Last Updated: Oct 20, 2023
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This page presents a chronological list of all of the Sesame Street action figures and bendy figures that I'm aware of. Only jointed figures or bendy figures are included on this page, Sesame Street PVC figures are listed on these pages: Sesame Street Figurines Part 1: 1974 - 1999, Sesame Street Figurines part 2: 2000 - present and Sesame Street Applause PVC Figures: Mid 1980's - 2000.
Sesame Street Bendy, 10 to 12 inch dolls by Bendy Toys, likely from 1970's
Ernie Bendy foam figure most likely from the 1970's.
The very first larger sized Sesame Street figures were made by the Bendy Toys company in the United Kingdom. I estimate these are about 10 to 12 inches tall and made of foam that was painted, with a fabric shirt over top. Unfortunately there is very little known about them. To my knowledge they were not sold in North America and were only available in the UK.
The Muppet Wiki website states that these were made in the 1980's, but I suspect that they are from the early to mid 1970's as they are quite crudely made. By the 1980's the Children's Television Workshop, which owned Sesame Street and controlled the licensing, would not have approved such crudely made toys. In addition, by the 1980's the Bendy Toys company had improved the quality of their products. For example, the clothing for the Muppet Show Bendy Toys figures made in 1977 and 1978 were produced with great detail to match the outfits that the characters wore on the TV show. The same was the case for the Fraggle Rock Bendy Toys from the early 1980's, so it is very unlikely that in the 80's Bendy Toys would have not bothered to make Ernie and Bert's iconic shirts identical to the ones they actually wore.
Bert Bendy foam figure likely from the 1970's, sold only in Europe
Ernie and Bert Bendy foam figures in original boxes. As you can see there were three variations for the boxes as well as for the fabric shirts that were made. There are at least two variations for the colour of paint used for Bert's shoes. Below is the third box / shirt variation for Bert. I have yet to see the version of Ernie that was sold in the blue box, so I do not know what colour the shirt was or if his shoes were painted differently. The above three images were found at the Bendy Toys Appreciation Group Facebook Page
Bert Bendy foam figure in an original box, one of three variations. I suspect these larger boxes were the first to be used as they are quite crude and much too big for the figures, while the other two boxes seem to be designed specifically for that size of figure. This image was found on the Muppet Wiki website.
Garibaldo action figure, made in Brazil by Jofer between 1972-1977
This is a very crudely made action figure of Brazil's version of Big Bird, Garibaldo from Vila Sesamo. The figure can move its head and arms. According to Muppet Wiki it is a rare figure to find. This is a very odd looking figure with a creepy vibe and ugly look to it. I can't picture a child wanting to play with it. The feathers/body was painted green although the character was actually blue on the TV show.
Clip-on, 4 inch doll, unknown manufacturer, likely from 1970's or 80's
Sesame Street: Play With Me, 5 to 6.5 inch dolls by Knickerbocker, 1981
The first series of fully jointed Sesame Street action figures that I know of was made by Knickerbocker in 1981. Shown above is the complete set of four "Play With Me" figures: Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Ernie and Bert. The smallest figure is Ernie at five inches tall, Cookie Monster is 6 inches tall, Bert is 6 and 1/4 inches tall, and Big Bird is six and a half inches tall. Unfortunately, Big Bird was not made to scale with the other characters, which is typical for Sesame Street toys.
Ernie and Bert's shoes are attached as the doll's feet but their shirts and pants are removable. The shirts close on the back with Velcro. Big Bird's vest and bandana are removable. He's missing one button from his vest but is otherwise complete. Cookie Monster has a removable chef hat and apron. His hat is often missing from loose figures so I was glad to find this figure complete.
