Sesame Street: A Very Grouchy Halloween

Sesame Street: A Very Grouchy Halloween is a Halloween special which first aired on HBO on October 20, 2019 to coincide with Sesame Street's 50th anniversary, with an additional broadcast on PBS three days later.

The afternoon before Halloween, Oscar the Grouch receives an invitation to tour an old, haunted castle in Transylvania, once inhabited by Count von Count's long-deceased ancestor, the Grandcount Belugosi, which is said to have been abandoned for 200 years. Sesame Street's resident Grouch must come face-to-face with ghosts who look (and act) eerily similar to the monsters, people and animals he lives with, and must escape the castle before midnight, or else he'll be trapped forever. Along the way, Oscar has to deal with the Grandcount's wicked great-granddaughter, the Countess Ohanna (the runt of the Count's family), who, backed up by Modo and Hugo (two gargoyles who are really bad at being evil), rules the Grandcount's domain with an iron fist. She feigns interest in marrying Oscar by tricking him into believing she is an honorary Grouch (with the intention of killing the Grouch soon after their marriage is finalized).

The exteriors (and some interiors) of the Grandcount's castle were filmed at the Jim Henson Company lot in Los Angeles, California, while the Sesame Street scenes (and most of the castle interiors) were filmed at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York as usual. Sequences featuring stop-motion puppets of the Sesame Street Muppets are also included, designed and animated by L.A.-based Screen Novelties.

NOTES The Grandcount's castle contains recreations of the sets of both Family Feud and Jeopardy. The hosts of the shows, Steve Harvey and Alex Trebek respectively, make appearances as themselves.

Being a special celebrating Sesame Street's 50th anniversary, dozens of classic Muppets make cameos as ghosts in the Grandcount's castle. Lefty the Salesman, Sherlock Hemlock, Forgetful Jones and others make short, speaking cameos throughout the special, while Roosevelt Franklin and Deena appear as the ghosts of two of the children of Countess Ohanna's ex (played by Gonger) who were all murdered when Gonger tried to divorce her (the other two are played by Julia and Rudy).

Joey Mazzarino returns to perform Murray Monster in this special, credited immediately after the "Sesame Street Muppet Performers" credit.

This special marks Karen Prell's first performance on Sesame Street since 1981 (not counting the 2003 attraction Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic), reprising her major role, retired character Deena Monster. The character was initially planned to be recast to Pam Arciero, until Prell offered to personally come to New York for two days to shoot the scenes featuring Deena, then returning for a third day to assist Ryan Dillon in performing Elmo and double on Lefty the Salesman during the dining room scene. For her performance, Prell is given a "special appearance" billing during the end credits.

Though she doesn't puppeteer in this special, Julianne Buescher makes a vocal appearance as Loopy the ventriloquist's dummy (her actual puppetry was handled by Michael Paul). Two other veteran Muppet performers, Fran Brill and Bill Barretta, make on-screen cameos as zombies, as do fellow performers Tyler Bunch, Noel MacNeal and Martin P. Robinson, and longtime Henson director Kirk Thatcher.

Perhaps as a nod to the misconception of her ever appearing on Sesame Street, Miss Piggy makes her first (and so far, only) appearance in a Sesame production, alongside Kermit the Frog, known for his regular guest appearances on the show. In their cameo, Kermit and Piggy appear as dangling corpses in the Grandcount's castle. After Oscar runs away from them, Piggy abruptly animates, irritated about having to be on "a silly little kid show". Kermit rebuts that it's only a one-time appearance, "and besides, it pays well." Piggy, understanding but still annoyed, returns to being lifeless, with Kermit following almost immediately. Both Kermit and Piggy receive "special guest appearance" credits at the end.

For the scenes taking place in the Grandcount's castle, the crew took inspiration from Disney's "Haunted Mansion" attraction and films like Corpse Bride, Beetlejuice and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, as well as scenes that pay homage to Carrie and The Shining, and a nightmare sequence in the vein of the "pink elephants" scene from Disney's Dumbo and the "Heffalumps and Woozles" scene from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Corpse Bride and Beetlejuice director Tim Burton, and Rocky Horror creator Richard O'Brien were actually credited as "creative consultants", as was R.L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps books.

