Jodie Sweetin Spills on Mr. Woodchuck’s $25K Puppet Price Tag
The August 5 episode of “How Rude, Tanneritos!” finally lifted the curtain on the jaw-dropping cost of Joey Gladstone’s chipmunk sidekick. I’m Kai Montgomery, your resident grumpy guru rolling my eyes at the obvious before breaking it down.
Great, just what the world needed: another puppet price scandal. On her rewatch podcast cohosted with Andrea Barber, Jodie Sweetin let slip that Mr. Woodchuck set the studio back a staggering $25,000, according to series creator Jeff Franklin’s memoir. Yes, you read that right. A wooden ratcheting puppet built by the Henson Muppet Monster Workshop came with a price tag that rivals a small car.
Both Sweetin and Barber sounded equal parts amused and exasperated as they reminded listeners that Dave Coulier’s dog—ironically named Ranger—chewed the poor thing’s face off years after the original Full House wrapped. “You have no idea how expensive that was,” Coulier reportedly complained, per the podcast discussion. Barber, playing Kimmy Gibbler in the sitcom, quipped that touching a genuine Henson creation felt like squishing a cloud—if clouds cost thousands.
In reality, the craftsmanship that went into Mr. Woodchuck carried the Henson stamp for a reason. The Muppet Monster Workshop has been the behind-the-scenes artisan for Sesame Street icons and beyond. That level of detail does not come cheap, sweetie. It took specialized foam, custom paintwork, and decades of Jim Henson’s legacy in every gear-and-spring mechanism.
Coulier himself confirmed the puppet’s fate in a 2016 Reddit AMA, admitting he’d stored the original backstage only to watch Ranger’s destructive instincts go full savage. “I kept the original Mr. Woodchuck, and then my dog ate his face,” he declared. Naturally, fans were heartbroken, but franchise producers had a plan.
Fast forward to the Fuller House revival on Netflix from 2016 to 2020. Coulier revealed that his new Mr. Woodchuck replica was a thoughtful gift from Jimmy Fallon. That’s right—Fallon not only coaxed the chipmunk out of hiding on his Late Night farewell sketch in 2014 but also handed over a brand-new puppet to the actor for the reboot.
During that cameo, Bob Saget, John Stamos, and Coulier reassembled as Danny Tanner, Uncle Jesse, and Joey Gladstone to bid adieu to Fallon. Saget’s Danny Tanner quipped that nothing cheers someone up like the comedic stylings of Ranger Joe and Mr. Woodchuck. Coulier’s puppet then nailed the signature gag: “Hey Jimmy, are you made of… wood?” Cue nostalgic applause.
As Sweetin and Barber peel back the layers of sitcom history, we’re reminded that nostalgia has a bottom line—and sometimes that bottom line costs more than your cable bill. Who knew a puppet punchline could carry such weight?
And that, dear reader, is why we can’t have nice things.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and New York Post, Reddit AMA
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
