Renée Menschaar became the first female to perform the role of Pino in 1990, taking over the part from Leo Dijkgraaf. Prior to that, she had been assisting puppeteer Bert Plagman as Tommie's right hand for seven years.
Critics thought that Sesamstraat was too idyllic, so in 1984 they added the straight-laced Meneer Aart to the cast, to balance out the character dynamic. They described him as being a "snake in the paradise".
Bert and Ernie were characters in the Dutch theme park "Land van Ooit" in an outdoor show.