Muppet Babies

## 1984 Serie

***Jim Henson's Muppet Babies***, commonly known by the shortened title ***Muppet Babies***, is an American animated television series that aired from September 15, 1984, to November 2, 1991, on CBS. The show portrays childhood versions of the Muppets living together in a nursery under the care of a human woman identified only as Nanny (the whereabouts of their parents are never addressed), who appears in almost every episode, but her face is never visible; only the babies' view of her pink skirt, purple sweater, and distinctive green and white striped socks is shown. The idea of presenting the Muppets as children first appeared in a dream sequence in *The Muppets Take Manhattan* (1984), released two months before *Muppet Babies* debuted, in which Miss Piggy imagined what it would be like if she and Kermit the Frog had grown up together.

*Muppet Babies* was produced by Jim Henson Productions and Marvel Productions. The rights are now held by The Walt Disney Company which separately acquired both the Muppets characters and Marvel. Although the episodes were 30 minutes (including commercials), it was typically shown in 60- and even 90-minute blocks during the peak of its popularity. Outside the United States, the show was distributed by Walt Disney Television. A reboot of the series premiered on Disney Junior on March 23, 2018.

## Overview

The Muppet Babies live in a large nursery watched over by Nanny, who is seen only from the shoulders down. The babies' imaginary games transition from the nursery into scenes that become "real" to the babies, such as finding themselves aboard a pirate ship or in the land of Oz. Often these fantasies are filled with stock footage scenes or live-action clips from popular movies such as *Star Wars*, *Ghostbusters* and *Indiana Jones*. Each episode contains a related musical number. When the pretend game becomes too perilous, or when an interruption occurs (often in the form of Nanny checking in or the imaginary game straying too far from its original premise), the scene dissolves and they find themselves in the nursery once more.

The central idea of each episode is the power of imagination. Sometimes, the babies use their imagination to solve a problem (when Nanny's newspaper is accidentally ruined, the babies write their own newspaper to replace it), but occasionally their imaginations run away with them (overhearing Nanny's phone call to the garbage collector to help her decide which armchair to donate to charity leads the babies to fear that one of them [which was thought to be Fozzie] is going to be thrown away). Other frequent themes involve the babies coming up with new ways to play with old toys, imagining what life will be like when they are adults, or facing common childhood firsts such as a visit to the dentist or a new addition to the family. Nanny is the voice of reason, congratulating them on their creativity or soothing their fears.

## Characters

The series stars Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Scooter, Skeeter, Rowlf the Dog, and Gonzo as the main muppets. Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker made regular appearances as did Camilla in the form of Gonzo's stuffed baby chick. In the final two seasons, Bean Bunny and Statler and Waldorf began making regular appearances.

Several Muppets made guest appearances including Janice as an older preteen, and Kermit's nephew, Robin, a young tadpole.

The Muppet Baby character Skeeter, Scooter's twin sister, only appeared in this series, and was never a live-action Muppet.

## Voice cast

* Greg Berg – Baby Fozzie, Baby Scooter, Dr. Julius Strangepork (archive footage, ep. 107)
* Barbara Billingsley – Nanny
* Dave Coulier (1986–1991) – Baby Animal, Baby Bunsen, Baby Bean Bunny, Baby Janice, Uncle Statler and Waldorf, Camilla (occasionally), Himself (ep. 91)
* Katie Leigh – Baby Rowlf, Mrs. Mitchell
* Howie Mandel (1984–1985) – Baby Skeeter, Baby Animal, Baby Bunsen
* Laurie O'Brien – Baby Piggy, Captain Black Wig
* Russi Taylor – Baby Gonzo, Baby Robin, Aunt Fanny, and Camilla (occasionally)
* Frank Welker – Baby Kermit, Baby Beaker, Baby Skeeter (1986–1991), Camilla, Irma/Charlie (ep. 12), The Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard (ep. 31), Polly the Parrot (ep. 38), Adult Kermit (looped dialogue, ep. 45), Bosko the Snowman (ep. 100)

### Additional voices and performances

* Bob Bergen – Link Hogthrob (archive footage, ep. 107)
* Peter Cullen – Smoggy the Bear (ep. 33), Football-Playing Bear (ep. 33), Sor-Elbow (ep. 33)
* Pat Fraley – Announcer
* Jim Henson – Kermit the Frog (archive footage, ep. 45), Dr. Teeth (archive footage, ep. 61)
* Tress MacNeille – Skater Kat
* Hal Rayle – Miss Piggy (archive footage, ep. 107)

## 2018 Serie

***Muppet Babies*** is an American computer-animated television series featuring toddler versions of the Muppets characters that began airing on Disney Junior and Disney Channel on March 23, 2018 and is aimed at a target audience of children from ages 3 to 8. It is a reboot of the original 1984–1991 animated series of the same name.

The show retains several of the younger incarnations of the classic Muppet characters seen in the previous series, including Baby Kermit, Baby Piggy, Baby Fozzie, Baby Gonzo, and Baby Animal. The series also sees the second appearance of Nanny (now known as "Miss Nanny", short for "Nancette"), and the first appearance of a new Muppet Babies member named Summer Penguin.

On September 7, 2018, it was renewed for a second season which premiered 11 months later on August 9, 2019.

On July 25, 2019, it was renewed for a third season.

## Plot

The show details Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal, and Summer Penguin and a cast of characters using their imaginations.