The Sleaze Brothers

The Sleaze Brothers are the central antagonists of the 1985 comedy-drama musical road adventure film, Follow That Bird and two of the film's four main characters, the others being Big Bird and Miss Finch. Sam Sleaze is the main antagonist and Sid Sleaze is the secondary antagonist and the film's sole comic-relief character (while Miss Finch is the former tertiary antagonist.) Sam is evil, sneaky, ruthless, jealous, back-stabbing, mean, serious, selfish, smart, mysterious, devious, cowardly, lazy, power-hungry and bad. Sid is dim-witted, evil, back-stabbing, power-hungry, silly, childish, lazy, goofy, clumsy, devious, sneaky, cowardly and selfish.

They are the owners of the carnival who plan to arrest Big Bird and make him a star of the Carnival. They are defeated by Gordon and Big Bird and arrested by John Candy.

The Sleaze Brothers first appear at the beginning of the film where they begin their chase on Big Bird. They follow Big Bird to Toadstool, Indiana for the parade disguised at two of the marching band members (Sid drumming, Sam trumpeting).

At the film's climax, Big Bird is sought by the Sleaze Brothers. On the outskirts, the Sleaze Brothers have set up their carnival and Big Bird shows up asking if they have a place to hide him from Miss Finch. They then put him in their "hiding cage." Shortly afterwards, they decide to paint him blue and tout him as "The Bluebird of Happiness."

However, his performance is not one of happiness but of sadness as he sings a song about wishing to be back home with his friends. However, he brings in a lot of customers as Sam is seen backstage during the performance happily counting the pile of cash that has been brought in by the many customers that he has attracted, and knowing that he and Sid will be rich.

After the show, two kids sneak backstage to see him. Upon noticing them, he asks them to call Sesame Street to tell his friends where he is. They do so and the next day, his friends sneak into the circus tent to try to free him. However, the Sleaze Brothers quietly wake up because Super Grover yells loudly and tries to bend the cage bars.

They strap the cage to a truck and attempt to drive off with him in tow. Eventually, Gordon and Olivia give chase in the Volkswagen and succeed in rescuing Big Bird, after telling him to jump from the moving truck.

At the end of the film, shortly afterwards of going super fast, the Sleaze Brothers are pulled over by a police officer (John Candy) and his kid sidekick (whose apple was stolen at the Sleaze Brothers' carnival earlier in the film) and arrested on charges of counterfeiting, extortion, fraud, impersonating a dentist, and apple theft.