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I' ve always been into the Muppets and now my toddler son has been enjoying their movies.  It got me to thinking.  If you had to pick a top five favorite character list from Jim Henson's world (Muppets, Sesame Street, Fraggles, etc) who would you pick and why?

1.) Miss Piggy - A pig who finds herself beautiful is still hilarious to me.
2.) Oscar The Grouch - Probably the one Muppet I identified with, even as a kid. 
3.) Kermit - The one Muppet that crossed over nicely into Sesame Street.  I always loved his good willed yet nervous nature. 
4.) Bert - The guy is a nerd personified, gotta love him. 
5.) Statler and Waldorf - I'll count these guys as one character.  Its because of them I often go "ohhhh ho ho" after making a smart @ss one liner to someone. 

Least favorite:  Elmo, Ernie and Sam The Eagle

Whew...I get to pick more than one!!    :bouncegiggle:

I'm assuming you mean "character created by Jim Henson" not "character voiced by Jim Henson."

In no particular order:

1) Grover (just thinking of "Near...and Far" still makes me smile)
2) Oscar the Grouch
3) Great Gonzo
4) Animal
5) Beaker/Dr. Bunsen Honeydew
6) Swedish Chef
7) Zoot
8) Statler and Waldorf

Elmo would not be on my Top 100 list.

Another favorite character of mine is The Grinch.  Have you ever noticed how much The Grinch and Oscar the Grouch resemble each other?  Both green, both G-names, both kinda grouchy on the outside...

First off, it's kinda hard to limit it to 5 exactly, and I'm gonna regret this later when I think of other characters, but here goes:

1.) Fozzie Bear-A comedian who is just completely bad at his intended career and never gives up.  Gotta respect that.  Plus I'm always happy when a real comic bombs.  It's funny.
2.) Rolwf- Calm, cool muppet who never really seems to get much attention.  Plus I'm a dog lover.
3.) Big Bird - I loved him back in the mid '80s when I was younger.  I still do to this day.  Occasionally on my day off I catch Sesame Street.
4.) Bert- So uptight and nerdy.  Sadly a reflection of how I am sometimes.
5.) Boober from Fraggle Rock.

Honorable mention:
Pepe The King Prawn- Created after Henson died, but was apart of Muppets Tonight, Muppets From Space and every Muppet project since.  Love him.

Cookie Monster for sure. Also Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker, Lou Zealand, the two 'yup yup yup' aliens, Dr. Teeth and Sweetums.

HOW could I have forgotten Cookie Monster...

Oh yeah, and The Count.  He's fun, too.

Too many to name, really.  Sad day when Jim Henson died.

On a side note, when I was a kid my parents had a friend (about their age) who was a BIGTIME Muppet fan.  He was a member of the official fan club and everything.  He got all kinds of stuff in the mail geared for small children.  He loved it.  He and his wife moved to Fairbanks, Alaska and we fell out of touch.

I always liked Cookie Monster, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWac5UT80no

Good choices so far!  :thumbup:

I'm also a fan of Rizzo The Rat.  He has kind of NY attitude.   Beaker to me is funny as hell.  He was a pre-cursor to characters like Kenny on South Park if you think about it.  I like a lot of the minor characters that sadly get forgotten.  Like the blue guy who grover always ends up p**sing off in the restaurant.  Guy Smiley is another one along with the piano player who always smashes his head into the piano keys when he can't hit the right note. 

Has anyone ever seen A Muppet Family Christmas where everyone from different shows come together.  Classic stuff. 

I also gotta show some love for Snuffleupagus and Barkley.

Swedish Chef. 
The guy who tossed the boomerang fish was also really funny.
Kermit, because I like his character (and the opportunity for jokes from it)

Along the lines of design, there was a "scary" muppet that I liked.  I remember him appearing with Vincent Price in the one episode. 


I did not finish picking, but are the movies off limits?  I love the creature designs in "The Dark Crystal" and some from "Labyrinth."

I love the headless Orange and Pink monsters from Labrynth, as well as Hoggle and Bluto. 

Gosh, I haven't seen that Muppets in soooo long I think I've forgotten there names, but lets see.
I'm considering all Muppet creations.

In not order ...

Gonzo - he has spunk no matter what it keeps going.
Earl Sinclair - he's just funny. (From Dinosaurs a muppet creation.)
Hoggle - from Labyrinth
Statler and Waldorf - got to like cranky old men.
Hynerian Dominar Rygel XVI - from Farscape (he is a muppet creation.)

