Muppet Babies and Monsters

Infinity Sirius

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I remember watching what I think was on the Jim Henson Hour and there was a small segment where the Little Muppet Monsters appeared and said that they owuld have their own show. But what is this Muppet Babies and Muppet Monsters from?

Also where did the animation of Kermit and Fozzie come from? Does anyone else think that Fozzie looks too fat in that animation?
 

BigBirdABCDEFGH

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This refers to the short-lived expansion of Muppet Babies. Only 3 (out of 18) episodes were aired. Following the cancellation of this part of the show, an MB rerun was added to fill the void left behind by Little Muppet Monsters.

Here's the MB&M intro (skip to 0:30)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVkvLJToU0k

The instrumental version of the theme that starts from "We're down in the basement putting on shows" was used as the commonly-heard closing title theme to MB from 1985 on, and the short opening title theme of MB that follows the MB&M title was the common version used for MB in syndication.

The lyrics:
Muppet Babies and Little Monsters, too
Welcome to our house, there’s lots of fun for you!
(Muppet Babies opening clip)
(Baby Scooter) I like my computer
(Baby Skeeter) I swing through the air
(Baby Rowlf) I play my piano
(Baby Gonzo) I have blue hair, ha!
(Bad trumpet riff)
(Baby Gonzo) Huh?
(Cue commonly-heard Muppet Babies closing credit theme)
We’re down in the basement, putting on shows
Little Muppet Monsters!
Kermit & the Penguins and Pigs in Space, too
Everybody’s joining Tug and Molly and Boo
(Sandwich) This is ridiculous.
Little Muppet Monsters!
Little Muppet Monsters!
Muppet Babies, we make our dreams come true
Muppet Babies, we’ll do the same for you
Muppet (Muppet, Muppet…)
Babies (Babies, Babies…)
And Monsters too! (Bad trumpet riff)

This is then followed by the commonly-seen short version of the MB opening title.

The standalone lyrics to the LMM segment are:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pChZgbqsakQ (video)
They're down in the basement, everybody knows
Little Muppet Monsters!
They built a crazy gizmo, they're putting on a show
Little Muppet Monsters!
Kermit & the Penguins and Pigs in Space, too!
Everybody's joining Tug and Molly and Boo...
(Animal) What?
Little Muppet Monsters!
Little Muppet Monsters!
Little Muppet ... Monsters!

~Ben



~Ben Edge (BigBirdABCDEFGH)
 

Screechy6

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I had no idea they had the Muppet monsters, I never heard of that. How could I have missed it, I was a huge MB fan. I used to watch that every morning waiting for the school bus. They should bring back the good 'ole cartoons. This stuff today is shameful. What are your thoughts?
 

Drtooth

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I had no idea they had the Muppet monsters, I never heard of that. How could I have missed it, I was a huge MB fan. I used to watch that every morning waiting for the school bus. They should bring back the good 'ole cartoons. This stuff today is shameful. What are your thoughts?
I am sick and tired to freaking death of the LAME internet meme of "Da ol cartiooz is betterrrer!" I'm sorry, but that's a lot of crap and EVERYONE knows that.

Here are the facts. Cartoons aren't as "good" as they once were because they don't exist anymore! No one wants to do cartoons BECAUSE everyone either wants out of children's animated blocks or blindly follows the live action tweeny bopper show fad. And the shows that don't are actually quite good. Sure, other than Phineas and Ferb and Batman Brave and the Bold, there isn't all that much, I agree... but the few stuff we have should be recognized as rare gems for NOT being a lame tweeny rehash or WORSE, hours of infomercials. Sorry to vent, but as an animator (albeit and unemployed one who is likely to stay that way), I feel cheapened and annoyed by that. They all worked very hard to get to where they are, and it should be respected for the most part.

Besides... ever see the crap that passed for animated entertainment in the 70's? I could go on pages about how the 70's sucked (except for Fat Albert, Groovey Goolies, The Pink Panther, and Hong Kong Phooey of course). Soooo many Scooby-Doo and Archie knockoffs.

As for Little Muppet Monsters, it wasn't canceled... it was pulled, MAINLY a decision from Jim Henson himself. They all felt the mixture of puppets and animation didn't mesh. I can't truly agree with his decision (the animation wasn't that bad, Toei was hardly TMS, but not that bad), but even I feel that Dog City was a much better mix of animation and puppetry, with the puppet events inspiring the action of the animation. plus, Nelvana's stellar job made the cartoon part alone enjoyable.
 

Screechy6

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Wow

I'm not sure what to say to that. I loved the days when cartoons weren't violent and so mulitilingual. Where are the cartoons like inspector gadget and smurfs, event the snorkels were awesome. I have to say that although it was short lived I even liked the wuzzles (not sure how many people remember that).
Sorry you're unemployed but the times and people are changing. I don't care what you say, nothing beats the old stuff. Sure, animation has come a long way since then, we see that at in the theaters all the time. Pixar people are genius and there isn't one of their films I haven't loved.:super:
 

Drtooth

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You're ALL thinking in your little nostalgia corners. I'm sorry, but as someone who's seen virtually everything in the world and who has studied everything I can thoroughly, that opinion drives me freaking bonkers and it's the most overused thing I've heard on the internet.

It's also a very close minded to deny everything else. I don't like movements in media either, but everything is cyclical. We're in a very depressing age for animation, and there's so little out there because of everyone wanting the heck out of children's programming that isn't a ripoff of Disney Channel noise. The only demos that matter are <12 year old girls or preschoolers, and the once proud and strong 7-11 year old boy market is starting to die. There is always crap, yes, but there's always something good if you LOOK for it. Problem is, these networks don't give the time of day to any new shows, and if they aren't an instant hit, they get canceled weeks later, and given a tombslot where no one will bother watching it.

That said, much as I love Gadget and Heathcliff and certain other 80's cartoons, the 90's was a far more important decade. That's when cartoonists got that much more control, and we had a fun ride right up until 2005. Any cartoon we get now is a rare gem and a miracle considering how insane the business is right now (blame late 1990's FCC regulations on kid's programming that also lead to single companies buying up as many stations as possible, thus not wanting to compete with themselves).

I'm passionate about this, but if everyone just wants to watch stuff that makes them feel young, fine. It's disappointing, frustrating, and almost insulting to us animation fans, but do what you want.

Oh, and for the record? All this stuff pales in comparison to the 1940's and 50's Warner Bros shorts where small teams of animators did full animation that didn't need to be outsourced to countries you'd otherwise refuse to watch original programming from. And that was some of the most violent, subversive stuff you'll ever see, especially considering the time periods they're from.
 

Screechy6

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Well let's just say I'm glad I wasn't around in the 40's and 50's to see that. Thank god for the 70's. Take it easy there Dr Tooth. We are all allowed to have our own opinions and you've stated yours. No need to beat the horse to death, it's already dead. Easy does it, we are here now to celebrate the wonderful Muppet world and protect it from ever becoming lost for good. I will take Kermit and the gang with me to the grave, no choice really since I have him tattooed on my ankle. I certainly don't regret it though. Enjoy the day ol' animator and smile.

:insatiable::smile::crazy:
I am sick and tired to freaking death of the LAME internet meme of "Da ol cartiooz is betterrrer!" I'm sorry, but that's a lot of crap and EVERYONE knows that.

Here are the facts. Cartoons aren't as "good" as they once were because they don't exist anymore! No one wants to do cartoons BECAUSE everyone either wants out of children's animated blocks or blindly follows the live action tweeny bopper show fad. And the shows that don't are actually quite good. Sure, other than Phineas and Ferb and Batman Brave and the Bold, there isn't all that much, I agree... but the few stuff we have should be recognized as rare gems for NOT being a lame tweeny rehash or WORSE, hours of infomercials. Sorry to vent, but as an animator (albeit and unemployed one who is likely to stay that way), I feel cheapened and annoyed by that. They all worked very hard to get to where they are, and it should be respected for the most part.

Besides... ever see the crap that passed for animated entertainment in the 70's? I could go on pages about how the 70's sucked (except for Fat Albert, Groovey Goolies, The Pink Panther, and Hong Kong Phooey of course). Soooo many Scooby-Doo and Archie knockoffs.

As for Little Muppet Monsters, it wasn't canceled... it was pulled, MAINLY a decision from Jim Henson himself. They all felt the mixture of puppets and animation didn't mesh. I can't truly agree with his decision (the animation wasn't that bad, Toei was hardly TMS, but not that bad), but even I feel that Dog City was a much better mix of animation and puppetry, with the puppet events inspiring the action of the animation. plus, Nelvana's stellar job made the cartoon part alone enjoyable.
 

Muppetplus

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I know I'm being totally nit-picky here, but the show was actually called "Muppets (with a plural), Babies, and Monsters". People tend to leave out the plural for this particular title because the theme song sounds so similar to the one for "Muppet (without the plural) Babies". Just thought I'd bring that up. :wink:
 
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