The celebrity ghosts that haunt the graveyard adjacent to the castle are named after members of the original Sesame Street creative team: Jon (Stone), Jim (Henson), Chris (Cerf), Joan (Ganz Cooney), Tony (Geiss), (Jerry) Juhl, Joe (Raposo), Cathi (Turow), Frank (Oz), Emily (Perl Kingsley), Lisa (Simon), Jeff (Moss), Caroly (Wilcox), Dulcy (Singer), Judy (Freudberg), and Don (Sahlin).

Principal photography for this special took place between October and December 2018, with creature effects construction beginning in late July 2018, and post-production beginning in January 2019. It was the final production that cameraman John Meiklejohn worked on before his death later in 2019, and the special is dedicated in part to his memory.

CHARACTERS Muppets Abby Cadabby, Alice Snuffleupagus, The Amazing Mumford, Athena, Baby Bear, Baby Natasha, Barkley, Benny Rabbit, Bert, Betty Lou, Biff, The Big Bad Wolf, Big Bird, Bip Bippadotta, Bonkers, Brad, Bruno the Trashman, The Busby Twins, Buster the Horse, Chicago the Lion, Chip and Dip, Clementine, Cookie Monster, Cookie Monster's Mommy, Count von Count, Curly Bear, Dani, Daniel, Deena, Dingers, Dr. Nobel Price, Don Music, Elena, Elizabeth, Elmo, Ernestine, Ernie, Farley, Ferlinghetti Donizetti, Forgetful Jones, Francine Lloyd Wright, Frazzle, Fred the Wonder Horse, Freddy, Ftateeta and the Bats, Georgie, Gladys the Cow, Glo Worm, Gonger, Grandcount Belugosi, Granny Bird, Granny Fanny Nesselrode, Grouches, Grover, Grover's Mommy, Grundgetta, Guy Smiley, Harvey Kneeslapper, Herb, Herbert Birdsfoot, Herry Monster, Honkers, Hoots the Owl, Horatio the Elephant, Humphrey, Ingrid, Irvine, Joey and Davey Monkey, Julia, Lefty the Salesman, Leo the Party Monster, Little Bird, Little Murray Sparkles, Loopy, Louie, Lulu, Maggie Cadabby, Mae, Mama Bear, The Martians, Merry Monster, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Modo and Hugo, Monty, Mrs. Crustworthy, Murray Monster, Old MacDonald, Oscar the Grouch, Oscar's Mother, Ovejita, Papa Bear, Phantom Host, Placido Flamingo, Poco Loco, Polly Darton, Prairie Dawn, Preston Rabbit, Professor Hastings, Ricardo, Roosevelt Franklin, Rosa, Rose, Rosita, Roxie Marie, Ruby, Rudy, SAM the Robot, Samuel, Shelley the Turtle, Sherlock Hemlock, Simon Soundman, Slimey, Stinky the Stinkweed, Telly Monster, Tessie Twiddlebug, Thomas Twiddlebug, The Three Little Pigs, Timmy Twiddlebug, Tina Twiddlebug, Two-Headed Monster, Wanda Cousteau, Wolfgang the Seal, Zoe

Background Muppets Alfred Duck, Alligator, AM Monsters, Anything Muppets, Bear, Billy Monster, Blue Jay, Bruce Monster, Butch the Tiger, Camel, Captain Vegetable, Casey, Chickens, Clancy, Colambo, Collie, Crow, Dani, David Attenbird, Dawg the Dog, Dimples the Dog, Ducks, Duke the Horse, Gabrielle, Goat, Googel, Harry Monster, Harvey Monster, Helena, Iago, Imogene, Karina the Ballerina, Kathleen the Cow, Kermit the Forg, Kingston Livingston III, Leo Birdelli, Madame Chairbird, Marian, Marissa, Maurice Monster, Max the Magnificent, Mel, Narf, Parker Monster, Pearl, Penguins, Phoebe, Pigeons, Pigs, Preposterous, Rocky the Cat, Rodeo Rosie, Roosevelt Franklin's Mother, Segi, Sheep, Sherry Netherland, Shivers the Penguin, Skunk, Sloppy, Snake, Sonny Friendly, Stuie Monster, Stuntkip, Sully, Super Chicken, Toucan, Watson

Photographed Muppets Abelardo Montoya, The Count's Grandparents, The Countess, Countess Dahling von Dahling, Countess von Backwards, Count von Count's Brother, Ernest the Grouch, Felix the Grouch, Mama Countess, Masha, Moishe Oofnik, Teeny Little Super Guy

CAST

Cast Countess Ohanna: Julie Gonzalo Disco DJ Ghost: James Monroe Iglehart Vacationing Husband: Brian Jones Front Door Knight: Doug Jones Chris: Chris Knowings Hearse Driver: Paul "Triple H" Levesque Nina: Suki Lopez Hearse Chauffeur: Stephanie McMahon Alan: Alan Muraoka Trash Gordon: Roscoe Orman Vacationing Wife: Colleen Smith

Special Guest Stars Stephen Colbert as Brother Jon Chris Cooper as Brother Jim Jimmy Fallon as Brother Chris Tina Fey as Sister Joan Neil Patrick Harris as Brother Tony Steve Harvey as himself Angelina Jolie as Sister Juhl Jimmy Kimmel as Brother Joe Jane Krakowski as Sister Cathi Jack McBrayer as Brother Frank Kate McKinnon as Sister Emily Lea Michele as Sister Lisa John Oliver as Brother Jeff Julia Roberts as Sister Caroly Winona Ryder as Sister Dulcy Kristen Stewart as Sister Judy Kenan Thompson as Brother Don Alex Trebek as himself

Voice Talent Julianne Buescher as Loopy the Dummy Keith David as Phantom Host Mick Foley as Bonkers the Dummy Mark Hamill as Hugo the Gargoyle Nick Kroll as Tourist Monster Eddie Murphy as Wilfred the Butler Patton Oswalt as Night Watch Ghost J.K. Simmons as Modo the Gargoyle Tony Todd as Phantom Host (Demon Form)

Sesame Street Muppet™ Performers Pam Arciero, Jennifer Barnhart, Warrick Brownlow-Pike, Tyler Bunch, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Ryan Dillon, Stacey Gordon, Chris Thomas Hayes, Eric Jacobson, John Kennedy, Peter Linz, Carmen Osbahr, Martin P. Robinson, David Rudman, Matt Vogel, Joey Mazzarino, Karen Prell

Additional Muppet™ Performers Heather Asch, Connor Asher, Jake Bazel, Tau Bennett, Ronald Binion, Weston Chandler Long, Austin Michael Costello, Ben Durocher, Mark Gale, Aymee Garcia, James Godwin, Liz Hara, Andy Hayward, Haley Jenkins, Avery Lee Jones, James Kemp, Kathleen Kim, Spencer Lott, Lara MacLean, Noel MacNeal, Amanda Maddock, Paul McGinnis, Andrew Moriarty, Michael Schupbach, Andy Stone, John Tartaglia, James Wojtal, Eric Wright, Bryant Young

L.A. Muppet™ Performers Grant Baciocco, Alice Dinnean, BJ Guyer, Brian Jones, Donna Kimball, Tim Lagasse, Alison Mork, Colleen Smith

