Classic Sesame Street - BIRD (freaky cartoon!)

[hoopersghost]

That bird looks and sounds *evil*; if Sesame Workshop ever releases a DVD with the scariest clips ever (as rated by fans), this would be in the top ten.

[TheDudeYouHateToMeet]

lol the bird came at 0:50

[kaboompoop]

I dont remember this one at all. They probably took it off or something because that bird would scare the crap out of kids!

[andyllamanipl]

i imagined a giant dindong coming out the hole in the square the whole time......--------o

[Teddywolf]

omg i remember this cartoon that thing made me shit in my dreams

[ljks1]

the reason why this cartoon would seem creepy is because the bird has staring eyes. The human instinct tells us that staring eyes are a threat.

[splotchwork5000]

what is up with that "r"?

[OnFiya4Jesus]

I never saw this one before today. It's creepy!

[funkmike]

This music sounds like any number of 80's popish, R&B-styled songs that could have been on the radio of the day--I wonder how many artists were actually influenced by Sesame Street.

[bigpreesh]

I love this one. Why was the "r" fucked up?

[SargeantFunshine]

Looking at the animation style, my guess was animator Sally Cruikshank, but looking at her page on IMDB, I see she has some Sesame Street episodes listed, all from the 90s. Could this cartoon be from early 90s, or did they miss a credit on IMDB, or am I guessing wrong animator?

[Leecogic]

this came out if my memory serves right in the mid to late 70's.

[Critibitch]

OMG me too, this bird is whack.

[Brownies79]

I've finally found it. This thing creeped me out even as a 6-year old. The weird Gary Numan-esque music, the 70's colors, and the mirthless bird have stayed with me my entire life. By far, the strangest thing I ever saw on Sesame Street - right up there with Bert's TV that kept repeating "H" and "I" over and over again.

[patchouli78]

This video used to creep me out soo much!!!

I remember the music,especially after it would finish creating another letter,and its weird googly eyes!!

[rabidrabbitshuggers]

Very 'Pink Floyd's The Wall'-ish.

[wilkes85]

I fuckin love this!

[bratzaroundtheworld]

i'm gonna have nightmares after seeing this... =o

[youtubbs67]

I'm going to have nightmares tonight after seeing this.

[shinyglass]

man, whoever made this clip was having a mad trip.

[LB030377]

Yeah I remember this. Its actually more creepier now then when I was a kid. And then it was still creepy. I dunno why they put stuff like this. Its like the point was to scare. And no one has yet mentioned the creepy music. When it lays the egg it makes a sound like something frightening happed.

[milofire]

In my opinion i always thought the music was cool, UNTIL it got to that sound after the egg was laid...creepy indeed, lol. Eerie in fact. PeacexXx!!!

[pretearking]

How come Sesame Street always had these cartoon images that made you feel like you were on mushrooms?

[cozene35]

That's one of my favorites!!! Funky music!! It rocks!!!

[wilkes85]

That was totally INSANE TO THE MAX!!! Also, did it bug anyone else that the "R" was all fucked-up?

[CodTongueSushi]

Yes, I remember that "r" bothering me when I was a kid. It still bothers me.

[loveyboots]

thats one psychedelic bird

[jradbills]

wait....did that guy bird just lay an egg?

[wilkes85]

ya it did, witch got me to thinking... what the hell sorta bird just abandons it's egg like that?

[erracht]

That was one weird bird. I remember being a little freaked out by the food going down the bird's neck.

[jeremymonkey]

whats this teaching kids the affects of mesculine!lol

[eyepoo]

That was fairly horrifying. They do put some pretty goddamn scary stuff on children's TV. We still have some of the tapes we used to watch, and as an adult i'm disturbed.

[CordyR]

at 0:50 it was so freaky i almost cried...

[chameleonday]

That freaked my puppy out!

[hybridthehobo]

Lol, he was gettin a orgasim right after he said bird.

[twoworldsin1]

Sesame Street is brought to you by the letters L, S, and D.

[xanadian9]

It's a hell of a drug. That's for sure.

I'm going to have nightmares now.

Thanks a lot!

[Gameplayery]

its more Lame than freaky

[brightbite]

I was just happy the thing was eating when I first saw this. My mother and I fed birds right from our porch, sometimes right out of our hands.

[JME1973]

I used to get a kick out of it when he says BIRD as well. ROTFLMAO!

[tod4533]

BIRD MIGHT BE DRUNK

[Vamphaery]

I think the fear inducing effect of this is a combination of the non-uniform edges of the bird as it animates, the unnatural speed at which it animates, and the "liquid-like" way in which it appears to physically animate while in motion. Together, these contradict what the brain expects a bird - even a cartoon bird - to move like, creating a feeling of inability to anticipate its movements, and thus frightening some (myself included, and I'm 25 lol.)

[Vamphaery]

P.S.

I forgot to mention the fact that it's also staring directly at the viewer for the entire duration lol.

[brightbite]

GREAT analysis, Vamphaery!

[tod4533]

so amazing!

[meidc]

I'm not ashamed to admit that there were quite a few clips from Sesame Street that really frightened me.

AHHH!!!!!!!

Those were the days!

[stephanie7927]

okay now i'm creeped out. that thing is just too damn scary. thank god it never came on when i watched sesame street. i would have been crying.

[kookybloo]

Oh, ew! I thought I had dreamed up this nightmarish thing. It used to make me physically sick when it came on.

[sorofolio]

ok now i'm scared...lol

[tesubcalle]

Oh, I remember that bird, now!

[mightyfilm]

You know... sometimes I feel an Elmo-centric sanitized for no one's protection version of Sesame Street isn't necissarily a BAD thing...

[shinryakusha]

O_O I used to have nightmares about that thing! Seriously! Now I know where they came from.

The music sounds like a video game stage-select screen.

[feenixerazona]

"Bird" LMAO

[erikthe10man]

Does anybody know who made the music? I've heard the music somewhere else before...but back in the late 70's/early 80's..

[DivaXMachina]

YIKES! This creeped me out when i was a kid!

[Pdasilva0324]

Havent seen that in a while..have pretty fond memories of that..of feeling my 5-year-old skin crawl too when the thing says "BIRD". Has to have been made around 1971..just a guess..but I watched it in the very early 80s.

[boalisa]

My pet conure has that exact facial expression! I don't find it freaky at all...I think it's cuddly! Look how smug it looks after laying the egg!

[tech352]

I'm never using acid again. That was just too freaky...

[rjofthe4]

wow that was freaky

[Kevmike68]

Wow, very trippy....I have a pretty good recollection of Sesame Street cartoons, but I don't remember this one. But very trippy!

[steveasat2]

I've seen spinal surgeries that weren't as skin-crawling as this. Aside from that though, it seems to be teaching that birds lay eggs as a consequence of eating. Like eggs are just a bird's way of pooping.

[tamalli]

I used to laugh my head off when it said "bird."

[Oawol]

I've decided everyone who used to work to produce sesame street were all on acid when they wrote that kinda stuff. no joke.

[kornstar1988]

freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeea­ky lol thats scary

[pullahoko]

BIRD.

[inkedwell]

Beautifully done but MAN THAT IS CREEPY.

This gave me the willies now, at age 19. As a kid, it probably would've given me nightmares. But it's so creative and wonderful and weird, it would've been worth the trauma. :)

[uccomic]

Great posting. I see what you mean. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and that bird face is inches away from yours!!! Freaky!!!!

[charmedcharmedsister]

bizarre - but great fun!

[danielthomas]

There's a lot of psychedelic animation from this time that appeared on children's shows like Sesame Street. It's always amazing to me to see how far-reaching that influence was, and all that creative fluidity.

[thomasinb]

creeeeeepy. i remember the little change in the music at the very end, too, like there was a warp iin the tape.

[ronaldraymond]

shouldn't it have laid a dropping instead, after eating all that wood or whatever it is?

[cjdunn]

Does anybody have the cartoon of the bird (roughly like this one) but ends up laying ten eggs I think and at the end passes out?

[heyheyheydude]

If I know my music trivia this probably was made around 1984.

[sawing14s]

Actually I have it in an episode from 1982, so I think it was earlier.

[Garrettk41]

It's actually from 1978.

[DiAnno13]

Hey, folks, the bird may think you're all a bit freaky looking, too.

[DiAnno13]

With the bright colors and the deep voice, I thought it was a male bird. Then, in a twist ending, it lays an egg.

[theproudflip]

Well, I found it cute when I was a kid, specially when it laid an egg. Hahahaha!

[emcgo]

I forgot all about this one. The bird used to freak me out as a kid, but at the same time I was sort of fascinated by it. It's something I just had to sit in front of the TV and watch.

[CheezNapkin]

GET IT AWAY

[pullahoko]

BIRD is the new TREE.

[amybeth68]

Great clip....do you have the one of Grover and Jon Jon that preceded it?

[dorourke105]

Sweet lord what the hell is that thing? Oh wait I know it's a bird from the planet YIKES!!

[ISNorden]

You beat me to that comment...if birds like that existed in real life, I'd get the heck away from them on sight.

[DiAnno13]

Interesting. I thought one of the things Sesame Street taught was not to judge others based on appearances.

[Brinah]

this would be an exception to the rule! lol

[skrag1]

What planet is that bird from? It looks like a cross between an ostrich and that hammerhead alien from the Star Wars cantina scene.

[glowworm2]

It could also have been because the bird was eating the red thing

[Larynxa]

I think this was made in Canada...specifically in Quebec, where they go for more "arty" things. As for why it made some people feel hungry, it could have been that they were watching "Sesame Street" near lunchtime. From 1969 to the mid-1990s, CBC aired the show at 11 a.m.

[DiAnno13]

When all the kids are in school.

[Larynxa]

Back then, most kids stayed at home until about age 5 or 6, when they'd start half-day Kindergarten. So the show's original target audience was at home at 11:00 a.m. But nowadays, kids start Pre-Kindergarten at age 3 or 4, which is why the show is now aimed at toddlers.

[DiAnno13]

Really, they were kept inside until age 5?

[Brownies79]

Yep...I didn't go into Kindergarten until 5 in 1984. I NEVER went to preschool. My mom wouldn't let me go because she said she'd miss me too much!

[nantosuichoken]

I don't care for many of the SS animations from the 80s, but that was fantastic!

[celticepona]

Was this a seventies film? I remember this one very well. It always made me hungry for some reason.

[nantosuichoken]

I think it's early 80s. And superfreaky!

[TsWade2]

EEW! The bird came closer to the camera. That's creepy then the Wicked Witch from Snow White.

[Ichigoxlolita]

I'm VERY glad I didn't see this as a kid. When it goes "bird!" I might have have screamed. XD This is a bird, this a bird on drugs....

[sodapop81]

That male bird just laid an egg! o_o

[valorik]

The tune that was playing was really catchy.

[glowworm2]

I can see why this one creeped you out as a child. that bird is pretty creepy, especially when she stares at you and starts to eat the red thing. Quite clever though