Canada

The Muppets' Salute to Canada

The Muppets salute Canada in song, from the Just for Laughs gala.

Big Bird and Oscar go Camping in Canada.

Fozzie Bear and Kermit drive through Saskatchewan.

Canada is a country occupying the northernmost portion of North America, and is the world's second largest country in total area. A number of Henson/Muppet productions have been filmed there, ranging from early productions like The Cube and The Tales from Muppetland to recent productions like The Muppets Wizard of Oz. By population, its largest city is Toronto, a hub for many of the filming, appearances and connections.

The Canadian co-production of Sesame Street, initially known only as "Sesame Street Canada", was rechristened Sesame Park in 1996, with new Muppets and framing footage made specifically for the Canadian market. The American series has proved popular; in 1990, the O'Keefe Centre added a tenth performance to their stop, a result of high demand.

The Ministry of Education for the Canadian province of Ontario commissioned the creation of a type of computer called the UNISYS ICON. Ernie's Big Splash was reprogrammed for this platform.

The Gemini Awards are the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy Awards, honouring the best in Canadian-made television. Fraggle Rock, Down at Fraggle Rock: Behind the Scenes, Jim Henson's Dog City, and Sesame Park have each won, or won and been nominated for Geminis.

Various props from Fraggle Rock are in the collection of the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

Oscar the Grouch helped to promote Canada's "Waste Reduction Week" in 2008. In an interview on CBC radio, Oscar revealed that his parents are both Canadian: His mother is from Nova Scotia and his father is from St. David's Ridge, New Brunswick.

Filming locations

Jim's Red Book "Fraggle Rock Press"

Henson talks about why he chose Canada to film Fraggle Rock.

A number of Henson/Muppet productions have been filmed in Canada, some of them taped at Toronto's VTR Productions/Robert Lawrence Studios (including commercials for Purina Dog Chow and McGarry's Sausage).

• Hey Cinderella! (1969)
• The Cube (1969) at Toronto's Glen-Warren Productions Limited
• The Great Santa Claus Switch (1970)
• The Frog Prince (1971) in Toronto
• The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972)
• Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977) in Toronto
• The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show (1982) at Toronto
• Fraggle Rock (1983-1987) at Toronto's CBC Studios and on location around the Greater Toronto Area
• Follow that Bird (1985) at Kleinberg, Ontario's Toronto International Studios, as well as the towns of Bolton and Georgetown
• The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1986) at Toronto's Glen-Warren Productions Limited
• A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) in Toronto
• The Jim Henson Hour (1989) at Toronto and Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia (for "Lighthouse Island")
• Basil Hears a Noise (1990) at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto
• It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) at Lionsgate Studios, North Vancouver, British Columbia
• The Muppets Wizard of Oz (2005) at Lionsgate Studios, North Vancouver, British Columbia and in the Cloverdale neighbourhood of Surrey, BC.

Ironically, the Canadian-set Creature Shop production Mee-Shee: The Water Giant was filmed in New Zealand. The Jim Henson Company, post-Muppets, still uses Canada on occasion; for instance, Dinosaur Train's voices are recorded in Vancouver.

In 2015, Henson Co. announced that Turkey Hollow would be filmed in Nova Scotia.

References

• In The Muppet Movie musical number Movin' Right Along, Fozzie sings, "Send someone to fetch us, we're in Saskatchewan." Kermit and Fozzie are then seen driving past a Canadian Mountie. Saskatchewan is a Canadian province.

• Gobo Fraggle of Fraggle Rock speaks in a light Canadian accent, with the occasional "eh" thrown in, as a passing reference to the show's filming location.

• Grover and Fred the Wonder Horse visits Saskatchewan in a Global Grover sketch, learning about cow herding.

• In a Sesame Street sketch, Grover has 15 seconds to name an S word. After fulfilling said task, he lists other S words, including Saskatchewan.

• In a 2009 episode of Sesame Street, Telly Monster lassos a moose who speaks with a Canadian accent.

• In a Muppet viral video, Sam the Eagle is appalled to learn that "American Woman" was performed by the Canadian band, The Guess Who.

• The Muppets sang "Canada Is," a song about Canada, in their appearance at the Just for Laughs festival in 2012.

• In "Pig's in a Blackout", Gonzo says he was shot out of a cannon into Niagara Falls when he was supposed to go over it.