Shown above are Ernie and Bert dolls made by Knickerbocker. The Ernie and Bert jointed dolls are far less common than the Ernie and Bert rag dolls that Knickerbocker made in the mid to late 1970's, which also have removable shirts and pants. The rag doll's clothes were made using completely different types of fabric from the jointed set of dolls, and the shirts have snaps on the back rather than Velcro, so it's easy to tell which set of clothes goes with which dolls. Shown here is the 7 inch Bert rag doll and the 6 1/2 inch Ernie rag doll next to the jointed dolls. This size of rag dolls were originally sold in a boxed set with a plush car that had plastic wheels and a working horn. Various sizes of these rag dolls were made, which are shown on the Sesame Street: 1969 - 1979 page of this blog.
Here are the boxes for the Play With Me series Ernie and Bert dolls. The boxes have a copyright date of 1981, while the actual figures are marked 1980. An original price tag sticker on the front of the Ernie box says $6.79 which, in the early 1980's, was a slightly higher price point for toys like these. Typically such a toy would have retailed for about $3.00.
The back of the Ernie doll's box shows all the dolls available in the set. A closer view is shown below. I find it interesting that Knickerbocker deliberately marketed these dolls to both boys and girls, as Ernie's box shows a girl on the side while Bert's box shows a boy. Mattel should take notes as even in 2023 they are still marketing dolls only to girls. Yet, as we see here, this type of gender neutral marketing is not that hard to do and has been around since the 80's!!!
It's too bad more characters weren't included in this doll series. It would have been awesome to have many other characters in this style, such as Super Grover, The Count, Guy Smiley, Oscar the Grouch, Herry Monster, Roosevelt Franklin, Sherlock Hemlock, Forgetful Jones, Two-Headed Monster, Biff, Sully, and Frazzle just for starters.
Here is the set with the Mego 8 inch Spider-Man doll for size comparison. The Children's Television Workshop which produced Sesame Street until 2000 also produced a TV series during the 1970's called The Electric Company, which included the first live action appearance of Spider-Man. So in my mind this photo makes perfect sense! It's just too bad they never had Spidey visit Sesame Street!!!
Sesame Street Rescue Helicopter, 3 inch figures by Illco, 1980's
Here is the Sesame Street Rescue Helicopter made by Illco, as shown in the Illco 1989 catalogue. There is no note that this is a new toy, which these company catalogue typically do, so this toy may have been introduced a year or two prior. The toy comes with figures of Ernie and Bert that have poseable, jointed legs and knees which in my view qualifies them as being action figures. A closer look of the figures is shown below. Unfortunately I have yet to add these to my collection.
Sesame Street Tricky Trike, 4 inch figure by Tara Toys, 1980's
In the mid to late 1980's Tara Toy produced a series of "Tricky Trike" toys of Sesame characters on tricycles. When the toy is pushed forwards the character peddles the bike. I consider this to be an action figure as it has jointed legs and knees. Above is Bert on the original bubble card, which has been opened. Usually the back of Tara Toy cards show an assortment of other toys that are available, but this one is just solid yellow on the back. I purchased this toy at a BiWay discount store in the 1980's. As you can see by the price tag it was .66 cents! Not a bad deal.
Here is another view of Bert on the Tricky Trike. Big Bird was also made in this series, and the tricycles were made using different colours of plastic creating two versions for each character (listed below). Aside from Bert and Big Bird there doesn't seem to be any other characters in this collection. I find it odd that Bert was made and Ernie wasn't as usually it's the other way around.
To date I've seen two variations of each figure:
Bert on a blue bike with red wheels
Bert on a red bike with yellow wheels
Big Bird on a red bike with yellow wheels
Big Bird on a yellow bike with blue wheels
Here is the Tricky Trike toy next to the Tara Toy PVC Big Bird figure for size comparison. All of the Tara Toy PVC figures are on the Sesame Street Figurines Part 1: 1974-1999 page of this blog.
Sesame Street Action Figures, 3.5 to 5 inch figures by Tara Toys, 1985
In 1985 Tara Toys produced this awesome series of six Sesame Street action figures. This was only the second series of poseable action figures to be made (the first was the Knickerbocker "Play With Me" series shown at the top of this page). This series was really well done and is among my top favourite Sesame toys. Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie have separate poseable arms, legs, and head. Big Bird's head and arms are poseable, while his legs are one piece that rotates which is a little bit odd but it's still a nice figure. Grover is a 3.5 inch bendy figure, rather than a jointed action figure. Oscar is also an odd figure....
Rather than being a joined figure Oscar is just a head with no arms. However, the can is designed to be spring loaded. If you push Oscar head into the can to close the lid it "locks" into place. Then when you press the sides of the can....
POP! Oscar pops out of his trash can. His head can also turn side to side.
In my view this toy doesn't quite qualify as being an action figure because it's
not poseable. None the less, I really like this toy and think that it's well made.
The figure is 3.5 inches tall.
Here's a look at a button on the side of Oscar's can. You can also see how
Oscar himself is just a head attached to a black base, he doesn't have a body.
Big Bird's legs are kinda weird. They are both one piece that rotates.
The Big Bird action figure is 5 inches tall, Cookie Monster is just under 4 inches.
Ernie is 3 and 1/4 inches tall while the Bert action figure is 4 inches.
I still need to find Grover and Oscar in the original package.
The back of the cards for the action figures shows the complete collection along with a series of smaller PVC figures, which I have shown on the Sesame Street PVC Figures page of this blog.
I've come across a few variations for this series of figures. The most noticeable one is Cookie Monster which can be found in light royal blue or dark royal blue. What I think is really cool about these two figures is that the irises on the darker blue figure are painted on evenly while the lighter blue figure has them painted on unevenly to simulate the googly-eyes that Cookie has. As I'm such a geek about these kind of variations I'm really fascinated by that!!! LOL :) The other difference is that the body for the lighter blue figure is made from a softer plastic that is somewhat rubber like and can be squeezed, while the other figure has a hard plastic body.
Finally, the darker blue figure is marked "Made in China" on the bottom of the right foot while the lighter blue figure has no markings on that foot. Both figures have the same markings on the left foot.
The "made in China" markings are interesting as the toys were made in Hong Kong which in 1985 was a British colony. Hong Kong didn't become part of China until 1997. All four of the carded figures that I have include "Made in Hong Kong" on the back of the cards, and the figures themselves do not have the "Made in China" markings. However I have loose figures of Big Bird, Ernie and the darker blue Cookie Monster which all have the "Made in China" on the base of their foot. For the "Made in China" Big Bird, all of the markings are on the base of the left foot, while the Big Bird without "Made in China" has the markings on the right foot. As such, it's possible that the figures were made in both Hong Kong and China, or that the "Made in China" markings were an error that was corrected after the figures went into production.
Another variation that I've noticed is for Bert who can be found
with or without an orange stripe outlining his V-neck sweater.
Sesame Street Action Figures, 3.5 inch figures by Applause, made between 1985 to 2000
At some point between the mid 1980's and 2000 Applause produced a series of jointed Sesame Street action figures. I suspect these are from the early to mid 1990's as this was when Elmo first became popular enough to be marketed as one of the top five Sesame Street characters, replacing Grover or Oscar in many toy lines. The set included Cookie Monster and Elmo (shown above) along with Big Bird, Ernie and Bert. To my knowledge this is the first Elmo action figure to have ever been made.
Below is a size comparison of all three Cookie Monster action figures, which are the only jointed action figures of the character to be marketed that I am aware of (aside from stylized figures like Lego or Kubricks).
Knickerbocker (1981), Tara Toys (1985) and Applause (mid 90's) Cookie Monster action figures.
Sesame Street Dolls, 8 to 9 inch dolls by Applause, 1995
These are hard plastic dolls of Ernie and Bert with fabric clothes, made by Applause in 1995. Bert is 9 3/4 inches tall, Ernie is 8 inches. The head, arms and legs can be posed, and the shirt has a Velcro opening at the back. The shoes are painted on.
