And with this photo I’ve now given myself nightmare fuel.
When I was very young, we’re talking preschool here, I was terrified of a character on Sesame Street: Mahna Mahna.
Terrified doesn’t really cover it. He caused just about every one of my nightmares.I was so afraid of him that to this day people in my family tease me about it. All you had to do was say the words Mahna Mahna or start humming that stupid song and I’d burst into tears.
If you Google Mahna Mahna and The Muppets together there are a few different versions of the skit. There is the original version from The Ed Sullivan Show in 1969 and the version with different Muppets from Sesame Street, also from 1969. There’s a version from the first episode of The Muppet Show and there was even an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show. I watched all four versions of the song before I wrote this and admittedly still got a little weirded out by it (especially the Ed Sullivan and Dick Cavett versions – I don’t need that thing running at my face) but it was definitely the Sesame Street version that gave me nightmares for years.
What I found interesting is that the Muppet I was so terrified of in that video isn’t technically Mahna Mahna. He’s a Muppet named Bip Bippadotta. In going through the black hole that is YouTube I discovered another song Bip sang on Sesame Street that used to freak me right out. Fat Cat. Honestly, for all the times Jim Henson terrified me it’s a wonder I’m such a big fan of the Muppets.
My fear of Mahna Mahna (Bip Bippadotta is just too cute a name to be afraid of) started something that I’ve brought with me into adulthood. I was asked today if I ever get frightened anymore. (I was a big baby as a kid.) The truth is, I’m still kind of a big baby. There are certain things I’ll watch or read that will terrify me for any amount of different reasons (from legitimate to really stupid). Once I’ve frightened myself, I need to talk myself down. All those years ago, when Sesame Street would make me cry, I’d go off by myself and imagine different cartoons that I liked. I’d watch them in my head until I wasn’t afraid anymore.
I was a bit of an odd kid, not gonna lie.
I’ve found as an adult, regardless of what scares or upsets me (whether it be fictional or something going on in real life), cartoons seem to be what chill me out. This is especially true if something has bothered me to the point where I can’t sleep. These days I don’t need to imagine a cartoon, Netflix and Amazon (and even YouTube) are here to provide me comfort when I need it.
I needed it this week and ended up watching the Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection on Netflix. It’s a cute and entertaining way to spend ninety minutes or so but two of the shorts will tear your heart out – John Henry and The Little Match Girl. They’re beautifully animated but if you know how they end…well, maybe being in the mood to have something make you happy isn’t the best mood to be in when watching those two.
Overall, it chilled me out and I’m probably not going to have dreams about Mahna Mahna tonight.
At least I hope not.