The Muppets are a group of puppet A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by a puppeteer. It is usually a depiction of a human character, and is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre. The puppet undergoes a process of transformation through being animated, and is normally manipulated by at least characters created by Jim Henson James Maury "Jim" Henson , was one of the most widely known puppeteers in American history. He was the creator of The Muppets. He was the leading force behind their long run in the television series Sesame Street and The Muppet Show and films such as The Muppet Movie (1979) and creator of advanced puppets for projects like Fraggle Rock,. Individually, a Muppet is one of the puppets made by Jim Henson or his company's workshop. Although the term is often used erroneously to refer to any puppet A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by a puppeteer. It is usually a depiction of a human character, and is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre. The puppet undergoes a process of transformation through being animated, and is normally manipulated by at least that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show The Muppet Show is a television program featuring a cast of Muppets, which was produced by Jim Henson and his team from Sesame Street. The show stars Kermit the Frog as a showrunner who tries to keep control of the antics of the other Muppet characters , as well as keep the human guest stars happy and secure. The television show depicts a the term is both an informal name and legal trademark A trademark or trade mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities linked to the characters created by Henson.

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]

After earlier unsuccessful attempts, The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company , often simply known as Disney, is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world, known for its family-friendly products. Founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney as an animation studio, it has become one of the biggest Hollywood studios, and owner and licensor of eleven theme bought the Muppets in 2004.[2] Exceptions include characters appearing on Sesame Street Sesame Street is an acclaimed American educational children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. Sesame Street is well known for its Muppet characters created by Jim Henson. It premiered on November 10, 1969, and is the longest running children's program (as they were previously sold to Sesame Workshop Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop , is a Worldwide American non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world (including PBS in the United States)) and the Fraggles of Fraggle Rock (which are still owned by The Jim Henson Company). The legal trademark on the term "Muppet" is currently held by The Muppet Holding Co., LLC (now The Muppets Studio, LLC,[citation needed] a division of the Walt Disney Company); although Sesame Workshop and the Jim Henson Company continue to use the term on their characters with certain permissions.

After nearly a decade, a new movie is in the works. Disney recently enlisted Jason Segel Jason Jordan Segel is an American television and film actor, screenwriter and musician, known for his work with producer Judd Apatow on the short-lived television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, the movies Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, and I Love You, Man, and also for his role as Marshall Eriksen in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your and Nicholas Stoller to create the next Muppet movie for the studio.[3] This will be the first Muppet theatrical film since Muppets from Space.

The Muppets' latest television special A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a special TV telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, as opposed to the telecasting of a film on a continuing movie series such, A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, premiered on NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center. It is sometimes referred to as the Peacock Network due to its stylized peacock logo, created exclusively for color broadcasts on December 17, 2008.

Contents

Physical appearance

A 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 various types of foam, and then covered with fleece, fur, or any other material. Muppets may represent humans, anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism , also called anthropomorphitism (pronounced /ˌænθrɵpəˈmɔrfɨtɪzəm/), anthropomorphization (pronounced /ˌænθrɵpəˌmɔrfɨˈzeɪshən/), or anthropomorphosis (pronounced /ˌænθrɵpəˈmɔrfəsɪs/), is the attribution of uniquely human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, natural and supernatural animals, realistic animals, robots, anthromorphic objects, extraterrestrial creatures, mythical beings or other unidentified, newly imagined creatures, monsters, or abstract characters.

Muppets are distinguished from ventriloquist "dummies"/"puppets", 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. Using the camera frame as the "stage" was an innovation of the Muppets.[4] Previously on television, there would typically be a stage hiding the performers, as if in a live presentation.

Operation

The Muppeteer always 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 Muppets, 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 on-stage with no puppeteer in sight.

