I never really put much thought into it, but for a 2-year old Cookie Monster is pretty scary. He’s extremely violent when eating cookies, has a pretty scary raspy voice, has those crazy cross-eyes, and his name literally has the word “Monster” in it.
Come to think of it, Elmo would be much different if his name were “Elmo MONSTER.” I don’t think kids would like him as much.
Just yesterday my son was misbehaving and I said to him, “Don’t do that or else…Cookie Monster is going to pay you a visit...”
His near immediate reaction was, “I sorry! I be good!!”
Now if I had said, “Don’t do that or else Elmo is going to pay you a visit.” He probably would have punched a hole in the wall, set it on fire, all while smiling the entire time waiting for Elmo to come out and give him a great big hug.
See – not the same.
The more I think about it… Sesame Street could really capitalize on his scariness to teach good with some simple coloring pages:
