The current Muppet Logo
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque and self-referential style of variety-sketch comedy. Created in 1955 by Jim Henson, they are the namesake for the Disney media franchise that encompasses films, television series, music recordings, print publications, and other media associated with The Muppet Show characters.
The Muppets were the stars of multiple television series and films, including; The Muppet Show (1976–1981), The Muppet Movie (1979), The Great Muppet Caper (1981) and The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). After Henson's death in 1990, The Muppets continued their presence in television and cinema with Muppets Tonight (1996–1998), a series continuation of The Muppet Show, and three films, The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), Muppet Treasure Island (1996), Muppets from Space (1999), the former two were co-produced with Disney, who sought to acquire the characters since the late 1980s. In 2004, The Walt Disney Company purchased the rights to The Muppets, and later formed The Muppets Studio, a division created specifically for managing The Muppets franchise.
Disney underwent an extensive re-branding of the franchise beginning in 2008, in anticipation of the seventh film; The Muppets. The film, written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller and directed by James Bobin, was released by Walt Disney Pictures on November 23, 2011, and met with critical acclaim and commercial success. A sequel, Muppets Most Wanted, is scheduled to be released on March 21, 2014.
Filmography[]
- The Muppet Movie (1979)
- The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
- The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
- The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
- Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
- Muppets from Space (1999)
- The Muppets (2011)
- Muppets Most Wanted (2014)
Characters[]
One-shot characters[]
| Characters | Films | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Muppet Movie (1979) |
The Great Muppet Caper (1981) |
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) |
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) |
Muppet Treasure Island (1996) |
Muppets from Space (1999) |
The Muppets (2011) |
Muppets Most Wanted (2014) | |
Main characters (appear in all films)[] | ||||||||
| Kermit the Frog | Jim Henson | Steve Whitmire | ||||||
| Miss Piggy | Frank Oz | Frank Oz (voice)
Kevin Clash (puppetry) |
Eric Jacobson | |||||
| Fozzie Bear | ||||||||
| Gonzo | Dave Goelz | |||||||
| Statler | Richard Hunt | Jerry Nelson | Steve Whitmire | |||||
| Waldorf | Jim Henson | Dave Goelz | ||||||
| Dr. Bunsen Honeydew | Dave Goelz | |||||||
| Beaker | Richard Hunt | Steve Whitmire | ||||||
| The Swedish Chef | Jim Henson | David Rudman | Bill Barretta | |||||
| Sam the Eagle | Frank Oz | Frank Oz (voice)
Kevin Clash (puppetry) |
Eric Jacobson | |||||
| Eric Jacobson | ||||||||
Supporting characters (appear in more than one film)[] | ||||||||
| Rowlf the Dog | Jim Henson | Bill Barretta | ||||||
| Scooter | Richard Hunt | Adam Hunt | David Rudman | |||||
| Rizzo the Rat | Steve Whitmire | |||||||
| Pepe the King Prawn | Bill Barretta | |||||||
| Walter | Peter Linz | |||||||
One-shot characters[] | ||||||||
| Bert | Frank Oz | |||||||
| Ernie | Jim Henson | |||||||
| Cookie Monster | Frank Oz | |||||||
| Oscar the Grouch | Caroll Spinney | |||||||
| Big Bird | Caroll Spinney | |||||||
Humans in The Muppets[] | ||||||||
| Doc Hopper | Charles Durning | |||||||
| Max | Austin Pendleton | |||||||
| Snake Walker | Scott Walker | |||||||
| Lady Holiday | Diana Rigg | |||||||
| Nicky Holiday | Charles Grodin | |||||||
| Henderson | Michael Robbins | |||||||
| Dorcas | Joan Sanderson | |||||||
| Stanley | Peter Hughes | |||||||
| Pete | Louis Zorich | |||||||
| Jenny | Juliana Donald | |||||||
| Ronnie Crawford | Lonny Price | |||||||
| Nancy | Cheryl McFadden | |||||||
| Mr. Wrightson | Graham Brown | |||||||
| Ebenezer Scrooge | Michael Caine | |||||||
| Edward Sanders, Theo Sanders, Kristopher Milnes, Russell Martin, and Ray Coulthard (young) | ||||||||
| Fred | Steven Mackintosh | |||||||
| Belle | Meredith Braun | |||||||
| Clara | Robin Weaver | |||||||
| Jim Hawkins | Kevin Bishop | |||||||
| Long John Silver | Tim Curry | |||||||
| Billy Bones | Billy Connolly | |||||||
| Mrs. Sarah Bluveridge | Jennifer Saunders | |||||||
| K. Edgar Singer | Jeffrey Tambor | |||||||
| General Luft | Pat Hingle | |||||||
| Shelley Snipes | Andie MacDowell | |||||||
| Gary | Jason Segel
Gunnar Smith (6-year-old) Connor Gallagher (9-year-old) Justin Marco (13-year-old) |
|||||||
| Mary | Amy Adams | |||||||
| Tex Richman | Chris Cooper | |||||||
| Veronica Martin | Rashida Jones | |||||||
| Dominic Badguy | Ricky Gervais | |||||||
| Nadya | Tina Fey | |||||||
- Note: A red cell indicates the character didn't appear in that medium.
Crew[]
| Role | The Muppet Movie (1979) |
The Great Muppet Caper (1981) |
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) |
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) |
Muppet Treasure Island (1996) |
Muppets from Space (1999) |
The Muppets (2011) |
Muppets Most Wanted (2014) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | James Frawley | Jim Henson | Frank Oz | Brian Henson | Tim Hill | James Bobin | ||
| Producer(s) | Jim Henson | David Lazer and Frank Oz | David Lazer | Brian Henson and Martin G. Baker | David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman | |||
| Writer(s) | Jerry Juhl & Jack Burns | Tom Patchett & Jay Tarses and Jerry Juhl & Jack Rose | Frank Oz and Tom Patchett & Jay Tarses | Jerry Juhl | Jerry Juhl & Kirk R. Thatcher and James V. Hart | Jerry Juhl and Joseph Mazzarino and Ken Kaufman | Jason Segel & Nicholas Stoller | James Bobin & Nicholas Stoller |
| Composer(s) | Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher | Joe Raposo | Ralph Burns | Miles Goodman | Hans Zimmer | Jamshied Sharifi | Christophe Beck | |
| Production companies | ITC Films Henson Associates |
Henson Associates | Walt Disney Pictures Jim Henson Productions |
Columbia Pictures Jim Henson Pictures |
Walt Disney Pictures Mandeville Films | |||
| Distribution | Associated Film Distribution | Universal Pictures Associated Film Distribution |
TriStar Pictures | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution | Sony Pictures Releasing | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | ||
| Running time | 95 minutes | 97 minutes | 94 minutes | 86 minutes | 99 minutes | 87 minutes | 103 minutes | 107 minutes |
| Release date | June 22, 1979 | June 26, 1981 | July 13, 1984 | December 11, 1992 | February 16, 1996 | July 14, 1999 | November 23, 2011 | March 21, 2014 |