Muppets characters

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be and removed. (June 2008)
See also: Category:Muppet characters

Famous Muppets from The Muppet Show The Muppet Show is a television program featuring a cast of Muppets, which was produced by Jim Henson and his team from Sesame Street. The show stars Kermit the Frog as a showrunner who tries to keep control of the antics of the other Muppet characters , as well as keep the human guest stars happy and secure. The television show depicts a and its numerous spin-offs include Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet, one of puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous creations, first introduced in 1955. Kermit was performed by Henson until his death in 1990. Since then he has been performed by Steve Whitmire. He was voiced by Frank Welker in Muppet Babies and occasionally in animation, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Rizzo the Rat, Gonzo the Great, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker, Scooter, Statler and Waldorf Statler and Waldorf are a pair of Muppet characters. They are two ornery, disagreeable old men who first appeared in the television series The Muppet Show heckling the rest of the cast from their balcony seats. They appeared in every episode of the show. In The Muppet Show, the two were always insulting Fozzie Bear's poor jokes, except for one, the Swedish Chef The Swedish Chef is a Muppet that appeared on The Muppet Show. He was operated by Jim Henson and Frank Oz simultaneously and is now puppeteered by Bill Barretta. The character was last seen in the premiere episode of Studio DC: Almost Live on August 4, 2008 on the Disney Channel in the United States, Sam the Eagle, Sweetums, Pepe the King Prawn, and a band named Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem whose members included Janice, Zoot, Floyd Pepper, and Animal. Other well-known Muppets include Sesame Street Sesame Street is an acclaimed American educational children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. Sesame Street is well known for its Muppet characters created by Jim Henson. It premiered on November 10, 1969, and is the longest running children's program characters such as Big Bird Big Bird is a full-body Muppet featured on the children's television show Sesame Street as the program's main protagonist, which airs on PBS. He is sometimes referred to as "Bird" by his friends, Oscar the Grouch, Elmo Elmo is a Muppet on the children's television show Sesame Street. He is a furry red monster with large white eyes and an orange nose. He currently hosts the last full 15 minute segment on Sesame Street, titled Elmo's World, which is aimed at toddlers. He is accompanied by his goldfish Dorothy, and by silent Charlie Chaplin–like characters named, Zoe, Bert and Ernie Bert and Ernie are two roommates on the long-running television show Sesame Street. The two appear together in numerous skits, forming a comic duo that is one of the centerpieces of the program. Originated by Frank Oz and Jim Henson, the characters are currently performed by Muppeteers Eric Jacobson and Steve Whitmire, with Oz performing Bert, Cookie Monster Cookie Monster is a fictional Muppet character on the children's television show Sesame Street. He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating phrases: "Me want cookie!", "Me eat cookie!", and "Awwwwn Nom nom nom" . He often eats anything and everything, including danishes, donuts, lettuce, apples,, Grover, Abby Cadabby and The Count, as well as the main characters of Fraggle Rock.

The most widely known[citation needed] television shows featuring Muppets have been Sesame Street Sesame Street is an acclaimed American educational children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. Sesame Street is well known for its Muppet characters created by Jim Henson. It premiered on November 10, 1969, and is the longest running children's program, The Muppet Show The Muppet Show is a television program featuring a cast of Muppets, which was produced by Jim Henson and his team from Sesame Street. The show stars Kermit the Frog as a showrunner who tries to keep control of the antics of the other Muppet characters , as well as keep the human guest stars happy and secure. The television show depicts a, Fraggle Rock and Bear in the Big Blue House. Other series have included The Jim Henson Hour, The Ghost of Faffner Hall, Dog City, Secret Life of Toys, Muppets Tonight, The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss and Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony. A recurring adult-oriented cast of Muppets (in a setting known as The Land of Gorch) were featured throughout the first season of Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975. The show features a regular cast of comedic actors, joined by a guest host and musical act. The show is broadcast live in the Central and Eastern time zones (with a time delay in the Mountain Time Zone and.

Guest stars on some of these programs have occasionally had Muppet versions of themselves. It was a regular practice for the first few episodes of The Muppet Show, and ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock trio that formed in late 1969 in Houston, Texas, US. The group members are Billy Gibbons , Dusty Hill (vocals, bass, keyboards), and Frank Beard (drums, percussion), among others, have appeared as Muppet versions of themselves on Sesame Street.

