Dec 21, 2003
Muppet Book Club
"I Can't Wait Until Christmas"
Book : Part 1 -- Part 2 -- Part 3
Commentary : Part 4 -- Part 5 -- Part 6
Art
Snobs
Danny:
What do you guys think of the art style?
Scott:
You know me and Ewers. Sometimes he's good, sometimes he's bland. He's both in this book.
His work on I Can't Wait marks the beginning of the Sesame Artist Factory, where everyone's style was dictatorially forced to follow refined and air-brushed versions of Joe Mathieu's work.
Danny:
What's the good and what's the bland here?
There's some bits I really like. Snuffy on Santa's lap is a very funny picture. The two-page spread picking out the Christmas trees, with the snow falling all around, is very pretty. I like Cookie Monster eatng the cookies.
On the other hand, Big Bird's got an unchanging blank expression through the whole book. I'd probably believe in his struggle a little more if he didn't look so gosh-darn happy on every single page.
Scott:
I think I'm referring mostly to the colors. It feels like his palette was stuck in one hue.
The Christmas trees spread is my favorite. All that green, white and blue in the background, and then these fantastic Muppets standing out... even Oscar, who's green. But even here, there are some things I don't like. Big Bird's purple scarf on the same side of the page as the Count. A red scarf would have looked fantastic there.
I'm disappointed with page 17. It's Cookie Monster manging down on some cookies and I should love it, but it's so blah.
Page 18 with BB and Granny should be gorgeous, but I think the camera angle is boring. Maybe if it were drawn with our eyes lower and the taxi in the extreme foreground, with Granny and BB visible just beyond, perhaps with some city buildings as a backdrop.
Really, I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm just making this up as I go along.
Danny:
No, I'm with you. I didn't notice half that stuff, but you're right. The taxi picture is dull -- and now that you mention it, it's kind of lazy. Same with the picture on the next page of Granny putting her present under the tree. The perspective's all wrong.
And you're right about the palette -- everything is dominated by pale yellow, pale green and pale pink. It's all pastels. I hadn't noticed that before. Now I like it less. Thanks.
The thing I like about the Cookie Monster picture is the fact that he's cutting out cookies with one hand and eating baked cookies with the other. It's a neverending process.
Scott:
See, I didn't notice that about the cookies, and it just made me laugh out loud.
So we've provided a service for each other. I made you like it less, and... well, I don't like it any more or less, but I appreciate that moment now.
I think the last page is horrific.
Danny:
Okay, I'll bite. Why is the last page horrific?
Scott:
It's just a mess. It's like Ewers made colorforms of the characters, closed his eyes and tossed 'em down on a sheet of paper. Not only is the action off, but the setting is all wrong. That's not Big Bird's nest. Forget the fact that Big Bird's space has four walls -- let's give Ewers that -- but the layout is all wrong, the colors of the doors are wrong, and there's not nearly enough stuff in it.
Clearly, Ewers was fucking lazy, and focused more on what Snuffy would look like zipping around the corner in ankle warmers, rather than the meat of the moment.
Now that I've thought even more about it, I really fucking hate that page. Sickening camera angle again too.
I shouldn't be so hard on Ewers, though. I'd be interested to see what he could do outside of the CTW Artist Machine.
Danny:
No, go for it, baby. This is the only place in the world where it's acceptable to get upset over a page in a Sesame Street book. Just let it out.
John:
The compositional choices for much of the book are boring. Glad you pointed that out. Still, there's something to be said for a straight-ahead syle, and what this lacks in pizzazz it makes up for in coziness.
I hope Cookie doesn't get worms from eating all that raw dough.
Danny:
Raw dough gives you worms? How come?
There have been times in my life when I have eaten raw cookie dough by the peck. I never had worms. Stomachache, yes. Pure chewing satisfaction, yes. Worms, no.
Anyway, considering that Cookie Monster eats phones, trains and flatware, I think raw cookie dough is probably the least of his worries. He has a cast iron stomach. And look, he just ate some cast iron.
Aviary-self a Merry Little Christmas
Danny:
What did this book teach you about Christmas?
Thijs:
Christmas is about getting presents -- and not wondering if Santa exists, but why he exists.
Ryan:
This book taught me that a good thing like Christmas is worth waiting for, even if I'm only getting one present.
And that Snuffy's got mad skating skillz.
Jess:
This book taught me that while the spirit of Christmas can last throughout the year, you've got to be patient and wait for the actual Christmas. I also learned that hanging out with your friends is a good way to kill time until it's time to open presents.
Anthony:
It taught me that I can always count on my Grandma to get me exactly what I want for Christmas, and that I can always turn to Maria to help me out until then.
Also, it taught me that all anyone really wants for Christmas is a tree that looks just like him or herself.
Tom:
I learned that receiving gifts can be almost as much of a chore as shopping for them. Even if you ask Grandma for a baseball bat, and she gets you a baseball bat, you still have to wait in a long line at the mall to get Santa's permission.
The other thing I learned is that you should love your relatives, even if they make you sleep out in the cold.
Michal:
I've learned never to believe someone when they tell you they can't wait for something. What a blatant lie! Of course they can wait. Instant gratification is for the weak.
Danny:
Okay, that works. Frog bless us, one and all!
Book : Part 1 -- Part 2 -- Part 3
Commentary : Part 4 -- Part 5 -- Part 6
Muppet Book Club: "The Great Twiddlebug Mystery"
Muppet Book Club: "The Case of the Missing Mother"
Muppet Book Club: "Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree"