1 The Muppet Mindset: October 2012

Oct 31, 2012

Weekly Muppet Wednesday: Doglion

Written by Ryan Dosier.

DOGLION

Performed by...
Jerry Nelson (1977)
Frank Oz (1977)
Jim Henson (1978)
Dave Goelz (1979)
Kevin Clash (1989)
Jim Martin (1990)
Bill Barretta (1996)

First appearance...
The Muppet Show Episode 209: Madeline Kahn (1977)

Most recent appearance...
Muppets Tonight Episode 208: The Cameo Show (1997) 

Best known role...
Large, hulking, gray Muppet monster; first Muppet to appear on the big screen in The Muppet Movie

WHO IS DOGLION?
Doglion is the huge, full-bodied Muppet monster who first appeared in Season 2 of The Muppet Show. Doglion appeared throughout the rest of run of The Muppet Show, performing mostly with the other Muppet monsters but also occasionally interacting with the special guest stars. Most notably performing a dramatic dance interpretation with Lesley Ann Warren in Episode 315 and chasing Cloris Leachman around a tiny desert island with Sweetums in Episode 224. Doglion also destroyed a park to spite Madeline Kahn, attacked Dom DeLuise at Sheppard's Institute of Animal Protection, begged for Julie Andrews' autograph, and danced with Lola Falana.

The most impressive item on Doglion's resume, however, is the fact that he was the first Muppet character to appear on the big screen in a feature film. In the opening shot of The Muppet Movie in 1979, Doglion can be seen pushing around scenery on the lot of World Wide Studios. After we find the Muppets in the movie theater, Doglion asks Miss Piggy if the seat next to her is taken... and then takes it, most literally.

Doglion would not appear in any of the other Muppet movies, but did have brief appearances in The Muppets Go Hollywood and The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years. Doglion had a slight resurgence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, appearing in two episodes of The Jim Henson Hour in 1989 and also in the episode of The Cosby Show which guest starred a bunch of the Muppets. In the episode, Doglion assisted Sweetums in man-handling Bill Cosby.

Doglion has not appeared since Muppets Tonight in 1996-1997. In the series, however, Doglion appeared three times, appearing after Sandra Bullock says "Shave and a haircut" to respond with "Two bits," dancing with Paula Abdul in "Opposites Attract," and briefly in "The Cameo Show." Doglion has appeared in books and comic books since Muppets Tonight, and also had a Mini-Muppet figure made of him during the Palisades Toys era, but Doglion has not appeared onscreen since 1997.

WHY DO THE MUPPETS NEED DOGLION? 
Doglion is just one of many in the Muppet monster pantheon from The Muppet Show. What sets him apart isn't just that he is a full-bodied monster, but that he is so distinct in appearance. He is bigger than Sweetums and most of the others (except Thog) and just has an awesome design. In the age where Thog and the Mutations can be rebuilt for The Muppets last year, why not bring back Doglion into the fray as well?












The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Oct 30, 2012

Paying Tribute to Jerry Nelson in NYC

Ryan Dosier - On Saturday afternoon at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City (technically Astoria, but you don't really care about that), dozens of Muppet fans, plenty of Muppet performers, and a who's who of Muppet history showed up to pay tribute to the legendary Jerry Nelson. I was lucky enough to be in attendance at this truly special event and I just wanted to share with you a little bit of my experience. My friend Ryan Roe has written a spectacular, totally precise rundown of the entire program for ToughPigs, which you should absolutely read. I can't even try to one-up what Ryan recapped, so instead I'll just share my thoughts on the proceedings.

First and foremost, I have to mention that the Jerry Nelson Muppet, best known for performing with the Country Trio on The Muppet Show, was on display at the entrance of the museum. The puppet was cleaned up and brought by Bonnie Erickson just for the event. Here's Jerry below...
Seeing this puppet immediately warmed my heart and set a beautiful tone for everyone coming into the museum. It's a true testament to Jerry's impact that I saw nearly everyone who came to the tribute stopping to take a picture with the puppet before or after the event. In fact, here's a picture of me and the awesome Dave Hulteen, who you may know from his amazing artwork, posing with Jerry:
When I arrived two hours before the tribute, there were already about 15 people waiting to go in. When it was time to go into the auditorium, that line had extended all around the museum lobby, which was incredibly touching. While we were waiting to go in, Bonnie Erickson, Craig Shemin, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Bill Barretta, and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph came out to see each other and meet some of their fans. Bill was especially generous with his time both before and after the tribute.

