Jim Henson introduced the Muppets back in 1955 and from that day to this one, they have been an indelible part of pop culture. Few people in the world don’t know the best Muppets, names like Kermit the Frog, and Miss Piggy, but while a few Muppets have become stars in their own right, so many more fantastic characters were created by Henson and his team, and have been created since, that have never reached the same level of popularity.
From The Muppet Show to the numerous Muppet movies, and all the various incarnations of the character, here are some of the best Muppets who never get enough attention.
Rowlf
Rowlf is one of the classic Muppets, but that doesn’t mean that he ever gets much attention. His recurring role as Dr. Bob on the Veterenarian’s Hospital sketch on The Muppet Show is proof that he’s far more than just a great piano player. This guy has real comedic skills that should be celebrated.
Wayne And Wanda
Wayne and Wanda were a running gag on early episodes of The Muppet Show. They were classically trained stage performers who kept having their numbers interrupted by various Muppet shenanigans. The gag was dropped after a while and so were Wayne and Wanda. It would be wonderful if they got a chance to finally perform.
Sweetums
Sweetums is a well-known monster but he’s one that, like most Muppet monsters, rarely takes a starring role. But his name is fitting. Sweetums isn’t a monster so much as a sweetheart, and one that needs more attention
Zoot
Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem have been the Muppets’ house band forever, and yet, the band rarely gets to take center stage as it were. While the excellent Muppets Mayhem Disney+ series finally gave them a chance to shine, Zoot, being one of the quieter members of the group, was still largely left out.
Clifford
Muppets Tonight was an attempt in the 1990s to bring back the classic Muppet Show concept for a new generation. Rather than letting Kermit host this time around a new character, Clifford, a Rastafarian Muppet, was chosen as the host of the new show. Because the series didn’t last, neither did Clifford, who has rarely appeared since the show went off the air.
Uncle Deadly
Uncle Deadly has one of the best looks for a Muppet monster, so it’s not surprising that he gets used a lot when somebody who looks evil is needed. But he’s usually a pretty generic villain. His biggest role was as a henchman to the human villain in The Muppets movie. Uncle Deadly is no henchman.
Lips
Lips is so overlooked that frequently, even when Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem are on screen, the trumpet player is completely missing. While the Muppets Mayhem TV series gave him more time in the spotlight than he had ever seen, it’s not nearly enough. If anything, seeing him shine here makes us want more, and with Muppets Mayhem canceled, when will that be?
Lew Zealand
Who doesn’t love a guy whose primary act is boomerang fish? Have you ever seen anybody throw fish and make them come back to his hand? I didn’t think so. And he’s always so happy to perform for the people.
Bean Bunny
Unless you’ve been to Walt Disney World recently and seen MuppetVision 3D, you’ve probably forgotten about Bean Bunny. He’s got a pretty significant role in the theme park attraction, but since the show almost certainly has fewer days in front of it than it has behind it, it seems likely Bean Bunny’s big break will fade away.
Link Hearthrob
Link Hearthrob is best known as the Captain of the spaceship Swinetrek from the classic Pigs in Space sketch on The Muppet Show. He’s modeled after William Shatner, which makes him a hilarious overactor, a bit that hasn’t been used to its full potential in decades. Pigs in Space could just be its own show.
Bunson Honeydew & Beaker
An iconic duo that even casual Muppet fans know, but Bunsen and Beaker routinely stole the show when they appeared on The Muppet Show. Since then, however, they’ve been largely relegated to bit parts and cameos in Muppet projects. Muppet Labs created some amazing stuff, including some of the best laughs in Muppet history and this duo needs to be celebrated more for it.
Newsman
A Muppet character so ill-used he doesn’t really have a name, but if you’ve ever heard a “Muppet News Flash” then you know just how perfect the character’s voice is. It’s a pity we don’t hear it more often.
George the Janitor
George the Janitor was never a major Muppet character, and despite his name, he most often appeared on The Muppet Show during the ballroom dancing sketch. Still, his jokes were always rock solid, and he always looked like he was having a terrible time, which just made the situation funnier for the rest of us.
The Country Trio
The Country Trio only appeared on The Muppet Show twice, but their rendition of “To Morrow” is one of the Muppet’s best songs. We also wish we got more of them because the trio was made up of the Muppet versions of Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Jerry Nelson, three of the all-time great Muppet performers that we otherwise never got to see.
Statler & Waldorf
Statler and Waldorf are a popular pair to be sure, so popular that you’d think we’d see more of them. They only appear in small bits and pieces throughout the history of the Muppets but the pair are so hilarious more would not be out of place.
Bobo The Bear
Bobo the Bear is a relatively recent addition to the Muppets, but he’s a really fantastic member of the Muppet family. An incredibly well-designed full-size Muppet, and a character who is perpetually unsure of himself. He’s the sort of character you want to see succeed, but we need to see him more often for that to work.
