Germany

File:Neuschwansteincastle.jpg

Uncle Matt visiting Castle Neuschwanstein

Baby Gonzo at the Berlin Wall in Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue

Kevin Clash, overseeing the training of German Muppeteers for Sesamstrasse

The Federal Republic of Germany, or the Bundesrepublik Deutschland in German, is a country in central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea, to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic, to the south by Austria and Switzerland, and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Within its borders are a portion of the Alps mountains, the famous Rhine river, and the Black Forest.

Germany is a democratic parliamentary federal republic, made up of 16 states, which in certain spheres act independently of the federation. Historically consisting of several sovereign nations with their own history, language (distinct dialects), culture and religion, Germany was unified as a nation state during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870/1871.

The Federal Republic of Germany is a member state of the United Nations, NATO, the G8 and the G4 nations, and is a founding member of the European Union. It is the European Union's most populous and most economically powerful member state. Germany's current leader and also its first woman to become chancellor (the head of government) is Angela Merkel, who was elected in 2005.

The German language is one of the world's major languages. It is spoken by more than 120 million people in 38 countries of the world. It is — like English, Spanish and French — a pluricentric language with Germany, Austria and Switzerland as the three main centers of usage. Therefore, the following Muppet co-productions were equally seen in all three countries:

Muppet Connections

• Sesamstrasse is the German-language, and first international co-production of Sesame Street. It begain to air as a dubbed version in 1973, and received its first German set and puppets in 1977.
• Die Muppet Show is the German-language co-production of The Muppet Show, which featured two German guest stars: Elke Sommer and Mary Roos, who appeared in a special version of episode 121 in 1977.
• Die Fraggles is the German-language co-production of Fraggle Rock, featuring its own Doc.
• Uncle Travelling Matt visited Germany's popular tourist attraction Neuschwanstein Castle for the episode "The Great Radish Caper".
• Meanwhile, Uncle Travelling Matt also toured German TV-shows to promote the opening of Die Muppets Erobern Manhattan.
• In 1994 The Secret Life of Toys was shot in Monheim, Germany, as a co-production between Jim Henson Productions, BBC, WDR (West German Broadcast), and Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen (the North Rhine Westfalia Film Foundation).
• The German media company EM.TV purchased the Jim Henson Company in 2000, and sold it back to the Henson family in 2003. During EM.TV's tenure, they sold the rights to the Sesame characters to Sesame Workshop.
• For Sesamstrasse's 30th anniversary special in 2003, Ernie and Bert were shipped to Germany to make special appearances not only on the special, but every now and then throughout the coming seasons. The Elmo puppet was used on promotional photos, but not during the actual show. Kevin Clash brought the puppet along, while he oversaw the training of Ernie and Bert's German Muppeteers. A Little Bird, and other Sesame Street puppets also make sporadic appearances since Sesamstrasse's 30th season.
• In May of 2005, Kermit the Frog appeared in a BMW commercial, exclusively shot for the German market. The commercial was later dubbed for other European countries.
• German director, comedian and puppeteer Martin Reinl runs a workshop and production company that is known for building puppets whose make and quality is very similar to the Muppets'. Whereas some of Reinl's puppets are characters in German children TV programmes, others are designed to entertain adults in the first place.