The Muppets - TV Tropes
- ️Wed May 23 2012
For the trope, see Muppet
They're the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational group you'll ever meet.note
"I think with The Muppets, there's some sort of innocence in them you know. And I think that's something that appeals to the child in everybody."
It's time to describe the Muppets on the Muppets page tonight!
The long-running puppet show franchise created by Jim Henson, starring his cast of characters.
The exact definition of the franchise is fuzzy, as it can refer to either the whole thing—including The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock—or just the former series and other works in its universe. Note that legally speaking, "The Muppets" now only refers to the Muppet Show characters owned by Disney, although Sesame Workshop also has permission to use the term to refer to its Sesame Street characters. The Fraggle Rock characters (still owned by the Henson company) were designated as Muppets to start with, but are no longer referred to as such. For further details, see the Muppet Wiki (which very much includes Henson works that are not part of the franchise such as The Dark Crystal).
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Main shows
- The Muppet Show (1976-1981)
- Muppet Babies (animated, 1984–1990)
- The Little Muppet Monsters (animated, live action Muppets with animated shorts, 1985)
- The Jim Henson Hour (MuppeTelevision section, 1989)
- Muppets Tonight (1996–1998)
- Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony (2005–2006; Web series from the now defunct Movies.com website starring Statler and Waldorf as they talk about then-upcoming films)
- Muppet Viral Videos (2008–ongoing)
- Disney Drive-On with The Muppets (2014; Web series starring Walter, who was just become a member of the Muppet production studio, as he learns about the movie industry)
- The Muppets (2015–2016)
- Muppet Babies (2018) (CGI animated) (2018–2022)
- Muppets Now (2020)
- The Muppets Mayhem (2023)
Other shows
These do not feature the characters from The Muppet Show and following (save for Kermit in some of them), but were made by The Jim Henson Company and with the characters originally referred to as Muppets:
- Sam and Friends (1955–1961)
- Sesame Street (1969–ongoing)note
- Saturday Night Live (1975-1976)note
- Fraggle Rock (1983–1987)note
- Fraggle Rock: Rock On (2020)
- Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (2022-ongoing)
- Inner Tube (A test pilot for what would later become ''Muppetelevision'')
- Puppetman (1987; Failed Pilot Episode for a Henson-produced, Mary Tyler Moore Show-like Sitcom about puppeteers on a local TV children's show, with Richard Hunt as the main character's Sidekick)
- The Ghost of Faffner Hall (1989; Music educational show about a group of ghosts rebelling against the new, music-hating owner of the titular Faffner Hall)note
- Dog City (1992–1995)
- The Animal Show with Stinky & Jake (1994–1997; edutainment talk show starring Stinky the Skunk and Jake the Polar Bear as they interview wild animals)
- Big Bag (1996–1998)
- The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (1996–1998)
- Bear in the Big Blue House (1997–2006)note
- Mopatop's Shop (1999–2005)
- Oobi (shorts in 2000; 2003–2005)note
- The Hoobs (2001–2006)
- Panwapa (2007; Educational show about the residents of Panwapa Island, a Floating Continent, learning about the different cultures of the world)
Feature-length films
- The Muppet Movie (1979)
- The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
- The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
- The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
- Muppet Classic Theater (1994, DTV)
- Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
- Muppets from Space (1999)
- Kermit's Swamp Years (2002, DTV)
- It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002, TV)
- The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005, TV)
- The Muppets (2011)
- Muppets Most Wanted (2014)
Main TV specials
- The Muppets Go Hollywood (1979)
- John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together (1979)
- The Muppets Go to the Movies (1981)
- The Fantastic Miss Piggy Special (1982)
- Rocky Mountain Holiday (1983)
- The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1986)
- A Muppet Family Christmas (1987)[[note]]Crossover with Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock
- Miss Piggy's Hollywood (1989)
- The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990)
- The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990)
- Studio DC: Almost Live (2008)
- A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008)
- The Muppets All-Star Comedy Gala (2012)note
- Lady Gaga & the Muppets' Holiday Spectacular (2013)
- Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021)
Other TV specials
Misc. Muppet specials
- Hey Cinderella! (1969)
- The Great Santa Claus Switch (1970; Television special in which a malevolent wizard named Cosmo Scam kidnaps Santa Claus and takes his job. This special is notable as it marked the debut of a few important Muppets, including what is essentially a prototype of Gonzo the Great)
- Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince (1971)
- The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972)
- Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977)
- The Tale of the Bunny Picnic (1986)
- The Christmas Toy (1986)
- Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree (1995)
Theme park attractions
- Muppet*Vision 3D (Disney Theme Parks attraction, 1991–present at Walt Disney World, 2001-2014 at Disneyland)
- Upcoming retheme of The Rock-n-Roller Coaster at Disney's Hollywood Studios (TBA)
Albums
- Muppet Beach Party (1993)
- Kermit Unpigged (1994)
Comic books
Advertising
- Wilkins Coffee (1957–1961)
- A Very Muppet Portal Campaign (2019)
Video games
- A downloadable Level Kit for LittleBigPlanet.
- Muppet Adventure: Chaos at the Carnival (1989)
- Muppet Race Mania (2000)
- Muppet Monster Adventure (2000)
- Disney Infinity seriesnote (2013-2015)
- Disney Emoji Blitznote (2016-present)
- Disney Heroes: Battle Modenote (2019-present)
- Disney Mirrorversenote (2022-2024)
- Disney Magic Kingdomsnote (2023-present)
- Disney Speedstormnote (2024-present)
People involved in the Muppets franchise