To celebrate the upcoming launch of Sesame Street Mecha Builders, Sesame Workshop and Warner Brothers Discovery are previewing the STEM-centric animated series on YouTube. The first eleven-minute story, “Sesame Street Mecha Builders: They Sent Us a Pie,” can be found on the Sesame Street YouTube channel now. The series officially debuts in May on Cartoonito, Warner Bros. Discovery’s preschool programming block on HBO Max and Cartoon Network.
“Kids and families turn to Sesame Workshop for fun, educational, and safe content with a whole lot of heart. Sesame Street Mecha Builders is all that and more … with giant robots!” said Ed Wells, Sesame Workshop’s Executive Vice President and Head of Global Media and Education. “We can’t wait for fans of all ages to dive into this innovative and timely series to see their favorite Sesame Street friends like they’ve never seen them before – all while practicing STEM fundamentals, too.”
“Sesame Street’s iconic characters lend themselves to endless reinvention with humor and stories kids adore, and learning models that families can trust implicitly,” said Amy Friedman, Head of Kids & Family Programming, Warner Bros. “This time, Cookie Monster, Abby Cadabby and Elmo are saving the world in animated-superhero-robot form, and it will be MECHA BIG!”
Sesame Street Mecha Builders reimagines Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Abby Cadabby as robot heroes-in-training who use their STEM superpowers to solve wacky larger-than-life problems. Animated in a dynamic 3D style, the series helps older preschoolers practice foundational critical thinking skills while laughing along with their Sesame Street friends. The series introduces children to STEM concepts like simple machines, force, and properties of matter, illustrated with help from the Mechas and their unique powers. Across 26 episodes – each containing two complete 11-minute stories – the friends get into all kinds of silly situations, whether they’re using a wedge to split a giant banana for an ice cream statue or learning how to measure cables for a zipline through the trees. Lively animation — provided by Toronto-based firm Guru Studios – opens up imaginative possibilities like Mecha Cookie’s “Hammer Hand,” Mecha Abby’s stretchy arms, and the Mechas’ ability to go “Mecha Big” and “Mecha Tiny” to solve problems on every scale.
“Imagination is in Sesame Workshop’s DNA; with the flexibility and freedom animation offers, we have a blank canvas to tell even more incredible stories,” said Kay Wilson Stallings, EVP, Creative and Production, Sesame Workshop. “Taking a creative approach to STEM learning, Sesame Street Mecha Builders invites children to soar into the sky, shrink down – or grow ‘Mecha Big!’ – to see things from a new perspective, and discover their growing world.”
The new spinoff is part of an expanding animation slate for Sesame Workshop, part of their ongoing content partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery. Upcoming projects include original preschool series Bea’s Block and a family holiday special based on The Nutcracker – both debuting later this year. A miniseries adaptation of classic children’s book Charlotte’s Web, also lovingly animated by Guru Studio, is in the early stages of production. The Workshop’s earlier forays into animation, recent specials The Monster at the End of This Story and Furry Friends Forever: Elmo Gets a Puppy, introduced new pals and reimagined classic Sesame Street stories.
Old friends. New heroes. The Mecha Builders may not get it right the first time, but they won’t give up until they solve the problem and save the day! The first episode of Sesame Street Mecha Builders is available now on Sesame Street’s YouTube channel; the first five episodes will drop on Cartoonito on Cartoon Network May 9, and HBO Max on on May 10, with more coming soon.