The Muppet Traffic Safety Show

The Plymouth Muppet Traffic Safety Show was a touring attraction brought to shopping malls around the US in the late 1980s, sponsored by the Plymouth division of Chrysler Motors. Children would ride in a minivan through a Muppet-filled movie set, teaching them various lessons about traffic safety. The children were filmed during the ride, and the ride ended with a showing of their own mini-movie.Advanced Animations, "Muppet Traffic Safety Show".
The attraction featured the first fully animatronic versions of the Muppets, before Muppet*Vision 3D. The Muppet characters included Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal, Beaker, Robin the Frog, the Frog Scouts, a chicken (crossing the road) and some penguins. The show included a song, "Play It Safe." The audio track for the attraction was recorded by Jim Henson, Frank Oz and Jerry Nelson.
The attraction begins with Kermit dressed as a crossing guard, welcoming the passengers and waving them through a tollbooth. Gonzo is the filmmaker, operating a camera in each of the six scenes. In the first scene, Miss Piggy is on the curb in front of an ice cream shop, and teaches the kids that you should look "left-right-left" before crossing the street. Fozzie Bear told the old "why did the chicken cross the road?" joke, with a chicken preparing to cross. In another scene, Animal demonstrated why darting out into traffic was dangerous, riding out of an alley on a Big Wheels-style toy bike. In another, Gonzo talked about bus safety as a group of penguins exited a school bus. Robin and the Frog Scouts appeared in a Plymouth Voyager minivan, demonstrating the importance of buckling your seatbelt. Beaker also had his own scene.
The attraction occupied 2,000 square feet, and stood nine feet tall. It included 40 animated characters, which were finished using official Muppet costume materials. Each car could carry six children, and total ride capacity was 175 passengers an hour.National Safety Town Center, "Muppet Traffic Show".
This show was created by Advanced Animations and appeared in malls and trade shows throughout the United States. Advanced Animations was the company responsible for the giant animated "toy clock" that was featured at FAO Schwarz in New York City.
The tour was scheduled to tour the country for three years.Plymouth, Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog launch Muppet Traffic Safety Show national tour (Chrysler Corp.'s Plymouth division) Tour locations included:
* Burlington, Vermont's Burlington Square Mall (May 12-15, 1988)Advertisement, The Burlington Free Press (Burlington, Vermont), 12 May 1988, page 3 
* Harper Woods, Michigan's Eastland Mall (May 20, 1988)
* South Bend, Indiana's Scottsdale Mall (May 26-29, 1988)The South Bend Tribune (South Bend, Indiana), 25 May 1988, page 15
* West Valley City, Utah's Valley Fair Mall (July 14-17, 1988)"Muppet traffic safety show Fashion Place July 20-23", Orem-Geneva Times (Orem, Utah), 13 July 1988, page 8
* Murray, Utah's Fashion Place Mall (roughly July 23-24, 1988)"Muppets Turn Safety Into Child's Play", The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, Utah), 22 July 1988, page WV3.
* West Covina, California's Fashion Plaza (August 4-7, 1988)The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California), 4 August 1988, page SGV6.
* Tucson, Arizona's Park Mall (August 11-14, 1988)Newspaper ad, Arizona Daily Star
* Albuquerque, New Mexico's Coronado Centre (August 18-21, 1988)"Coming to Coronado Centre ad", 17 August 1988, page 6.
* Dallas, Texas' Prestonwood Town Center (September 1-4, 1988)Farmers Branch Times (Farmers Branch, Texas), 20 July 1988, page 10
* Columbia, South Carolina's Columbia Mall (September 22-25, 1988)The State (Columbia, South Carolina), 22 September 1988, page 33
* Biloxi, Mississippi's Edgewater Mall (September 29-October 2, 1988)Sun Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi), 29 September 1988, page 5
* Miami, Florida (October 1988)Palm Beach Post (broken link as of 15 April 2022)
* Milwaukee, Wisconsin (February 1989)The Milwaukee Journal
* 1990 North American International Auto Show, Detroit, Michigan (January 1990)See photo in the gallery
* Carolina Circle Mall, Greensboro, North Carolina (August 2-5, 1990)
Image:TheMuppetTrafficSafetyShow-Logo.png|The show's logo
Image:Muppet_Traffic_Safety_show.jpg|Michael Frith, Kermit and Jim Henson
Image:Plymouth_traffic_3.jpg|Kermit at the crossing guard booth
North_american_auto_show.jpg
Safety_kermit_booth.jpg
Muppet Traffic Safety Show overhead.jpg|overhead view
Safety_piggy_penguins.jpg|Miss Piggy and the Penguins
Image:trafficshow.jpg
miss piggy safety show.jpg
piggy safety.jpg
fozzie safety show.jpg|Fozzie Bear, asking why the chicken crosses the road
Image:Plymouth_traffic_1.jpg
fozzie safety.jpg
animal safety show.jpg|Animal shows why darting into the street is dangerous
Image:trafficsafety.JPG
animal safety.jpg
gonzo safety show.jpg|Gonzo films, as penguins get off the school bus
penguin safety.jpg
frog scouts safety show.jpg|Robin and the Frog Scouts sing "Play It Safe".
Image:Plymouth_traffic_2.jpg|Photos from the ride, including Beaker's scene
Image:Muppet_Traffic_Safety_Show_August_1,_1990.jpg|Plymouth Muppet Traffic Safety Show Advertisement
File:Muppet Traffic Safety Show poster.jpg|poster
==Sources==
==External inks==
* Advanced Animations site
* link to older archived site on Archive.org
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Category:Exhibits