Is Dinosaurs Really Muppet Worlds?

[RedPiggy]

I've been watching JHH on youtube. One thing that struck me is that you can see the evolution (as it were) of the humor between TMS and Dinosaurs (the ratings ep is especially something in line with Dinosaurs-type humor). JHH, like you said, was really kind of both, though I think Dinosaurs blends that line even more.

Even though the dinosaurs are clearly creatures (the mammals depend on the species), I wonder if they shouldn't count more as Muppet -- for despite their Creature looks, the concept is that they used to not be sentient and anthropomorphized, and now they are, which is how I sort of see Muppets in general ... a subspecies of regular creatures. To me, "Creature", in its purest sense, may refer to creatures that exist on their own merits, like Hoggle or Jen or Chamberlain or the Fierys or whatever. However, I never saw it but apparently there's a Sesame Street vid about dinosaurs and it looks like they use "muppet" dinos. Maybe the cast of Dinosaurs are in-between what would be Creature Dinos and Muppet Dinos.

 

[beaker]

I've been watching JHH on youtube. One thing that struck me is that you can see the evolution (as it were) of the humor between TMS and Dinosaurs (the ratings ep is especially something in line with Dinosaurs-type humor). JHH, like you said, was really kind of both, though I think Dinosaurs blends that line even more.

Even though the dinosaurs are clearly creatures (the mammals depend on the species), I wonder if they shouldn't count more as Muppet -- for despite their Creature looks, the concept is that they used to not be sentient and anthropomorphized, and now they are, which is how I sort of see Muppets in general ... a subspecies of regular creatures. To me, "Creature", in its purest sense, may refer to creatures that exist on their own merits, like Hoggle or Jen or Chamberlain or the Fierys or whatever. However, I never saw it but apparently there's a Sesame Street vid about dinosaurs and it looks like they use "muppet" dinos. Maybe the cast of Dinosaurs are in-between what would be Creature Dinos and Muppet Dinos.

Did you see the 10 minute Jim Henson Hour pitch tape as well as the Inner Tube pilot? There's virtually no Muppet looking characters, but almost all creature shop/full bodied creature shop puppet characters.

I guess for me Creatures is defined by me as characters designed by the Jim Henson Creature shop who not only who look like creature shop designs, but exist wholly within their own world(Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Farscape, etc)

However, Gunge from Fraggle Rock, as well as other Muppety looking furry creatures being inside of the Dinosaurs world...and just the general silly fun nature of Dinosaurs(given most creature shop stuff is serious) makes one wonder.

Now Phil has Dinosaurs purposefully listed under Muppet worlds. However Muppet Wiki ran by Tough Pigs has them clearly listed under Creature Shop.

Interesting note about the Sesame "Dinosaurs!" release.

 

[bazooka_beak]

You know, I just took Dinosaurs for what it was. I never really connected Kermit and the gang to Robbie, Earl, etc.

 

[minor muppetz]

There haven't been many crossovers between the Muppets and creatures from creature shop productions, but I wouldn't consider characters made for creature shop productions to suddenly become Muppets becasue they had crossed over. After all, we don't consider non-Henson puppets who appeared with Muppets as Muppets just because of such crossovers. We don't consider, for example, Lamb Chop or Charlie McCartney to be Muppets.

Some of the Muppets from the MuppeTelevision portions of The Jim Henson Hour look the way that the creature shop made human characters who were considered Muppets. I don't know if the creature shop was actually invovled with those half-hours, but according to Muppet Wiki, all of the characters created for Inner Tube (and that includes Digit) were actually made by the Muppet Workshop, despite having a creature shop look to them.

 

[beaker]

So what say the final word, Dinosaurs *not* Muppets but more Creature Shop?

 

[RedPiggy]

I still think it depends on which characters. Dinosaurs and many mammals, definitely. There was the odd muppet every once in awhile though. However, I guess since only Gunge tends to come to mind, that Gunge, previously established as a muppet (and arguably Blarney and other "puppets" on their shows), is maybe a muppet cameo in a creature world?