Favorite Jim Henson Character

[Mr. DS]

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

[ulthar]

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

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...

[HappyGilmore]

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.

[AndyC]

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

[ulthar]

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.

[Ash]

I always liked Cookie Monster, too.

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

[Mr. DS]

Good choices so far! 

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. 

[HappyGilmore]

I also gotta show some love for Snuffleupagus and Barkley.

[Andrew]

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."

[HappyGilmore]

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. 

[CheezeFlixz]

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.)

[Derf]

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.

[Newt]

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

[Allhallowsday]

KERMIT
COOKIE MONSTER
BIG BIRD
MISS PIGGY
OSCAR THE GROUCH

[RCMerchant]

The COUNT...of course!

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