Your Thoughts: The Muppets Character Encyclopedia

[minor muppetz]

Could it be because Blind Pew is a character from the books while Spa'am is not? I mean I don't really no much about public domain and copy right laws and what not but I wonder if that could be the reason.

Well, the book does have the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. And it also has the Cracthet Children, though aside from Tiny Tim are the other kids named in the original book?

This book mentions what happened to a number of characters who haven't been seen in a long time. Considering that, I'm surprised that the book doesn't give any explanation as to why Seymour and Pepe broke up their act. There's been a number of occasions over the years when Pepe said what happened to Seymour, and he's also said that they are still friends but Seymour can't fit into the clubs Pepe goes to (of course it's rare for Pepe to be shown at any clubs).

Some people are speculating that all of the characters in the book will appear in Muppets Most Wanted, but then again, the book does mention that some characters retired. I doubt those characters will be in the movie.I know that Craig Shemin got to look at a copy of the script when writing it, so maybe some of those "retired" characters will show up in the movie but not a big enough role to be noted in the script. But then if Shemin doesn't know that the "retired" ones show up then it can't just be characters who'll be in the next movie...

 

[muppzd]

I feel like Christmas Carol is more public domain (if that's a thing) than Treasure Island especially since Disney's used it at least three times

 

[Chopped Liver]

The most sensational, inspirational, muppetational character encyclopedia ever released! From Animal to Zoot, meet over 200 of the most memorable and best-loved Muppet characters from the 1970s to the present day. Featuring full-color images of each Muppet character with annotations and fan facts written by Jim Henson Legacy President Craig Shemin.


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This encyclopedia had some errors. You'd think Craig Shemin would know better:

• he misspells Sal Minella as Sal Monella
• he says Lips has never been seen with his eyes open, but we know he did in the Muppet Caper movie in the "Happiness Hotel" number
• the entry for Rufus uses a picture of Muppy
• he incorrectly states Miss Piggy's first appearance

These are the ones I could find, if I find some more, I'll list them too. Other than that, this book is pretty nice. I'm sure it'll be worth big bucks in the future. I absolutely love how Craig made background stories on some Muppets and explanations on why some haven't made an appearance in forever. For example, the reason why Nigel from Muppets Tonight isn't around anymore is that he became an air traffic controller! Who would've thought?

 

[minor muppetz]

Regarding first appearance errors, I decided to look at all the pages for characters who first appeared on Muppets Tonight and check the Muppet Wiki page listing the production order, as that is used for the Muppets Tonight character debuts (it's also used for the MuppeTelevision debuts, though the only characters whose first appearances are from that show have their broadcast numbers match the production number), and the only production number error is for Howard Tubman. His debut is listed as episode 105, but going by production order, he was first seen in episode 104 (though in broadcast order, the debut is correct - episode 105 was broadcast as episode 102).

I was a little surprised that The Great Santa Claus Switch was listed as Gonzo's debut. While it is true, in that special the puppet was used as a different character. I would have thought it'd list his debut as episode 101, or maybe even The Muppet Show Pilot (though he's just in the background there). The debuts listed for Bobo and Sal are not The Muppets Take Manhattan and Muppet Treasure Island, respectively (where they were generic puppets), but their Muppets Tonight debuts.

It's kinda interesting how there is an errata section for the book, as there seems to be a balance between fiction and non-fiction. The book doesn't have any behind-the-scenes info, though basic info on characters is included, but pretty much every character has at least one piece of new info created for the book. And then again, the new info would be just as much cannon as The Muppet Show, Muppet Babies, and all of the movies are cannon.

 

[MuppetNostalgia]

I recently picked up my copy from Coles Bookstore.
I was gonna ask why none of the SS muppets are included in this encyclopedia.But from what I've read in other topics,the answer seems quite obvious.It's basically Disney owned muppets.

 

[minor muppetz]

The Muppet Mindset posted part 1 of a two-part interview with Craig Shemin today, and he revealed that the book was originally going to be marketed towards kids as opposed to all fan demographics. If it were just going to be for the kids, I wonder how many characters would have been included. I guess it would have included all of the main characters, and maybe everybody who does something significant in Muppets Most Wanted, but I wonder if it would have included characters from Muppets Tonight or the first season of The Muppet Show.

He also said that Disney asked Jim Lewis first to write it, but Lewis was too busy.

 

[Muppet fan 123]

I interviewed Mr. Craig Shemin a few weeks ago, (super nice guy. So many great stories!) and we posted part one of my interview today on The Muppet Mindset! Check it out!

http://themuppetmindset.blogspot.ca/2014/03/interview-with-muppet-writer-craig.html

 

[minor muppetz]

I interviewed Mr. Craig Shemin a few weeks ago, (super nice guy. So many great stories!) and we posted part one of my interview today on The Muppet Mindset! Check it out!

http://themuppetmindset.blogspot.ca/2014/03/interview-with-muppet-writer-craig.html

Did you ask him anything else about the book (no, I'm not asking what)?

 

[Muppet fan 123]

Did you ask him anything else about the book (no, I'm not asking what)?

If I remember correctly, we spent more time talking about Jim Henson, he shared some insight on John Henson (look for part two) and some more about the archives. We spoke a lot about his book too.

 

[Duke Remington]

I hope you told him that we'd love to see a second edition of the book in the near future, to include characters that were left out.

For one thing, with all the MMW stills and the two-page Kermit and Animal spreads, they could replace them with more character pages, which would easily pave the way for at least 18 additional characters or character groups.

Examples of Disney-owned Muppet characters I'd love to see in a future edition of the Encyclopedia:
-80s Robot
-Droop
-Gaffer
-Trumpet Girl
-The Travelling Musicians (Leroy, T.R., Rover Joe & Catgut)
-Taminella Grinderfall
-King Rupert
-Featherstone
-Spamela Hamderson
-Blind Pew
-Snookie Blyer
-Svengali
-Wally
-The Country Trio (Jim, Frank & Jerry)
-Old Skyball Paint
-Shakey Sanchez
-Vendaface
-Mr. Callahan