The puppet characters of Farscape Farscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced for the Sci-Fi Channel and the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment. The Jim Henson Company was largely responsible for the various alien makeup and, The Storyteller, Mother Goose Stories, The Hoobs, Construction Site In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of multitasking. Normally the job is managed by the project manager and supervised by the construction manager, design engineer, and Dinosaurs, as well as from the films Labyrinth Labyrinth is a 1986 fantasy film, directed by Jim Henson, produced by George Lucas, and designed by Brian Froud. Henson collaborated on the screenwriting with children's author Dennis Lee and Monty Python alumnus Terry Jones. The leads are David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King, and Jennifer Connelly as Sarah Williams. The plot revolves around, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Buddy Buddy is a 1997 film directed by Caroline Thompson. It starred Rene Russo as Mrs. Gertrude 'Trudy' Lintz and Robbie Coltrane as her husband, The Country Bears and The Dark Crystal, are not considered Muppets[citation needed], as they were made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, rather than by Henson's Muppet Workshop. The puppet casts of Puppet Up! and Tinseltown are also not considered Muppets as they were made by The Jim Henson Company after the sale of The Muppets in 2004. The Star Wars Star Wars is an epic space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was originally released on May 25, 1977 by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, spawning two immediate sequels, released in three-year intervals. Sixteen years after the release of the trilogy's final film, character Yoda Yoda is a character in the Star Wars fictional universe, appearing in the three prequel trilogy films as well as the second and third original films. Yoda dies in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, when he is around 900 years old. He is widely considered to be the greatest Jedi of all time and trained many Jedi. Yoda was also responsible was voiced by Frank Oz Frank Oz is a British-born American film director, actor and puppeteer, one of Henson's regular performers, and is often referred to as a Muppet in media and reference works; he is not, however, a Muppet and Henson's organization was not involved in the character's design.

The Muppets' popularity has been so expansive that Muppet characters have been treated as celebrities in their own right[citation needed]. The Muppets have presented at the Academy Awards The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is one of the most prominent award ceremonies in the and Emmy Awards They are presented in various sectors of the television industry, including entertainment programming, news and documentary shows, and sports programming. As such, the awards are presented in various area-specific ceremonies held annually throughout the year. The best known of these ceremonies are the Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring excellence in[citation needed]; made cameo appearances in such feature films as Rocky III[5], An American Werewolf in London An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 American-British comedy/horror film, written and directed by John Landis. It stars David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, and Jenny Agutter. This movie won the 1981 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and an Academy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup. The film was one of three high-profile werewolf films[6] and Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium[7]; and have been interviewed on the newsmagazine A newsmagazine, also spelled news magazine, is usually a weekly magazine featuring articles or segments on current events. News magazines generally go more in-depth into stories than newspapers or television news, trying to give the reader an understanding of the context surrounding important events, rather than just the facts 60 Minutes 60 Minutes is an American investigative television newsmagazine, which has run on CBS News since 1968. The program was created by long time producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation. It has been among the top-rated TV programs for much of its life, and has garnered numerous awards over the. Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet, one of puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous creations, first introduced in 1955. Kermit was performed by Henson until his death in 1990. Since then he has been performed by Steve Whitmire. He was voiced by Frank Welker in Muppet Babies and occasionally in animation was interviewed early on in Jon Stewart Jonathan "Jon" Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known as the host of The Daily Show, a satirical news program airing on Comedy Central's run on The Daily Show The Daily Show, known in its current incarnation as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998. Jon Stewart took over as,[8] guest hosted The Tonight Show The Tonight Show is a long-running American late-night talk and variety show airing on NBC whose current incarnation has been hosted by Jay Leno since 1992. Now in its 54th season , Jimmy Kimmel Live, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, America's Funniest Home Videos America's Funniest Home Videos is an American reality television program on ABC in which viewers are able to send in humorous homemade videotapes. The most common videos usually feature slapstick physical comedy arising from accidents and mishaps. Other popular videos include humorous situations involving pets or children, while some are staged and an April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is a day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, enemies, and neighbors, or sending them on a fool's errand, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. Traditionally, in some edition of Larry King Live Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN. The show debuted in 1985, and is CNN's most watched program, with over one million viewers nightly[citation needed]; and the frog has served as Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade The Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is the "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flowers, music and equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day, produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association[citation needed]. The characters also appeared in-character on such sit-coms and dramas as The Cosby Show The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, first airing on September 20, 1984 and running for eight seasons on the NBC television network, until April 30, 1992. The show focused on the Huxtable family, an upper-middle class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York, The West Wing The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006. The series is set in the West Wing of the White House, the location of the Oval Office and offices of presidential senior staff, during the fictional Democratic administration of Josiah Bartlet and The Torkelsons[citation needed]. The music video A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go back much further, they came into their own in the 1980s, when MTV based their format around the for the Weezer Weezer is a Grammy-winning American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1992. Initially, the band consisted of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Matt Sharp (bass, backing vocals), and Jason Cropper (guitar, backing vocals). Cropper was later replaced by Brian Bell. Matt Sharp was subsequently replaced by Mikey song "Keep Fishin'" is premised on the band performing on The Muppet Show The Muppet Show is a television program featuring a cast of Muppets, which was produced by Jim Henson and his team from Sesame Street. The show stars Kermit the Frog as a showrunner who tries to keep control of the antics of the other Muppet characters , as well as keep the human guest stars happy and secure. The television show depicts a 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.[9] The Muppets also appeared on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve for the 2008 countdown on December 31, 2007. Kermit, Rizzo and others welcomed in the new year with a series of messages to welcome viewers back from the advertising breaks. After one such segment, with Kermit in Time Square, co-host Ryan Seacrest thanked his pal "Kerms" for the help bringing in '08.[10] Miss Piggy has appeared as a guest on The Late Show and Kermit the Frog appeared on Hollywood Squares and as one of the celebrity commentators on VH1's I Love documentary series.

On 25 July 2007 the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta announced the opening of a new Jim Henson Wing, which will house anywhere from 500 to 700 retired Muppets, including those from Fraggle Rock and Sesame Street. The new wing will also include films, sketches, and other materials from the Jim Henson Company archives. The wing, which will be a part of the Center's new building, is slated to open in 2010.

Discography

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (August 2008)

On September 17, 2002 Rhino released The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem, and More. In addition to the many Sesame Street and Muppets movie soundtracks available, this collection compiles music from various Muppets sources. It includes the rare song Rainbow Connection which was previously available on CD only on the soundtrack for The Muppet Movie.

From its earliest planning stages, Sesame Street was designed to be a show that would use music and singing as a part of the material being taught. So it was only natural to release the musical content on records, not only to reinforce the curriculum lessons for children when they weren't watching the show, but also because Sesame Street music is enjoyable just for its own sake.

The first six albums were released by Columbia Records and Warner Bros. Records, both major labels with many years of experience. These were deluxe albums, issued in colorful gatefold covers, usually with bonus material such as posters, lyric booklets, and photos and drawings of the show's characters. This arrangement lasted for the first five years of the show.

During the summer of 1970 , as The Sesame Street Book & Record became a best seller, Bob McGrath and Loretta Long also released their own children's albums. While not part of the Sesame Street canon (even though they both mention Sesame Street on their covers), they also became well-known albums because of the show's huge popularity.

In 1974, Sesame Street created its own series of records, on an independent label that was called Sesame Street Records, with a custom record label logo of the Sesame Street sign. These albums were manufactured by Children's Records of America from 1974 to 1976, and by Distinguished Productions from 1977 to 1984. Over 70 titles were produced over the ten-year run of the label. The catalog included reissues of all of the previous Columbia and Warner Bros. albums, although in less lavish packages than their original editions. At first, titles were only issued on vinyl, but over the years, they were also produced on cassettes and 8-track tapes.

The Sesame Street Records label was shut down around 1984. Soon after, many Sesame Street titles began to be reissued on cassettes by an educational company called Sight & Sound. While some tapes used the original cover pictures, others had new cover pictures. An important historical footnote during this period is that in 1987 , the very first Sesame Street CD was produced, called The Best of Sesame Street, and it would be the only CD produced until the early 1990's. In 1990 , titles began to appear on Golden Music, which was the music division of Golden Books. A mix of new titles appeared, beginning with tributes to Jim Henson and Joe Raposo, along with reissues of older titles. Golden's license lasted until 1994.

In 1995, Sony Wonder began issuing a new series of titles. This was looked on with interest by some Sesame collectors, since Sony owns the back catalog of Columbia Records, who put out the very first Sesame Street LP in 1970. While that album has not yet been reissued on CD in its entirety, the second Columbia album, The Muppet Alphabet Album, was reissued as Sing the Alphabet. However, one section of dialogue was cut which referred to turning the record over, which wouldn't make any sense to CD listeners.

The Sony Wonder years culminated with Songs from the Street, an elaborate 3-CD boxed set produced in association with Sony Music's Legacy Recordings. This set was full of classic and rare tracks both from records and from live performances on the show. It also contained a detailed booklet about the history of the show, written by Christopher Cerf. It was the first time Sesame Street had received the boxed-set treatment from a major label, although several multi-LP boxed sets had been released over the years on Sesame Street Records.

In 2007, Koch Records announced that it would begin distributing Sesame Street titles. The first titles began to appear in 2008, with reissues of albums that had previously been released on Sony Wonder.

In addition to the main library of Sesame Street music, over the years, original cast albums have been sold at the Sesame Street Live shows. See Sesame Street Live Discography for a chronological list of titles.

Filmography

Theatrical and telefilms

The Muppet Movie (1979)
The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985)
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
Muppets from Space (1999)
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)
It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005)

Television series

Sam and Friends (1955-61)
Sesame Street (1969-present)
The Muppet Show (1976-1981)
Fraggle Rock (1983-87)
Muppet Babies (1984-1991)
The Jim Henson Hour (1989)
Secret Life of Toys (1994-1996)
Muppets Tonight (1996-1998)
Bear in the Big Blue House (1997-2006)
Breakfast with Bear (2005-2006)

Television specials

Hey Cinderella! (1970)
The Frog Prince (1971)
The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972)
The Muppets Valentine Show (1974)
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977)
The Muppets Go Hollywood (1979)
John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together (1979)
The Muppets Go To the Movies (1981)
Of Muppets and Men (1981)
The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show (1982)
Rocky Mountain Holiday with John Denver and the Muppets (1983)
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1985)
The Christmas Toy (1986)
The Tale of the Bunny Picnic (1986)
A Muppet Family Christmas (1987)
Song of the Cloud Forest (1989)
The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990)
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990)
Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree (1995)
Studio DC hosted by Dylan and Cole Sprouse (2008)
Studio DC hosted by Selena Gomez (2008)
A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008)

Direct to Video

Muppet Classic Theater (1994)
Elmo Saves Christmas (1996)
Kermit's Swamp Years (2002)
Abby in Wonderland (2008)

Comic book

Main article: The Muppet Show Comic Book

In 2009, BOOM! Studios began publishing The Muppet Show Comic Book based on The Muppet Show and written and drawn by Roger Langridge.

Future

After the consensus was reached that The Muppets' Wizard of Oz failed to deliver critically, the question hung in the air whether or not another Muppet film would be made.[citation needed] A new film has been confirmed by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, who both plan to produce the next Muppet film.[11] They have also stated that they will both write the next picture, but only Stoller will direct.[11]

On March 31, 2008, First Showing revealed details about the new Muppet film.[12] Coming Soon reported similar news.[13] After an interview with Jason Segel, First announced, "it's going to be incredibly old-fashioned, with the familiar Muppet characters putting on a show to save an old theater. The danger? An evil character wants to tear the place down to get at the oil underneath."[12] Segel stated that he was the most enthusiastic about the project, also stating, "I just remember being 10 years old and for me Kermit was Tom Hanks. Kermit is like the original Everyman and I remember watching the old Muppets with my parents and seeing Peter Sellers and people like that on. I've always had Muppet pictures and figurines all through my house. Now that I'm getting to write it, I feel like all of my dreams are coming true."[13] The movie will mainly star many of the original Muppets. The movie's title has been tentatively revealed as "The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time"

In an interview on the Today Show, on the comment about Letters to Santa Miss Piggy claimed that "They were doing one every year now", which could mean that the Muppets will star in a Christmas special every year.

In popular culture

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, possibly to avoid lawsuits from the two companies). Peter Jackson's film, Meet the Feebles is another parody of the Muppets. A vomit-spewing Kermit the Frog was a recurring character on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and the Muppets were frequently "pre-empted" at the beginning of episodes for the Canadian series You Can't Do That On Television. Many other movies and television shows such as The Simpsons, Family Guy and Robot Chicken have referenced The Muppets - for a more comprehensive list, see Muppet Wiki.

