As 2014 winds down, we’re forced to look back on the last 365 days and marvel at what we’ve accomplished. And seeing as we’re a Muppet fan site, we’re proud to see how much the Muppets have done. This truly was a great year for Kermit and the gang.
Not only did 2014 give us a brand new Muppet movie, but we also saw a ton of awesome videos, TV appearances, magazines, comics, and more. We also saw some tragedy in the loss of some longtime Muppet collaborators and actors. Here at ToughPigs HQ, we got to stand on the Muppets Most Wanted red carpet, appear in an episode of Sesame Street, interview some big names in the Muppet world, and have our website taken over by Constantine himself. It really can’t be said that 2014 wasn’t a memorable and eventful year for us all.
We’ve put together this handy list of all the biggest Muppet news stories, videos, and events from the past year, as well as some of our biggest and most important articles we’ve written here on ToughPigs. Enjoy the look back, folks!
January:
2013 Year in Review – Wow, we did so much stuff last year! There was a Jim Henson biography, our interview with Paul Williams, and a special with Lady Gaga! Okay, they can’t all be winners.
First new Muppet videos of the year – Appropriately enough, they’re wishing us a Happy New Year. And then we had a happy one. All because of the Muppets.
Jim Henson and Frank Oz: The greatest Muppeteer duo – Our commentary on the greatest combination since a ping pong ball met a green coat.
Interview with Tale of Sand’s Ramón Pérez – The talented Tale of Sand artist talks to us about adapting Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl’s script.
The internet goes nuts over Muppets Most Wanted – Or at least some fake Twitter users, in what was one of the best Muppets Most Wanted ads we saw.
Mo Rocca goes inside Sesame Street – And inside Horatio the Elephant, in this great behind-the-scenes segment.
Archaia reprints Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, and Storyteller novelizations – Finally, all the Skeksis backstory any of us could ever need!
We review every entry in WeLoveFine’s Sesame Street t-shirt design contest – For all of you who love reading articles with these silly snippets.
The Muppets have “No Room for Boring” in new Super Bowl commercial – I loved this commercial so much, I bought four Toyotas.
Miss Piggy stars in new commercial advertising pistachios – I loved this commercial so much, I bought four pistachios.
February:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-7jS7X-2ggA
Benedict Cumberbatch, the Count, and Murray Monster star in a new video – Totally worth it just for the “Murry-arty” joke.
Constantine teaches us about movie pirating – Making copies of things is evil. Putting a mole on them is more evil. Breaking out of a Russian gulag… I think you get the picture.
We review the classic Sesame Street Fairy Tale Album – It’s a classic, and not just because it’s co-written by the Brothers Grimm.
The Muppets join Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr – Finally, the Muppets have an outlet to show everyone pictures of their food.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=otRr23Brir8
The Muppets appear in the final number of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon – They sang “The Weight” and it was the perfect send-off for Jimmy.
The Muppets Character Encyclopedia comes out – No longer will we just have to sit back and wonder about the secret origins of Bobby Benson’s Baby Band.
Flappy Bert is a thing – It’s a game featuring Bert being carried by a pigeon. And when he crashes, he seems to be (for some reason) blaming Ernie.
The Muppets cheer on Team Canada in the Olympics – When you’ve got Dr. Teeth cheering you on, there is literally nothing that can stop you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBiN3oQDOdo
The Muppets star in new commercial for Subway – Eat Fresh, Fozzie Bear!
John Henson passes away – Just months after the passing of Jane Henson, another member of the Henson family has left us.
Toy Fair 2014 – All the new Muppet toys announced at Toy Fair, and yet it’s still not enough. It never is for us!
Fozzie Bear interviewed in Maxim Magazine – It makes sense, since Fozzie is rarely seen in much more than a tie and porkpie hat. Sexy!
The Muppet Movie soundtrack reprinted on vinyl – It’s finally being heard the way it was originally intended. By music snobs who refuse to digitize their music collections.
A history of the Muppets and who beat them for Academy Awards – Spoilers: The Muppets were robbed. Every single time. (Except that one time they won.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_LJVfKN2iI
Animal, Animal, and Animal star in Lipton commercial – So many Animals! If that doesn’t make you thirsty, nothing will.
