Little Muppet Monsters Revelation...

[tygerbug]

Posted pics here.

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Little_Muppet_Monsters

Kermit, Gonzo, and Scooter appear - as does Fozzie, though I haven't checked if that's new footage - it cuts off before it really gets going.

 

[minor muppetz]

I'd like to track down storyboards from the animated segments of these episodes though. I think we do have the scripts, but that may take awhile.

Did you work on the show or do you have some sort of connection to either Marvel or The Jim Henson Company Archives (or Disney, who owns the show (as well as Marvel), though I've read that the Henson Company Archives still has the master tapes for much of the pre-2004 Muppet productions)?

 

[tygerbug]

This is from the archives of one of the show's writers, which his family is still going through, but this is the only tape with LMM stuff on it.

As far as I know, the puppet segments for 18 episodes were shot, and hopefully still exist in someone's collection somewhere.

This is what we've got, apart from scripts and a bunch of tapes of the public domain stock footage often used on both shows.

(It would be worth talking to some of the show's original crew and trying to track down storyboards and things.)

So I've got three aired episodes here, three unaired/incomplete episodes, and a few other short clips - including two shots of Piggy.

 

[tygerbug]

A note on the script says that the budget for the puppet segments with Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo etc is basically nil. (The scenes with them are very similar from episode to episode, and would have been shot one after the other.)

Mike Quinn worked on the show as assistant, with Jim and Frank.

Statler and Waldorf may have appeared - as puppets - at one point, but that's not at all confirmed.

The scenes with Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Piggy, and the Electric Mayhem were shot in London on the same stage as the original Max Headroom, while the scenes of the little monsters were presumably shot in the USA (New York?). Richard Hunt seems to appear in both shoots.

While a scene between Tug and Kermit is missing on the tape, it's known that Tug and Kermit did film together during the series (you can see that in the 30th Anniversary special).

My father worked on some merch for the show back in the day but that's it. For this we are digging into the archives of a friend ...

 

[Mo Frackle]

Yes, I've been editing the Little Muppet Monsters Wiki page today after just having watched three partial unaired episodes of the series. I'll add some photos to make it official. I'd like to track down storyboards from the animated segments of these episodes though. I think we do have the scripts, but that may take awhile. I am working on a Youtube version of these eps for posting in the next few days. I'm doing some cleanup first. If you're on my email list you'll already have seen the episodes.

It was a real treat to be able to see this footage. Thanks for sharing!

I'm also hoping storyboards will show up some day. Any idea if the audio for the remaining animated segments was ever completed?

For some time I've been curious about the number of episodes that went into production. I know Scott Shaw! said that eighteen were produced, but (a) we only have the titles for thirteen and (b) thirteen tended to be the average number of episodes for first seasons back then. Perhaps eighteen was an educated guess on Scott's part?

 

[minor muppetz]

The scenes with Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Piggy, and the Electric Mayhem were shot in London on the same stage as the original Max Headroom, while the scenes of the little monsters were presumably shot in the USA (New York?). Richard Hunt seems to appear in both shoots.

Wow, I had always assumed that the whole show was shot in New York. I wonder if the performers were doing anything else in London at the time (well there was Labyrinth, though neither Nelson or Hunt performed in that). It would be odd to just randomly have the performers perform some scenes there if they weren't busy in London. The only other major Muppet production I can think of that was done at the time was the Playhouse Video compilations, which I also assumed were in New York (but I don't officially know for sure).

 

[Mo Frackle]

Another observation - I noticed a placeholder title card for one of the "Foo-Foo Phooey" segments read "Frog Scouts."

At first I wasn't sure what this segment could have been, but then I remembered the animators' character model sheet. Cartoon Gonzo is wearing a suit that looks an awful lot like one worn by a scoutmaster. So "Frog Scouts" could possibly be the title of the animated Gonzo segments that never aired.

 

[tygerbug]

That does look like a scout uniform ... hmmm ...

I am working on a Youtube version of this material now. I have much higher quality copies of the first two episodes than are out there now, but haven't had time to do a full restoration. I'll try to do a quickie semi-restored version for Youtube.

Mike Quinn was also an assistant on Rowlf's Rhapsodies, where Rowlf nearly caught on fire due to a sparkler bomb! So I believe some of the Playhouse Video stuff was shot in London as well.

The audio is done first with these animated segments so we can pretty much guarantee that it was recorded. Whether it still exists is another matter.

Jack is scanning the scripts as well.

The world is waking up to Gunko.

 

[tygerbug]

Jim Henson's Little Muppet Monsters "Gunko" Unaired Episode

A rarity unseen for thirty years.

 

[tygerbug]

Jim Henson's Little Muppet Monsters "Gonzo's Talent Hunt" Unaired Episode