See also

Muppets portal

References

  1. ^ "Marionette and Puppet". Muppet Wiki. http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Marionette_and_Puppet.
  2. ^ findarticles.com "Disney buys Muppets as bid prospect fades" 2/18/04
  3. ^ Variety, 3/11/08, Segel and Stoller take on Muppets
  4. ^ Christopher Finch Jim Henson: The Works 1993, ISBN 0679412034
  5. ^ Rocky III (IMDB)
  6. ^ An American Werewolf in London (IMDB)
  7. ^ Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (IMDB)
  8. ^ TheDailyShow.com
  9. ^ United States Postal Service (September 28, 2005). Jim Henson, Muppets, get stamps of approval. Press Release.
  10. ^ New Year's Rockin' Eve 2008 (2007) (TV)
  11. ^ a b Fleming, Michael. "Segel and Stoller take on Muppets." Variety. Retrieved: April 5, 2008
  12. ^ a b Billington, Alex. "Jason Segel Reveals New Muppets Movie Details". First Showing. http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/03/31/jason-segel-reveals-new-muppets-movie-details/. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
  13. ^ a b Newgen, Heather. "Exclusive: In the Future with Segel and Hader!". Coming Soon. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=43501. Retrieved on 2008-05-09.

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Jim Henson's The Muppets
Television series Sam and Friends (1955-1961) · Sesame Street (1969-present) · Saturday Night Live (1975) · The Muppet Show (1976-1981) · Fraggle Rock (1983-1987) · Muppet Babies (1984-1991) · Little Muppet Monsters (1985) · The Jim Henson Hour (1989) · Dog City (1992-1995) · Secret Life of Toys (1994-1996) · Muppets Tonight (1996-1998) · Bear in the Big Blue House (1998-2007) · Sid the Science Kid (2008-Present)
Feature films The Muppet Movie (1979) · The Great Muppet Caper (1981) · The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) · Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird (1985) · The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) · Muppet Treasure Island (1996) · Muppets from Space (1999) · The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)
Television specials Hey, Cinderella! (1969) · The Frog Prince (1972) · The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972) · Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977) · A Christmas Together (1979) · The Tale of the Bunny Picnic (1986) · The Christmas Toy (1986) · A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) · Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990) · The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990) · Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree (1995) · Elmopalooza (1998) · It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) · The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) · Studio DC: Almost Live (2008) · A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008)
Direct-to-video Muppet Classic Theater (1994) · Elmo Saves Christmas (1996) · Kermit's Swamp Years (2002) · Abby in Wonderland (2008)
Other media Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3D (1991-present) · Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony (2005-2006) · Muppet Mobile Lab (2007-present) · Muppet Monster Adventure · Comic book
Sesame Street
General Sesame Workshop • History • The Muppets • Characters
Segments Elmo's World • Bert and Ernie • Grover series • Healthy Habits for Life • Sesame Street News Flash • Monsterpiece Theater • Teeny Little Super Guy · others...
Spin-offs Follow That Bird • The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland • Play with Me Sesame • Sesame Beginnings • Sesame Street Unpaved • Tickle Me Elmo • Elmo Live
Production Puppeteers • Crew • Animators • Emmy Awards • Songs • Discography • Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street
Jim Henson
Major works Sesame Street · The Muppets · Fraggle Rock · The Dark Crystal · Labyrinth
Founded The Jim Henson Company · Jim Henson Foundation · Jim Henson's Creature Shop

Categories: Muppets | Saturday Night Live sketches

 

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'The Muppets' Answers
The last supper with the muppets?
Q. I once saw a version of the last supper with the Muppets as the characters. I think big bird stood in as Jesus. Anyone know where I can find this picture?
Asked by OB1 - Fri Mar 7 01:07:28 2008 - - 2 Answers - 0 Comments

A. Could it have been from one of their "Masterpiece" calendars? Or the "Kermitage Collection" book? It sounds familiar to me, but so far I haven't found it.
Answered by Donna in Rome - Fri Mar 7 06:04:43 2008

Yahoo Answers Search: The Muppets,
Sun Jul 5 01:22:52 2009
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