His jokes were wooden — but Mr. Woodchuck cost some serious green.
On the August 5 episode of Jodie Sweetin and Andrea Barber’s “Full House” rewatch podcast, “How Rude, Tanneritos!,” the co-hosts and longtime friends discussed the story behind Joey’s (Dave Coulier) beloved cheeky sidekick.
The episode recapped the sitcom’s 100th installment, “The Legend of Ranger Joe,” which introduced Joey’s stint as children’s TV show personality “Ranger Joe” — and, of course, the famous chipmunk puppet himself, Mr. Woodchuck.
“I learned this from reading Jeff’s book: this puppet cost $25,000,” Barber, 49, revealed, referring to the series’ creator, Jeff Franklin.
Sweetin, 43, chimed in, “I remember hearing that, because after Dave’s dog ate the face off of it, 20 years later, he was like, ‘You have no idea. You don’t even know how expensive that was. You don’t even know.’”
“It was built by the Henson Muppet Monster Workshop,” she added of the Jim Henson company. “They have a special little Muppet fleecing that they use. I got to touch a Hanson Muppet monster creation, even then.”
In 2016, Coulier, 65, hosted a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) where he was asked if he managed to keep any memorabilia from the “Full House” set after the series ended in 1995.
“I kept the original Mr. Woodchuck,” he revealed. “And then, my dog Ranger ate his face.”
Despite the original Mr. Woodchuck’s tragic death at the paws of Coulier’s ironically named pup, the fan-favorite puppet made a surprise return in the “Full House” sequel, “Fuller House,” which aired on Netflix from 2016 to 2020.
Coulier later shared on Reddit that the Mr. Woodchuck replica had been a gift.
“The Mr. Woodchuck on ‘Fuller House’ was [given] to me by Jimmy Fallon,” he wrote.
Prior to its appearance on the sitcom’s follow-up series, the puppet made another surprise cameo on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” in 2014, when the men of “Full House” — the late Bob Saget, John Stamos and Coulier — reunited for a parody sketch to help Fallon bid farewell to the show ahead of his move to “The Tonight Show.”
Saget, who tragically died on Jan. 9, 2022, at the age of 65, reprised his role of Danny Tanner, while Stamos and Coulier stepped back into character as Uncle Jesse Katsopolis and Joey Gladstone, respectively.
After Fallon, 50, admits he’s sad to be leaving “Late Night,” Saget — in full Danny Tanner mode — turns to Stamos and Coulier and says, “Hey, I know what always cheers Jimmy up.”
Coulier then pulls Mr. Woodchuck out from behind Stamos, asking, “The comedic stylings of Ranger Joe and Mr. Woodchuck?”
In true Mr. Woodchuck fashion, Coulier, using the puppet’s voice, delivers the line: “Hey Jimmy, are you made of… wood?” — a nod to the running gag from the original show.
Sweetin and Barber, for their part, played Stephanie Tanner and Kimmy Gibbler, respectively, on the classic series.
