The Muppets are a group of puppets and costume characters, and the company created by Jim
Henson. Individually, a Muppet is properly one of the puppets made by Jim Henson or
his Creature Shop – though the term is often used erroneously to refer to any
puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show and
Sesame Street characters, the term is both an informal name and legal
trademark linked to the characters created by The Jim
Henson Company. After frequently changing hands since the death of creator Jim Henson in 1990, The Muppets have been owned
by The Walt Disney Company, through the Muppets Holding Company, since early 2004.
The word "Muppet" itself was said by Henson to have been created by combining the words "marionette" and "puppet"; however, Henson was also known to have stated that it was just something he liked
the sound of, and he made up the "marionette/puppet" story while talking to a journalist because it sounded plausible. [1]
Muppets are distinguished from ventriloquist "dummies", which are typically animated
only in the head and face, in that their arms or other features are also mobile and expressive. Muppets are typically made of
softer materials. They are also presented as being independent of the puppeteer, who is usually not visible, hidden behind a set
or outside of the camera frame.
Appearance
The most common design for a Jim Henson Muppet is a character with a very wide mouth and large protruding eyes. The puppets
are often molded or carved out of foam rubber, and then covered with fleece. Yarn, nylon
string, or (most commonly) ostrich feathers are used to create hair. As there is no "eye store" from which they can be purchased,
Muppet eyes are often made (as in the case of the original Kermit) from ping-pong balls,
from fishing floats, or from a hemispherical toy called a Wacky Stax. Muppets may represent humans, anthropomorphic animals, realistic animals, robots or anthropomorphic objects, extra-terrestrial
creatures, mythical beings or other unidentified, newly imagined creatures.
Operation
The puppeteer typically holds the puppet above his head or in front of his body, with one hand operating the head and mouth
and the other manipulating the hands and arms, either with two separate control rods or by "wearing" the hands like gloves. One
consequence of this design is that most Muppets are left handed as the puppeteer uses his right hand to operate the head while
operating the arm rod with his left hand. There are many other common designs and means of operation. In advanced puppets,
several puppeteers may control a single character; the performer who controls the mouth usually provides the voice for the
character. As technology has evolved, the Jim Henson team and other puppeteers have developed an enormous variety of means to
operate puppets for film and television, including the use of suspended rigs, internal motors, remote radio control, and computer
enhanced and superimposed images. Creative use of a mix of technologies has allowed for scenes in which Muppets appear to be
riding a bicycle, rowing a boat, and even dancing onstage with no puppeteer in sight.
Famous Muppets
The Muppets in
Weezer's 'Keep Fishin'"
Famous Muppets include Kermit the Frog, Miss
Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Elmo, and
Oscar the Grouch. The most widely known television shows featuring Muppets are
Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and
The Muppet Show. A recurring adult-oriented cast of Muppets (in a setting known
as the “Land of Gortch”) were part of the first season of Saturday Night
Live. Other, less popular series have included The Jim Henson Hour
and Muppets Tonight. The puppet characters of Farscape, The Storyteller, The Hoobs, and Dinosaurs, as well as from the films
Labyrinth, Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles, and The Dark Crystal, are not considered Muppets,
although they were also made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. For a history of
Jim Henson's Muppets, see Jim Henson.
After earlier unsuccessful attempts, The Walt Disney Company finally bought
the Muppets in 2004. Exceptions include characters appearing on Sesame Street (as they were previously sold to
Sesame Workshop), the Fraggles of Fraggle Rock,
along with the above-mentioned non-"Muppet"-brand characters.
The show's popularity has been so expansive that Muppet characters have been treated as celebrities in their own right,
including presenting at the Academy Awards, making cameos in Rocky III and An American Werewolf in London, and being interviewed on the newsmagazine 60 Minutes. Kermit the Frog was interviewed early on in Jon Stewart's run on
The Daily Show, and Michael Parkinson
once famously interviewed Miss Piggy on his UK chatshow.
Muppet-like and Muppet-inspired puppets star in the 2004 Tony Award-winning
Broadway musical Avenue Q (which disavows any
relationship with Sesame Workshop or the Jim Henson Company).
America's Next Muppet
In 2005, ABC announced it was purchasing
a six-episode mini-series titled America's Next Muppet. The mini-series is
going to be produced by The Jim Henson Company for Disney, and is going to be a
direct parody of America's Next Top Model. The show is going to feature
many famous Muppets holding a talent contest to find the next Muppet to add to their famous group. The show was tentatively
scheduled to air in spring or summer of 2006, but there has been no public mention in recent
months.
Regional usage
In Great Britain and in Ireland the word muppet has come to be used as a mild term of abuse, meaning a stupid,
incompetent, or moronic person, or the obvious interpretation of someone who is inanimated or somehow not there. It can also be
applied (in the United Kingdom but not in Ireland) to an
aesthetically displeasing individual.
The Swedish translation mupp is often used in a similar manner.
The term muppetry is also rapidly gaining popularity as a description for an individual, or group of people
collectively behaving in a muppet like fashion. The origins are believed to have come from workers in large organisations,
who were unhappy with the low to non-existent level of thought or application, that other colleagues put into their work. For
example - "I'm sorry the figures will be late this quarter, due to the high amount of muppetry going on in the accounts
department", or "Gregory's muppetry appears to have been infectious."
Cultural references
- In The Simpsons episode 3F15: "A Fish
Called Selma", actor Troy McClure stars in the fictional film The Muppets Go
Medieval. Kermit and Miss Piggy are shown as well. Homer tries to explain what a
muppet is with "It's not quite a mop, and it's not quite a puppet, but man...(laughs)...So to answer your question, I
don't know." Later in the episode, Selma and Troy McClure are watching the movie on a drive-in movie screen, and before kissing,
they speak right along with the characters.
