The Wicked Witch of the West looses her broom flying over Sesame Street and attempts to get it back.The Wicked Witch of the West looses her broom flying over Sesame Street and attempts to get it back.The Wicked Witch of the West looses her broom flying over Sesame Street and attempts to get it back.
Photos
Fran Brill
- Betty Lou
- (voice)
- …
Jim Henson
- Ernie
- (voice)
- …
Richard Hunt
- Gladys the Cow
- (voice)
Jerry Nelson
- Mr. Johnson
- (voice)
- …
Frank Oz
- Cookie Monster
- (voice)
- …
Grace Slick
- Singer 'Jazz #9'
- (voice)
Marilyn Sokol
- Bread
- (voice)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode became lost after it received overwhelming back lashes from parents that accused the scenes of the Wicked Witch scaring their kids. The episode was removed to insure that it won't air on reruns and was never seen again. Only a handfull of still images of the episode existed for years until portions of it were screened at the Museum of the Moving Image in 2019.
- GoofsBig Bird says, "Well, anyway I'm not afraid, David. I'm going to stay here and help you protect Mr. Looper's store." Then there is a pause before he says "Hooper" which is the correct name of the character. Big Bird always had trouble saying Mr. Hooper's name, usually saying things like Looper, Flooper, etc., so him saying that is not a character error.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Blameitonjorge: Top 40 Lost or Banned Episodes of Kid Shows (2015)
Featured review
A Neat Episode That Was Banned And Lost Until Now
This episode of Sesame Street (which is the 847th) has been infamous for being lost media due to it only airing once, then pulled due to angry parents writing letter about the episode scaring their kids.
In this episode, Sesame Street is menaced by the Wicked Witch of the West (yes, I'm talking about the villain of the classic MGM film known as The Wizard of Oz). After a strong wind knocks her off her broom, she sees David holding the broom and tries to get it back, but David won't let her unless she shows him respect (and for some reason, there's a spell on it that keeps her from grabbing it when held by someone else that. From there on, the Witch uses her magic to try to get the broom back, and even gets the love of Oscar the Grouch.
Yes, this episode was banned when parents sent letters complaining about the character being too scary for kids, and there were even letters where parents accused Sesame Street of adding themes of spiritism). Even after another test screening of the episode, Sesame Workshop (known back then as Children's Television Workshop) pulled the episode, and it would never be seen until it was put in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting alongside other classic episodes and would be leaked onto the internet.
Since I am watching as an adult, this episode didn't scare me (as a kid, I used to be scared of the witch in the movie she came from). Margaret Hamilton reprises her famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) role as the Wicked Witch of the West, and she proves that even after nearly four decades, she can still do the voice perfectly, and it is a good lesson about showing respect to others.
In this episode, Sesame Street is menaced by the Wicked Witch of the West (yes, I'm talking about the villain of the classic MGM film known as The Wizard of Oz). After a strong wind knocks her off her broom, she sees David holding the broom and tries to get it back, but David won't let her unless she shows him respect (and for some reason, there's a spell on it that keeps her from grabbing it when held by someone else that. From there on, the Witch uses her magic to try to get the broom back, and even gets the love of Oscar the Grouch.
Yes, this episode was banned when parents sent letters complaining about the character being too scary for kids, and there were even letters where parents accused Sesame Street of adding themes of spiritism). Even after another test screening of the episode, Sesame Workshop (known back then as Children's Television Workshop) pulled the episode, and it would never be seen until it was put in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting alongside other classic episodes and would be leaked onto the internet.
Since I am watching as an adult, this episode didn't scare me (as a kid, I used to be scared of the witch in the movie she came from). Margaret Hamilton reprises her famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) role as the Wicked Witch of the West, and she proves that even after nearly four decades, she can still do the voice perfectly, and it is a good lesson about showing respect to others.
helpful•11
- jeremycrimsonfox
- Jun 24, 2022
Details
- Runtime55 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
![Margaret Hamilton and Caroll Spinney in Sesame Street (1969)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMmNhNjA0MzEtMmIwYS00MzZkLWFjOTctZjRkZTMyNTA2NTMyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzUwMTgwMw@@._V1_QL75_UY133_CR8,0,90,133_.jpg)