Robin the Frog

PERFORMER	Jerry Nelson 1971-2003
	Matt Vogel 2008-present
DEBUT	1971
DESIGN	Jim Henson designer
	Don Sahlin builder

Robin singing "Over the Rainbow."

Robin with his uncle Kermit in A Muppet Family Christmas.

Robin on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Robin on BBC's Top of the Pops performing "Halfway Down the Stairs" .

Robin with his friend John Denver on Rocky Mountain Holiday.

Robin sitting in his Uncle Kermit's office chair...

...and playing laser tag along with his "Aunt Miss Piggy."

Robin the Frog is Kermit's nephew, a kind and clever kid who sometimes feels unnoticed because of his small size. Robin likes to spend time with his uncle Kermit, his friend Sweetums, and his boys' club, the Frog Scouts.

Robin made his debut in the 1971 television special The Frog Prince, as the prince-turned-to-frog. In this special, while he was voiced by Jerry Nelson, the puppetry was performed by Frank Oz. Although he made a few appearances on The Muppet Show's first season, his relationship to Kermit was not established until episode 212. The episode's story involves Robin's plans to run away until Bernadette Peters encouraged him to believe in himself by singing "Just One Person."

Robin had a hit song in the United Kingdom with his rendition of A. A. Milne's "Halfway Down the Stairs," which appeared on the first Muppet Show album in 1977. He is introduced as Kermit's nephew on the record (and identified as such on the back cover). Robin also sang on several episodes of The Muppet Show including episode 223 where he sang "Two Lost Souls" with Sweetums, episode 307 where he offered a sweet moment singing "Over the Rainbow," and in episode 312 when he sang "Octopus' Garden."

Robin's additional television work includes Rocky Mountain Holiday, in which he bonded with John Denver; A Muppet Family Christmas, in which he and Kermit entered a Fraggle hole and met the Fraggles; and Nickelodeon's Muppet Time inserts, introducing each segment, as well as appearing with the Frog Scouts. One of Robin's most prominent roles was playing Tiny Tim in The Muppet Christmas Carol.

Robin is the star of the 2000 Playstation game Muppet Monster Adventure, where he battles monstrous forms of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Clifford, Fozzie Bear and Gonzo in order to revert them back to their normal selves. In 2004, Palisades Toys made an action figure of Robin in his Frog Scout uniform in Series 7.

In recent years, Robin has appeared mostly in minor roles. He appeared somewhat prominently in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie in a couple scenes with Kermit, and portrayed the Green Fairy in the "Moulin Scrooge" number. It was also revealed that in the world in which Kermit was never born, Robin would have been a barback at Club Dot.

After a five-year absence from productions, Robin returned in A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, as performed by Matt Vogel. Robin also made a silent cameo in the film The Muppets, which is referenced in his brief speaking appearance in the sequel Muppets Most Wanted.

Robin wore his Tiny Tim attire in a 2009 appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and later sang "When the River Meets the Sea" with his uncle Kermit in a 2011 appearance. He also appeared with Kermit in a segment for the 2015 Disney Parks Christmas Parade, talking about their first trip to Disney World together.

Notes

• Ricky Gervais has cited Robin as his favorite Muppet. Prior to the release of Muppets Most Wanted, Gervais posted a Facebook video of a Christmas greeting from Robin, referencing his Tiny Tim role. (video)
• Rick Lyon puppeteered Robin for Muppets Studios Presents: You're the Director, with Jerry Nelson dubbing the voice later. When Robin says "Here he comes!", Lyon's voice is heard at the same time as Nelson's.

Casting History

Primary Performers

• Jerry Nelson - from The Frog Prince (1971) to Jim Henson: Creator of Dreams (2003)
• Matt Vogel - A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008) to present

Other Performers

• Drew Massey - Muppets Ahoy! (2006)
• Peter Linz - The Muppets Take the Bowl (2017)

Filmography

• The Frog Prince
• The Muppet Show
  • Episode 108: Paul Williams
  • Episode 110: Harvey Korman
  • Episode 114: Sandy Duncan
  • Episode 212: Bernadette Peters
  • Episode 213: Rudolf Nureyev
  • Episode 215: Lou Rawls
  • Episode 216: Cleo Laine
  • Episode 217: Julie Andrews
  • Episode 220: Petula Clark
  • Episode 221: Bob Hope
  • Episode 223: John Cleese
  • Episode 307: Alice Cooper
  • Episode 310: Marisa Berensen
  • Episode 312: James Coco
  • Episode 316: Danny Kaye
  • Episode 317: Spike Milligan
  • Episode 321: Roger Miller
  • Episode 324: Cheryl Ladd
  • Episode 406: Linda Lavin
  • Episode 409: Beverly Sills
  • Episode 410: Kenny Rogers
  • Episode 417: Star Wars
  • Episode 418: Christopher Reeve
  • Episode 421: Doug Henning
  • Episode 424: Diana Ross
  • Episode 509: Debbie Harry
  • Episode 512: Melissa Manchester
  • Episode 517: Hal Linden
  • Episode 518: Marty Feldman
  • Episode 519: Chris Langham
• The Muppet Movie
• The Tonight Show
• John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together
• A Christmas Together (album)
• I Love Liberty
• Rocky Mountain Holiday
• The Muppets Take Manhattan
• The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
• National Wildlife Federation
• A Muppet Family Christmas
• Muppet Babies Video Storybooks
• The Earth Day Special
• The Muppets at Walt Disney World
• The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
• The Muppet Christmas Carol
• Muppet Beach Party
• Muppet Time
• Kermit Unpigged
• Muppet Classic Theater
• Muppet Babies: Yes, I Can series linking footage
• Muppet Treasure Island
• Muppets from Space
• Muppet RaceMania
• Muppet Monster Adventure
• The Muppet Show Live
• It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
• Jim Henson: Creator of Dreams
• A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
• Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
  • "The Twelve Days of Christmas"
  • "One"
  • "When the River Meets the Sea"
  • "The Weight"
• Give a Day. Get a Disney Day.
• The Muppets
• Muppets Most Wanted
• The Muppets 2015 Presentation Pilot
• The Muppets
  • "Little Green Lie"
• The Muppets Take the Bowl

Book appearances

• The Muppet Show Book (1978)
• Muppets at Sea (1980)
• Robin Hood (1980)
• The Sesame Street Dictionary (1980)
• The Muppets Go Camping (1981)
• Muppet Picnic Cookbook (1981)
• Kermit's Garden of Verses (1982)
• Two for the Show (1982)
• Jim Henson's Bedtime Stories (1991)
• Stories to Share (1991)
• Stories to Grow On (1991)
• I Am Kermit (1993)
• Kermit and Robin's Scary Story (1995)
• Look and Find Muppets (1996)
• Robin's Secret Valentine (1999)
• The Muppet Show Comic Book issue #1 - "Kermit's Story"(2009)
• Muppet Robin Hood (2009)
• The Muppet Show Comic Book: The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson (2009)
• The Twelve Days of a Muppet Christmas (and a Chicken in a Pine Tree) (2012)
• The Muppets Character Encyclopedia (2014)

See also

• Baby Robin
• Robin Songs