- The film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels: "Hatchet"
Harry: "I don't want to know who you use, as long as they're not complete muppets."
- The music video for the Weezer song "Keep Fishin', is premised on the band performing on The Muppet
Show and features appearances by several characters.
- On September 28, 2005, the United States Postal Service released a Jim Henson and the Muppets postage stamp series.[1]
- The 1987 film Dragnet: As a car chase crashes through a carnival display of stuffed
animals: Friday: "Look out! Muppets!"
- A skit on the MTV series The State involved
dinner guests luring generic Muppets to their window, catching them and eating them.
- In the 2005 animated Teen Titans episode "Bunny Raven... or How To Make A
Titanimal Disappear", the final scene takes place in a theatre that resembles the set of The
Muppet Show. There is a puppet Amazing Mumbo stage manager that mimics Kermit's mannerisms
and a pithy one-liner joke is delivered by two Mumbos that look like Statler &
Waldorf.
- In "The Goodies" episode titled "Earthanasia", Tim, Bill and Graeme are waiting for the end of the world. As Tim does some ironing, he
explains that there will be no more Muppets when the world ends. Graeme then explains that they are just puppets and even takes
some socks and imitates the voices of Kermit the Frog and
Miss Piggy, which causes Tim to go insane.
- Originating from Australia, "Muppet" is used as a derogatory and racist term describing someone of African descent who is
commonly viewed as an incompetent immigrant worker.
- In a Family Guy episode, in one of Peter's visions, he was watching
Lost on TV, and there was a balcony with Statler & Waldorf saying "Lost? I'll say! I couldn't follow any of it!"
- In "Worms 3D", a certain voice box of worms has a death sentence that says "You Muppet!"
- On an episode of Saturday Night Live in which pop singer Justin Timberlake hosted, one sketch featured Timberlake and Kermit the Frog performing a duet of
Rainbow Connection.
Some Muppets and their performers
The only major, unretired characters that have always been portrayed by one puppeteer are Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Gonzo, Floyd,
Pepe, Rizzo the Rat, Robin, and Zoot.
- Animal - Frank Oz (1975 -
1999), Eric Jacobson (2002 - )
- Beaker - Richard Hunt
(1977 - 1990), Steve Whitmire (1992 - )
- Bobo - Bill Barretta (???? - 2006)
- Crazy Harry - Jerry Nelson
- Clifford - Kevin Clash
- Dr. Bunsen Honeydew - Dave Goelz
- Dr. Teeth - Jim Henson
(? - 1990), Bill Barretta (1991 - )
- Sgt. Floyd Pepper - Jerry
Nelson
- Fozzie Bear - Frank Oz (? - 2000),
Eric Jacobson (2001 - )
- Gonzo - Dave Goelz
- Janice - Richard
Hunt (1974 - 1992), Brian Henson (1992 - )
- Johnny Fiama - Bill Barretta (???? -
2006)
- Kermit the Frog - Jim Henson (? - 1990),
Steve Whitmire (1990 - )
- Lew Zealand - Jerry Nelson
- Link Hogthrob - Jim Henson (? - 1990)
(character has been semi-retired since Henson's death)
- Marvin Suggs - Frank Oz (? - 2000)
(character has been semi-retired)
- Miss Piggy - Frank Oz (? - 2000),
Eric Jacobson (2001 - )
- Pepe the Prawn - Bill Barretta
- Rizzo the Rat - Steve Whitmire
- Robin - Jerry Nelson
- Rowlf the Dog - Jim Henson (? - 1990),
Bill Barretta (1991 - )
- Sam the Eagle - Frank Oz (? - 2000),
Kevin Clash (2001 - 2005 ), Eric Jacobson (2005 -
)
- Scooter - Richard Hunt
(1976 - 1990), Adam Hunt (1992 - ?) [voice only] Brian
Henson (2002 - 2003), Rickey Boyd (2005 - )
- Statler - Richard
Hunt (? - 1992), Jerry Nelson (? - ?), Steve
Whitmire (currently)
- Swedish Chef - Jim Henson (? -
1990)/Frank Oz (? - 2000), Bill Barretta (1992 -
)/Eric Jacobson (2001 - )
- Sweetums - Jerry Nelson (? - ?)
Richard Hunt (? - 1992), John Henson (1993
- )
- Waldorf - Jim Henson (? - 1990),
Dave Goelz (1991 - )
- Zoot - Dave Goelz
Films and Specials
- Jim Henson films
- Sam and Friends (1955) (Regarded as the "Birth of the Muppets").
- Frog Prince (1971)
- The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972)
- A Muppet Family Christmas (TV) (1987)
- Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas (1977)
- The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
- Jim Henson's MuppetVision 3D (Walt Disney 3D Film) (1991)
- Frank Oz films
- The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
- Brian Henson films
- The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
- Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
- Jim Frawley films
- The Muppet Movie (1979)
- Tim Hill films
- Muppets from Space (1999)
- Kirk Thatcher films
- It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
(2002)(TV)
- The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005)(TV)
- Other major Muppet productions
- John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas
Together (TV) (1979)
- The Muppets at Walt Disney World (TV) (1990)
- Kermit's Swamp Years (Direct-to-Video) (2002)
See also
References
- ^ United States Postal Service (September 28, 2005). Jim Henson, Muppets, get
stamps of approval. Press Release.
External links
Films and television specials by The Muppets |
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