In my experience, both of these dolls are rare to find. I bought the Bert doll new from the store in the late 1990s at Shoppers Drug Mart. As you can see from the price stickers on the hang tag (shown below), the doll was originally priced at $20 but was reduced to $10. I got a sweet deal! Today, in 2022, each of these dolls are worth at least $50 each. Ever since I bought the Bert doll I have been searching for the matching Ernie and am sooooooooooooooo happy to have finally found one in February 2022! In all that time, I've only seen Ernie listed on ebay twice, including the one that I bought, though it's quite possible that I missed other listings over the years. In any case, at long last 25 years later I have reunited Ernie and Bert!!!
In my view, these Applause Bert and Ernie dolls are among the nicest Sesame collectables to have been made. If I had to pick only a few items to keep from my Sesame collection these Ernie and Bert dolls would easily be among them.
Bendy Figures, 5 inch figures by Applause, 1980's or 1990's
In addition to their jointed Sesame action figures, Applause also made a series of 5 inch bendy toys in the mid to late 1980's or early 1990's. I'm just missing Zoe from this collection.
Big Bird (with a broken beak), Ernie, Bert and the Count
Elmo, Cookie Monster and Grover
Western Theme Bendy Figures, 5 inches
Shortly after the above series of bendy figures was produced, Applause made a second series of 5 inch Sesame bendy series based on a Western theme, with the characters wearing cowboy hats and boots. The set included Ernie, Bert, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Grover and Elmo. Unfortunately Zoe and the Count were not included in the Western series.
Note: The Cookie Monster bendy figure from the Western series is essentially the same as the Cookie Monster bendy figure from the first series only it is wearing a red bandana. The original figure does not have the bandana
Beach Theme Bendy Figures, 3 inches
Big Bird with and orange life jacket
Elmo with tire tube around his waist
Ernie wearing a striped bathing suit
Bert with swimming flippers
Bendy Figures, about 3.5 to 5 inches tall figures by Kid Dimension/Child Dimension, 1993
In 1993 Kid Dimensions took over distribution for many of the Tara Toys Sesame PVC figures that were already on the market. Therefore, they repacked the figures on cards that used their own Child Dimensions branding. At the same time, they also produced a series of "Camp Sesame" bendy figures. These bendy figures are slightly smaller than the Applause series of Sesame Bendy figures shown above, but are similar in how they are sculpted and painted. Applause had also made a series of Camp Sesame PVC figures around the same time, so I had previously thought that the Camp Sesame bendy figures were also made by Applause, however they are made by Kid Dimensions/Child Dimensions.
This image is from the back of the Child Dimensions bubble card for the Sesame Street bendy figures.
Action Figures, Unknown Manufacturer, 1990's
According to Muppet Wiki at some point in the 1990's an unknown company produced posable action figures based on the Plaza Sesamo characters Abelardo, who had been redesigned as a bird similar to Big Bird, and Lola, a pink monster puppet character similar in size with Elmo. The figures' arms and head are moveable, but the legs are sculpted together as part of the body.
Abelardo
Lola
Talking Figures, by Kid Dimension, 1993
This is a series of four talking figures, though they each only have one saying. The set includes Big Bird, Ernie, Elmo and Oscar the Grouch. I'm not certain how tall they are but they appear to be between 5 to 8 inches. The arms and legs are sculpted as part of the body but it looks as though the figures are jointed at the neck to allow the heads to turn. They were packaged in an open style box. Below is the back of the box.
Sesame Street Figures, by Kid Dimension, 1993
This is series of five Sesame figures that are similar in style to the Kid Dimension talking figures shown above. Figures are joined on at the neck so that the heads can turn. The characters are depicted as toddlers, and are wearing T-shirts with their names on them. The set includes Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Ernie, Bert, and Elmo.