Additional Puppeteers Jayden Libran, Nate Begle, Darci Lynne Farmer, Michael Paul Ziegfeld, Genevieve Flati, Rachel Herrick, Nicolette Santino, Karen Valleau, Brad Abrell, Greg Ballora, Carol Binion, Tim Blaney, Pat Brymer, Sarah Burgess, Kevin Carlson, Raymond Carr, Kristin Charney, Nathan Danforth, Dorien Davies, Jodi Eichelberger, Nameer El-Kadi, Artie Esposito, Peggy Etra, David Matthew Feldman, Thom Fountain, Dan Garza, Lesa Gillespie, Ingrid Hansen, Terri Hardin, Andy Heath, Patrick Johnson, Sean Johnson, Bruce Lanoil, Len Levitt, Paul Louis Muller, Drew Massey, Rob Mills, James Murray, Sarah Sarang Oh, Michael Oosterom, Brett O'Quinn, Christine Papalexis, Steven Ritz-Barr, Gord Robertson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Carla Rudy, Joe Selph, Michelan Sisti, Andrew James Spooner, Neil Sterenberg, Fred Stinson, Lisa Sturz, Allan Trautman, Jack Venturo, Russ Walko, Mark Bryan Wilson, Chase Woolner, Victor Yerrid, Mikey Brett, Jon Riddleberger

Zombies & Creatures John Alexander, Nate Andrade, Bill Barretta, Javier Botet, Melissa Brewer, Fran Brill, Patrick Bristow, Tyler Bunch, Denise Cheshire, Melissa Cowan, Warwick Davis, James Retter Duncan, Ben Durocher, Tom Fisher, Matthew Furtado, Kevin Galbraith, Ed Gale, Arturo Gil, Kane Hodder, Morgana Ignis, Jason Jacoby, Doug Jones, David Joyner, Ian Kay, Nick Kellington, Vivian Kyle, Pons Maar, Noel MacNeal, Lucky Mangione, Derek Mears, Terry Notary, Edd Osmond, Martin P. Robinson, Jody St. Michael, Jordan Salmon, Ashleigh Sizemore, Nick Stanner, Brian Steele, Joonas Suotamo, Douglas Tait, Kirk Thatcher, Leif Tilden, Camden Toy, Jimmy Vee, Ian Whyte, Ashton Woolen, Eric Woolfe, Gretchen Wylder

Supervising Creature Puppeteers David Barclay, Alec Gillis, Carl J. Johnson, Nigel Plaskitt, Mike Quinn, Tony Urbano, Mak Wilson

