Pip and Pop

PERFORMER	Peter Linz Pip
	Tyler Bunch Pop
DEBUT	1997
DESIGN	Paul Andrejco designer

Pip and Pop are two inseparable purple otters who live on the otter pond behind the Big Blue House on Bear in the Big Blue House.

Their relationship to one another is unknown, but they share a birthday,^[1] as well as a set of grandparents: Otto and Etta Otter. They are both obsessed with clams (though Pip loves steamed clams, whereas Pop loves stuffed clams, although both seem to love Bear's clam stuffing), and enjoy the game of checkers. They often speak simultaneously — saying or singing the same thing in unison.

They look almost identical, but there are a couple of minor differences. Pop's ears are slightly higher on his head, and his eyes are slightly larger and closer together than Pip's. Thus, "Pop's ears are on top" and Pip's ears are towards the front. Another difference Pip and Pop have noted about themselves is that Pop is able to make some very funny faces that Pip isn't able to. According to Noel MacNeal, "Pip was always on camera left. So ... it's Peter Linz on the left, and Tyler [Bunch] on the right."^[2]

When Pip and Pop aren't at the Big Blue House, they can often be found at the Otter Pond. This is no surprise, as they love water. They can also be found hanging out and playing in the bathtub a fair amount.

One of Pip and Pop's favorite toys is a talking clam named Clammy, which they receive in the mail in "The Way I Feel Today."

In the series pilot, the characters appeared with brown fur; the puppets were recycled from the Prairie Dogs used on The Muppet Show. Pip was performed here by Joey Mazzarino and originally named "Pummel", which was changed presumably due to sounding too violent ("pummel" is defined as to pound or beat upon a thing or person).^[3] For the first episode Pop says, "Fun is our middle name!"; Pip is quick to correct him - "Fun" is Pop's middle name, explaining sincerely that "Angelica" is his.

Notable Episodes

• "Love Is All You Need" - Pip and Pop explore love and perform the "Otter Love Rap," also featured in other episodes and the live show.
• "Rockin' Rocko" - Pip and Pop's cousin Rocko pays a visit to the Big Blue House.
• "At the Old Bear Game" - Pip and Pop meet their baseball hero and learn some things they never knew about Bear.

Sources