Filipino muppet TJ debuts on 'Sesame Street'
MANILA, Philippines — Iconic children's show "Sesame Street" introduced its first Filipino muppet TJ.
TJ is created by Filipino American animation director Bobby Pontillas. He was introduced in a recent episode of "Sesame Street."
In the segment, TJ was talking to actor Kal Penn, Grover and Korean American muppet Ji-Young.
"Confidence is when you believe in yourself and your abilities or in the abilities of others," Kal explained.
TJ said that he feels confident learning Tagalog because of her grandmother's guidance.
"I'm confident because I can always ask my lola for help when I don't know a word," he said.
Meanwhile, Bobby shared on his Instagram account how he created TJ.
"I had the amazing opportunity to work with the geniuses at the Sesame Workshop to create a Filipino muppet for @sesamestreet! Meet TJ!" he said.
"For his look, I based him off of my lifelong friends’ kids, Max and Mateo, thank you for the inspiration lads. I was blessed to collaborate with master puppeteer Louis Mitchell, the loveliest human on earth.
"Maraming Salamat Rosemary Espina Palacios @rosemvpmary for masterminding this and bringing me along, Yinan Shentu @aznshents for bringing TJ to life, and everyone @sesamestreet for making this happen," he added.
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