Muppet Wiki (website)

Muppet Wiki is a wiki "for everything related to Jim Henson, Sesame Street, and the Muppets." It is hosted by Fandom (formerly WikiCities/Wikia), which runs on (modified) MediaWiki software. This format allows visitors to add, remove, or otherwise edit and change content that has been curated through a system of checks and balances. Muppet Wiki works as a collaborative effort overseen by a team of dedicated administrators and editors working together as a community toward the creation of in-depth encyclopedic articles.

Founded on December 5, 2005 (under WikiCities), Muppet Wiki's database contains 46,286 encyclopedic articles (which does not include wiki discussions, project pages, or redirects). The logo was designed by Scott Hanson and based on a theme from the March photo in The Miss Piggy Calendar 1980. This was incorporated into a new design based on The Muppet Show logo by Julian Kleibeler in October 2010 (including seasonal flair).

Although the wiki is run in an unofficial capacity, several industry insiders have made substantial contributions, adding to the wiki's credibility (see "Mission" statement below). Their presence has been welcome in a capacity of their choosing: while some individuals have gone on record as identified experts, the anonymity of others is respected and acknowledged by the wiki hosts.

Mission[]

Wondercon-WikiaBooth — Muppet Wiki founders Danny Horn and Scott Hanson show fans how to edit the site at Wondercon 2008.

The goal of Muppet Wiki and its contributors is to build a database of articles related to Jim Henson's career and various character universes. Through the research of published works and various media content, the database is meant to serve as a comprehensive source of reference. An accurate account of works cited is provided when possible (by way of footnotes and adherence to other policies), and particular attention is given to verifiable information. Special care is taken with disputed or erroneous information, and in some cases may result in a settlement in the form of a rumor disclaimer.

Although the name of the site is Muppet Wiki, the encyclopedia extends to areas outside of what may be publicly perceived as "Muppet" content in some cases. For example, Sesame Street, while well known for its inclusion of Jim Henson's Muppets, comprises a number of different contributions such as animation and live-action film unrelated to the Muppets. Because Sesame Street and the Sesame Street Muppets are so closely associated, these areas often blend into one another, and thus, have been included in some cases. (see Muppet Wiki:Coverage)

Similarly, Jim Henson's work outside of the Muppets is also stressed, one example being technology and characters furnished by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Of the works created by companies using material furnished by the Creature Shop, only those works produced by The Jim Henson Company are covered extensively. Other examples of non-Muppet Jim Henson content include The Cube and "Tick-Tock Sick."

Milestones and Acknowledgements[]

Love_for_Muppet_Wiki — Love for Muppet Wiki

Yahoo's 2006 segment on Muppet Wiki.

Jimmywales20070201 — Jimmy Wales uses Muppet Wiki statistics and the article on Itzhak Perlman as an example of the potential in subject-focused wikis in a lecture at NYU on February 1, 2007. (listen here)^[1]

Sesame-siteswelike — A link to Muppet Wiki from the official Sesame Workshop website.

Muppet-wiki-in-esquire — Quote in *Esquire*

Sesame japan muppet wiki link — The official Sesame Street Japan staff blog, with a link to Muppet Wiki.

Sesame japan translation — A translation of the Sesame Japan page.

SesameGo-Wiki — Muppet Wiki-uploaded images (bottom) used on Sesame Go service

Wiki-MOMI — The Tough Pigs play a Wiki-based game at the Museum of the Moving Image in 2015.

StreetGang-Wiki — "The Muppet Wiki" in the credits of *Street Gang*.

Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia and Wikia, frequently uses Muppet Wiki as an example of how to build a successful wiki community in public lectures, seminars and interviews.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]

By December 5, 2006, Muppet Wiki's one year anniversary, the database housed 1,766 Muppet Characters, 548 Sesame Street Books, and 521 Muppet Show Songs; 12,130 articles in all, averaging a thousand articles per month in one year.

Muppet Wiki was featured in segment #4 of the August 3, 2006 broadcast of The 9 on Yahoo TV!

The site has been mentioned in major newspaper publications such as The Boston Globe,^[12] The New York Post,^[13] Australia's The Age^[14] and Denmark's Ekstra Bladet.^[15]

In the July 2007 print edition of reason magazine, coverage of Muppet Wiki is used as an example of Wikia's growth:

“Consider, for instance, the astonishing growth and readership at the Wikia site devoted to Muppets. At a little over one year old, the Muppet Wiki has 13,700 articles. Every single one is about Muppets. Interested in an in-depth look at the use of gorilla suits in the Muppet movies? No problem. Just type in "gorilla suits" and enjoy a well-illustrated article that documents, among other things, the names of actors who have worn an ape outfit for Jim Henson. There is a timeline of all things Muppet-related. An entry on China details Big Bird's reception in the People's Republic. The site is astonishingly comprehensive and, perhaps more impressive, comprehensible to a Muppet novice.^[16]”

National Public Radio listed Muppet Wiki's Cookie Monster article as a "Web Resource" in conjunction with a featured spot on their program In Character on February 8, 2008. [5]

Kermit Culture, a collection of academic essays about the Muppets in popular culture, offers Muppet Wiki as an additional resource "for fans and scholars" of The Muppet Show cast. Two essays source articles on Muppet Wiki in their works cited: "The Muppets and Shakespeare" by Hugh H. Davis (Kermit, Prince of Denmark); "The Uniquely Strong but Feminine Miss Piggy" by Maryanne Fisher and Anthony Cox (Bonnie Erickson, Miss Piggy). Additionally, Muppet Wiki administrator and regular editor since January 6, 2006, Andrew Leal, contributed "Muppets and Money."

