Penguins

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Penguins in Muppets from Space

What my father figured out was if you can't get out, you just either blow something up, or you eat something, or you just throw penguins in the air.

The Penguins are mostly nameless and undifferentiated from one another. Generally playful and wacky in nature, they have appeared in many Muppet productions (sometimes in places where penguins are not commonly seen). They are best known for tossing themselves into the air. In The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, the Muppet penguins are referred to by Scooter as "unisex" or genderless.

The Muppet Show

Brian Henson built the very first Muppet penguin, which was used for the "Lullaby of Broadway" on The Muppet Show Episode 304. ^[2] He was given the name Winky Pinkerton in episode 308. He was the only penguin in the cast until four penguins popped up in episode 320's "Hawaiian War Chant." The complete group of penguins appeared for the first time in episode 321. Groups of penguins include the Pilgrim Penguins and the Endangered Species Chorus Line.

Other Muppet Productions

Penguins are featured as musicians in the orchestra pit in a few Muppet productions. In Muppet*Vision 3D, Nicky Napoleon and His Emperor Penguins appeared in both puppet and animatronic form. The penguins also provided the background music for Little Muppet Monsters.

Nellie Penguin also made an appearance on an episode of Mopatop's Shop.

Sesame Street

The penguins that have appeared on Sesame Street vary slightly from those on The Muppet Show, mostly notably in possessing orange eyelids and light grey beaks. A team of penguin softball players appeared on episode 4072, while episode 4112 featured a graduating class of penguins. An entire episode of Elmo's World was dedicated the antarctic bird, including one Caesar Penguin.

International Sesame Street Penguins

A blue-billed penguin named Georges appears on 5, Rue Sésame, the most recent French Sesame Street co-production.

Filmography

• The Muppet Show
• The Muppets Go to the Movies
• The Muppets Take Manhattan
• The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
• A Muppet Family Christmas
• Plymouth Muppet Traffic Safety Show
• The Jim Henson Hour
• The Ghost of Faffner Hall
• The Cosby Show
• The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
• Muppet*Vision 3D
• Muppet Sing Alongs: Billy Bunny's Animal Songs
• The Muppet Christmas Carol
• The Animal Show
• Muppets Tonight
• Muppets from Space
• Mopatop's Shop
• Kermit's Swamp Years
• It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
• Keep Fishin' Music Video
• Good Morning America
• The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
• Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony

Merchandise

• A pair of Penguins Action Figures were released by Palisades Toys in 2005.

Sources

1. ↑ Brian Henson Introductions
2. ↑ The Muppet Show Fan Club Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 4