Nightmarish truth about iconic 90s kids' show 'Johnson and Friends'

If I had to learn this, then so do you.

Kids might have Bluey now. Sweet, wholesome, emotionally intelligent cartoon dogs who’ve become our most iconic export since Tim Tams.

But when I was a kid? We had shows that gave us something far more potent: nightmares.

We had giant talking toys with suspicious vibes, built on a production budget that screamed, “We filmed this in someone’s garage.” 

Johnson and Friends was one of those shows. 

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My childhood TV line-up? Unhinged, actually.

Until recently, I thought those haunted creatures were puppets.

But at the prime age of 29, I unlocked a new level of horror. This time, it was from behind the scenes.

Every morning before school, around 7:30am, I’d sit down with my Vegemite toast and whatever weird magic ABC Kids had in the rotation.

Then Johnson and Friends would pop up, bringing with it a truth I was absolutely not emotionally prepared to learn as an adult: They were people. In full costumes.

The weird blue and yellow concertina. The robot named Squeaky. And that horrifying green hot water bottle who looked like he desperately needed a Xanax.

The toys that inhabited Michael’s bedroom weren’t manipulated by strings. They were inhabited. They were people in costumes.

I’ve learned so many facts on TikTok. 

I’d like to unlearn this one.

Thanks to Aussie influencer, Star Anise’s, recent video the illusion has been changed forever. 

You might say “how did you not know this already?” Honestly, I didn’t consider it necessary to seek this information out. It came to me via FYP.  Besides, the later you show up to the party, the more fun you are. 

Star explains that the actors actually worked on a giant set.

“They had the actors wear the costumes and everything else was just really huge so it made them look really tiny.” 

The truth behind Johnson and Friends is hilariously unsettling. Image: ABC

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This changes nothing, and yet everything

In the comment section, someone added insider context. 

“My uncle created the show. It was originally a bedtime story for my cousins,” the commenter explained. 

“The set was huge and yes it was terrifying.” 

This TikTok discovery was as brutal as the time I watched an American woman make tea in the microwave for her British boyfriend.

Honestly, it would’ve been less disturbing if they were puppets.

Someone climbed inside those creatures. Walked. Danced. Acted.

Someone used their free will and decided they’d apply for the job of Alfred: the hot water bottle of fear. Imagine clocking in for that shift.

When I look at the shows my son watches now — Bluey, Miss Rachel, Trash Truck — with their soft animation and emotionally intelligent life lessons, it’s wild to see how vastly the landscape has shifted.

You don’t realise it until you’re watching their shows and suddenly, your beloved childhood shows feel like a fever dream.

Children’s programming today is calm, thoughtful, beautifully scored. It’s a far cry from the shows I grew up on. But here’s the thing: those shows still stuck with us.

That set? Giant. The commitment? Full throttle. The impact? Lifelong. 

The nostalgia that hit me when I saw that TikTok was visceral.

So if you, like me, thought Johnson and Friends was peak puppet chaos, I regret to inform you of the truth. If I had to learn this, then so do you. 

And while I know it’s ridiculous to be this affected by a children’s show from the '90s... I will be thinking about it every time I see a hot water bottle. 

Originally published as Nightmarish truth about iconic 90s kids' show 'Johnson and Friends'