Anything Muppets (or "AMs", as they're referred to in the studio) are "empty" humanoid Muppet heads and bodies that are given facial features and clothes to create different characters. They are similar to Whatnots. Some Anything Muppets also appeared in some of the Muppet movies and specials.
The Anything Muppets were introduced in the first episode of Sesame Street in a sketch involving Gordon. An Anything Muppet appeared without any facial features, and Gordon introduced her as an Anything Person and proceeded to give her and four other Anything Muppets (who appeared in sequence) eyes, noses, and hair to form a family.
During the first seasons of Sesame Street, they were known as "The Anything People" who could be anything they wanted. Usually the live actors, like Bob, would turn them into different characters. This concept was abandoned after a few seasons, although every once in a while an Anything Muppet character would take off his nose, lose his mustache, or something of the sort.
Although these puppets were usually used to create human characters, animals were also sometimes concocted from Anything Muppets, until the late 1980s, including the Tortoise and the Hare, the Three Little Pigs and Captain Vegetable. This practice could be seen in The Miss Muffet Play. Aliens, such as The Gonk and The Geefle, and monsters such as Bennett Snerf, Arlene Frantic, Fenwick, Rosemary and Pamela could also be made from Anything Muppets.
Main Sesame Street characters that are made from Anything Muppets include Count von Count, Prairie Dawn, Mr. Johnson, Roosevelt Franklin, Guy Smiley, Lefty the Salesman, the Twiddlebugs, and Sherlock Hemlock.
“ | Our general philosophy on "Sesame" is that we've always dealt with not being specific to races. That is why Jim Henson developed artificial colors or strange colors for all the humanoids. | ” |
- -Ed Christie describing Anything Muppets to the crew of Sisimpur[1]
Types[]
The following types of Anything Muppets appear on Sesame Street; terms for these are derived from CTW style guides and other official sources:
Unknown titles[]
In addition, a few other types have been used less frequently; official titles are currently unknown.
Large orange live hand
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Large lavender hand rod
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Magenta
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Large Green live hand Super K Cereal Boy, Ice Cream Vendor, Heaviest Catch Crew Member, GH, GF | |
Large pink live hand
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Large light pink live hand
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Brown
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Monster AMs[]
Anything muppets are muppet people on Sesame Street but yet, the monsters of them were also made as well as the human-like Anything Muppets and they are in the same universe. The puppets are similar to regular Anything Muppets in their simple design and interchangeable identities. However, they are also like the Whatnots used on The Muppet Show in that there is usually only one of each kind of monster puppet, whereas there are more than one copy of most Anything Muppets.
During the early years of Sesame Street, monsters needed for brief appearances were usually created by draping fur over parts of the body and head of an Anything Muppet. One of the most prominent monsters created in this manner is Frazzle. Later they were replaced by the AM monsters, allowing for a larger variety of designs.
Some monsters also have features that are rarely removed, such as Kermit the Forg, or had a single identity for an extended period of time (such as Maurice Monster). While most remain background characters, several monsters have developed unique personalities and become main characters, including Humphrey, Natasha, and, most famously, Elmo.
Designs[]
- Shaggy blue (Maurice Monster, aka Kermit the Gorf, Dennis Monster)
- Large blue (John Monster, Marius Mondiporg, Underling, Snazzle Monster)
- Maroon-and-Yellow Monster (Stuie Monster)
- Dark green (Clancy Monster)
- Olive green with hair (Harry Monster)
- Periwinkle (Bruce Monster, aka Kermit the Grof)
- Light green (Phoebe Monster)
- Tall gray (Kermit the Forg)
- Gray with pink-feathered hair (Annette Monster)
- Tan # 1 (McDougal Monster, Frankie Monster, Pierre Monster)
- Tan # 2 (originally used as Pearl Monster)
- Fat blue female (Frieda Monster, Mona Monster, and Ingrid Monster)
- Red live-hand (Louie)
- Fat purple (Daycare Monster, Tony Monster, Underling, Ordon Monster)
- Pink/lavender (Sherry Netherland)
- Orange with pink hair (Rico Monster, Ex Ray)
- Orange oval-head (Andre Monster, Zostic Monster, Rocky Monster, The Cereal Girl's Dad, Mr. Monster and Mrs. Frazzle)
- Flat-head blue (three copies exist, originally used for The Shagri-Las and Piño Monster)
- Small yellow (Merry Monster)
- Yellow live-hand (Leo the Party Monster, Ruby Monster)
- Tangerine live-hand (originally used for Preston Rabbit)
- Blue with white hair (has interchangeable live-hands or rod-arms, used for Parker Monster, Izzy Monster)
- Purple (Bein Green background character)
- Gray/blue with snout
- Small light blue with snout
- Yellow live-hand with squarish head (Pino Monster)
- Gray pear-head (interchangeable live-hands and rod-arms; used for Herry's Mother, Lila Monster, Spalding Monster, Chef John and the earliest version of Lulu Monster)
- Blue-gray live-hand (Aristotle Monster, Aunt Chloe, Rudder Rabbit, Bonnie Rabbit)
- Shaggy purple with live-hands (originally used as a grouch, used for Uncle Talbot, Sally Messy Yuckyael and Furline Huskie)
- Small hot pink (based on the Little Anything Muppets)
- Bushy purple (Muppet Doctor)
- Tangerine/pink live-hand
- Orange FilFil-esque live-hand (used for the earliest version of Murray Monster)
Trivia[]
- The term "AM" is also used to refer to various background characters, such as monsters, grouches, Honkers, Dingers, animals, objects, and other creatures. In these cases, scripts call AMs "animated Muppets".
See also[]
Sources[]
- ↑ The World According to Sesame Street