Uncle Matt visiting Castle Neuschwanstein.
Kermit the Frog in Berlin for an Adidas ad (2006).
Kevin Clash, overseeing the training of German Muppeteers for Sesamstrasse.
The Federal Republic of Germany, or the Bundesrepublik Deutschland in German, is a country in central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea, to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic, to the south by Austria and Switzerland, and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Within its borders are a portion of the Alps mountains, the famous Rhine river, and the Black Forest.
Germany is a democratic parliamentary federal republic, made up of 16 states (among them, the city states of Berlin and Hamburg), which in certain spheres act independently of the federation. Historically consisting of several sovereign nations with their own history, language (distinct dialects), culture and religion, Germany was unified as a nation state during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870/1871.
The country is a member state of the United Nations, NATO, the G8 and the G4 nations, and a founding member of the European Union. It is the European Union's most populous and most economically powerful member state.
The German language is one of the world's major languages. It is spoken by more than 120 million people in 38 countries of the world. It is — like English, Spanish and French — a pluricentric language with Germany, Austria and Switzerland as the three main centers of usage. Therefore, the following Muppet co-productions aired in all three countries:
Muppet Connections[]
Big Bird and Tiffy on Sesamstrasse's 750th episode.
Sesamstrasse celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Mary Roos on Die Muppet Show.
Doc and Sprocket on Die Fraggles.
Some of the Pizza mit Biss spin-off cast.
Promotional image for Jim Hensons Animal Show mit Stinky und Jake (including an RTL network hat).
Peter Alexander präsentiert Spezialitäten.
Miss Piggy performing on Jetzt geht die Party richtig los.
Jim Henson with Thomas Gottschalk on Na sowas!
Kermit shooting a German BMW commercial.
Elmo & Rosita's USO Education Tour in 2010.
James Bobin, Kermit and Piggy in Berlin in 2012.
Miss Piggy at the Golden Camera in 2012.
Piggy & Kermit at the Brandenburg Gate in 2014.
Piggy & Kermit in Bavarian gear by designer Lola Paltinger for Muppets Most Wanted (2014).
Baby Gonzo at the Berlin Wall in Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (produced right around the time it fell).
German characters on Sesame Street Stays Up Late.
Co-productions[]
- Sesamstrasse is the German-language, and first international co-production of Sesame Street. It began to air as a dubbed version in 1973, and received its first German set and puppets in 1977. The show is being produced in Hamburg. Several Sesamstrasse Specials were locally produced as well.
- Die Muppet Show is the German-language co-production of The Muppet Show, which featured one German guest star for English speaking audiences, Elke Sommer, and a second one for German audiences: Mary Roos, who appeared in a locally altered version of episode 121 in 1977.
- Die Fraggles is the German-language co-production of Fraggle Rock, featuring its own Doc, debuting in 1983. The German segments were produced near Munich.
- In 1994 The Secret Life of Toys was shot in Monheim, Germany, as a co-production between Jim Henson Productions, BBC, WDR (West German Broadcast), and Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen (the North Rhine Westfalia Film Foundation). It aired in Germany as Die Spielzeugbande ("The Toy Gang") in 1997.
- For Sesamstrasse's 30th anniversary special in 2003, Ernie and Bert were shipped to Germany to make special appearances not only on the special, but every now and then throughout the coming seasons. The Elmo puppet was used on promotional photos, but not during the actual show. Kevin Clash brought the puppet along, while overseeing the training of Ernie and Bert's German Muppeteers. A Little Bird, and other Sesame Street puppets have also made sporadic appearances from Sesamstrasse's 30th season onward.
- Eine Möhre für Zwei, the first German Sesame spin-off show, was produced in Hamburg in 2010 to air in 2011. A second season followed in 2012, a third season in 2012/2013, a fourth season in 2014/2015, a fifth season in 2016/2017, and a sixth season in 2018.
- Elmo joined the cast of German Muppets in 2012, for the 40th anniversary of Sesamstrasse. Other Muppets from the American street made special guest appearances henceforth.
- Pizza mit Biss, the second German Sesame spin-off show, and itself a spin-off to Eine Möhre für Zwei, was produced in Hamburg in 2017.
German language dubs[]
Most Henson TV shows, theatrical Muppet movies, a number of Television specials and a few direct-to-video productions were released or aired dubbed in Germany. This list mainly focuses on the first two categories:
TV shows[]
- Muppet Babies, the German dub of Muppet Babies, debuted in 1987.
- Jim Hensons beste Geschichten, the German dub of The StoryTeller, debuted in 1989.
- Jim Henson Presents the World of Puppetry aired dubbed in Germany in the late 1980s/early 1990s.
- Das Gespenst von Faffner Hall, the German dub of The Ghost of Faffner Hall, debuted in 1993.
- Die Dinos, the German dub of Dinosaurs, debuted in 1993.
- Dog City, the German dub of the Dog City series, debuted in 1995.
- A different Die Fraggles, the German dub of the animated Fraggle Rock spin-off, debuted in 1995.
- Jim Hensons Animal Show mit Stinky und Jake, the German dub of The Animal Show, debuted in 1995.
- Der Bär im grossen blauen Haus, the German dub of Bear in the Big Blue House, debuted in 2000.
- Mutter-Gans-Geschichten, the German dub of Mother Goose Stories, debuted in 2000.
- Farscape - Verschollen im All (Farscape - Lost in Space), the German dub of Farscape, debuted in 2000.
- Die Hoobs, the German dub of The Hoobs, debuted in 2002.
- Episodes of Die wunderbare Welt des Dr. Seuss, the German dub of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, were released in 2005.
- Ernie und Bert im Land der Träume, the German dub of Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures, debuted in 2008.
- Abby's fliegende Feenschule, the German dub of Abby's Flying Fairy School, debuted in 2013.
- Elmo - das Musical, the German dub of Elmo the Musical, debuted in 2013.
- Das Furchester Hotel, the German dub of The Furchester Hotel, debuted in 2015.
- The Muppets, the German dub of ABC's The Muppets, debuted in 2016.
- Muppet Babies, the German dub of the Muppet Babies reboot, debuted in 2018.
- Der dunkle Kristall: Ära des Widerstands, the German dub of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, debuted on Netflix in 2019.
Theatrical movies[]
- Muppet Movie, the German dub of The Muppet Movie, premiered in 1980.
- Der Dunkle Kristall, the German dub of The Dark Crystal, premiered in 1983.
- Die Muppets erobern Manhattan, the German dub of The Muppets Take Manhattan, premiered in 1985.
- Bibos abenteuerliche Flucht, the German dub of Follow That Bird, premiered in 1985.
- Die Reise ins Labyrinth, the German dub of Labyrinth, premiered in 1986.
- Die Muppets Weihnachtsgeschichte, the German dub of The Muppet Christmas Carol, premiered in 1993.
- Muppets Die Schatzinsel, the German dub of Muppet Treasure Island, premiered in 1997.
- Muppets aus dem All, the German dub of Muppets from Space, premiered in 1999.
- Die Abenteuer von Elmo im Grummelland, the German dub of The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, premiered in 2000.
- Die Muppets, the German dub of The Muppets, premiered in 2012.
- Muppets Most Wanted, the German dub of Muppets Most Wanted, premiered in 2014.
Non-theatrical movies and specials[]
- Der Grosse Muppet Krimi, the German dub of The Great Muppet Caper, was not released theatrically, but was released on home video (VHS) in 1994.
- Das Grösste Muppet-Weihnachtsspektakel aller Zeiten, the German dub of It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, was released on home video (DVD) in 2003, before it aired on TV in 2004.
- Muppets Der Zauberer von Oz, the German dub of The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, aired on TV in 2005, before it was released on home video (DVD) in 2006.
- Germany was the first country to release Studio DC: Almost Live on any home video medium (DVD). Other European countries followed since.
- Surprisingly, Germany is also the only country so far, to release Kermit's Swamp Years in high definition on Blu-ray disc.
Special appearances[]
- In 1961, Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl were invited to perform at the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Fair in Hamburg, Germany.[1] The next year, they performed many of the same routines at the Berlin "Green Week" exhibit for the United States Information Agency.
- The variety show Peter Alexander präsentiert Spezialitäten aired two specials taped on the original sets of Sesame Street (1975) and The Muppet Show (1977) to promote the German dubs of each show.
- For the German New Year's special Jetzt geht die Party richtig los that aired on December 31, 1978, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Statler and Waldorf (all dubbed) appeared together.
- In 1984, Uncle Traveling Matt, still stunned from his visit to the city of Hamburg's red-light district St. Pauli - Reeperbahn, appeared on the children's show Große Show für kleine Leute on ZDF.
- In 1986, Jim Henson, The Swedish Chef and Eberhard Storeck appeared on Na sowas!, promoting Die Muppet Babies and Die Reise ins Labyrinth.
- In May of 2005, Kermit the Frog appeared in a BMW commercial, exclusively shot in South Africa for the German market. The commercial was later dubbed for other European markets.
- In early 2006, Kermit the Frog appeared in an ad for Adidas to promote their Adicolor line, shot in winterly Berlin. For the 4:30 min promo he visited the Brandenburg Gate, adored the Berlin Wall, took a test run at the Olympic Stadium, mused about the arts at the Adicolor Studios, and attended Berlin Fashion Week on January 29, 2006.
- Ernie appeared on nachtmagazin to comment on Sesame Street's 40th Anniversary, as reports from the Sesame Street Day event were shown.
- Sesamstrasse characters Samson, Rumpel and Finchen have made multiple appearances both on German TV and in front of live audiences over the decades. Along with Ernie and Bert, Samson regularly appears at the KI.KA Sommer Tour.
- In October 2010, Elmo and Rosita attended the "USO - Elmo & Rosita Education Tour - Germany 2010" as part of the USO Experience for Military Families, appearing at multiple events on US American military bases in Germany.
- On January 18, 2012, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and James Bobin traveled to Berlin to promote Die Muppets, which premiered the following day. At the press conference, Miss Piggy announced that she would appear at a photo op for Berlin Fashion Week, where she would dress in a robe exclusively designed and tailored for her by German designer Michael Michalsky. Several more stops for the duo were the morning show SAT.1 Frühstücksfernsehen and the radio.
- Miss Piggy made several more trips to the country while promoting the film throughout Europe, most notably to appear on neoParadise on January 26, and on the film and television awards show Verleihung der Goldenen Kamera on February 4 (with Kermit to appear beside her on-screen, initially), where she performed the duet "Somethin' Stupid" on stage with host, comedian and award-winner Hape Kerkeling.
- For the German dub of Muppets Most Wanted, Kermit and Miss Piggy returned to the country for more promotional appearances in 2014.
Appearances on US-productions[]
- Uncle Traveling Matt visited Germany's popular tourist attraction Neuschwanstein Castle for the episode "The Great Radish Caper".
- Baby Gonzo was seen at the Berlin Wall in Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, which aired in German speaking countries as Comic-Stars gegen Drogen (Comic-Stars Against Drugs) in 1990.
- Sesamstrasse characters Tiffy, Samson and Finchen appeared on the 1993 special Sesame Street Stays Up Late, which like most Sesame Street specials was also dubbed for the German language market.
- In a Global Grover segment from 2006, Grover has just returned from Germany and shows a clip about his German friend Paul, whose father is a roofer making traditional thatched roofs.
- In a PBS interstitial, Big Bird and a little girl venture all over the world (and even the moon) and are seen (digitally) inserted into footage of the destruction of the Berlin Wall.
Print publications[]
Piggy & Kermit at the Ritz for Die Zeit in 2014.
Germany has a long history of translating Muppet, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock and Muppet Babies books, as well as several books from the greater Henson cosmos, such as Dark Crystal and Labyrinth books. The following publishers have contributed to these releases:
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Henson-related interviews and articles have appeared in German-language publications such as Bild, Bravo, Bunte, Bussi Bär, Familie&Co, Fix & Foxi, Gong, Hörzu, Junior, Micky Maus Magazin, POP/Rocky, Siehste, Der Spiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung, TV Movie and Die Zeit. Further, the country issued official German Stamps (and other philatelic merchandise) to commemorate Sesamstrasse in early 2020.
Other connections[]
Muppets, Monster & Magie exhibition companion
- Many classic German fairy tales recorded by the Brothers Grimm have been adapted or referenced by the Muppets over the decades; among them most prominently the tale of The Muppet Musicians of Bremen.
- Both Muppets, Monster & Magie and The Vision of Jim Henson were Muppet exhibitions that toured Germany, the former being accompanied by a companion book, the latter showcasing Sesamstrasse characters among the regular Muppets on display.
- German media company EM.TV purchased the Jim Henson Company in 2000, and sold it back to the Henson family in 2003. During EM.TV's tenure, they sold the rights to the Sesame characters to Sesame Workshop.
- The Muppets and John Denver actually sing the first verse of "Silent Night" in German on both the TV special John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together and the album A Christmas Together.
See also[]
Sources[]
External links[]
- Jim's Red Book entry for October 15, 1983 - Germany – PR Fraggle International