Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5
Over the past week, we’ve been sharing some of our favorite Muppet moments from the past 70 years, and we’ve had some doozies. Clips from The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock, as well as clips from the Muppet movies, specials, commercials, YouTube videos, TV appearances, and more. We could go on for another 70 after this, but we had to draw the line somewhere. And that line is here.
Be sure to check out part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4 of this series, and then read below for the final chapter in our Top 70 Muppet Moments, as voted on by the ToughPigs staff! And be sure to let us know which of your favorite Muppet moments deserved to make the cut!
“Hugga Wugga” (The Muppet Show)
by Jarrod Fairclough
Is this the perfect Muppet Show sketch? Yes it is. It’s silly and weird and well made. It has Frank Oz playing a creepy monster. It has Jerry Nelson singing. It has explosions. What’s not to love? Fun fact: When I interviewed Frank Oz once I mentioned how much I love this sketch, which baffled him, but then he talked about it for a while. Imagine taking some of Frank Oz’s time and you use it to talk about Hugga Wugga!
“I’m So Happy” (The Muppet Show)
by J.D. Hansel
One of the simplest forms of Muppet sketches is a lyrics/action mismatch, and the simplest form of that is this: sad characters singing that they’re happy. It cleverly turns the way some Muppet sketches drag on to fill time into an asset. You’d think a UK Spot from the penultimate episode would be precisely the place to slack if there ever was one. Instead, the Muppet crew combined effective character design, perfect timing, hilarious acting, and heightened attention to detail to make a macabre delight.
Neville and Dorcas (The Great Muppet Caper)
by Joe Hennes
Leave it to Jim Henson to create one of the greatest Muppet moments of all time based entirely on how boring it is. None of this should work, including a pared-down John Cleese, a dialogue about dead pets and discharged butlers, a severe lack of Muppets, and the driest British conversation in cinematic history. And yet, we laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation, juxtaposed with Miss Piggy free soloing the side of the building and giving her date a whirlwind tour of a stranger’s house. I love it so much, I almost tried to pay homage by making calf’s foot jelly, which is disgusting and you probably shouldn’t Google it.
Robin and Kermit meet the Fraggles (A Muppet Family Christmas)
by Beth Cook
A Muppet Family Christmas is as packed with memorable moments as Emily Bear’s farmhouse is packed with Fozzie’s weirdo friends. While Kermit anxiously waits for Miss Piggy to arrive through the worsening snowstorm, Robin finds a Fraggle hole in the basement. He and Kermit venture into Fraggle Rock and meet five new friends. In just a few minutes, we get great characterization moments from Wembley and Boober, holiday cultural exchanges, and a delightful little song. It also allows for the Fraggles to sneak into the big group sing at the end, as the Muppet family wouldn’t be complete without them.
Maria and Oscar at the Don’t Drop Inn (Follow That Bird)
by Joe Hennes
I love getting a glimpse into Grouch culture, and in the middle of Follow That Bird, we take a break from the story to see what Oscar’s perfect dining experience might be like. Inedible foods, a surly waitress (performed to perfection by the great Sandra Bernhard), multiple health violations, and a salad catapult. Sure, you may end up getting salmonella poisoning, but it’d be a heck of a lot of fun beforehand.
Muppet*Vision 3D pre-show
by Danny Horn
The now legendary Muppet*Vision 3D pre-show started all the way out in the courtyard, into the Muppet Theater and down a long hall to the backstage props area, every step over-stuffed with Muppet gags and movie spoofs. In the pre-show area, guests could find trunks full of Miss Piggy’s gowns, boxes full of the Mayhem’s gear, and, hanging from the rafters, a net full of Jell-O. The pre-show film played on multiple TV screens displayed around the room, with characters dashing back and forth between the screens to distract and amuse while the guests waited for the real show to begin. It was a step into the Muppets’ world that fans will never forget; Rock ‘n Roller Coaster has a lot to live up to.
Robin sings “It’s in Every One Of Us” (A Muppet Family Christmas)
by Drake Lucas
In a special of sweet moments, this is one of the sweetest. Robin is especially adorable in his little red hoodie with the cutest little green feet stuck straight out in front, in the crook of Uncle Kermit’s arm, bringing a moment of calm to this wild and packed farmhouse. Even the trouble-causing Turkey is into it. When the holidays get stressful, I channel this little green guy being surrounded by friends and family by the fireside singing a song I do not fully understand, but that always makes me feel better.