Once the tribute began and the Muppet fans settled in, all of the Muppet performers entered the auditorium and sat down in reserved seats in the front row. In attendance: Dave Goelz, Fran Brill, Bill Barretta, Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, Matt Vogel, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph. Other Muppet people who came to the tribute were Craig Shemin, Bonnie Erickson, Larry Mirkin, and Joe Bailey, as well as Jerry Nelson's wife, brother, daughter, and grandson.

It was truly amazing to have all of these people in one place to remember Jerry with Muppet fans. It would have been sufficient to just show clips of Jerry's amazing career with introductions from just one of these individuals, but it speaks to the generosity and the love they have for Jerry that they were all willing to come out to celebrate his life.
Each of the speakers who came up spoke on different aspects of Jerry's life, leading to video packages prepared by The Jim Henson Legacy just for this tribute. Stephanie D'Abruzzo spoke on the many, many voices and characters Jerry portrayed, leading to a clip package of 150 different characters. Fran Brill talked about and presented clips from Jerry's long tenure on Sesame Street. Craig Shemin introduced a very special clip of Snuffy talking directly to the audience about Jerry, calling him "Dad" and thanking him for everything. Matt Vogel talked about Floyd Pepper, the ultimate in cool. Dave Goelz discussed Jerry's life when Fraggle Rock began, as well as his four main characters on the show. Bill Barretta discussed working with Jerry on Muppet Treasure Island and showed clips of Jerry's musical Muppets. Louise Gold spoke through tears about how much the internet showed Jerry that he was beloved, which led to a clip package of extremely rare pieces, including a performance from the Sesame StreetSeason 23 wrap party. Bonnie Erickson was the last speaker, and she read elegies from Fraggle Rock producer Duncan Kenworthy and Muppet writer Jim Lewis.

Every speaker built upon he last with beautiful sentiment and charm. Dave Goelz and Bill Barretta shared a few hilarious moments as Dave accidentally called Gobo, Gonzo, to the extreme laughter of the entire auditorium. This led Bill to go onstage and remind Dave of who played who. It was a truly funny moment that reminded us of how fun the Muppet performers have when they're together.

The most moving speaker was Louise Gold, who traveled all the way from England to come celebrate Jerry. She fought tears the entire time and I'm sure it caused more than a few tears to flow in the audience as well. It was clear how much love and respect she has for Jerry, and it reminded us all of how much we respect him as well. The clip package that followed her piece was incredible, with extremely rare clips including the Country Trio on The Dick Cavett Show, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Jerry on various talk shows, and Jerry and Louise singing "Friendship" at the wrap party for Sesame Street Season 23. That final moment was the most incredible and probably never-before-seen. I got to speak to Louise briefly afterwards and she was the sweetest person you could possibly imagine. It was so wonderful of her to come.

The greatest piece of video shown, however, was without a doubt the special message from Snuffy. You could tell that Marty Robinson, who was unfortunately unable to attend, was expressing his real feelings for Jerry through Snuffy. I really can't do it justice... so you should just watch the video, taken by YouTube user Squigiman, below:



Throughout the entire tribute, it was clear that everyone there adored Jerry. The laughter that filled the room during the clip packages, the singing along that occurred, the chorus of "Aww" during the entire program... it was just clear that Jerry had affected everyone there. At the beginning of the program, The Jim Henson Legacy gave everyone in attendance three extremely special gifts: a button with Jerry's likeness, a poster featuring Jerry (seen at right) from Sesame Workshop, and a DVD showcasing the recording session for Jerry's album Truro Daydreams. The DVD is positively incredible, and hopefully Craig Shemin will continue to upload those videos online soon.

All in all, this was an incredibly special, moving tribute. It was such an honor to be in attendance there to celebrate the life and career of Jerry Nelson. To all the Muppet fans I met there, it was such a delight to talk with all of you. I thank you, and I know that The Jim Henson Legacy and the family of Jerry Nelson all thank you for being there to pay your respects. And last of all, I thank Jerry Nelson... for being such a true inspiration.





The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Oct 29, 2012

The Ramblings of Muppet Nerd Jarrod Fairclough, Part... We Don't Remember



Jarrod Fairclough Presents: The Ramblings of a Muppet Nerd – Edition Number I Don’t Remember Anymore

A FEW THINGS I NOTICED IN THE MUPPETS

Hello. I'm back. It's been a while, eh? How are you? You're looking well. Is that a new sweater? Okay, enough pleasantries. The Muppets came out almost a year ago now, and it's taken me this long to write an article on it. I'm not gonna review it, or anything like that. But there are a few things I noticed in the film, some of which are yet to be mentioned. These are movie mistakes.

Sure, you can head on over to Muppet Wiki for a pretty extensive list of Muppet movie mistakes. There
are 3 listed for The Muppets, so let's start with them, shall we? Oh, and look, I can use screen caps!


1.)   When the telethon begins, Zoot is shown not wearing his hat in the wide shot of the orchestra, and then is wearing his hat when he blows his note in close-up. 
2.)   During the recreation of The Muppet Show opening, Janice is seen in the orchestra pit, but is then seen as part of the female chorus. At the ending reveal, Janice is nowhere to be seen in the row of female characters she was in.
3.)   When Bobo and Uncle Deadly, are singing "Together Again," Bobo is seen holding a spray bottle, but when the two are commanded to stop singing by Tex Richman, Bobo's hand's are empty. Then, when Bobo and Uncle Deadly are blaming each other for the singing, Bobo has the spray bottle in his hands again.
Okay, so those are pretty much just mistakes. Here's another one I found NOT on that list, but not that big of a deal... During the "Life's a Happy Song" finale, after the females sing "We can be whatever we wanna be," they look to the men. The men sing "Nothing we can't do." The lead singer of this is Jason Segel.  Except look at his mouth, he isn't singing at all.  GASP!
Okay, now here's the biggest one. This one is either a giant mistake on behalf of the filmmakers, or there was another plot line that got cut.

You'll remember the scene where the Muppets kidnap Jack Black in a ninja-style fashion. Let's list the characters in the car before hand, shall we? We have Miss Piggy, Swedish Chef, Lew Zealand, Animal, Fozzie, Gonzo, Scooter, and 80's Robot.
Now, let's skip ahead to the attack of Jack Black...
Who's this guy in the picture below? The other characters are accounted for, and he's certainly not 80's Robot. No. I think it's Walter. Walter, who, during this ordeal, was back in the Muppet Theater singing with Jim Parsons.
So was Walter meant to join the other Muppets on the heist? Or did someone stuff up somewhere?

Well, that's that. Someone go put them on Muppet Wiki, please. I don't know how. Do you think you found a mistake? Let us know!






