Are The 'Sesame Street' Characters Technically Muppets?

Publish date: 2024-05-20

Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, and Elmo are liked through all, however are the ‘Sesame Street’ characters Muppets? Or puppets? Or one thing else fully?

Source: Getty Images

If you had been a child — or had a child — any time after the 12 months 1955, there’s a very good probability that your lifestyles was formed (at least partly) by Jim Henson. Whether you grew up staring at The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, Sesame Street, Bear in the Big Blue House, or a combination of all 4, Jim Henson performed a huge function on your adolescence. But simply because you’re familiar with his paintings doesn’t mean absolutely the entirety about it, right?

There will always be people who think you have to outline yourself as either a fan of one Jim Henson assets above all — you’re either a Muppets fan or a Sesame Street fan, as an example. Obviously, that’s bonkers, however it did inspire us to invite: Are Sesame Street characters Muppets?

Source: Getty Images

What is a Muppet?

To start, we need to outline what a Muppet is. As it seems, the history of the term Muppet is relatively sophisticated. It has been broadly reported that the term Muppet is a mixture of the terms “marionette” (a puppet this is manipulated from above with strings hooked up to its limbs) and “puppet.” In truth, Jim Henson himself supported this principle for some time.

However, in a 1982 telephone interview Jim published the truth to reporter Judy Harris: “It was once actually only a term we made up. For a long time, I might tell folks it was a mix of marionettes and puppets but, principally, it was actually only a word that we coined. We have performed very few things hooked up with marionettes.”

Technically, the term “Muppet” refers to any one of the many puppet characters created by means of Jim Henson (and, later, the Jim Henson Company). Jim used the time period to tell apart his personal puppet act from different puppeteers at the time, and, clearly, the identify stuck.

Source: Getty Images

So, are the Sesame Street characters Muppets?

Given what we all know of the term “Muppet,” sure! The Sesame Street characters are in fact Muppets! At least, the puppet characters, are. Obviously, the human characters who appear in the show are not Muppets.

The Sesame Street Muppet characters come with everyone from Big Bird, to Oscar the Grouch, to the new character Julia, who occurs to  be the first Muppet with autism. 

The Sesame Street last credits have traditionally indexed everyone who performs a puppet as a “Muppet Performer.” Here’s a look at the finish credits from Season 25, which ran from 1994 to 1995:

Source: YouTube

Of route, the Sesame Street characters are now not The Muppets.

This is where issues can get a bit of complicated. After The Muppet Show premiered in 1976, the time period “Muppet” changed into more intently related to the characters featured in that display — Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Animal, and, of course, Kermit the Frog himself.

To make issues even more sophisticated, we know that a lot of the Muppets from The Muppet Show have additionally made appearances on Sesame Street. Most particularly, Kermit the Frog performed a vital function on both shows — he’s the host of The Muppet Show and a routine personality on Sesame Street. 

These days, the Muppets (of The Muppet Show reputation) are owned through Disney (along side just about the whole thing else). And, whilst the Jim Henson Company still makes the Muppet characters for Sesame Street, the rights to the characters themselves belong to Sesame Workshop. All this is to say that in the event you’re somewhat at a loss for words about the connection between Muppets and Sesame Street, neatly, you’re no longer by myself! We hope we’ve cleared it up at least a bit bit, though!

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