Trivia / Muppet Babies (1984)

• Acting for Two: For the first two seasons, Mandel voiced Skeeter, Animal and Bunsen. Welker voiced Kermit, Beaker, Skeeter (taking over for Howie respectively) and various other voices. Coulier also took over for Howie respectively, voicing Animal and Bunsen, as well as voicing Bean Bunny, Janice, Statler and Waldorf. Greg Berg voiced Scooter and Fozzie. Russi Taylor voiced Gonzo and Robin.
• Adored by the Network: Nickelodeon adored this show. They ran it for almost all of the 1990s and treated it with hour-long blocks and frequent marathons. They're more than responsible for that decade's fans.
• Cowboy BeBop at His Computer: This article discussing The Smurfette Principle, states that Piggy is the only female in the series. This is only true if one disregards Skeeter's presence in Muppet Babies.
• Creator Backlash: Toei animator Junichi Hayama was embarrassed to have worked on Muppet Babies. He said he was a fan of the original The Muppet Show but did not enjoy this incarnation. Most fans consider this to be bizarre since Muppet Babies is equally as well-beloved as the original Muppet Show.
• Cross-Dressing Voices: Rowlf (Katie Leigh), Gonzo (Russi Taylor), Janice (Dave Coulier) and Skeeter (first Howie Mandel, then Frank Welker (see below). Oddly, this is one of the very few times where this isn't the case for Piggy, as she was voiced by Laurie O'Brien.
  • If you count Little Muppet Monsters, Piggy in the "Pigs in Space" segment was voiced by Hal Rayle.
• Hey, It's That Sound!: In "Piggy's Hyper-Activity Book", Scooter is struggling with some restless connect-the-dots, which turn out to just be a group of little bugs. When they scatter, part of the 1983 Filmation "xylophone" logo jingle is heard (an interesting choice, considering this wasn't a Filmation cartoon).
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: There are no plans announced for any formal physical releases; while no official reason has been given, it's most likely due to copyright issues (due to the huge amount of Stock Footage used in the imagination sequences). However, now that Disney owns the trifecta of The Muppets, Marvel Comics (who produced the show alongside Jim Henson) and Lucasfilm (where a lot of the problematic footage came from), there may well be some hope. Also, The Other Wiki says that a few episodes were released uncut on bonus DVDs included with merchandise, as well as there being a few VHS releases in The '90s. A lot of episodes can be found on YouTube.
  • Word of God is that the showrunners confirmed that they cleared the rights for the live-action clips in perpetuity. They weren't sure why Disney has been withholding the original series from re-release but there were theories ranging from the physical film elements being lost over the years to Disney wanting to wait and rebuild a market with a couple of live-action Muppet films, which has happened since.
• Kids' Meal Toy:
  • In 1987 and 1990, McDonald's released two different sets of die-cast racing toys with interchangeable figures of Baby Kermit, Baby Piggy, Baby Fozzie, and Baby Gonzo. Some regions also received Baby Animal.
  • In the 1988 holiday season, McDonald's released plush toys of Baby Kermit, Baby Fozzie, and Baby Piggy.
  • In 1994, McDonald's released a toy of Baby Kermit and Baby Piggy as part of their Happy Birthday Happy Meal, which also featured toys based on Ronald and Friends, Barbie, Hot Wheels, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Little Mermaid (1989), 101 Dalmatians, Cabbage Patch Kids, Tonka, The Berenstain Bears, Peanuts, Tiny Toon Adventures, Looney Tunes, and the Happy Meal Guys.
  • Dairy Queen released a set of five sliding toys in 1999, many years after the show had finished its original eight-season run and ran for syndication. These consisted of Baby Kermit in a wagon, Baby Piggy in a teacup, Baby Fozzie on a rope, Baby Gonzo on a rocking horse, and Baby Animal in a barrel.
• No Export for You: Oddly enough, this is one of the few pieces of The Muppets' franchise who was never broadcasted in Japan. However, a Japanese dub was made. (see below for details)
• Serendipity Writes the Plot: Michael K. Frith was the one who came up with the idea of using live-action clips and Stock Footage in the babies' imaginations. According to him, this was to reduce the show's animation budget and the workload of the animators.
• The Other Darrin: Howie Mandel left after the second season. Frank Welker replaced him as Skeeter's voice and Dave Coulier took over for Animal and Bunsen.
• What Could Have Been: According to Tōru Furuya on his Twitter account, a Japanese dub was made with Furuya planned to be the dub voice of Scooter, but the show was never brought to Japan.