Jim Henson's Little Muppet Monsters

Jim Henson's Little Muppet Monsters
Format	Animated series
Created by	Jim Henson
Written by	Gordon Johnson
Directed by	Halle Stanford
Starring	Camille Bonora Jim Henson Richard Hunt Frank Oz David Rudman
Voices of	Greg Berg Bob Bergen Richard Hunt Hal Rayle Frank Welker
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	3
Production
Producer(s)	Lisa Henson
Location(s)	Manhattan, New York City
Running time	30 minutes per episode
Production company(s)	Henson Associates Marvel Productions
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS PBS
Original run	September 14, 1985 – September 28, 1985

Little Muppet Monsters is a short-lived saturday morning animated television series, airing only three episodes on CBS in 1985. The first season of Muppet Babies did so well in the ratings, that CBS decided to expand the series from a half-hour to an hour, pairing Muppet Babies with Little Muppet Monsters. They called the hour-long package Muppets, Babies and Monsters.

History

The show was anchored by three young Muppet monsters: Tug (performed by Richard Hunt), Boo (performed by David Rudman) and Molly (performed by Camille Bonora).

Storyboard director Scott Shaw discussed the show in MuppetZine issue #3 (Winter 1993). "The concept of this second half-hour was neither simple nor particularly well-developed," he said. "A trio of new (live-action) Muppet Monster Kids, working from the basement of the adult Muppets' home, create their own television station which broadcasts only to the TV sets in the house upstairs. Their 'shows' were such regular segments as "Pigs in Space: The Animated Series", "Kermit the Frog, Private Eye", "Muppet Sport Shorts" with Animal, and "Fozzie's Comedy Corner", among others.

Although thirteen episodes were produced (some of which were incomplete at the time of cancellation), only three of them ever aired; Henson Associates and CBS agreed that the concept had never been properly thought out and just wasn't up to Henson's high standards. It was Jim Henson himself who pulled the show from the Saturday morning lineup.^{[citation needed]}

"I've always felt that the juxtapositioning of live-action and animated Muppets invited an unfavorable comparison, to which the cartoon version inevitably suffered; the puppetry was just too good. The combination of Muppet babies, adults and kid monsters was very disorienting. Also, due to a lack of development time, the concept — and therefore, the writing and designs — never quite jelled."^{[citation needed]}

"The now-vacant second half-hour was filled with repeats of the first season's Muppet Babies episodes, and the ratings stayed strong."^{[citation needed]}

The three episodes have never been re-run. In fact it is unknown if the show will ever come to syndication unlike its other counterparts.

Despite its quick cancellation, the instrumental version of the theme music for Muppet Babies and Monsters would be used over the closing credits of Muppet Babies for the duration of that show's run.

In 1990, segments of the animated "Pigs in Space" and "Kermit the Frog, Private Eye" from the second episode of Little Muppet Monsters titled "Space Cowboys" was re-shown in the final episode of Muppet Babies titled "Eight Flags Over the Nursery".

Episodes

1. In the Beginning (9/14/1985) -
2. Space Cowboys (9/21/1985) -
3. The Great Boodini (9/28/1985) -

Unreleased Episodes

1. Hi, Mars (Unaired) -
2. Monster Measles (Unaired) -
3. Gonzo's Talent Hunt (Unaired) -
4. Can't Stop the Music (Unaired) -
5. Boo Monster Ace Reporter (Unaired) -
6. Feels Like Rain (Unaired) -
7. Foo-Foo Phooey (Unaired) -
8. Penguin for a Day (Unaired) -
9. Gunko (Unaired) -
10. Mail-Order Guest (Unaired) -

Cast

• Pam Arciero -
• Cheryl Blaylock -
• Camille Bonora - Molly Monster
• Michael Earl -
• Dave Goelz - Gonzo
• Jim Henson - Kermit the Frog
• Richard Hunt - Scooter, Tug Monster, Janice
• Jim Kroupa -
• Kathryn Mullen -
• Jerry Nelson - Floyd Pepper
• Frank Oz - Fozzie Bear
• Martin P. Robinson -
• David Rudman - Boo Monster

Voice cast

• Greg Berg - Fozzie Bear, Dr. Julius Strangepork
• Bob Bergen - Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Link Hogthrob
• Richard Hunt - Beaker, Animated Muppet Shorts Narrator
• Hal Rayle - Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Animal
• Frank Welker - Kermit the Frog

Creators

• Characters designed by: Michael K. Frith
• Tug built by: Ed Christie
• Molly built by: Joanne Green
• Boo built by: Rollie Krewson

VHS releases

This video program video by Hi-Tops Video, a division of Heron Communications, Incorporated but had 3 releases.

Other media

• Tug Monster, Molly Monster, and Boo Monster were seen briefly in the special The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years, which was broadcast in January, 1986. The special was shot before the decision was made to take Little Muppet Monsters off the air, so the show cheerfully plugged the Muppets' latest production—even though that production had been canceled four months earlier.

• The puppet for Tug Monster was later seen in Muppet Time as Do Re Mi Monster and was later seen as different customers in Mopatop's Shop.

References

As of this edit, this article uses content from [URL "http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Little_Muppet_Monsters"], which is licensed in a way that permits reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, but not under the GFDL. All relevant terms must be followed.

External links

• Little Muppet Monsters at Muppet Wiki
• Little Muppet Monsters @ TV.com