Animal (Muppet) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Animal
The Muppets character
First appearance	The Muppet Show (1975)
Created by	Michael K. Frith (designer) Dave Goelz (builder)
Voiced by	Frank Oz (1975–2000) Eric Jacobson (2002–present) Other: Howie Mandel (Muppet Babies; 1984–1985) Dave Coulier (Muppet Babies; 1986–1991) Dee Bradley Baker (Muppet Babies 2018)
Performed by	Frank Oz (1975–2000) Rickey Boyd (1999) Eric Jacobson (2002–present)
Information
Species	Muppet Monster
Gender	Male
Occupation	Drummer
Nationality	American

Animal is the wild and energetic monster drummer of the band Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem. This band is from The Muppet Show. Animal is one of The Muppets characters. He was first created by Michael K. Frith.

Who Performs Animal?

Animal has been brought to life by several talented performers. Frank Oz was the first to perform Animal. He played the character from his very first appearance in 1975 until 2000.

Since 2002, Eric Jacobson has regularly performed Animal. The amazing drumming sounds for Animal on The Muppet Show were actually played by Ronnie Verrell.

Animal has been in all Muppet movies. He was also the only member of The Electric Mayhem band to appear regularly on the Muppet Babies cartoon. In Muppet Babies, he was voiced by Howie Mandel and later by Dave Coulier.

What is Animal Like?

Animal is known for his wild drumming and energetic personality.

Animal is known for being very wild and energetic. Frank Oz once said that Animal's character can be described with just a few words: sleep, food, drums, and pain. But Animal himself once famously said, "Drums are food!"

Animal doesn't talk much. He usually makes loud shouts and grunts. He often repeats simple phrases and has a special gravelly laugh. When he performs, Animal is sometimes chained to his drum set. This is because his drumming can be very wild and out of control! Sometimes, he is even called on to chase away performers who are being annoying.

Here's a funny moment from The Muppet Movie when the band introduces themselves:

Animal: [flails and babbles wildly, pants, and yells as Fozzie clutches an also-frightened Kermit in fear]
Floyd: Oh yeah, that's Animal. Show 'em whatcha do, Animal!
Animal: I want to eat drums! [loudly chews on a cymbal]
Dr. Teeth: No, no, beat drums, beat drums.
Animal: [open eyes wide] Beat drums! Beat drums! [hits the third tom-tom drum three times with his head, grunting before each hit]
Floyd: Down, Animal!
Animal: Down!
Floyd: Back!
Animal': Back!
Floyd: Sit!
Animal: Sit! [laughs shortly as he gets back up to look at Scooter, who is introducing himself]

This shows that Floyd Pepper, another band member, has taught Animal to obey a few simple commands. It's almost like dog training!

Animal's wild drumming style and crazy hair might remind you of famous rock drummers. These include Keith Moon from The Who and John Bonham from Led Zeppelin. Animal is a very skilled drummer. He can play many different styles of music. He has even had drum battles with famous drummers like Buddy Rich and Harry Belafonte on The Muppet Show. He also played with Questlove on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Dave Grohl on The Muppets.

Animal sometimes causes trouble for guest stars on The Muppet Show. Once, when he kept interrupting Rita Moreno's song, she got annoyed. She slammed his head between two cymbals! Animal just responded by saying, "Uh, that's my kinda woman!" before passing out.

Another time, Animal became upset with Dudley Moore. Moore tried to replace the band with a music-playing robot. But Animal was very impressed by actor James Coburn. Coburn showed his own tough side by smashing a chair! Animal then yelled, "My kinda guy!" and chased after him.

A common joke with Animal is when someone uses a figure of speech. Animal takes it literally and goes wild! For example, when Jim Nabors said "Break a leg" (a good luck wish in theater), Animal tried to actually break Nabors's leg!

Animal is also known for chasing after women, yelling "Woo-maaaan!" He did this in The Muppets Take Manhattan. He also likes to chase cars.

Even though he seems wild, Animal has some surprising interests. In The Great Muppet Caper, it's revealed that he loves the paintings of Pierre-Auguste Renoir. When Zoot mistakenly said he was upset about missing a Rembrandt exhibit, Animal quickly corrected him, yelling "Renoir!!"

In the movie Muppets from Space, Animal met his match. A security guard played by Kathy Griffin chased him! Animal, who usually does the chasing, ran away yelling "HELP HELP!"

Animal in Other Media

Animal has appeared in many places outside of The Muppet Show and movies.

He was the official mascot for the U.S. Ski Team during the 1998 Winter Olympics. He was also featured on a special stamp issued by the United States Postal Service.

In 2010, Animal was in a popular online video with the band OK Go. He challenged their drummer, Dan Konopka, to a staring contest. Animal won and made Dan his roadie for a year!

Animal and other Muppets also appeared on a Halloween episode of WWE Raw in 2011. Animal was a guest timekeeper for a wrestling match.

In the 2011 film The Muppets, Animal had gone to anger-management therapy. He also made a special appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as a guest drummer with the house band, The Roots.

Filmography

See Also

• Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem

• Animal on Muppet Wiki, a Wikia wiki