Anything Muppet Appreciation Thread

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

The AMs have had a lot of memorable moments over the years, but because they're not all defined characters we often forget about them. AMs can be, well, anything, thus the name. They can be construction workers, game show hosts, celebrity caricatures, kids, adults, sometimes even animals.

The sketches when the performers are able to perform one shot character are great because it really showcases the puppeteer's versatility. And for newer puppeteers, it allows for them to grow as a performer.

These are some of my favorite AM moments:

So what are your favorites? And don't forget, monsters count as AMs too.

 

[Censored]

Here's more information about Anything Muppets that explains it all:

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

 

[D'Snowth]

Lordy, I could go all day in this thread.

Well, in addition to the ones PL already shared, there's also. . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF9zdq32zAI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRprvU5EzoQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yuMzzREsUU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHoZN_KRSa0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SWIemCds-8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkav2kjB0qc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol1h9VB4Lyk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgM2yEzY-VU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulz3dPTZprk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GWYDWgMEiw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq7hd8mW2J4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjwIvOAIjls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6miVNjqvD8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xr9TtWgcbo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpHYhVqT3ks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwAhuhhGpJ0

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Lordy, I could go all day in this thread.

Well, in addition to the ones PL already shared, there's also. . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF9zdq32zAI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRprvU5EzoQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yuMzzREsUU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHoZN_KRSa0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SWIemCds-8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkav2kjB0qc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol1h9VB4Lyk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgM2yEzY-VU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulz3dPTZprk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GWYDWgMEiw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq7hd8mW2J4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjwIvOAIjls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6miVNjqvD8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xr9TtWgcbo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpHYhVqT3ks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwAhuhhGpJ0

I love all of your picks! I can't believe I forgot to list "Fat Cat" on my original post. Also, you listed the "Brotherhood of Man" scene from season 1, I noticed in that sketch Frank Oz performed the little boy, but Caroll Spinney was his singing voice. This seemed to be a common practice during that season, for instance during "Mahnna Mahnna" (Mana Mana? Mahna Mahna?) the two girls voices somehow got switched around.

Anyways, I really love watching these AM sketches because you really get the sense that the performers were having a lot of fun while making them.

And while it's really rare these days to get an AM sketch that isn't a parody, when we do, they're usually pretty nice. For instance, "I Love My Hair" and "Spanish Me and English Me" are some modern classics in my opinion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M084SkP1i8

Meanwhile, I still really love the parodies. They have a lot of the same cleverness, humor and charm as the classic AM sketches:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmICU1gMAAw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhWUFXvaZjo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1zL106SGZ8

 

[Censored]

I know that when we talk about "Anything Muppets," we are usually referring to the nameless extras used in the skits mentioned above. However, technically, almost all of the traditional well known Sesame Street human Muppets are "Anything Muppets" because they have a head and body that can be arranged as other characters. Guy Smiley is one of the "Orange Gold" Anything Muppet variants, along with Prince Charming, Don Music, etc. Sherlock Hemlock is one of the "Green" Anything Muppet variants, along with Farley, Little Jerry, etc. The same can be found for many others. Ernie and Bert are not Anything Muppets because they have unique heads and bodies created just for those characters.

Source: http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Anything_Muppets

 

[D'Snowth]

I know I've brought this up before, but now that we have a thread dedicated specifically for AMs:

It's somehow easier for me to accept the lavender pattern as a true AM, mainly because it has such a generic and indistinct shape that I don't really see much in the way of associating an actual character with it like the others; for example, whenever I see the fat blue pattern, I immediately think of Mr. Johnson; when it comes to the gold pattern, Guy Smiley comes to mind; pointy green makes me think of Sherlock Hemlock.

The Mini AMs like pink and pumpkin to a lesser extent, because I know they served as bases for certain characters like Prairie Dawn and Betty Lou, but they're often used for little kids as well.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

I know that when we talk about "Anything Muppets," we are usually referring to the nameless extras used in the skits mentioned above. However, technically, almost all of the traditional well known Sesame Street human Muppets are "Anything Muppets" because they have a head and body that can be arranged as other characters. Guy Smiley is one of the "Orange Gold" Anything Muppet variants, along with Prince Charming, Don Music, etc. Sherlock Hemlock is one of the "Green" Anything Muppet variants, along with Farley, Little Jerry, etc. The same can be found for many others. Ernie and Bert are not Anything Muppets because they have unique heads and bodies created just for those characters.

Well, I think for the sake of keeping things organized, we should keep this thread about the one shot characters or AMs who only appeared in no more than a few sketches.

 

[D'Snowth]

I can't believe I forgot to list "Fat Cat" on my original post.

I always enjoy these inserts that use semi-blank AMs - there's something fascinating about the appearance of blank puppets, I don't know what it is, but it intrigues me. I guess it has something to do with what Kermit Love said about less is more when it comes to puppet building, as there's been times where I've finished the base of puppets and actually don't want to add any features because I like how they look when they're blank; one of the reasons why one current project I've been working on has semi-blank characters in it (all they have is hair).

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

I always enjoy these inserts that use semi-blank AMs - there's something fascinating about the appearance of blank puppets, I don't know what it is, but it intrigues me. I guess it has something to do with what Kermit Love said about less is more when it comes to puppet building, as there's been times where I've finished the base of puppets and actually don't want to add any features because I like how they look when they're blank

Yeah, I concur, i'm the same way. Sometimes the same can be said about drawing, depending on the style.

 

[D'Snowth]

\Sometimes the same can be said about drawing, depending on the style.

Now that I tend to be the opposite with, I get so caught up in so many tiny little details when I draw it's not even funny. ><

But, back to the topic at hand, as far as parodies go, I have a special fondness for this:

I went through a phase when I was younger when I watched a lot of LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, then I just kind of stopped, so I was able to know exactly who the characters were that were being spoofed here (all that's missing was an AM caricature of Ice-T, that would have been cool).