Muppet Babies (1984 TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Muppet Babies |
|
|---|---|
First and second season title card
|
|
| Genre | |
| Created by | Jim Henson |
| Developed by | Jeffrey Scott |
| Written by |
|
| Voices of |
|
| Theme music composer | Hank Saroyan Rob Walsh |
| Opening theme | "Muppet Babies" |
| Ending theme | "Muppet Babies" (Instrumental) |
| Composer(s) |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 107 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
|
| Producer(s) |
|
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Marvel Productions Jim Henson Productions |
| Distributor | Claster Television (North America) Buena Vista International Television (International) |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Audio format |
|
| Original release | September 15, 1984 – November 2, 1991 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Muppets Take Manhattan |
| Related shows | Muppet Babies (2018) |
Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, often called Muppet Babies, is an American animated TV show. It aired from September 15, 1984, to November 2, 1991, on CBS. The show features younger versions of the Muppets. They live together in a nursery. A human woman named Nanny takes care of them. You only see her pink skirt, purple sweater, and green and white striped socks. Her face is never shown.
The idea for baby Muppets came from a dream scene in the movie The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). In this scene, Miss Piggy imagined growing up with Kermit the Frog. Muppet Babies was made by Jim Henson Productions and Marvel Productions. Now, The Walt Disney Company owns the rights to the characters and the show. The show was very popular. It sometimes aired in longer blocks, like 60 or 90 minutes. A new version of the series, a reboot, started on Disney Junior in 2018.
Exploring the Nursery World
The Muppet Babies live in a big nursery. Nanny watches over them, but we only see her from the shoulders down. The babies love to play pretend games. Their imaginary games often turn into "real" adventures for them. They might suddenly find themselves on a pirate ship or in the magical land of Oz.
These fantasy scenes often use clips from popular movies. You might see parts of Star Wars, Ghostbusters, or Indiana Jones. Each episode also has a fun song. When the game gets too wild, or Nanny checks in, the scene changes back to the nursery.
The main idea of the show is how powerful imagination is. Sometimes, the babies use their imagination to solve problems. For example, if Nanny's newspaper gets ruined, they create their own. Other times, their imaginations can get a bit out of control. They might think Nanny is going to throw one of them away! The show often explores themes like playing with old toys in new ways. It also shows the babies imagining what they'll be like as adults. Nanny is always there to help them. She praises their creativity and calms their fears.
Muppet Babies Episodes
Want to know more about every adventure the Muppet Babies had?
Meet the Characters
The main characters in Muppet Babies are:
Other characters like Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker often appear. Camilla, Gonzo's stuffed baby chick, is also seen. In the later seasons, Bean Bunny and Statler and Waldorf started showing up regularly.
Some Muppets made special guest appearances. These included Janice as an older kid. Kermit's nephew, Robin, a young tadpole, also visited.
Skeeter is Scooter's twin sister. She was only in the Muppet Babies cartoon. There was no puppet version of her in the live-action Muppet shows.
Voice Actors Behind the Babies
Many talented people gave voices to the Muppet Babies:
- Greg Berg voiced Baby Fozzie and Baby Scooter.
- Barbara Billingsley was the voice of Nanny.
- Dave Coulier (from 1986–1991) voiced Baby Animal, Baby Bunsen, and Baby Bean Bunny. He also voiced Uncle Statler and Waldorf.
- Katie Leigh voiced Baby Rowlf.
- Howie Mandel (from 1984–1985) voiced Baby Skeeter, Baby Animal, and Baby Bunsen.
- Laurie O'Brien voiced Baby Piggy.
- Russi Taylor voiced Baby Gonzo and Baby Robin.
- Frank Welker voiced Baby Kermit, Baby Beaker, and Baby Skeeter (from 1986–1991).
Other voices included:
- Bob Bergen
- Peter Cullen
- Pat Fraley
- Jim Henson (in archive footage)
- Tress MacNeille
- Hal Rayle (in archive footage)
How the Show Was Made
The idea for Muppet Babies came from the 1984 movie The Muppets Take Manhattan. In the movie, there was a popular dream scene with baby Muppets. The Jim Henson Company decided to turn this idea into a cartoon show. To make 107 episodes, Henson and Marvel hired animation studios. These included Toei Animation from Japan and AKOM Productions from Korea. These studios also worked on other popular cartoons like G.I. Joe and The Transformers.
Muppet Babies was very successful. It ran on CBS for seven seasons, from 1984 to 1991. It was so popular that CBS kept showing reruns until 1992.
For a short time in the second season, the show was called Muppets, Babies, and Monsters. A new show called Jim Henson's Little Muppet Monsters was added. This show used live-action puppets and cartoons with adult Muppets. But it only lasted three weeks before Jim Henson stopped it. The show then went back to being just Muppet Babies.
Muppet Babies is famous for starting a trend. Many other popular cartoon characters were later shown as younger versions of themselves. Examples include A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, The Flintstone Kids, and Tiny Toon Adventures. Even today, you can see this trend with shows like Baby Looney Tunes.
The show won many awards. It won four Daytime Emmys in a row for Outstanding Animated Program from 1985 to 1988. It also won a Humanitas Prize in 1985. In 2009, IGN named Jim Henson's Muppet Babies as the 31st best animated TV show ever.
Music of Muppet Babies
The show had many catchy songs. About 100 of them were written by Alan O'Day and Janis Liebhart. The main theme song and "Rocket to the Stars" were written by Hank Saroyan and Rob Walsh. The song that played at the end of the show was playfully called "Hank in the Box."
Watching Muppet Babies Again
After its original run, Muppet Babies was shown on other channels. It aired in local TV stations from 1989 to 1992. Later, it was shown on Fox Kids (1991–1993), Nickelodeon (1992–1999), and Odyssey Network (1999–2001).
Muppet Babies on Home Video
Not all Muppet Babies episodes were released on VHS tapes. However, many were available between 1993 and 1995. One series of VHS tapes was called "Yes I Can." These videos included two Muppet Babies episodes. They focused on Robin the Frog asking his uncle Kermit for help with chores or problems. Kermit would then show a Muppet Babies episode about a similar situation.
There are no plans for Muppet Babies to be released on DVD. This is because the show used many clips from other movies and TV shows. These clips were part of the babies' imagination scenes. Getting permission to use all those clips again can be very difficult due to copyright rules.
In 2003, four episodes were released as bonus DVDs with Muppet Babies plush toys. These episodes were "The Daily Muppet," "Eight Take Away One Equals Panic," "Piggy's Hyper-Activity Book," and "Gonzo's Video Show."
VHS Releases List
Here are some of the VHS releases that came out:
- U.S. 1st Releases:
- Muppet Babies: Be My Valentine (Episode 407: My Muppet Valentine)
- Muppet Babies: Explore With Us (Episodes 610, 801)
- Muppet Babies: Time to Play (Episodes 708, 502)
- Muppet Babies: Let's Build (Episodes 603, 808)
- U.S. 'Yes I Can' Releases:
- Muppet Babies: Yes I Can Learn (Episodes 306, 805)
- Muppet Babies: Yes I Can Help (Episodes 113, 802)
- Muppet Babies: Yes I Can Be A Friend (Episodes 204, 301)
- McDonald's Releases:
- Episode 308: The Daily Muppet
- Episode 207: I Want My Muppet TV! and Episode 110: Gonzo's Video Show
- Episode 206: Snow White and the Seven Muppets
- Episode 210: The Great Muppet Cartoon Show
- UK Releases:
- Muppet Babies: Close Encounters of the Frog Kind and Dental Hyjinks (Episodes 109, 102)
- Muppet Babies: Gonzo's Video Show and Noisy Neighbors (Episodes 110, 101)
The 2018 Reboot
A new version of the series, a reboot, started on Disney Junior on March 23, 2018. Unlike the original show's traditional animation, this new version uses CGI. It is aimed at younger children, ages 4–7. Each episode has two 11-minute stories. Disney Junior and TVNZ help make the show. Mr. Warburton, who created Codename: Kids Next Door, is the executive producer.
Other Appearances of the Muppet Babies
Baby Kermit, Piggy, and Gonzo made small appearances in a TV special about preventing drug use. This was called Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990).
Live-action versions of the baby Muppets also appeared in the 1987 TV special A Muppet Family Christmas. This was shown as an old home movie.
An adult Skeeter appeared in the "Family Reunions" issues of The Muppet Show comics.
Cameos in Movies and TV
- In the movie Eye for an Eye (1996), a character's daughter is seen watching an episode of Muppet Babies.
- In a 2011 episode of Robot Chicken, there's a funny sketch about what happened to Skeeter.
Muppet Babies Merchandise
In the mid-1980s, you could get Muppet Babies toys in McDonald's Happy Meals. These were small plastic figures with wheels. Later, special Christmas stuffed versions of the Muppet Babies were also available in Happy Meals.
In 1992, a book collection called The Muppet Babies Press Books was made by Grolier. These books talked about character traits and learning for young children.
Two Muppet Babies music albums were released on LP records. The first album, "Rocket to the Stars," was a story-adventure with songs. The second album, "Music Is Everywhere," had more songs from the show.
Muppet Babies Comics
From 1985 to 1989, Marvel Comics made a monthly Muppet Babies comic book. It was part of their Star Comics line and had 26 issues. Later, in 1992, Harvey Comics also made three more Muppet Babies comic issues.
The Muppet Babies also appeared in Star Comics Digest. This comic featured reprinted short stories. The series had 13 issues from 1986 to 1988.
