Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4
WeLoveFine (previously known as Mighty Fine) got themselves into the t-shirt design contest a while back, starting with their Muppet contest back in 2011. Threadless has picked up the slack with a bunch of contests of their own, but WeLoveFine is finally back with their latest venture. They’ve gone back to the ABCs with Sesame Street.
As we’ve done many times before, we’ll be reviewing every entry to the contest. We’ll also be giving them a rating between 1 and 5, which is partly arbitrary and mostly opinionated. So please, if you’re one of the artists in question, don’t take it personally. It’s just one Muppet fan’s opinion, and it’s almost always wrong.
Unfortunately, we had a minor technical snag this time around, and we weren’t able to insert links into each entry so you could vote for it directly from here. Instead, you’ll have to log on or create an account on WeLoveFine’s website (don’t worry, it’s free and quick), and then go here to submit all your votes. Voting is open until Tuesday, January 28, so don’t wait for our reviews, just start voting for your faves!
Enough of me, let’s look at all this bizarre and awesome Sesame Street art!
We’re starting out with an Apple reference? Maybe? That’s the usual meaning of that lowercase i, and I guess the cookie has a similar bite out of it like the iconic apple. But it also doesn’t really look like that at all. So I’ve said exactly nothing just now.
My rating: 3
I like it when Super Grover looks all dark and superheroey. But that bright red cape is more blinding than mysterious. He’s a little more bullfighter than Batman.
My rating: 3
A tiny Cookie Monster! Or a giant cookie, but I prefer the former. Just imagine a little Cookie Monster sitting on your shoulder, whispering in your ear about dessert, and then diving headfirst into a donut hole. Freaking adorable.
My rating: 3
What! Bert and Ernie as Abbot and Costello! Two of the greatest comedy duos of all time merged into one. And that’s what’s on first.
My rating: 5
There are so many Cookie Monster Is A Monster jokes to be made. Why “More Cookies”? Is that something monsters say? I haven’t met any monsters, so maybe I’m just out of the loop.
My rating: 2
See, now that’s how to make a monster. Just look at all those creepy versions of our Sesame Street pals. Every one of them is bizarre and terrifying in their own way. It’s horrible and delicious and perfect.
My rating: 5
Is that Comic Sans? And a word that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with Sesame Street? And no Muppets at all? And did I mention the Comic Sans???
My rating: 1
So wait, are we snuggling or snuffling? Because there’s a big difference. Either way, we’ll be doing it with some really long, limp eyelashes.
My rating: 1
This is what we call a “dartboard” t-shirt idea. Cookie Monster eating a Rubik’s Cube with his friends’ faces on it. That certainly seems like a random assortment of ideas that might be lucky enough to be hit with a dart.
My rating: 2
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m getting real bored of seeing the same illustrations of the Sesame Street characters over and over again, even if they’re put in front of different backgrounds. Is it so hard to draw something original? Or are all the good ideas taken?
My rating: 2
See, like this! I’ve never seen this kind of Super Grover illustration before. He looks sleek and powerful and heroic. Almost nothing like the real Super Grover.
My rating: 4
Ha, weird. Everyone is sinking into Big Bird’s head like he was made out of quicksand. It seems like a metaphor for something, or maybe a fever dream. Or a metaphor for a fever dream.
My rating: 4
White backgrounds aren’t always better. I imagine there’s supposed to be a table under that giant cookie for Cookie Monster to peer over. But instead, it looks like a cookie wearing a monster hat.
My rating: 2
So, we’re taking all those popular Sesame face t-shirts and putting them together. It’s bound to sell 9x as well as any of them! It’s simple math.
My rating: 1
The Cookie Tree is ready to grant your wish! More cookies? A popular choice.
My rating: 3
I’m not sure if this idea has already been put onto a shirt, but I’ve seen it enough times to think that it must’ve been. Either way, it’s still a great idea for something I’d want to splay across my chest.
My rating: 5
Alistair Cookie is the classiest. He absolutely deserves a t-shirt design of his own. Can we make that happen already??
My rating: 5
Hey, there’s that tiny Cookie Monster again! Aw, the little guy is thirsty. So he’s dunking a cookie into the head cavity of his teacup friend. Wait. What? Ew.
My rating: 3
There’s so much I don’t understand. What is Bert wearing? What do we have to get from the artist now? How do we get more clothes? What happens after we die? Did James Taylor sell out? Why the come out then?
My rating: 1
Love this one. It’s beautiful in its subtlety. Also, it’s a duckie! Do you see it??
My rating: 5
It’s hard to hate on this design, which might as well be traced from another piece of Sesame merchandise, but it’s exactly what a Count shirt should be. The critic in me is torn!
My rating: 4
Enough with Cookie Monster’s big eyes and mouth on a shirt. It’s been done. Many, many times. No amount of alphabet cookies will make it original.
My rating: 1
You had me until the cross-eyed Count. It’s like a derpy combo breaker.
My rating: 2
The dearth of Yip Yip Martian t-shirts is horribly painful. Everyone in America should own one. This will do nicely.
My rating: 5
But… Grover Kent is really Super Grover?? Oh, my mistake. That’s Michael Jackson from the “Black or White” music video.
My rating: 5
Uhhh. Huh. Yeah, that’s… I don’t even… What?
My rating: 1
Aw, that’s very nice of the giant blue blob to give a cookie to the yellow… is that some sort of tree? It’s funny because it’s abstract!
My rating: 2
Are we expected to vote for one or the other? Does this artist know how these t-shirt contests work? Also, do they realize that one of them says “Monter Cookie”?
My rating: 1
You tell me, is Cookie Monster standing behind a counter advertising cookies, or is he getting an x-ray after eating two giant cookie cakes?
My rating: 2
Aw, what a waste of a perfectly good set of eyeballs.
My rating: 1
Oh, Emma Deeepec. You’ve got to do more than just trace a picture that’s been on several t-shirts already to make a splash in this contest.
My rating: 1
I have literally nothing to say about this one. I guess that’s a comment on how painfully dull it is. Or how remarkably normal it is. Or both.
My rating: 2
I don’t know if Slimey is the character I’d choose to embody “love”, but he’s just so adorable, I don’t even care. I love me some Slimey.
My rating: 4 
Ohhhh, so that’s what Sesame Street looks like from above. That explains why it seems like there’s a cul-de-sac on each end of the street.
My rating: 3
Short and sweet. I give this “nope” a “yep”.
My rating: 5
I am totally in favor of any merchandise that borrows from The Monster at the End of This Book. Especially if it’s something I can wear with pride.
My rating: 5
It’s a bummer that this artist included Kermit, since he’s not owned by Sesame Workshop. I don’t really know if the anatomy works out, but it reminds me of Dia de los Muertos, which is pretty cool on its own.
My rating: 4
Never in my entire life did I think I would see the possibility of a t-shirt featuring the “I Get Mad” goat. The future is truly now.
My rating: 5
It’s true. 10:26 is the ideal time to count.
My rating: 4
Here’s the first entry by ToughPigs’ resident artist Smig! And it’s a freaking classic. Just look at that no-nonsense expression on her face. That is a perfect representation of the essence of Prairie Dawn.
My rating: Withheld, since the artist is one of us.
I don’t know why we don’t see more Abby/Mumford pair-ups. Okay, I do know why, but I’m just glad to see these two making magic together.
My rating: 4
I admit, I get a little sad when I listen to “I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon”. In a good way, for sure. But not good enough that I’d feel comfortable enough to see it on my own body. I’d just cry for a day straight, once every laundry cycle.
My rating: 4
Is “Imagine That” popular enough for people to get this reference? I mean, I hope it is. It should be.
My rating: 3
For every Super Grover as Superman picture, there should be a Count as Batman. There should also be action figures, comic books, direct-to-DVD features, and Underoos. This t-shirt would be a great start.
My rating: 5
Okay, I can buy Elmo’s knight outfit, and I’m stretching to accept Cookie Monster as some sort of beast, but what I can’t wrap my brain around is the series of events that led to him being saddled and reined. It seems a little submissive, doesn’t it? Plus, you know he’d slurp up that rein like a piece of spaghetti the second it touched his lips.
My rating: 3
And here’s piece #2 from Smig. This is one of my favorites, since it shows the aftermath of Super Grover’s flight, plus the idea that he might’ve somehow crashed into your belly.
My rating: Withheld, since the artist is one of us.
Stay tuned for part 2, coming very soon!
Click here to crash headfirst into the ToughPigs forum!
by Joe Hennes – Joe@ToughPigs.com
