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MANILA, Philippines – A Filipino muppet has made his debut on Sesame Street!
TJ the muppet appears along with Grover, Harold and Kumar star Kal Penn, and Korean-American muppet Ji-Young in a segment where they are discussing the word of the day: confidence.
In the segment, TJ shares how he feels confident while learning Tagalog.
“I’m learning Tagalog. It’s a language my Filipino family speaks. And I’m confident because I can always ask my lola for help when I don’t know a word,” he shared.
TJ was created by Bobby Pontillas, a FIlipino-American animation director whose short film One Small Step was nominated for an Oscar in 2019.
In an Instagram post, Bobby shared the concept art for TJ, who was initially called “Filipino Boy Muppet,” and whose look was based on Max and Mateo, the kids of Bobby’s longtime friends.
“I had the amazing opportunity to work with the geniuses at the Sesame Workshop to create a Filipino muppet for [Sesame Street]! Meet TJ!” he said.
“I was blessed to collaborate with master puppeteer Louis Mitchell, the loveliest human on earth,” he added.
He also thanked Sesame Workshop’s director of Talent Outreach, Inclusion, and Content Development Rosemary Espina Palacios, puppeteer and voice actor Yinan Shintu “for bringing TJ to life,” and the Sesame Street team.
In her own post, Rosemary welcomed TJ to Sesame Street, saying “I’m so proud to help bring some Filipino representation to the neighborhood, and just in time for API (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Heritage Month to show the range in our diaspora.”
“His first segment with [Kal Penn] and Ji-Young is all about confidence, something I personally feel can help unravel the model minority stereotype,” she said. – Rappler.com
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