Creature Puppeteers Peter Abrahamson, Gino Acevedo, Connie Angland, Keith Arbuthnot, Thomas D. Bacho Jr., Lloyd Ball, Allen Barlow, Paul Barnes, Ryan Barnett, Bill Basso, Adam Behr, Jim Beinke, Howard Berger, Christopher Bergschneider, Enrique Bilsland, Bryan Blair, Stephen R. Blandino, Joanne Bloomfield, Jim Boulden, Evan Brainard, Bill Bryan, Steve Buscaino, Norman Cabrera, Yancy Calzada, Marilee Canaga, Rob Capwell, Tamara Carlson-Woodard, Jeny Cassady, Craig Caton-Largent, Morris Chapdelaine, Jim Charmatz, John Cherevka, Peter Chevako, Giles Chin, Bryan Christensen, Keith Christensen, Blair Clark, Peter W. Clarke, Christian Colquhoun, Michael-Ann Connor, Allen Coulter, David Covarrubias, John C. Crawford, Chuck Crisafulli, John Criswell, Gino Crognale, Jeff Cruts, Richard Darwin, Jon Dawe, Michael Deak, Jeff Deist, Glenn Derry, Rob Derry, Alex Diaz, Jeff Edwards, Bernhard Eichholz, Mike Elizalde, Chris Endicott, Yuri Everson, Matt Falletta, Eric Fiedler, Mike Fields, Greg Figiel, Thomas Floutz, Fred Folger, Steve Frakes, Rick Galinson, Mark Garbarino, Jake Garber, Tony Gardner, Patrick Gerrety, Charlie Grant, David Grasso, Jim Greenall, Gary Grove, George Grove, Ted Haines, Jason Hamer, Beth Hathaway, Richard Haugen, Seth Hays, Jurgen Heimann, Matt Heimlich, Trevor Hensley, Kurt Herbel, Russ Herpich, Tom Hester, Mecki Heussen, Guy Himber, Jeff Himmel, James Hirahara, Allan B. Holt, Paul Hooson, Tim Huizing, Hiroshi Ikeuchi, Marc Irvin, Tom Irvin, Pamela Iveta, Steven James, Lars Jangaard, Tim Jarvis, Erik Jensen, Jeff Jingle, Lynette Johnson, Carey Jones, Mark Jurinko, Ron Karkoska, Kate Katz, Rodrick Khachatoorian, Luke Khanlian, Tom Killeen, Mark Killingsworth, David Kindlon, Kevin Kirkpatrick, Louis Kiss, Dana Klaren, Steve Koch, Jim Kundig, Robert Kurtzman, Leon Laderach, Richard Landon, Frank Langley, Susan Laprelle, Tim Lawrence, Rick Lazzarini, Tim Leach, Julian Ledger, Grant Lehmann, John Lundberg, Leonard MacDonald, Lindsay MacGowan, Shane Mahan, Mark Maitre, Greg Manion, Bob Mano, Mike Manzel, Keith Marbory, Nick Marra, Kyle Martin, Karen Mason, Todd Masters, Anthony Matijevich, Jason Matthews, Todd Mattox, Mike McCarty, Michael McCracken Jr., Crash McCreery, Connor McCullagh, Bud McGrew, Jake McKinnon, Kevin McTurk, Paul Mejias, David Merritt, Scott Millenbaugh, Todd Minobe, David Monzingo, Lon Muckey, Clare Mulroy, Brian Namanny, Christopher Allen Nelson, Steve Newburn, Robert Newton, Greg Nicotero, Tim Nordella, Larry Odien, Aina O'Kane, Michael Ornelaz, Joey Orosco, Scott Oshita, Scott Patton, David Penikas, Paul Pistore, Nicholas Podbrey, Sam Polin, Brian Poor, Diego Porqueras, Eli Presser, Brad Proctor, Tim Ralston, Greg Ramoundos, Robert Ramsdell, Mark Rappaport, Joseph Reader, Dan Rebert, Geoff Redknap, Richard Redlefsen, Paul Rice, Christian Ristow, Dwight Roberts, Steve Rosenbluth, John Rosengrant, James Rowley, Paul Salamoff, Terry Sandin, Mike Scanlan, Erik Schaper, Andy Schoneberg, J. Alan Scott, Eugene Seregin, Mark Setrakian, Doug Seymore, Shannon Shea, Steve Sherman, Russell Shinkle, Bryan Sides, Kirk Skodis, Shaun Smith, David Snyder, Alfred Sousa, Jeff Speetjens, Johnnie Spence, Ian Stevenson, David Stinnett, Scott Stoddard, Trey Stokes, Bill Sturgeon, Christopher Swift, Valek Sykes, Lilo Tauvao, Mark Tavares, Norman Tempia, Bill Terezakis, Wayne Toth, Bill Traetta, Marc Tyler, Mark Viniello, Mark Walas, Clinton Wayne, Amy Whetsel, Greg Williams, Tom Williamson, Garth Winkless, David Wogh, Scott Woodard, Tom Woodruff Jr., Shane Zander, Chet Zar, Jonah Zimmerberg-Helms

Stop-Motion Puppeteers Mark Caballero, Adrian Rose Leonard, Rob Saunders, Zach Tolchinsky, Robin Walsh

Additional Voices Brad Abrell, Charlie Adler, Matt Adler, "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist, Lori Alan, Carlos Alazraqui, Steve Alterman, Jack Angel, Stephen Apostolina, David Arnott, Rita Artmann, Kirk Baily, Dee Bradley Baker, Troy Baker, Joe Bauer, Eric Bauza, Jeff Bennett, John Eric Bentley, Greg Berg, Bob Bergen, Gregg Berger, Jeff Bergman, Susanne Blakeslee, J.B. Blanc, Brian Bloom, Steven Blum, David Boat, Earl Boen, Duncan Brannan, Ali Brustofski, Kira Buckland, Rodger Bumpass, Doug Burch, Steve Burns, Corey Burton, William Calvert, Cody Cameron, Joe Cappelletti, Kate Carlin, Nancy Cartwright, Catherine Cavadini, June Christopher, Cam Clarke, Robert Clotworthy, Townsend Coleman, Jonathan David Cook, Cavin Cornwall, David Cowgill, Kat Cressida, Peter Cullen, Brian Cummings, Jim Cummings, Wendy Cutler, E.G. Daily, Alex Daniels, Brian T. Delaney, Grey DeLisle Griffin, Debi Derryberry, Jessica DiCicco, John DiMaggio, Ben Diskin, Holly Dorff, Terri Douglas, Robin Atkin Downes, Chris Edgerly, Paul Eiding, Chad Einbinder, Richard Epcar, Bill Farmer, Keith Ferguson, Jeff Fischer, Quinton Flynn, Jennifer Crystal Foley, Aaron Fors, Pat Fraley, Eddie Frierson, Donald Fullilove, Nika Futterman, Elisa Gabrielli, Spencer Lacey Ganus, Willow Geer, Jean Gilpin, Jackie Gonneau, Barbara Goodson, Michael J. Gough, Deborah Grausman, C.H. Greenblatt, Nicholas Guest, Mark Hadlow, Jennifer Hale, Isa Hall, Jess Harnell, Jason Harris, Brian Herskowitz, Kate Higgins, Bridget Hoffman, April Hong, Richard Steven Horvitz, Brian Hull, Rif Hutton, Sirena Irwin, Nick Jameson, John Kassir, David Kaye, Josh Keaton, Tom Kenny, Marsha Kramer, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Ashley Lambert, Sam Lavagnino, Carolyn Lawrence, Katie Leigh, Patricia Lentz, Marcella Lentz-Pope, Hope Levy, Jason J. Lewis, Riki Lindhome, Anne Lockhart, Paul Louis Muller, Yuri Lowenthal, Sherry Lynn, Tress MacNeille, Danny Mann, Jason Marsden, Mona Marshall, Patty Mattson, Jeremy Maxwell, Mickie McGowan, Caitlin McKenna, Christie Mellor, Scott Menville, Matthew Mercer, Jim Meskimen, Kate Micucci, Lara Jill Miller, Candi Milo, Edie Mirman, Daniel Mora, Mike Nawrocki, Laraine Newman, Nolan North, Peter Oldring, Colleen O'Shaughnessey-Villard, Jason Pace, Paul Pape, Donovan Patton, Rob Paulsen, Chris Phillips, Patrick Pinney, Paige Pollack, Phil Proctor, Alex Puccinelli, Moira Quirk, Jan Rabson, Michael Ralph, Noreen Reardon, Peter Renaday, Kevin Michael Richardson, Sam Riegel, Lynwood Robinson, Michelle Ruff, Paul Rugg, Sam Sako, Lia Sargent, Rodney Saulsberry, Charlie Schlatter, Ben Schwartz, Frank Sharp, Justin Shenkarow, "Nice" Peter Shukoff, James Sie, Susan Silo, Jenny Slate, Roger Craig Smith, David Sobolov, Andre Sogliuzzo, Kath Soucie, Kelly Stables, Stephen Stanton, Mindy Sterling, Andre Stojka, Karen Strassman, Tara Strong, James Patrick Stuart, Cree Summer, Pepper Sweeney, Shane Sweet, Joel Swetow, Christopher Swindle, Jill Talley, Fred Tatasciore, Regina Taufen, James Arnold Taylor, Kirk Thornton, Nancy Truman, Marcelo Tubert, Phil Vischer, Kari Wahlgren, Hynden Walch, B.J. Ward, James Kevin Ward, Audrey Wasilewski, Rick D. Wasserman, Andreana Weiner, Marc Weiner, Frank Welker, Claudette Wells, Billy West, Colette Whitaker, Mae Whitman, Scott Whyte, Travis Willingham, Debra Wilson, Mick Wingert, Wally Wingert, Ariel Winter, Sam Witwer, Matthew Wood, Lennon Wynn, Matt "Lucky" Yates, Michael Ann Young, Lynnanne Zager, Joe Zieja

Special Vocal Effects Dee Bradley Baker, Frank Welker