scenes" from 1993 to 2006—with this logo. Cookie Monster's munching sounds are re-recorded, and he does not say "Delicious!".

Availability:

Seen on old Sesame Street videos under the "My Sesame Street Home Video" label from the period distributed by Random House Home Video (there were 16 in all).
These videotapes' lids and reel are colored green (similar to Universal's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial videotape), so they're very easy to spot.
Though the last official video in the series was The Best of Elmo in 1994, Sony Wonder released more new videos in 1995-1996 with this logo, from Cookie Monster's Best Bites to Slimey's World Games.
This logo is also aseen on a reprint of Do the Alphabet that carries the 2000 Sesame Workshop logo, although most DVD reprints of the series omit it altogether.
This logo is also preserved on the Sesame Street UK VHS releases by The Video Collection, and the 1996 UK VHS release of My Little Sesame Street from VCI.
This logo is also preserved on the Sesame Street UK VHS releases from Disney Videos.

Sesame Street Home Video

Logo (September 3, 1996-May 15, 2001)

Visuals: Against a sky background, there is a close-up of the Sesame Street sign. The camera zooms out under the sign, and Big Bird, Elmo, Snuffy, Cookie Monster, Ernie, and Zoe are seen building something. Cookie Monster throws a cookie off-screen. Everyone except Elmo, who is standing on a ladder, leaves. Then, Elmo puts their creation on the bottom of the sign and pulls the string, which stretches out to read "HOMe VidEO" with a smiley face in the first "O" a star dotting the "I", and three lines above the second "O." Elmo smiles and giggles at the end.

Variants:

In 2000, this logo was modified twice due to Children's Television Workshop becoming Sesame Workshop.
- In mid-2000, "CTW" is omitted from the top of the sign, leaving the top of the sign blank.
- From late 2000 to mid-2001, "123" replaces "CTW." This was also used on reprints of VHS tapes originally released in earlier years.
On Elmo's World: Flowers, Bananas & More! and Elmo's World: Singing, Drawing & More!, the logo transitions to the Elmo's World intro.

Technique: Cut-out animation.

Audio: Four "pan drop" sounds that segue into a remix of the Sesame Street theme and birds chirping. This is followed by Zoe (voiced by Fran Brill) giggling, Cookie Monster (voiced by Frank Oz) saying "This so very exciting!", Big Bird (voiced by Caroll Spinney) saying "Hey, that looks good!" and Ernie (voiced by Steve Whitmire) humming and chortling, all accompanied by hammering sounds. A whistle is heard when Cookie Monster throws one of his cookies off-screen, following by an ascending xylophone scale. After the "Home Video" text is shown, Elmo (voiced by Kevin Clash) says "Yeah! Sesame Street Home Video!" and giggles.

Audio Variant: On foreign language prints of Sesame Street, the audio would sometimes be dubbed.

Availability:

It is usually seen on Sony Wonder VHS releases, beginning with the September 1996 re-release of Christmas Eve on Sesame Street and ending with 2001's Elmo's World: Birthdays, Games & More! (released on May 15, 2001).
In the UK, it is also preserved on a few Disney releases from the late 1990s.
Despite the label being discontinued in 2001, this made a few surprise appearances on the 2002 U.S. DVD release of Elmo Says BOO!, the 2005 Brazilian DVD release of Elmo's World: The Great Outdoors!, and the 2006 Australian DVD release of Get Up and Dance, respectively.