The National Post cited Muppet Wiki as the sole source for their 2009 interactive article "101 Muppets of Sesame Street," indicating that some journalist are using Muppet Wiki as a primary source of information.^[17]

Muppet Wiki reached 20,000 articles on November 16, 2009.

The official Sesame Street 40th anniversary book, Sesame Street: A Celebration - 40 Years of Life on the Street, published in 2009, cites Muppet Wiki several times as "an invaluable resource" for readers who would like to learn more about the series. Tough Pigs founder and Muppet Wiki co-founder Danny Horn is interviewed for the merchandise section, where he talks about his earliest memory of Sesame Street Merchandise. Page 177 uses a screenshot from our episode guide for Episode 4107 (a previous version of File:4107.12.jpg).

Sesame Workshop has a link to Muppet Wiki on its parenting blog, Sesame Family Robinson. Sesame-Street.jp has linked to articles on Muppet Wiki (including Twiddlebugs and Meryl Sheep) for further, comprehensive information on entries for their monthly character feature.^[18]

Muppet Wiki is listed as a source in the resource materials provided at the Jim Henson's Fantastic World exhibit.

Jim Henson: The Guy Who Played with Puppets lists Muppet Wiki as one of its website sources.

Production designers on The Muppets used Muppet Wiki "thoroughly for research."^[19]

In the audio commentary recorded for the Blu-ray release of The Muppets, director James Bobin stated that fans at Muppet Wiki and Muppet Central probably know more about the characters than the filmmakers do.

Character images for Harvey Kneeslapper and Pedro were used in the background of the Downton Abbey parody on Sesame Street (see image). An earlier version featured the same Harvey image, as well as one of Queen Olivia, but with digital alterations. (See image here).

Sesame Street director Nadine Zylstra mentioned the website when talking about Sesame Workshop's large audience at a Google Tech Talk in March 2013. (YouTube)

The Library of Congress website cites Muppet Wiki's article for Kermit the Frog.

Muppet Wiki images for certain Sesame Street segments and "Elmo's World" episodes have been used for thumbnails for videos found on SesameStreet's YouTube Channel and Sesame Go.

At the "Second Annual Muppet Trivia Spectacular" event held at the Museum of the Moving Image by The Jim Henson Legacy in October 2015, the members of Tough Pigs faced off in a three-round game called "The Toughest Pig." The second round featured excerpts from Muppet Wiki articles (including Sam the Robot, Mr. Hooper and event co-host Stephanie D'Abruzzo) and the contestants would earn points by correctly pointing out the (newly-added) bit of incorrect information.

Craig Shemin used Muppet Wiki's article of Gilbert Gottfried to list off his Muppet appearances in an appearance on a 2017 episode of Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast!

During the Museum of the Moving Image's "Preserving Jim Henson's Legacy" webinar on April 25, 2020 (YouTube), Karen Falk gives thanks to the various companies involved in various Henson-related exhibits, as well as the Muppet fan community and "that Muppet Wiki that we all use every day."

The Wiki and its Twitter account were acknowledged by the official "The Muppets" account (under the guise of being operated by Walter) in an August 2020 tweet.

"The Muppet Wiki" is recognized in the special thanks during the credits of Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street.

On November 8, 2021, the official Sesame Street Facebook and Twitter accounts posted a clip from Episode 0343. Both accounts give acknowledgement to Muppet Wiki for bringing public attention to the episode earlier in the weekend.^[20]^[21]

Matt Vogel acknowledges the Muppet Wiki as a useful tool in researching a character's history in Episode #31 of Below the Frame (mentioned at 00:44:01).

On April 12, 2022, the University of Maryland hosted an online event "Archiving a Legacy: A Conversation with Karen Falk of The Jim Henson Company." During a section on fan engagement, Falk mentioned the Wiki as a productive resource.

The Sesame Street in Communities description for the video "Barbershop Bonding" links to the Muppet Wiki articles for Gordon, Susan, and Chris.

Craig Shemin's 2022 book Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show gives thanks to "Scott Hanson, Danny Horn, and everyone associated with The Muppet Wiki for starting and maintaining such a helpful resource." The site is additionally listed in the bibliography for Part II of the book. The links page on the official website includes "The Muppet Wiki," with the descriptor: "The Muppet Wiki is a vast fan-generated database of Henson information and was a terrific resource in researching this book."

In a 2022 interview on Purple Roads, Ivy Austin acknowledges the Wiki and its listing of the material she's participated in. (YouTube)

Craig Shemin and Karen Falk each gave acknowledgements to the Wiki and its usefulness in supporting the legacy of Jim Henson's works at "The Jim Henson Legacy: A 30th Anniversary Celebration" event at the Museum of the Moving Image on May 13, 2023.

The Wiki is acknowledged as a "vital resource" in Funny Boy: The Richard Hunt Biography.

When discussing The Muppets Character Encyclopedia on a 2024 episode of the Storytelling Saga podcast (00:26:59), author Craig Shemin refers to the Wiki's "Errata" section on the book as he talks about the rushed production schedule causing some mistakes to slip through the cracks.

Seasonal logos[]

Beginning in October 2010, with a design overhaul of Wikia, Julian Kleibeler started designing various Muppet Wiki logos with seasonal flair. Based on the classic "MUPPET" font developed by Michael Frith, Kleibeler added imitating "WIKI" lettering; all the while incorporating the trademark Kermit eye that Scott Hanson first prominently used on the Wiki's original design, based on the first Miss Piggy Calendar's "private eye" icon, again designed by Frith (and once again used here on Muppet Babies). In the style of Google's commemorative Google Doodles used for special occasions, the blank space to the right of the logo has been used for special holiday images.