“Sam’s Song” (The Muppet Show)
by Beth Cook
“Sam’s Song” is an old classic, covered by the likes of Bing Crosby & Judy Garland, and Dean Martin & Sammy Davis Jr., finally answering the question, “What if ‘Elmo’s Song’ was half Rat Pack rap battle?” The Muppets love taking an old song and making it sillier, and a version was once used on Sam and Friends. Here, the The Muppet Show writers dial up the comedic contrast with a very different kind of Sam. As Floyd lays down the bassline and sings, he’s slowly joined by more Muppets, while Sam Eagle writes a strongly worded letter to “someone important.” The sketch works beautifully on its own, but it’s even better as part of the full episode. Guest star Christopher Reeve is clearly having a great time with all these freaks, reading Superman comics with rats and punning on Shakespeare—the very kind of “sick and weird” tomfoolery Sam must put a stop to!
The Muppets Go to The Wizard of Oz (The Muppets Go to the Movies)
J.D. Hansel
No, this isn’t The Muppets Wizard of Oz. Don’t turn off your sets, folks. This is a scene from The Muppets Go to the Movies. If you haven’t seen this special, you should go watch it. It’s a delight, and its Casablanca scene easily could have taken this spot on the list. This number is a medley of songs from The Wizard of Oz, with the addition of a Muppety meta joke. It feels like a cross between a Muppet Show sketch and the memes that recast movies with Muppets. If you’re looking for an argument that that meme could possibly work, you won’t find much better evidence than this lovely, charming piece, and you won’t need to.
“The National Association of ‘W’ Lovers” (Sesame Street)
by Joe Hennes
Leave it to Bert to chair a weekly meeting dedicated to enthusiasts of the letter W. While leading the club in their anthem, he comes to life, showcasing his enthusiasm for yet another mundane thing (maybe there weren’t enough members for a pigeon-lovers club?), almost tipping over his podium in the process. And how nice of it was Ernie to join his buddy Bert’s fraternity? Though it was probably easy, since the time commitment seems to only consist of singing a single song and then going home.
The Non-Camelot Production of Camelot (The Muppet Show)
by Matthew Soberman
The premise is an issue all productions have: money. Namely, the Muppets don’t have the money to buy the rights to the jousting scene from Camelot. But the sets are built and the costumes are ready, so they have a solution that’s just so… Muppety: they play the scene with songs from other musicals! Now if you’re familiar with Camelot, you might know that the jousting scene is a single number, and licensing one song has got to be less costly than licensing several from different shows, so at least at a glance, Henson very likely spent more money than they would have if they had played it straight. But that’s what makes it brilliant. It still tells the same story but turns it sideways with songs that kinda-sorta make sense with the plot. A creative solution to a nonexistent problem is always funny, and that proves wonderfully true here.
The Wilson’s Meats Film
by J.D. Hansel
This is the Muppet material I live for. While the public was entertained by Jim Henson’s Wilson’s Meats commercials, the company was given something better: a film about those commercials. Its snappy comedy would entertain anybody, but the bigger a Muppet nerd you are, the more satisfying it is. You’ll see Jerry Juhl, Don Sahlin, a dancing Frank Oz, and Jim Henson’s daughters. (The sequel has Jerry Nelson, Jane Henson, and a shirtless Jerry Juhl.) Jim plays an unreliable narrator, whose flat delivery is at odds with the production’s descent into wild partying. In its open dishonesty, Jim’s film captures what advertising is all about.
Wisdom from Mount Rushmore (The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence)
by Ryan Roe
The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence is a quirky, funny half-hour, and the recurring Mount Rushmore bits are some of the quirkiest and funniest parts. We’re supposed to respect and revere the former presidents whose faces appear on the real-life monument, so making them tell really dumb jokes is an inspired notion. Depicting George Washington as a dunce who doesn’t understand jokes is what really puts it over the top. A Muppet nerd who has never quoted “I don’t get it!” in Jim Henson’s Washington voice or “Ha ha, bully!” in Frank Oz’s Teddy Roosevelt voice is a Muppet nerd severely lacking wisdom.
Sweetums bursts through the screen (The Muppet Movie)
by Drake Lucas
Okay, so is The Muppet Movie real? Because Sweetums lost track of his friends earlier in the film. But now, he is busting through the movie screen showing that film to find them. Did he not understand it was a movie? Do we not understand it was real life? Either way, more movies would be greatly improved if Sweetums bound through the screen at the end.
Thanks for joining us on this special journey through some of our favorite Muppet moments! And there are so many we didn’t get to! So be sure to stop by the ToughPigs Discord and let us know which of your favorites you would’ve included!
Click here to burst through the screen at the end of the ToughPigs Discord!
by The Entire ToughPigs Team
