The Muppets are the protagonists of the franchise of the same name, a media franchise that encompasses television, film, music, and other media associated with the characters. The Muppets were created by puppeteer Jim Henson in the 1950s and have become a staple of the entertainment industry and popular culture in the United States and English-speaking areas around the world.
Background[]
They are a troupe of vaudeville performers and actors who put on a regular show called The Muppet Show, which is televised worldwide. The show features a variety of sketches, musical numbers, and guest stars, often parodying or spoofing various genres and topics. The leader of the Muppets is Kermit the Frog, a green frog who acts as the host and stage manager of the show. Although meek and shy, Kermit manages to keep the wild and unstable personality of the other Muppets in check, although there are several hints that he may be as crazy as the rest of them. The Muppets are goofy, silly, and wacky, often using logic that seems incomprehensible. The Muppets have a degree of invulnerability, as they can bounce back from things that would be fatal and/or traumatic to most humans, such as explosions, falls, or being eaten.
At the beginning of The Muppets, the Muppets have disbanded, thinking that the world doesn't care about them. They have pursued different careers and lifestyles and have lost contact with each other. Thanks to the efforts of Walter, a Muppet fan and the brother of Gary, and Mary, Gary's girlfriend, the Muppets can realize that the world still cares about them. Thus, they reunite, and bring back The Muppet Show in a telethon to save their old theater from being demolished by a greedy oil tycoon. As a sign of gratitude, Walter is made into a member of the Muppets. The Muppets are known far and wide across the world, which is why they are often able to get celebrities to help them, even if those celebrities sometimes get caught in the crossfire of the Muppets' wackiness. For example, in one notable incident, one of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew's inventions accidentally made Brooke Shields grow to giant size until she was as big as the room, causing her to miss her Broadway debut.
History[]
The Muppets originated in the short-form television series Sam and Friends, which aired on WRC-TV and in syndication from 1955 to 1961. Following appearances on late-night talk shows and in advertising during the 1960s, the Muppets began appearing on the PBS children's television program Sesame Street (1969–present) during their formative years and attained celebrity status and international recognition through The Muppet Show (1976–1981), their flagship sketch comedy television series that received four Primetime Emmy Award wins and 21 nominations during its five-year run. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Muppets diversified into theatrical films, including The Muppet Movie (1979); The Great Muppet Caper (1981); and The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). Disney began involvement with them in the late 1980s, during which Henson entered negotiations to sell The Jim Henson Company. The Muppets continued their media presence on television with The Jim Henson Hour (1989) and Muppets Tonight (1996–98), both of which were similar in format to The Muppet Show, as well as the animated spinoff Muppet Babies (1984–91); three theatrical films: The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), Muppet Treasure Island (1996) and Muppets from Space (1999); and the television film It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002). Disney acquired the Muppets from the Henson family in February 2004. Under Disney, subsequent projects included the television film The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005), the television special A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008), two theatrical films: The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted (2014), a primetime series (2015–2016), a reboot of Muppet Babies (2018–2022), the streaming television series Muppets Now (2020), the Halloween special Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021), and the streaming television series The Muppets Mayhem (2023).
