Fun for All and All for Fun!

It’s not easy being green...or hairy...or slimy...or one of the living dead.

When I was a kid, the most famous monsters around were the furry ones on the early Sesame Street episodes.   That street has always been populated by almost as many monsters as Cliff’s Edge (the town where Monsters Aren’t Real??? takes place). Sesame Street has always been a great place to run into a furry, green, grouchy monster who lives in a trash can, a fuzzy blue monster who loves to imagine himself as a super-hero, and a vampire count who loves to...well...count.  (My kids loved Elmo, but he didn’t come on the scene til long after I first watched.)

And then there was also the Muppet Show, which not only featured the biggest human stars of the day, but also a few crazy monsters of its own: A crazy drummer appropriately named Animal, a group of strange-but-cute creatures called Frackles, and a test-tube-headed scientist’s assistant named Beaker. Oh and of course, there was that persnickety pig who was in love with a very funny frog. (Okay, they weren't monsters per se, but how can you describe The Muppet Show without Kermit and Miss Piggy?)

The Muppet monsters, no matter where they first appeared, were completely different from anything anyone of that time had ever known before. And they were certainly far less scary than Dracula, the Bride of Frankenstein, Godzilla, King Kong and other creepy creatures that had come before them in films. The Muppets were cute, ridiculously silly monsters. They didn’t frighten me at all.  That’s what made them appeal to my childlike mind.  What I didn’t realize then was that interspersed with the kid-like humor of Sesame Street and the Muppet Show were nuggets of  humor that went right over my little curly-haired head, and penetrated the brains of my equally entertained parents. 

As a kid, I never dreamed I’d be working on my own TV show alongside a crazy-creative co-creator named David Levin with whom I share a vision for a fun-for-the-whole family cartoon world, complete with silly, cute (if not always particularly cuddly) monsters. Now I certainly don’t claim to be anything like or near the talented writers of Sesame Street or The Muppet Show.  But watching those programs with my parents (and later with my own kids) is a great memory, and one that I hope David and I can give to viewers of Monsters Aren’t Real???.   Sure, many of the problems the protagonists in our show will face are relatable to kids (even those who don’t come from a town like Cliff’s Edge, where at least some people think there are real monsters lurking behind every corner). But the jokes, monsters, and guest stars (Yes! We will have guest stars!) will also be appealing and hilarious to parents and even grandparents.

It will be (You probably guessed it from the title) FUN FOR ALL AND ALL FOR FUN!

My mom and me...two big fans of Sesame Street (I'm the one in the cap)

Oh, and did I mention we’re going to have music—all original and recorded by the monsters of the Monsters Aren’t Real??? universe.   After all, where would Sesame Street or The Muppet Show have been without all those memorable songs?  It’s our hope that kids and parents everywhere will soon be singing “The Mummy Shuffle,” “Beach Beast” or “Werewolf of Cliff’s Edge” together on long car rides.   I can't wait for the first Monsters Aren't Real??? album to be available for download. It's gonna blow your minds!

Until then, keep your eyes on this space for more monstrously fun announcements that are soon to come!

Yours in Monster Madness,

N.K.