Tough to narrow it down to five:

1. Gonzo. I just relate too well to his never-quite-belonging-anywhere, never-understood persona. Is that looking too deep?
2. Fozzy. Gregarious, cornball, fun. My kind of guy.
3. Statler & Waldorf. They get to make fun of everything. What's not to like?
4. Animal (or maybe all of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem). The band is awesome.
5. Beaker. Victim. Again, what's not to like?
6. Swedish Chef. Precursor to the Food Network and more entertaining than most of the FN hosts.
7. Lou Zealand and his Amazing Boomerang Fish. Misunderstood, unappreciated genius. He knows he's got a good thing, but no one else sees it. Sticks by his guns and never gives up.
8. Rowlph. Musical comedian extraordinaire. Gotta love him.
9. Crazy Harry. He's a blast. Did someone say "blast"? Heh, heh, heh.
10. Grover. He's smart, kind (when he wants to be), and sometimes sassy.

I do also love the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth creations. Pretty much anything Henson did was entertaining. We need more people willing to bring unique visions/creations to the entertainment world like he did.

Not sure if these are all strictly Jim Henson characters but they are all 'Muppet' creations, so here goes:
1. Animal
2. The pair of Martians who were afraid of the telephone ringing
3. The Spirit of Christmas Present In the Muppet Christmas Carol
4. The King from Hey Cinderellla!
5. Rizzo the Rat

KERMIT
COOKIE MONSTER
BIG BIRD
MISS PIGGY
OSCAR THE GROUCH

The COUNT...of course!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMODAndeyNE

Best ones:
 
             - Guy Smiley;
             -Oscar The Grouch (The best childrens T.V character ever);
             -Cookie Monster;
             -The Count (Agreed R.C);
            -Big Bird (Anyone think the voice actor used sounds uncannily like Michael Jackson?);
            -Animal!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ylItNtfNzOE
Swedish Chef Making Chicken.   :buggedout: :bouncegiggle:

Love him.

As mentioned previously, the blue guy who Grover annoys rules... :bouncegiggle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GOGNE0nWHk

In no particular order:

1.  Animal
2.  Floyd
3.  Beaker
4.  The Swedish Chef
5.  Statler and Waldorf

Great post!

I'll try to do it in the right order...

5. Rowlf - Don't know exactly why, but he's cool

4. Animal - I had a kind of anarchistic attitude when young.. and used to play drums, so.....

3. Honeydew and Beaker - Well, now I'm at a university....

2. Grover - I have to narrow this down to his waiter role. As has been mentioned before, most hilarious with the blue guy...

1. Kermit - Although he's not the most funny or interesting one, he's probably the most likeable, because he seems so "real" - not like a puppet, but a real person.

You hit it on the head about Kermit.  I've been saying the same thing about Mickey Mouse.  But honestly, I love Kermit cause he has a dry sense of humor and can be funny, whereas, I've always felt Mickey wasn't all that particulary funny.  Mickey's likeable, sure, but it's like the funny gets handed to Goofy or Donald Duck.

1) Statler and Waldorf, the old guys from the muppet show.
2)  Bunsen and beaker (I am a scientist)
3) Herry Monster- He was always a bit player. 

I almost forgot Telly. Between the constant worrying and the uncanny resemblance to Al Molinaro, what's not to like?

Actually, the mental health of the Sesame Street muppets is quite interesting. You have Big Bird, a giant with the mind of a child, carrying on conversations with a character nobody else can see (I know they changed that part). There's anxiety-ridden Telly, the obsessive-compulsive Count, compulsive overeater Cookie Monster, antisocial psychopath Oscar, and the always-irrational Grover.

Don't forget Dave Chappelle's thoughts on Sesame Street.   :teddyr:
(video is about 3 min long)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUmYGLIubho
(NOT SAFE FOR WORK!!)

Janice in the band rules...for shuuuuuure...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEPB0ZXPefo

Here's my fave:

(http://classweb.dctc.mnscu.edu/20053/VCOM268591/BLANCCHRI/animal.gif)

Animal was loosely based (allegedly) on Keith Moon here, especially in the personality department.
(http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f363/conkers_007/keith_moon_.jpg)

Rowlf

I love the Muppet News Flashes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C1rh4vTI_0

Snuffleupagus- He's awesome
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1Sw2HX6gUZk

Law and Order: Special Letters Unit
Not a character, but a skit I love.  It's Sesame Street. 
http://youtube.com/watch?v=S2CSkLR6mUQ

I love that the green one looks just like Richard Belzer. :hot:

Jareth

The 2 old guys in the balcony.

Oh jeez, I forgot the doozers from Fraggle rock.
-Ed

The Great Gonzo: The Muppet with no known species. And the one that f**ks chickens.  Can you blame him for appealing to my tastes?  I think he embodies everything what I love about Jim Henson's work with his endearing and lovable idiosyncrasy.
Oscar comes in second place.

Personally, I always enjoyed Beaker and Bunsen for some reason.  They are just so fun to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mggl7cC8iys

But if I got to pick an all time favorite, it is the duo of Statler and Waldorf.  Always fun to watch and laugh with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14njUwJUg1I

Oh, Statler and Waldorf, no question. It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to make two old guys who hate everything about your show an integral part of the equation.

My favorite exchange by them was part of the 3-D show at Universal Studios.

"Hey, check out the guy in the audience wearing a Halloween mask!"
"That's no mask."
"Oops! Sorry, lady!"

As far as expressiveness goes, I like both Sam the Eagle (who always seems mildly befuddled) and Animal.

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgbNymZ7vqY

If you're not a fan of the Muppets after that, you're one of the soulless.

Rygel and Pilot from Farscape. 

The Yin and the Yang:

Fozzie, just because of his sheer tenacity, and Statler and Waldorf, because they are his biggest ridiculers.

As a kid, it was probably a toss-up between the Swedish Chef and Lou Zealand, the fish thrower.

These days, I have to go with Dr. Teeth. Very funny, quirky, and just a well-developed character all around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LWzK2Sy_zk&feature=related

I've also gotten a much greater appreciation for Kermit, as the sane person who has to deal with a bunch of weirdos all the time. He often has some really funny moments, but more low-key than some of the other characters.

Favourite line in the 1979  movie:
Fozzie: I don't know how to thank you guys.
Kermit: I don't know why to thank you guys.

Fozzie's my all-time favorite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH2coWVi9Vg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sHsMctH1Nw&feature=related

also, Beaker's a close second:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpcUxwpOQ_A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAtBki0PsC0

Also, I do like Pepe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBxYgMMcpJs

I love so many but my overall favorite will always be Kermit the Frog...

(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NF6DWlRZPeU/SP6xey0SQYI/AAAAAAAAAdA/_8dQkKaKDMY/s320/kermit.jpg)

Love nearly all of them but my fave since I was a kid has always been:

Oscar the Grouch

Followed closely by:

Bert
Kermit the Frog
Fozzie Bear
Gonzo
Animal
Junior Gorg
Wembley
Grover
Swedish Chief

Does Jareth (David Bowie) count?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrZyMptC2eQ

I met CAROL SPINNEY just a few years after the above and was unimpressed because of my own ignorance.  I might have been just the right age for MUPPETS, but there were four of us (five counting my 10 years older brother) and my sister being three years older and my brother two years older... they dominated TV to their more mature tastes.  Now that I'm old enough to truly appreciate the MUPPETS, I'm sorry I didn't appreciate the wonderful opportunity I had.  

For just a second, I wondered why Big Bird was singing Kermit's song. Because Kermit lost his voice, of course.

Amazing that Big Bird can project so much dignity in that setting.

Not an easy choice to make, but I think Beaker is tied with the two old guys for me.

Good choices.  I loved Farscape. I loved this version of the Scarrans.  That show was great because it had real aliens instead f guys with big ears and ridges on there noses (for the most part at least)
(http://images.wikia.com/farscape/images/3/37/Najgil.jpg)

Staler and Waldorf
Bert and Ernie
Oscar the Grouch
the

The Henson company has given us so many wonderful characters. While I stand by my choices, I have a fond appreciation for all, notably some that are underappreciated:
Rowlf the Dog
Big Bird
Snuffleupagus
Telly Monster

Janice from The Electric Mayhem is good, too. She has a running gag of off-the-wall sayings when you pay attention.

In no particular order:

Fozzie Bear
Oscar the Grouch
Statler & Waldorf
Swedish Chef
Rowlf
Dr. Teeth & all the members of Electric Mayhem
Bert
Sweetums
Mahna Mahna (aka Bip Bippadotta)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei1DvIgW_PU
Sam the Eagle

They're all pretty great though  :smile: