Abby Cadabby

Abigail "Abby" Cadabby
Sesame Street character
First appearance August 14, 2006
Created by Tony Geiss[1]
Ed Christie
Rollie Krewson
Portrayed by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph (puppeteer)
Information
Aliases Abby
Species Fairy
Gender Female

Abby Cadabby is a fictional 4-year-old character in the PBS children's TV series Sesame Street. She is a Muppet. In 2006, Abby made her debut in the first episode of Sesame Street’s 37th season, when she moved into the neighborhood and met some of the Street's residents. On the day of her debut, her wand broke; Big Bird told her to take her wand to the Fix-It Shop where Maria would fix it. Season 40 features her CGI-animated segment "Abby's Flying Fairy School".

Her name is a pun of the magic word Abracadabra. Abby's magical powers are limited to popping in and out of thin air, floating when she's happy, and turning things into pumpkins. Although familiar with the world of fairy tales, Abby is astounded by such basic learning skills as drawing letters or counting, prompting her catchphrase "That's so magical!" She frequently uses her wand cell phone to call her mommy. When she's asked to return home, she says that she's "gotta poof." She can speak a language called Dragonfly and is teaching Rosita the language, while Rosita teaches her Spanish. Along with Baby Bear, Abby begins attending school in a 2006 episode at the Storybook Community School, where Mrs. Goose is the teacher and other fairy tale characters like Hansel and Gretel are her classmates.

Tony Geiss conceptualized Abby as a way to simultaneously introduce a major female character to the show and add someone from a different culture, without "having consciously to introduce somebody from Indonesia or India." Abby's design is an intentional departure from the typical Muppet look because she's not originally from Sesame Street. The implication is that the fairies in her old neighborhood look like her.

Abby's likeness has been adapted for a 43-foot balloon which premiered in the 2007 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a full-body costume character for stage appearances and a number of merchandise items.

In 2008, Abby was added to the cast of Plaza Sésamo, the Mexican co-production of Sesame Street, appearing in new segments where she tries to perform magic tricks with various ordinary objects. In 2009, she became the host of 3, 2, 1 Vamos!, a Latin American pre-school programming block, which first aired in English in 2010, on Canadian television.

Character launch

Abby Cadabby was officially announced in TV Guide, months before the 37th season debut of Sesame Street, and a press kit was issued soon after.[2] Rumors had floated on the Internet before that, with an anonymous Sesame Workshop or Muppet insider revealing the addition on Muppet Wiki.

She made her Street debut on August 14, 2006.

Abby was scheduled to be interviewed 10 August 2006 on The Today Show on NBC; "NBC Special Report" coverage of the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot pre-empted the interview. Abby appeared for a short chat on 14 August, a few short minutes with Bobbie Thomas and Hoda Kotb before the weather. The scheduled "satellite-tour" of local stations across America went on later that day.[3]

Abby was to be featured as ABC World News "Person of the Week" on 11 August 2006; Hurricane Katrina/2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict dog rescuer Linda Nealon pre-empted her.[4] Cadabby was featured on the 18 August broadcast, with the teaser, "Femininity comes to Sesame Street".[5] She was touted as the first 3-year-old "Person of The Week".

Abby appeared on the August 11 edition of All Things Considered on NPR. [6]

In 2007, Abby had her own balloon made after her in the 2007 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In 2008, Abby starred as 'Alice' in the Sesame Street direct-to-DVD film Abby in Wonderland that adapts Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Abby is also now featured in the 2007-2009 tour of Sesame Street Live show When Elmo Grows Up and also on the 2012-2013 leg of the "Elmo Makes Music" tour.

In 2014's direct-to-DVD film "Elmo's Super Numbers", Abby appears at NumberCon as "One-Da Woman", a numeric spoof and pun of the DC comic book female superhero, Wonder Woman.

Abby is the host of Sesame Street's autism initiative.

Animation team

The animation studio SpeakEasy FX, founded by director Scott Stewart, produces the "Abby's Flying Fairy School" series.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Dominus, Susan (2006-08-06). "A Girly-Girl Joins the ‘Sesame’ Boys". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
  2. ↑ Sesame Street - Season 37 Press Kit - The Muppets of Sesame Street Archived August 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ Leslie Carrara: Sesame Street
  4. ↑ "ABC News Person of the Week: Linda Nealon", ABC News, 11 August 2006.
  5. ↑ "ABC News Person of the Week: Abby Cadabby", ABC News, 18 August 2006.
  6. ↑ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5638389
  7. ↑
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