Halloween Parades
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It’s Halloween season, which means three things: It’s tine to get spooky, it’s time for candy, and it’s time for some incredible costumes. Now, we don’t want to scare the pants off of anyone, and we can’t exactly dole out sweet treats through the internet, but we CAN bring you an actual ton of Muppet costumes!
Every year – for over 20 years now! – we’ve scoured the internet and received countless emails from readers to collect the best Muppet costumes out there. Scooters and Sweetumses, Fraggles and Fizzgigs, Big Birds and Berts, we collect ’em all throughout the year to find our favorite costumes just so we can share them right here in this annual roundup!
This year, I think we’ve got the record for most costumes in one Halloween feature. We’re excited to share over 130 images! It’s a Halloween miracle!
If you’ve got a great Muppet costume, or if you see any exceptional ones floating around the internet, be sure to email them to us! We’ll include them in next year’s Halloween Parade. And then you’ll get all the glory. Or candy. (Or both??)
And with that, let’s look at some costumes!
What better way to start a Muppet costume parade than with a whole lotta Beakers?? Beaker is always a popular costume, and Muppet fans really came out of the woodworks this year to pay homage to their favorite scientific guinea pig.
Despite there being a new Fraggle Rock series in the past year, we were surprised to only find a few Fraggle costumes. But that’s alright – these three brought enough Fraggle magic for everyone.
Sometimes the best costumes are the weirdest ones. Hence why some of these fine folks made the wise and inspired decision to pay homage to the greatest weirdo of all.
Nailed it.
The Muppets Mayhem is a hit, and these folks dressed as Dr. Teeth and the rest of the Electric Mayhem are proving it. Far out!
Who had “a horse dressed as Big Bird” on their Halloween bingo card this year? It was the horse, wasn’t it?
Do you think this kid is dressed as Mr. Noodle, Mr. Noodle’s brother, or Mr. Noodle’s child born out of a secret love affair??
I genuinely love seeing folks dress as Jim Henson for Halloween. It’s not a tough costume to put together – you just need a beard and a puppet (and optional headband and bag of “scraps and things”). But as these cosplayers are proving, it looks like you also need a stoic and serious look on your face.
That’s one! Two! Three Counts! And then, like, the sound of thunder or something.
Much like the aforementioned Beakers, the Swedish Chef is a popular costume, with just a chef’s hat, bow tie, apron, and mustache required to pull it all together. Plus, who wouldn’t have a great time going to Halloween parties and spouting a bunch of gibberish in lieu of small talk?
Here’s one of our favorite comedy writers – Demi Adejuibe! Over the years, he’s created a ton of costume mashup ideas, and last year he dressed as one of them. In case you haven’t figured it out, he’s “Lady Bert”.
Don’t you just love seeing so many people dress as Kermit the Frog? Over 60 years old, and folks still love the guy enough to make their own ping pong ball eyes and pointy collars.
Not to be outdone, Miss Piggy has her fair share of imitators. As well she should.
But nothing beats the pairing of these two together! Every pig needs her frog, and vice versa. Even when they’re just people.
But sometimes… maybe it’s best to leave the costumes in the closet.
Speaking of trash, here’s a bunch of Oscars! With various methods of trashcannery, including a Bruno and a very clever couples costume.
So. Many. Jareths! Look, I love David Bowie and Tina Turner wigs as much as the next guy, but maybe this costume idea is a little… overdone? Nah, that can’t be right. Look at how much fun everyone’s having! They’re dance magic dancing, chillying down, and reminding us of all sorts of babes.
Of all the Labyrinth costumes, this family stands out as our favorite. Seriously, how do I get them to adopt me??
Speaking of group costumes, here’s a whole bunch of families and friends who’ve decided to go all in on on creating their own Muppet Show crews. Somehow, not a single Beauregard among them.
Even houses get into the Halloween spirit! But be careful – Cookie Monster houses will eat anything.
There’s a character in Grease named “Rizzo,” so it was only a matter of time before someone mashed her up with our favorite Muppet rat. I’m only disappointed that I didn’t think of it first.
Every Bert needs an Ernie. Their pants, however, are (apparently) optional.
It’s incredible how there was a single sketch on The Muppet Show featuring these characters almost 50 years ago, and people still love them enough to build costumes and puppets of them. It’s Mahna Manhamazing.
For good measure, just a few more Muppet groups, this time featuring some characters from Sesame Street! These are all great, but that Oscar/Gonzo pairing is oddly romantic and I kind of ship them now.
I gotta give Lizzo props for not only dressing as Miss Piggy last year, but for recreating this very specific, and very erotic photo.
Oh hey, there’s Big Bird! We love Big Bird! And so do these folks who went the extra mile to pay homage to Sesame Street’s resident giant.
Statler and Waldorf are judging your costumes.
This brilliant young person is dressed as Weird AnimAL Yankovic. How can you not love that??
I can’t put my finger on why I love this little Grover costume so much. Maybe it has something to do with the perfectly-shaped helmet head, the accurate coloring, or even just the fact that it’s worn by such a tiny cosplayer, the proportions look all the more correct. I hope this kid got all the candy on their block.
Points for dressing as Miss Piggy. Double points for basing it on a very specific outfit. Double the doubled points for nailing that sultry over-the-shoulder look.
Taking things one step further beyond Kermit’s vampy look in the Vincent Price episode of The Muppet Show, this cosplayer decided that Kermit is a full-fledged vampire and honestly, they might be onto something.
Dogs! Dogs dressed as Fozzie Bear! (And one Sprocket.) But DOGS!
Most years, we declare a “winner” for our favorite Muppet cosplay, which is an honor that comes with zero prizes with the exception of bragging rights at the lowest of stakes. This year we had trouble narrowing it down, so we’re presenting our top five costumes! Here we go!
#5! This perfect Gonzo costume has a perfect Gonzo face paired with a perfect Gonzo purple tuxedo. And he’s doing something weird that I can’t explain in the photo, making him the second best Gonzo ever (after the real deal, of course).
#4! This Fraggle Rock trio comes courtesy of longtime ToughPigs friend Carolyn Wiesner. Her Trash Heap is perfected with Marjory’s show-accurate glasses, and that Doc wouldn’t be Doc without the mis-buttoned cardigan. But that baby Sprocket?? Too cute! Get out of here with that cuteness!
#3! We’ve seen a lot of Jim Hensons, but a Frank Oz costume is a rarity. But paired with an actual Grover? With arm rods??? Wow.
#2! Yip Yip Martians are pretty common when it comes to Halloween costumes. But the inclusion of a grandfather clock?? The dedication to a single Sesame Street sketch has me elated.
#1! Our favorite costume of the year – and perhaps of all time – is this “pirated DVD,” which wouldn’t be the same if they hadn’t chosen Muppet Treasure Island as their DVD of choice. Who among us isn’t intimately familiar with this disc after spinning it a hundred times?? And who among us ever thought to make an entire costume out of it? Just one, and they’re this year’s ToughPigs Halloween Parade winner!
And that’s it for this year!! Many thanks to everyone who sent us Halloween costume images! And a reminder – if you have any (or spot any), be sure to email them to us for next year’s Parade!
Click here to cosplay as the ToughPigs forum!
by Joe Hennes – Joe@ToughPigs.com