The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Oct 27, 2012

Muppetology 101: Intro to Muppet Monster Cryptozoology, Pt. 2

Ryan Dosier - Welcome back to class, class! No quiz again this week, because my cousin's hamster took the papers... he didn't eat them, but instead started his own Muppetology course next door. Don't fall for it. He isn't licensed! ...And obviously I am, if anyone asks. Anyway, let's continue our lecture on Muppet Monster Cryptozoology, this week focusing on the magnificent monsters of Sesame Street!
  • GROVER 
    • Performed by FRANK OZ (1969-present) and ERIC JACOBSON (1998-present)
  • Grover is one of Sesame Street's numerous furry blue monsters. He debuted in the first season of Sesame Street and has been a consistently popular presence ever since. Grover is best known for the countless professions he has worked in over the years, most notably as a waiter and his superhero alter-ego, Super Grover. As far as monsters go, Grover is about as far away from scary as one can get. He is a self-proclaimed cute, adorable little monster and has no interest in scaring anyone. In fact, he scared himself at the prospect of a monster in the classic book, The Monster at the End of This Book. He even sang the song "I Whistle a Happy Tune" with Cookie Monster when they were afraid of the woods. Grover can currently be seen nearly everyday on Sesame Street in his recurring segment "Super Grover 2.0."
  • COOKIE MONSTER 
    • Performed by FRANK OZ (1969-present) and DAVID RUDMAN (2001-present)
  • Yet another of the furry blue monsters of Sesame Street, Cookie Monster is one of the most popular characters on the show, and one of the most popular and beloved television characters of all time. Cookie Monster, of course, ravenously devours cookies (and most everything else) anytime that he gets the opportunity. Of all the Sesame Street monsters, Cookie Monster has the most monster-like speech saying "me" instead of "I," as in "Me want cookies!" Again, however, Cookie Monster does not exhibit many scary traits. Yes, his penchant for eating anything and everything makes him rather over the top, he is never purposefully scary. Just hold on to your hat if it's near a plate of cookies. Cookie Monster recently made a big splash with his parody video of the song "Call Me Maybe" and can be seen in numerous episodes of Sesame Street Season 43.
  • ELMO 
    • Primarily performed by KEVIN CLASH (1985-present) 
  • Perhaps the most popular children's television character of the past decade, Elmo is the giggling, ticklish, imaginative furry red monster on Sesame Street--as if anyone doesn't know that already. Elmo is the least scary Muppet monster, right alongside Grover, and would never dream of trying to scare someone. Elmo himself has been scared many times, however. At age three-and-a-half, Elmo is one of the youngest denizens of Sesame Street and has gotten scared many times, especially when he had a close call with a fire in Hooper's Store. Mostly, though, Elmo is just happy and carefree. He inhabited "Elmo's World" on the show for many years until the segment was replaced in Season 43 by the entertaining new segment "Elmo: The Musical." Elmo can be seen consistently on every episode of Sesame Street.
  • TELLY MONSTER 
    • Primarily performed by MARTIN P. ROBINSON (1984-present)
  • Telly Monster is one of the main characters on modern day Sesame Street and appears in numerous street stories every season. Telly is best friends with Baby Bear but loves to play with everyone else on Sesame Street too. Telly used to be highly neurotic and worried all the time, but has since mellowed out. In his first appearance, Telly had spinning eyes and antennae sticking out of his head, making it the only time Telly was legitimately scary. Since then, Telly has been the one getting scared, not doing the scaring. In his worrying state, Telly would scare incredibly easily, and sometimes that still shows through even though he has matured quite a bit over the years. Telly can be seen in most episodes of Sesame Street Season 43.
  • ROSITA 
    • Performed by CARMEN OSBAHR
  • Another member of Sesame Street's furry blue monster family, Rosita is a smart, Spanish speaking female monster who loves to play her guitar and sing. She first appeared on Sesame Street in 1991 in Season 23. For quite awhile, Rosita appeared with wings, explaining her full name Rosita la Monstrua de las Cuevas, which translates to Rosita the Monster of the Caves, implying that she was conceived as fruit bat of some sort. Rosita lost her wings in Season 35. Although her full name sounds frightening, Rosita is anything but, as she is one of the sweetest characters on Sesame Street. Rosita remains a popular main character on Sesame Street to this day and can be seen in numerous Season 43 episodes.
  • ZOE 
    • Performed by FRAN BRILL
  • Zoe, who debuted in Season 25 in 1994, was conceived and developed to match Elmo in both appearance and popularity. It succeeded, as Zoe continues to delight children on Sesame Street to this day nearly 20 years later. Zoe has gone through many phases on the show, loving her Zoemobile, her bracelets, her tutu, her dancing, and her pet rock Rocco. Zoe is always seen wearing her pink ballet tutu these days and is usually seen with her friends Elmo, Rosita, and Abby Cadabby. Zoe has a delightful laugh that sets her apart from the other characters and a favorite of Muppet fans and children alike.
  • HERRY MONSTER 
    • Performed by JERRY NELSON
  • Herry Monster is a classic Sesame Street character who debuted in Season 2 of the show and became a favorite character of the audience as well as his performer Jerry Nelson. Herry is perhaps best known for counting to 20 with John John early in the show's run and for being a part of a sort of trio with Cookie Monster and Grover. Herry is larger than most and much stronger as well. It seems that he is always accidentally breaking something, but he always feels terrible about it. Herry loves to play with his doll, Hercules, and remained popular on Sesame Street into the 1990s and early 2000s. He has since been phased into the background, but not before starring in his own recurring segment "Monster Day Care," performing alongside Garth Brooks and Maya Angelou, and becoming best friends with both Prairie Dawn and Rosita.
  • MURRAY MONSTER 
    • Performed by JOEY MAZZARRINO
  • Murray is the newest monster on this list, appearing first in Season 36 in 2005. Since then, Murray has grown into one of the most-used characters on Sesame Street, appearing daily in "tune-in" segments throughout the run of the episodes since Season 40 as well as introducing the daily "Word on the Street." Murray is also the first main character performed by veteran Sesame Street performer and writer Joey Mazzarrino. Murray is often seen with his Spanish-speaking little lamb friend Ovejita, and the two of them had their own segment called "Murray Has a Little Lamb." Currently, Murray and Ovejita co-host the interstitial moments in every episode of the show. Murray can be seen in every episode of Sesame Street Season 43.
  • FRAZZLE 
    • Performed by JERRY NELSON
  • Frazzle is the only Sesame Street monster who could be considered legitimately scary. His appearance is frightening, with his large white teeth and angry eyes, and he speaks entirely in growls. However, Frazzle is really lovable and just wants to be loved back, he can't help it if he accidentally scares people. Frazzle has been around since Season 4 of Sesame Street and has performed now-classic songs like "Fuzzy and Blue (and Orange)" and "Frazzle," the latter performed with his band The Frazzletones. Frazzle rarely appears on the show these days, and if he does it's only in the background, but he has a consistent presence in Sesame Street books to this day.
    Well, that's all the material I have for class today. I hope you learned something. No scat, cats! Don't make me bring in the monsters to scare you away.