Sesame Street Live Elmo, 6 inch figure, Vee Corporation, made between 2000 - 2022
This figure was made by the Vee Corporation which is the company that operates the Sesame Street Live touring shows. It has joined arms and looks as though it has a jointed neck as well. This toy was sold as a souvenir at Sesame Street Live events. Unfortunately there is no copywrite date but the copyright was marked as "Sesame" for Sesame Workshop, which became a business entity in 2000 when CTW sold the rights to Sesame Street. As such, the toy would have been made sometime between 2000 and 2022, when I found the above image online. The Sesame Street Live logo is marked on the base of the feet.
Sesame Street Playtime Talker, estimated 5 or 6 inch figures by Fisher-Price, 2000
In 2000 Fisher Price produced three Sesame Street action figures in the "Playtime Talkers" series. The set included Ernie (shown above), Elmo and Big Bird (both shown below). Each figure has a button on the chest that can be pressed to hear the character talk. Several accessories were included with each figure. The neck arms and legs are jointed.
Elmo
Big Bird
Th is is the back of the boxes for all three figures. Notice that the Sesame Street logo says "CTW" at the top of the street sign. This means that the figures were produced and released before the CTW company was sold to the current company that became Sesame Workshop. The sale took place in 2000, the same year that these toys were produced and as such they are among the last of the CTW era of toys. In 2000 the street sign logo was updated to replace "CTW" with "123".
Kubricks, 2.5 inch figures by Medicom, 2003 to 2006
Beginning in 2003 until 2006, Medicom produced a series of poseable Sesame Street figures as part of their Kubricks series of toys. The standard sized figures are 6 cm tall, just shy of 2.5 inches. There were 12 figures made including:
- Big Bird
- Ernie
- Bert
- Elmo
- The Count
- Grover
- Little Bird
- Green Twiddle Bug
- Blue Twiddle Bug
- Oscar the Grouch
- Herry Monster
- Prairie dawn
In addition to these, many colour variations of the Elmo and Oscar figures were produced. This is one of the very few times that Cookie Monster was not included in a series of Sesame Street figures. It is very odd that they made other secondary characters ahead of Cookie Monster as it leaves the collection feeling incomplete.
Super Grover Action Figure, estimated 5 inch figure by Palisades, 2005
In 2005 the Palisades toy company, which had been producing a series of Muppet Show action figures, released a special edition boxed figure of Super Grover. It was intended to be the first in a series of Sesame Street characters, however the other figures that were planned for the collection were never produced. This Super Grover figure is about 5 inches tall and is extremely well detailed. It came with two different heads, a fabric cape, a fabric trench coat and a telephone booth. There appears to have been two different packaging variations in regards to how the figure and the accessories were presented in the window box (shown above and below). Among collectors, this is a highly sought after Sesame Street action figure.
Sesame Street Funko Pops, 4 inch figures by Funko, 2015 to 2019
In 2015 my head exploded as the Funko toy company produced a series of ten Sesame Street collectable figures as part of their extremely popular "Pop!" series. Just a few years earlier in 2012 a series of ten Muppet characters was produced based on the new films "The Muppets" and "Muppets Most Wanted". The Kermit figure from that collection is shown above along with the Sesame figures. Super Grover was released ahead of all the rest as the test market figure. Herry Monster was a special addition to the collection in March 2017. Below are the figures out of the boxes.
Above is Kermit from "The Muppets" series and Series 1 of the Sesame Street series which included Super Grover, Cookie Monster, Oscar, Bert and Ernie. The heads of these figures turn but the bodies are made to stay in one position. More info about this series and other Funko toys that have to do with Henson characters is posed on this blog here: http://mikeysmuppetmemorabiliamuseum.blogspot.ca/2016/11/new-jim-henson-pop-vinyl-figures-from.html
Series 2 included Snuffleupagus, Count, Elmo, Grover (as himself), and Big Bird. They're shown with the exclusive Herry Monster released in March 2017. Flocked variants were also made for some of the figures along with an orange Oscar variant (because the original Oscar puppet from the Sesame Street pilot had orange fur!). I have the orange Oscar and will post an image of it here eventually!
