If you’re a fan of The Muppets and can’t wait for The Muppets Mayhem, we have some news to share! We have an exclusive interview with Tahj Mowry, who will be portrayed as Gary ‘Moog’ Moogowski in the series! We can’t wait to talk to Tahj about his role as Moog, his thoughts and experience with the show and cast members, and more. Because the show will predominantly be about The Muppets, there will be mentions of its many iterations in media. This article will possibly contain spoilers for what those iterations consist of. For those planning to watch the show, we highly recommend watching the iterations first to fully enjoy The Muppets experience if you’re planning to read this article. And now, onto this interview and its refresher.
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If you watched The Dark Crystal, or possibly any form of Jim Henson’s other films like Fraggle Rock and Labyrinth, there’s a high chance that you’ll recognize The Muppets. An ensemble cast of puppet characters who star in a bunch of variety-sketch comedies, The Muppets were originally from The Jim Henson Company, it eventually branched itself out to its studio called The Muppets Studio, only to be bought by The Walt Disney Company in 2004. For those who might recognize these certain characters from their appearances in Sesame Street, you’ll most likely recognize a couple of characters such as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, The Swedish Chef, Beaker, Gonzo, Animal, Rowlf the Dog, Scooter, Pepe the King Prawn, and Rizzo the Rat.
The Muppets released many original shows and films. There were even novel adaptations that starred The Muppet characters as specific characters. These characters are from different adaptations, such as A Christmas Carol and Treasure Island. Throughout their entire existence, The Muppets were lauded for their involvement and influence in popular culture, and for getting recognized by well-established institutes such as the American Film Institute, the Library of Congress, Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and more. We highly recommend reading more about The Muppets’ history, it’s really interesting! For a brief moment, here’s what The Muppet Mayhem is about! The show follows The Muppets band as they try to record their first-ever album!
Regarding The Muppets’ origins, did you know that The Muppets originated from a show from the 1950s? In 1955, Jim Henson released a show called Sam and Friends as a lead-up to The Tonight Show. This led to releasing up to 59 confirmed episodes through the WRC-TV network. Most of the videos have been lost, but you’ll be able to see some of the surviving episodes through different media sites and locations. This includes YouTube, the Paley Center for Media, and the digital archives made by The Jim Henson Company.
Let’s also take a brief moment to talk about the creator of The Muppets, Jim Henson! The puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who blended the words “marionette” and “puppet” to create the word Muppet, this man was known worldwide as the creator of the Muppets and Fraggle Rock. Please look up Jim Henson’s history! His history is very fascinating in regards to his time as the creator of The Muppets. He’s also been a director for The Dark Crystal!
Returning to the article, here’s a refresher on Tajh Mowry! Those from the 90s might recognize him as the young prodigy from the Disney sitcom show Smart Guy. But for those who don’t, you’ll most certainly recognize him for his other roles. From his time as Teddy from Full House to his time voice-acting as the voice of Wade from Kim Possible, he’s been in several shows such as Baby Daddy as Tucker Dobbs and How We Roll as Lew!
We ask Tajh how he first became involved with The Muppets Mayhem. Tajh mentions how it was first mentioned by his team through an e-mail, and he remembered that it didn’t mention The Muppets Mayhem or anything about that specific subject. But, Tajh did say that he had an inkling of what the project was going to be about. He mentions that a lot of projects these days, especially ones made by large IPs like The Muppets or Marvel, don’t use a real name. Tajh mentioned that the process was really fast and long, and tells us about how he went on tape for it and did the test. He expresses that he loves Disney, and talked about how he wanted to be a part of the project for both Disney and The Muppets. He also expresses how the group is “really cool” in his own words.
