It's a Wonderful Life is one of the best Christmas movies of all time - a fantastic, poignant film that doubles as a great indictment of rampant capitalism. Although Frank Capra never expected this film to be so popularit has become an integral part of the holiday season for many American homes during December, as well as a staple of classic cinema in general.

The film follows James Stewart's idealistic George Bailey, a man who hates the idea of ​​living in his small hometown doing nothing but serving the community... and yet, at every turn, he puts his ambitions on the backburner. in favor of helping. others, his dreams keep getting put on hold as incident after incident sends him down a different path than he imagined. But when he falls on hard times and the crushing fist of capitalism threatens to destroy his life's work, George's suicidal thoughts prompt a real-life guardian angel named Clarence (Henry Travers) to show George how he has affected the lives of those around him through an alternate universe. where he was not born.

Like many films that are now considered classics, It's a Wonderful Life initially struggled to find success after infamously bombed at the box office, in addition to becoming the target of an FBI investigation for its "communist" leanings due to its portrayal to the banker. Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) as a despicable villain. And yet, the film took on a new life when it began to be shown on TV every Christmas and more people were exposed to this fantastic fable. That's why "It's a Wonderful Life" wasn't just Stewart's favorite among his filmsbut it has also become beloved among film buffs around the world.

Part of what makes It's a Wonderful Life unique is how many memorable supporting characters it has, from members of George's inner circle to minor players like bartender Nick (Sheldon Leonard), cop Bert (Ward Bond) and Bert's friend Ernie the taxi driver. (Frank Filen). The latter two characters, as you've no doubt noticed, share the same names as the iconic roommates Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street, which debuted 23 years after It's a Wonderful Life hit theaters in 1946. But is that just a coincidence, or did Capra's film directly inspire those two Muppets?

Popular belief is that Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie are actually named after characters in It's a Wonderful Life. Unfortunately, as fun as that Easter egg sounds, it actually isn't. As told by Jerry Jull, one of the original Sesame Street writers. San Francisco Chronicle as recently as 1999, rumors have persisted over the decades despite being patently false. Granted, he wasn't present when the Sesame Street characters were named, but Yule was confident that Sesame Street co-creator Jim Henson didn't do it on purpose. In your own words:

"Despite his many talents, Jim (Henson) didn't remember details like this. "

Continuing, Yule admitted that he "couldn't confirm this" with Henson before he died. However, he "soon after" spoke with John Stone, the original producer and head writer of Sesame Street and "the man largely responsible for the format of the show (John is also sadly no longer with us). As Yul recalls:

“(Stone) assured me that Ernie and Bert were named one day when he and Jim were studying prototype dolls. They decided that one looked like Ernie and the other looked like Bert. The names of the movie characters are purely coincidental."

So it seems it was all a coincidence - unlike the more recent "Sesame Street" reference in "Inside Out 2" which is definitely a conscious acknowledgment of the long-running educational children's show.