    The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com 

    Oct 26, 2012

    Danny Beckwith's Muppet Monster Mash-Ups, Pt. 3

    Today we're so excited to present the final pieces in our friend and contributor Danny Beckwith's Muppet Monster Mash-Ups series! Today we've got two more Muppets who have been monsterized as well as a final picture collecting all seven Muppets in one--which makes a fantastic desktop background... just sayin'. Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2, as well as Danny's DeviantArt page for the rest of his fantastic work!
    Beaker as Frankenstein
    Miss Piggy as The Bride of Frankenstein
    Fozzie Bear as The Phantom of the Opera, Scooter as The Mummy, Miss Piggy as The Bride of Frankenstein, Beaker as Frankenstein, Rowlf the Dog as The Wolf Man, The Great Gonzo as The Invisible Man, and Kermit the Frog as the Creature from the Black Lagoon






    The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

    Oct 25, 2012

    All Cee Lo Needs is Love... And Muppets

    We got an exciting early Christmas gift this week as the full, official audio track for "All I Need is Love," the new surefire hit single from Cee Lo Green and heavily featuring the Muppets, debuted on YouTube. The album containing the song, Cee Lo's Magic Moment, is due out on October 30th and the music video for the song will presumably debut around then (or perhaps closer to Christmas) as well. But for now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the incredibly catchy, bouncy "All I Need is Love" complete with Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie, Animal, Snowths, and an awesome extended solo from Pepe the King Prawn!



    I don't know about you... but all I need now is the music video for this awesome song!






    The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

    Oct 24, 2012

    Weekly Muppet Wednesdays: Simon Soundman

    SIMON SOUNDMAN

    Performed by...
    Jerry Nelson

    First appearance...
    Sesame Street: Season 2 (1970)

    Most recent (new) appearance...

    Sesame Street: Season 24 Episode 3068 (1993)

    Best known role...


    Sound mimicker; "Sound Song" singer

    WHO IS SIMON SOUNDMAN?
    Simon Soundman is a classic character from Sesame Street who speaks mostly using sound effects to communicate. Although he can speak using actual words, he elects to use sound effects such as "THUMP THUMP" or "RUFF RUFF!" instead, leaving others on Sesame Street to have to figure out what exactly he means. Simon Soundman first appeared in Sesame Street's second season in a sketch with Ernie. Simon runs into Ernie's apartment asking to use his phone and it's up to Ernie to figure out why by deciphering Simon's sounds. (Turns out his car had broken down.)

    In his first appearance, Simon Soundman had brown hair and a brown mustache (resembling Grover's frequent customer Mr. Johnson). As Simon Soundman evolved into a more recurring character, he gained black hair and mustache as well as a brand new pair of eyebrows. Perhaps Simon Soundman's best known appearance is in the "Sound Song" from early in Sesame Street's run. In the song, Simon sings about how hiss "ruff ruff" chased a "meow meow" up a tree, while handy animations of a dog and cat assist young viewers in figuring out what he's singing about.

    Simon Soundman has interacted with numerous classic Sesame Street characters, always aggrivating them until they can figure out what his sound effects mean. He has tried to order a chicken sandwich from waiter Grover at Charlie's Restaurant, played weather reporter on reporter Kermit the Frog's news show, taught Bert to make the sound of a tuba, and helped Old MacDonald find his lost animal.

    Simon Soundman made frequent appearances on Sesame Street consistently until about Season 25, when he was phased out from the show and no new segments featuring the character were made. He appeared in silent cameos in the backgrounds of The Muppets Take Manhattan, Follow That Bird, and A Muppet Family Christmas.

    WHY DOES SESAME STREET NEED SIMON SOUNDMAN?
    Simon Soundman is as important to Sesame Street as a RUFF RUFF is to a man! Why, they go together like a VROOM VROOM on the street! (Thus ends our lame attempt to imitate Simon Soundman.)





    The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

    Oct 23, 2012

    Muppet Halloween Costume Spooktacular 2012, Pt. 4

    Ryan Dosier - Welcome back my haunting hands, to our fourth and final installment of the Muppet Halloween Costume Spooktacular 2012! All this month we've been showcasing this year's new Halloween costumes from the Muppets and Sesame Street. Check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 before reading on for our snide look at adults dressed like Sesame Street characters!

