How do they store the Muppets?

[spcglider]

The thought just hit me, the Muppets need to be stored when they're not in use. How do they do it?

I know from personal experience that stuffing a puppet into a drawer or a box or a bag usually causes the foam head or body pod to become distorted over time.

So how do they handle it at The Muppets? There are so many characters that I can't imagine every one has it's own special case or display stand... that'd take up ALOT of square footage.

But maybe they do?

-Gordon

 

[ravagefrackle]

beilive it or not, they are stored in plasticbags that are then placed in a "TOTE"box, just a simple cardboard box, some are kept in the workshops or production facilietes(generally only the most frequentley used)others are sent to a storage facilite with verty good security, like a place were leagl documents are stored.

 

[spcglider]

Wow. That totally blows me away.

So, they must have some method of "reviving" mal-formed muppets?

I know they try to make them as sturdy as possible, but surely they don't just toss them in a dryer on low to "reset" the plastic memory of the fur and foam?

-Gordon

 

[D'Snowth]

beilive it or not, they are stored in plasticbags that are then placed in a "TOTE"box, just a simple cardboard box, some are kept in the workshops or production facilietes(generally only the most frequentley used)others are sent to a storage facilite with verty good security, like a place were leagl documents are stored.

I thought they stored them in file cabinets. There's a pic in "Jim Henson: The Works" of muppets that are stored in filing cabinets, as well as an illustration in Caroll Spinney's book for a file cabinet filled with old Kermit and Rowlf puppets.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

They maybe do (or did) but those are very old photos from the `70s I think.

I store puppets the same way, the trick to avoiding any damage or malformation is not to squish or stretch the puppet while storing it. Usually every medium to large sized puppet I own has it's own box. If you pile mulitple puppets together they will often get squashed or damaged in my experience.

 

[ravagefrackle]

Buck is quite right, and keep in mind Muppet productions, as well as most big budget shows have special people on hand to "fluff the puppets", nothing is ever sent out with out being checked for damage, dressed in its costume, ect.ect., they rarely just pull it out of a box and throw it in front of a camera, and even onset the puppet "WRANGLERS" do evrything they can to make the puppets look thier best on camera, as well as rigging them for special moves, and pinning arms, and props , all that , its not just puppeteers , alot of people work behind the scenes to make a show come togother.

 

[Was Once Ernie]

When I visited Sesame Street in the 70's, John Lovelady was the on-set puppet wrangler. And Kermit Love was always present when Big Bird performed.

 

[Puppetmomma]

The thought just hit me, the Muppets need to be stored when they're not in use. How do they do it?

I know from personal experience that stuffing a puppet into a drawer or a box or a bag usually causes the foam head or body pod to become distorted over time.

So how do they handle it at The Muppets? There are so many characters that I can't imagine every one has it's own special case or display stand... that'd take up ALOT of square footage.

But maybe they do?

-Gordon

Where might I buy or how could I make display stands?

 

[Blue Frackle]

I thought they stored them in file cabinets. There's a pic in "Jim Henson: The Works" of muppets that are stored in filing cabinets, as well as an illustration in Caroll Spinney's book for a file cabinet filled with old Kermit and Rowlf puppets.

Hi Snowth from 14 years ago!

Anyway, yes, one of my all-time favorite photos:

 

[Puppetmomma]

Wish my storage looked like that.