The Doozers debut on Hulu – Yay, a brand new Fraggle Rock spin-off! Boo, no puppets.
March:
Miss Piggy and Joan Rivers feud – Something about a face full of cake and a saggy boob joke. But seriously, did anyone actually think Joan could beat the pig?
Constantine takes over Muppet*Vision pre-show – Constantine gave Muppet*Vision its first big content update ever, as he makes a hostile takeover of the queue area. First the queue, then the theater, and then the world!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRBAKVP69qg
Kermit stars in more Lipton videos – Those Lipton people really love the Muppets! It’s a good thing too, since they made some awesome videos together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=V_8nSRzWpJQ
Gonzo wears a ridiculous hat on Jimmy Kimmel – It’s probably one of the least wacky things Gonzo has ever done, and that hat is pretty dang wacky.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=op9FsoaeyZY
Sam the Eagle does security for Jimmy Kimmel – Security at Kimmel must be pretty lax if they’ll let someone like Sam into the building.
New Muppets Most Wanted parody posters – A Face/Off spoof! How timely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3j_1lv4PAb4
The Muppets surprise real people in Toyota ads – Step 1: Put the Muppets in a car. Step 2: Turn on the camera. Step 3: Profit.
Fozzie and Animal appear on Arsenio Hall Show – The Arsenio Hall Show and the Muppets? Is this the ’80s again??
Muppets Most Wanted press conference – We were there, in person, at the big press conference featuring the Muppets and humans of Muppets Most Wanted! You’re welcome, YouTube viewers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezctJXwndgo
Miss Piggy gets an artsy QVC promo -Moi. I mean, not moi, but her. Yes, that Moi.
Muppets Most Wanted is the longest Muppet movie – Clocking in at 113 minutes, it’s longer than any other Muppet movie. So, what does that really mean to us?
Muppets Most Wanted premieres – It’s the big day! A new Muppet movie! And y’know what? It’s good!!!!
A history of Muppets in prison – Before Constantine ever broke out of the Gulag, we had a long string of Muppets behind bars.
Over 40 interviews with the Muppets and humans of Muppets Most Wanted – Want more from Muppets Most Wanted? Good, because we’ve got a LOT more for you to watch.
The Muppets intern at Buzzfeed – 26 Reasons Why the Muppets Can Do Pretty Much Anything They Want, Anywhere They Want. (#14 is unbelievable!!!)
ToughPigs interviews Constantine – Yes, the real Constantine! We’re bros now. Evil bros.
Kermit is upside-down on Variety – Kermit flips the cover of Variety, and maybe the blood rushed to his head just a little bit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w6uekEnprHY
The Muppets spend the day on QVC – The entire day. That’s hours and hours of Muppets popping up on QVC to help sell vacuums and jewelry and kitchenware over the phone. Hey, if Link Hogthrob can’t sell you a dustbuster, then it cannot be sold.
Kermit returns to The Tonight Show – Jimmy Fallon brought Kermit back to the Tonight Show after so many years away, and they sang “Bein’ Green” in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Okay, so maybe it’s a little easy being green.
ToughPigs interviewed in Wall Street Journal – Does this mean we’re a legitimate news source yet? No? Okay, we’ll hold off until we get that big Parade Magazine interview.
The Muppets are everywhere – As you can tell by their presence in March, 2014 alone, you can’t throw a rock without hitting a Muppet appearance. How great is that??
Bret McKenzie stars in music video for “I’ll Get You What You Want” – How appropriate, since what I wanted was a Bret McKenzie music video!
Miss Piggy appears on Wendy Williams – My theory that Miss Piggy and Wendy Williams are the same person has officially been debunked.
Lessons Constantine can learn from previous Muppet movie villains – Nicky Holiday, Doc Hopper, and Tex Richman have some advice for the newest Muppet bad guy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I5MEAWn_GI
Dr. Teeth and Floyd star in video on Fuse – It doesn’t even matter what they’re doing. It’s new content featuring Dr. Teeth and Floyd. The future is now!
