The Muppets

The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson, with Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Gonzo as the main cast members. They became world famous thanks to the TV show The Muppet Show (1976-1981) and various spin-offs, among them films. The franchise has been referenced in The Simpsons several times.

References to The Muppets in The Simpsons

Television episodes

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Picture Season Episode number Episode name Reference 7 143 "Bart the Fink" Kermit is seen at Krusty's funeral. 147 "A Fish Called Selma" A film called The Muppets Go Medieval is seen, starring Troy McClure, Kermit and Miss Piggy. While no such movie exists in the Muppets' franchise, the title is a reference to The Muppets Go Manhattan (1984). Here The Muppets Go Medieval pokes fun at the jerky movements of the puppets, causing Lisa to asks Homer "what's a muppet?" 10 223 "The Old Man and the "C" Student" One of the rats is called Rizzo, a reference to Rizzo the Rat from The Muppets. 19 416 "Papa Don't Leech" Lurleen Lumpkin sings a variant of "Bunk with Me Tonight" to Kermit on TV; then Miss Piggy kicks and strangles him. 419 "Mona Leaves-a" Lance Armstrong and Fozzie Bear co-present an award sponsored by Right Guard deodorant. After a joke from Fozzie at Armstrong's expense, he angrily throws the Fozzie puppet across the room, revealing the puppeteer's hand underneath. The puppeteer stops doing the act once he notices the puppet is gone. 20 433 "Gone Maggie Gone" A rat is seen riding an eggbeater, a reference to Chester Rat in "Rat Scat". 22 472 "The Fight Before Christmas" When Maggie goes to sleep holding A Fluppet Christmas Special, she dreams a parody of "The Muppet Show". The Simpsons family, Moe, Mr. Burns, Granpa and Jasper all appear as real-life puppets. Much of their puppet movements and comedy style directly spoof The Muppet Show in general. A specific reference are Grampa and Jasper who give critical comments from a balcony, just like Statler and Waldorf. Bart plays drums in reference to Animal. 23 491 "The Food Wife" The Swedish Chef is seen in Marge's dream. 496 "Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson" The "Liberal straw man's song" shows a green puppet lizard playing a banjo, while a speech balloon reads: "It's not easy being a Democrat". This is a reference to Kermit's signature song "It's Not Easy Bein' Green". Kermit plays banjo in the swamp during the opening credits of The Muppet Movie (1979), but this is not "Bein' Green", but "The Rainbow Connection". 497 "The D'oh-cial Network" Reverend Lovejoy takes an online quiz to find out which Muppet he is. The result of the quiz gives him Beaker. 26 572 "Let's Go Fly a Coot" Milhouse said he wanted the cheese cut like Pokémon characters, not The Muppets.

Books

Picture Book Reference The Lisa Book One of the movies on Lisa Simpson's DVD Shelf is I Only Have Ping-Pong Balls for You: A Muppets Love Story.

Twitter

Account Date Tweet ComicBookGuy November 27, 2011 Seeing the new Muppets movie brought back wonderful childhood memories of hating the original Muppets movie. HomerJSimpson May 15, 2016 Miss Piggy. She's sexy and she's bacon. (In reply to "Favorite Muppet?")

Common Cast and Crew

Cast

Picture Name Role in The Muppets Role on The Simpsons Tony Bennett Played himself in Muppets Most Wanted. Voiced himself in "Dancin' Homer", "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade" and "Whiskey Business". Emily Blunt Played Miss Piggy's receptionist in The Muppets. Voiced Juliet Hobbes in "Lisa the Drama Queen". Mel Brooks Played Professor Krassman in The Muppet Movie. Voiced himself in the season 6 episode "Homer vs. Patty and Selma". Jemaine Clement Played the Prison King in Muppets Most Wanted. Voiced Ethan Ballantyne in "Elementary School Musical". Tina Fey Played the Nadya in Muppets Most Wanted. Voiced Ms. Cantwell in "Black-Eyed, Please". Lady Gaga Played herself in Muppets Most Wanted. Voiced Herself in "Lisa Goes Gaga". Zach Galifianakis Played Hobo Joe in The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted. Voiced Lucas Bortner in "Luca$". Ricky Gervais Played Dominic Badguy in Muppets Most Wanted. Voiced Charles Heathbar in "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife" and himself in "Angry Dad: The Movie". Elliott Gould Portrayed the Beauty Contest Compere in The Muppet Movie. Voiced himself in the Season 14 episode "The Dad Who Knew Too Little"; was also interviewed in The Simpsons: Celebrity Friends, The Simpsons: Mischief & Mayhem, and The Simpsons: Access All Areas. Bob Hope Played himself in The Muppet Show and an ice cream vendor in The Muppet Movie. Voiced Himself in "Lisa the Beauty Queen". Cloris Leachman Played herself in The Muppet Show and Lew Lord's secretary in The Muppet Movie. Voiced Alice Glick in "Three Men and a Comic Book". Ray Liotta Played a security guard in Muppets from Space and Big Papa in Muppets Most Wanted. Voiced Morty Szyslak in "King Leer". Joan Rivers Played Eileen in The Muppets Take Manhattan. Voiced Annie Dubinsky in "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution". Jennifer Saunders Played Mrs. Bluveridge in Muppet Treasure Island. Voiced Phoebe Pratt in "Looking for Mr. Goodbart".

Crew

Picture Name Role in The Muppets Role on The Simpsons Bret McKenzie Wrote the original songs for The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted. Wrote the music used in "Elementary School Musical" and "Friend with Benefit". He wrote the music for "Panic on the Streets of Springfield".

See also

• Sesame Street

External links

• The Muppets at Wikipedia
• The Muppet Show at Wikipedia

Cultural references

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