Here is the back of the Big Bird box showing all ten figures in the set from 2015.
In 2019 Funko released two Pop figures of Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets. The standard version of the figure shows Henson holding Kermit. A less common variant of the figure with Henson holding Ernie was also made, shown on the right. Of course, Jim Henson performed both of these characters on Sesame Street and the Muppet Show (there is an episode of the Muppet Show in which Ernie and Bert make a guest appearance).
In order to produce these two figures Funko would have had to clear the licensing rights for Kermit with the Disney company, and the rights for Ernie with the Sesame Workshop company, as well as the rights for Henson with the Jim Henson company! Now that's some determination! Thanks for going the distance Funko, these figures are awesome!!!
Bearbricks, 3 inch, 11 inch and 27.5 inch figures by Medicom, 2016
In 2016 Medicom, which had previously produced the Sesame Kubricks figures shown above, included several poseable Sesame figures in their Bearbricks series of figures which were made in various sizes. The following sizes are according to the Muppet Wiki website:
3 inch and 11 inch characters:
- Big Bird
- Oscar
- Elmo
- Cookie Monster
- Ernie
- Bert
- The Count
- Grover
27.5 inch characters:
- Big Bird
- Oscar
- Elmo
- Cookie Monster
Frankly, I don't get what the big deal is with these. Why the bear shape? As a collector these Bearbricks figures never interested me and I find them to be among the stupidest Sesame Street figures ever made. To each their own of course. I'd rather have figures that are shaped like the character they're supposed to be. (Medicom also produced a series of PVC style Sesame figures and they are, ironically, among the best PVC figures made to date!) None the less, Bearbricks are action figures so I've included them here... I'm not including a picture though! LOL :)
Sesame Street Lego, 1.5 inch figures by Lego, 2020
On Nov 1st, 2020, Lego released a beautifully detailed Sesame Street Lego set complete with six Muppets (Ernie, Bert, Big Bird, Oscar, Cookie Monster, and Elmo). Unfortunately Lego sets are known for being expensive and this one is no different. As such, the whopping price tag will likely prohibit many Muppet fans from ever owning it. (The set retails for $150 in Canada.)
Thankfully in 2021 Lego started selling the Sesame Mini Figures separately as keychains allowing more of us to at least enjoy owning those. The keychain set includes Big Bird and Ernie (shown below), Cookie Monster and Elmo, leaving Bert and Oscar as exclusive to the boxed set. The heads and legs are permanently attached for the keychain figures, so technically they are variations from the original figures. The Ernie Keychain's legs don't even move at all, only his arms move, but it's still a cool figure!
Note: This Lego set was cleared out in the Spring and Summer of 2023. By August 2023 it was no longer available through Lego stores.
Sesame Place, 2022 - 2023
Around 2010 the Sesame Place theme parks in the United States started focusing more on producing exclusive merchandise for the parks. Some of these items were also sold on the Sesame Place website. A selection of 7 inch jointed figures were made. So far I have seen these ones:
Big Bird
Cookie Monster
Oscar the Grouch
Elmo
Rosita
Rudy
Super 7 / Reaction, 2023
3.25 inch series
These are very nicely made action figures sold on a bubble card.
Ernie
Bert
Count
Yip Yip Aliens (2 pack with pink alien and blue alien)
15.25 inch series
These are highly detailed 15.25 inch posable figures sold in a large box. These are the largest and most awesome figures of these characters ever made!!! Oddly enough a 3.25 inch Super Grover figure has not yet been released. To date the Count is the only character available in both sizes, which in my mind makes complete sense as he's always been my favourite!
Super Grover
Count
Just Play, 2023
These are action figures than bend at the hips. Below is the promotional image that was released online. I haven't seen these figures close up so I'm only assuming that they're about 3 inches tall. Here is the website promoting the toys: Sesame Street Neighborhood Friends Deluxe Pack - Just Play | Toys for Kids of All Ages (justplayproducts.com)