    OSCAR THE GROUCH ADULT WOMENS COSTUME - $59.99
    LIKENESS - Well... it could be worse. This isn't too bad, actually. The use of the trash can is very creative but the weird Oscar hat throws me for a loop. Why does it need to have Oscar's eyes? Why not just put on the trash can lid and wear it as a hat, completing the costume and making you look like Oscar, not a girl who has Oscar coming out of her hair. 3 STARS
    FUN FACTOR - The girl in the picture sure looks like she's having fun! I don't know what she's doing... but it looks like she's having fun doing it. Although I can't help but think that more than one "clever" person dressed as a surfer will tell a girl wearing this she looks trashy. 4 STARS
    SCARE FACTOR -Eh. Nothing too scary going on here. Unless the person wearing this walks around with an actual worm, not a worm like Slimey, and an elephant in a trash can... then it could get a little weird. 1 STAR

    ELMO ADULT WOMENS COSTUME KIT - $24.99
    LIKENESS - Well no one broke their creative bones when they came up with this... Yeesh. It's really just a glorified hat. Why not make the whole dress furry Elmo red? All I can picture is some Cruella DeVille knock-off who likes to wear Muppet fur. Nightmares. 1 STAR
    FUN FACTOR - This costume is only fun until the hat is lost in the hustle and bustle of Halloween and loses any resemblance to Elmo. 2 STARS
    SCARE FACTOR - I scared myself with that Cruella DeVille image... 2 STARS

    BIG BIRD ADULT WOMENS COSTUME KIT - $24.99

    LIKENESS - Ugh. Again. What? Why? Who is this appealing to? It doesn't even look like Big Bird... like, not even at all. The feathers don't even look feathery. This is the lazy-person's Big Bird costume! 0 STARS
    FUN FACTOR - I don't know who would consider this fun. It's barely even a costume... it's just a yellow boa and a weird hair accessory. 1 STAR
    SCARE FACTOR - Well... it's not as scary as the unlicensed "sexy" Big Bird costume. 1 STAR

    ADULT GROVER COSTUME - $59.99

    LIKENESS - Uhh... I... wow. I'm trying to figure out what to liken this to. Right now all I'm coming up with is likening it to a nightmare. That eerily realistic nightmare where the alien bursts from Grover's mouth? Yeah. That. I mean they got the perspectives of the upper part of Grover's face right... but then they stuck that guy's head out of his mouth and ruined everything. 2 STARS
    FUN FACTOR - The only fun I could imagine having with this costume is if the guy inside is your waiter and then you keep telling him your order is wrong. Just because. 1 STAR
    SCARE FACTOR - If this guy runs up to you and shouts "Hello every-bo-deeeeee!!" you can't tell me you wouldn't run. And run fast. 4 STARS

    ADULT BERT MASK/SHIRT COSTUME - $31.95

    LIKENESS - Honestly... not bad. Not great, but not bad. The shirt is awesome. The mask isn't bad at all... but the weird guy smiling under the mask just throws me for a loop. There should not be that many eyes on a person or a Bert. 3 STARS
    FUN FACTOR - Loads of fun possibilities here. Perhaps the most fun would be had by playing checkers with a pigeon (obviously). 4 STARS
    SCARE FACTOR - It could be fairly scary if the guy in the Bert costume uses his paperclip collection as a weapon... but other than that, not much scare to speak of. 2 STARS

    ADULT ERNIE MASK/SHIRT COSTUME - $22.99 - $31.95

    LIKENESS - Oh dear. How does the Bert costume work so well and the Ernie version work so... not well at all? Maybe it's the completely not right shirt? Maybe it's the odd facial expression of this guy. Really, the only thing that works here is the Ernie mask/hat thing. 2 STARS
    FUN FACTOR - Ernie costume, you're not the one. You don't make Halloween lots of fun. Ernie costume I'm ready to run from you! 2 STARS
    SCARE FACTOR - I can hear the menacing rubber duckie squeak coming down a dark alley... Creepy. 2 STARS

    Well... that's it. We're all out of officially licensed costumes to review for Halloween 2012. However, we can't end this without linking you to a totally unlicensed, totally hilarious costume that you may want to consider buying if only for sheer laugh factor...
    Yip-yip indeed.





    The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com
    The Muppet Whatnot Workshop-Only Available at FAO.com
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