Sam The American Eagle
Sam is a bit of a one-note character, with his patriotism boarding on psychotic. But he so clearly believes in it genuinely that it’s hard to not enjoy the joke. Sam thinks he’s the serious Muppet but nobody that serious would hang out with all these weirdos.
Hilda
Hilda is one of those background Muppets that you might notice or realize she even had a name, but she appeared regularly on The Muppet Show and she was fantastic. She looked like what your sweet grandma would look like if she were a Muppet, but she could be absolutely brutal in telling you exactly what she thought, also like your grandma.
Beauregard
The Muppet Show resident custodian is a pleasant fellow. He’s soft-spoken and polite. He’s frequently confused about just what in the world is going on. The Muppet world is frequently frantic, but Beariguard never lets it get him down.
Robin
Kermit’s nephew Robin could have easily become so sweet that he would be annoying. But he’s actually a great character, with a remarkable singing voice “Halfway Down the Stairs” is an all-time great Muppet performance. At some point, Uncle Kermit just needs to set this kid free to make something of his own.
The Swedish Chef
The Swedish Chef is one of the all-time great Muppets, but his particular specialty limits the sorts of places where he turns up in the Muppet world. I’m not saying we need an entirely Muppet cooking show just so we can get more Swedish Chef in the world, but I’m not not saying that.
Marvin Suggs
Marvin Suggs and his Muppaphone is a bit of a deep cut in the Muppet world, and I’m not sure how much a modern audience would appreciate a musical instrument that involves hitting small furry creatures with a hammer, but it’s still pretty funny.
Pops
Pops has played many roles in the various Muppet projects, including the desk clerk of the Happiness Hotel in The Great Muppet Caper. He’s the sort of elderly gentleman that you’d expect would have a lot of good stories to tell. He should be given the chance to tell them.
Joe The Legal Weasel
Muppets Now was a short-lived series on Disney+ that brought our favorite characters into the internet age. One new character the show introduced was Joe the Legal Weasel. While nobody thinks Joe is as funny as Joe thinks he is, he was an entertaining character and the Muppets will always need lawyers, won’t they?
Chip the IT Guy
Chip is a case of a “generic” Muppet making good. When he was first introduced he was one among many obscure Muppet characters, but in The Muppets TV series he became the head of IT for Miss Piggy’s late-night show and proved he was more than just a nerdy face in the crowd. The Muppets didn’t last long, which likely is going to send Chip back to the realm of Muppet obscurity.
Scooter
Scooter has been around for decades, and he’s one character who has possibly evolved more than any other since the inception of The Muppets. Scooter should have earned an opportunity to do and be more by now, rather than simply being Kermit’s right-hand man.
Crazy Harry
Crazy Harry isn’t just a guy who likes blowing stuff up. Crazy Harry played the triangle in the Muppet Orchestra on the original Muppet Show and also likes to blow stuff up. This is the sort of multifaceted character that needs more time to explain his various pursuits. What else does Crazy Harry do that we don’t even know about?
Yolanda the Rat
Rizzo the Rat has become one of the core members of the Muppets over the years. It’s rare not to see him in a major role in modern Muppet productions. Yolonda the Rat, however, has not been given the same time to shine. She was excellent as Kermit’s assistant on The Muppets TV series whenever she appeared. Her no-nonsense attitude, amidst all the Muppet nonsense, was always welcome.
Koozbanians
Whenever The Muppet Show needed an alien world to do anything on, it was set on the planet Koozbane. The alien life forms on the planet were quite varied, covering whatever the show needed. This resulted in some of the most creative Muppet designs that we don’t see nearly often enough.
Constantine
I hear what you’re saying. Constantine isn’t a new character. He’s just Kermit with a mole and a funny accent from Muppets Most Wanted, a movie most people have already forgotten. Counterpoint: Who cares? Constantine was hilarious. Leaving him in just the one movie would be a crime.
Nigel
If history had gone differently Nigel could be the most famous Muppet of them all. The character, who became The Muppet Show‘s orchestra conductor, was the original host of Sax and Violence a pilot for a Muppet series that preceded The Muppet Show. Nigel could have been a star, and he should be given a chance once again.
Mahna Mahna
The very first sketch on The Muppet Show contains one of the most famous pieces of music in Muppet history. This one hit wonder became iconic from these two nonsense words, which are also, apparently, the name of the Muppet. He’s a piece of Muppet history and we have to assume he can do a lot more.
Kermit & Fozzie’s “Dad”
The Great Muppet Caper sets up Kermit and Fozzie as sibling news reporters. How are a bear and a frog brothers? Well, the movie shows us their “dad” in a photograph, and this picture raises so many questions that I need this Muppet to appear more often to just begin to answer all the questions.
There are so many great Muppets that it would be close to impossible to give them all the attention they truly deserve. But that won’t stop us from wanting to see more from our favorites. We’ll always love Kermit and Piggy and Fozzie and Gonzo, but surely there should be opportunities for some of these great Muppets too.