Miss Piggy, Kermit, Queen Latifah, and John Legend sing – The Pig and Frog join the Queen on her new talk show, and they rustle up the Legend for some “Rainbow Connection”.
ToughPigs and Muppet Mindset interview celebrities on Muppets Most Wanted red carpet – We teamed up with the Muppet Mindset to sneak onto the red carpet of the Muppets Most Wanted premiere and interview some famous people. Fun Fact: Danny Trejo has super soft hands.
Another Muppets Most Wanted review – Since we have so many people writing for ToughPigs these days, it only makes sense to have an extra movie review.
Gonzo starts some engines for NASCAR – But what he should really be doing is playing his trumpet to start the Kentucky Derby.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxsYb_sd9WA
Watch Toyota’s Muppet bloopers – There is literally no room for boring when the Muppets let us see their bloopers and outtakes. Don’t even try to sneak some boring in there, Terry Crews!
Extended red carpet interviews with the Muppeteers – Speaking of outtakes, here’s more from our red carpet coverage at the Muppets Most Wanted premiere with the Muppet performers! Featuring a very brief cameo by Dave Goelz, who did not know we were filming.
April:
April Fools: Constantine takes over ToughPigs – For our epic April Fools Day gag, Constantine took over as webmaster of ToughPigs. What we didn’t know is that the other Muppet fan sites had the same idea. But what we had that they didn’t was the real Constantine!! Muppeteer Matt Vogel did us a solid and recorded a little audio for us. And it is epic!!!
Muppets Most Wanted soundtrack review – We’ve already reviewed the movie a few times, so why not just the music bits?
RIP Mickey Rooney – The veteran actor and cameo-er from The Muppets passed away.
Frog Kissin’ podcast debuts – A brand new Muppet podcast, in affiliation with ToughPigs, hears the light of day!
Why didn’t Muppets Most Wanted perform as well as expected? – Seriously, where was everyone?? The movie was so good! But the money did not roll in. What do we need, a telethon??
Interview with Jim Henson Legacy’s Craig Shemin – Longtime ToughPigs supporter and Muppet writer Craig Shemin sat down with us for an interview. We learned a lot about Muppet CD-ROMs.
The Muppets are still puppets – No, they’re not CGI, no matter how cool a parkour Constantine looks.
My Weeks with The Jim Henson Hour – In-depth reviews of every Jim Henson Hour episode, in honor of its 25th anniversary.
Search for Constantine at EPCOT – Constantine starred in his own interactive game that took over the entire EPCOT theme park at Disney World. Seriously, how does he keep getting away with this stuff?
Interview with Sesame Street Head Writer Norman Stiles – The amazingly hilarious Norman Stiles agreed to let us talk to him for a few hours. We should all be so lucky.
May:
Two Things about Muppets Most Wanted – Hey, you have opinions too! Our readers share their thoughts on the new Muppet movie.
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop takes over Today Show – Brian Henson brought a bunch of freaky-looking puppets to the Today Show to scare the bejeezus out of Savannah Guthrie.
Bert and Zachary Levi sing about being outside – This video is seriously delightful. Bert is delightful. Zachary Levi is delightful. The outdoors are pretty okay. I wouldn’t know, I’m a blogger.
June:
The Random Muppet Challenge, round 3 – ToughPigs writers Joe Hennes and Anthony Strand go head-to-head to test their obscure Muppet knowledge in this surprisingly entertaining game we totally made up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zp8MNbyLyBo
RIP Casey Kasem – The owner of the iconic voice has passed away, and we remember him for his roles on Sesame Street and in a Muppet music video.
Muppet movies on Netflix – Who needs Laserdiscs?? Watch ’em all streaming!
Half-hour version of Sesame Street announced – From now on, we only get one-headed monsters.
Jerry Nelson and Richard Hunt are a Great Muppeteer Duo – Yet another spotlight on yet another Muppeteer duo.
July:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UaIn6WG6GIg
The Muppets appear on A Capitol Fourth – Truly the greatest way to celebrate our nation’s birthday.
Kermit sings about iced tea – Yet another Lipton ad, but this one has Kermit picking on his banjo. Worth it just for the puppetry, but a little better when it’s not on mute.
Rizzo complains about lack of Rizzo – As we all are, Rizzo. As we all are.
Sesame Street turns 45 – 45 years of sunny days, cookie-eating monsters, and giant urban-dwelling canaries.
Walter and Pepe star in Disney Drive-On – A great little web series starring Walter, some celebrities, and the Disney backlot.
August:
Kermit talks Avengers, Rocket Raccoon – Reminder: Disney owns all your favorite things now!
The Muppets appear at a Minor League Baseball game – It’s a little strange, but totally worth it to see Sweetums throw out the first pitch.
Missing scenes from Muppets Most Wanted – Our handy list of all the stuff we didn’t see in the film. So, kinda sad when you think about it.
RIP Robin Williams – The uber-talented comedian passed away, and we remember him for his work with the Muppets and on Sesame Street.
Muppets Most Wanted on Blu-ray – Now you can watch it over and over and over (and over) again! And you will, I’m sure.
New Muppets game comes to PS Vita – A new Muppet video game?? You had me at “A new Mu–“.
Fraggle Rock: Journey to the Everspring miniseries launches – The Fraggles return to comics! This time, they’re starring in a 4-issue miniseries, so this may be the closest we ever get to a Fraggle Rock movie.
A history of wet Muppets – Kermit and Cookie Monster participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge, and we’re exploring the history of Muppets who’ve been doused in water.
Inside the Gulag video – In this missing bonus feature from the Muppets Most Wanted Blu-ray, we get a glimpse behind the iron bars of the Russian Gulag. And we didn’t even have to murder anyone to get in!
September:
Cookie Monster and John Oliver team for viral video – It’s hilarious and a little British and why aren’t you watching it (again) right now??
The many plot holes of Muppets Most Wanted – Okay, so the movie didn’t 100% make sense. And we’re helping by pointing out all the flaws. That helps, right??
RIP Joan Rivers – The comedienne and longtime friend of the Muppets passed away, and we look at her career from Muppets Take Manhattan to her recent feud with Miss Piggy.
http://youtu.be/gf_uQ-eSTXM
The Muppets appear on America’s Got Talent – The Muppets return to this third-rate variety show to sing the theme song to their own second-rate variety show.
Sesame Street characters read tweets on The Tonight Show – Just think, if this was Jimmy Kimmel’s show, they’d be reading “mean tweets”. And half of the Sesame characters can’t even read yet!
Cookie Monster stars in Star Wars spoof – Plus, Grover as Yoda. That there’s some good casting!
Kermit writes a note to his former self – In what might be the highlight video of the year, Kermit looks back on his entire career in a letter to himself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyozn0gu-uQ
Walter takes us onto the set of Muppets Most Wanted – Yet another deleted bonus feature from the Muppets Most Wanted Blu-ray, which provided the closest thing we’ll get to an actual behind-the-scenes featurette.
ToughPigs co-owner Joe Hennes appears as a Sesame Street extra – Yep, I got to attend Numeric Con, wear some spandex, stand behind some Muppets, and write all about it for you guys to read.
Sesame Street museum exhibit comes to NYC – I’ve been saying for years that Mr. Snuffleupagus belongs in a museum.
Review of Sesame Street’s first-ever album – Okay, so our review is only 44 years late. Sorry for the delay.
The importance of September 24th – It’s Jim Henson’s birthday, it’s Steve Whitmire’s birthday, but it’s also so much more!
October:
Fran Brill retires – Sesame Street’s first regular female puppeteer and the performer of Prairie Dawn and Zoe is retiring. And we’ll miss her dearly.
Elmo and Cookie Monster spoof House of Cards, Scandal, True Detective, and more – You can’t tell me that Kevin Spacey didn’t use that silly voice on House of Cards without the specific intention of being spoofed by Elmo.
Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl’s Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow released as a graphic novel – It’s got everything! Music, monsters, turkeys, and Roger Langridge on art. It’s fantastic.
Sesame Street Funko Pop toys are coming – Starting with Super Grover, and his dark, dead eyes.
Kid President and Grover give a pep talk – Easily the most inspiring duo. I feel like I could climb a mountain or register to vote or donate some socks or something.
Numeric Con review – Is this the greatest Sesame Street episode in years? Yeah, probably.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvPF8RvOBdY
The Swedish Chef and Pepe make shrimp tacos – Just… don’t tell Pepe what the main ingredient is.
Gerry Parkes, Fraggle Rock’s Doc, passes away – Sad news, as the human star of Fraggle Rock passed away.
21 memorable Doc moments – He appeared in every episode of Fraggle Rock, and we choose just a few to spotlight Doc’s impact.
Are Henson Company sequels really necessary? – Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, and Emmet Otter have all been teased to be getting sequels. But is that a recipe for disaster?
2014 Halloween Parade – Our annual collection of people dressed up as Muppets for Halloween! Maybe next year we’ll have some Muppets dressed as humans.
November:
Muppet*Vision 3D closing – Say it ain’t so, Disneyland! Say… it ain’t… so…
The strange romance of Bunsen and Beaker – I mean, they’re definitely more than just friends. They’re also lab partners.
Why is “Elmo’s Ducks” so popular? – It’s one of the most watched Sesame Street videos on YouTube. People must really love those ducks.
Cookie Monster and John Oliver star in another viral video – Cookie Monster learns the sad truth about cookies and biscuits and the very essence of his being.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNVmByqV_qk
Kermit gives a TED Talk – Kermit gave a long talk at a TED Conference, and it was amazing. Who knew people might want to watch a talking frog??
45 great things about the first episode of Sesame Street – On Sesame Street’s 45th anniversary, we look back on the very first episode. And it’s true, we’ve still never seen a place like Sesame Street.
Too Many Cookies! video takes over the internet – Our spoof of [adult swim]’s “Too Many Cooks” got over 50,000 views on YouTube. We apologize for getting the song stuck in your head.
Sesame Street’s Furchester Hotel comes to YouTube – ‘Allo, guvnor! Fancy a spot of pip pip and cheerio and all that rot? The British Sesame Street show comes stateside so you can hear a bunch of Muppets with more convincing accents than mine.
ToughPigs celebrates Fran Brill Week – In honor of Fran’s retirement, we put together a whole collection of articles all about her career with Sesame Street and the Muppets.
Steve Whitmire puts his Muppet stuff up for auction – Wanna buy some of Steve’s stuff? Like, legitimately. No black market needed.
December:
I Am Big Bird debuts – The Caroll Spinney documentary premieres in New York City, and we got to see it. It’s so good, you guys. Coming to you in 2015!
Slimey is going to Mars – Well, not exactly. But he’s on the prototype shuttle that will eventually go to Mars! This is one small slither for worm, one giant belly-crawl for wormkind.
Big Bird appears in YouTube’s year-in-review video – He literally runs past the camera, but he’s definitely a highlight of anyone’s year.
My Muppets Show app is discontinued – The only big Muppet app is going bye-bye. At least we don’t have to listen to those repetitive songs anymore.
The Muppets at D23: Five years later – It’s been five years since the Muppets’ big D23 presentation, and we want to know if they delivered on their promises. Not too likely.
ToughPigs Roundtable: The best Muppet Christmas specials – We randomly assigned Muppet Christmas specials to the ToughPigs writers and made them defend them as if they were the greatest. It was awkward. But hilarious!
ToughPigs Roundtable: The worst Muppet Christmas specials – Same as above, but the worst. So awkward!!
Kermit the Frog sings “It Feels Like Christmas” – Kermit sings the classic song from Muppet Christmas Carol, and it was the greatest gift any of us could receive.
Bert and Ernie share the secret to their friendship – You don’t live with a guy for 45 years and not learn a few things to share, y’know?
The Sesame Street gang appears in Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s Christmas show – I’ve always suspected that the Count may be Mormon. It would explain his long list of Countesses.
2014 Year in Review – And here we are, back where we started! Feel free to click on that link and read this article all over again. If you find yourself stuck in this causality loop, please feel free to call us and we’ll send an ambulance or a firefighter or something.
We hope you all had a great 2014, and here’s hoping we have an equally successful 2015! Happy New Year, Muppet fans!
Click here to ring in the new on the ToughPigs forum!
by Joe Hennes – Joe@ToughPigs.com
