32 Greatest Jim Henson Creatures

The Swedish Chef

The Creature: Playing up to the joke that Swedish is the funniest-sounding language ever, the Swedish Chef is an incomprehensible food-maker in The Muppet Show . He’s the only Muppet to have human hands, and first appeared in The Muppet Show: Sex And Violence in 1975.

Henson Magic: Henson dreamed up the idea after listening to a tape called 'How To Speak Mock Swedish'.

Red Fraggle

The Creature: Hairiest of all the Fraggles, Red Fraggle is one of the five main creatures in TV show Fraggle Rock. Energetic and bubbly, she considers herself the fastest Fraggle and has just one job – cleaning the Fraggle Rock pool.

Henson Magic: Red Fraggle was in a group of Muppets who sang ‘Just One Person’ at Jim Henson's memorial service.

Chickens

The Creature: Bit-players to the more showy A-list Muppets, the Chickens often provided hilarious moments of irreverent humour (like the above Queen parody), and cropped up in numerous funny Muppet Show sketches. They were often paired with Gonzo during his daring stunts.

Henson Magic: Kermit’s advice about the chickens? “You have to treat the chickens pretty well because they've got a very tough union.”

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Yip Yips

The Creature: Martians who land on our planet, the Yip Yips appear in Sesame Street and are constantly in fear of the strange things they encounter – like clocks and computers. They’re never discovered by any of the other Sesame Street characters.

Henson Magic: The Yip Yips were puppeteered by numerous different people, including Henson himself, as well as Frank Oz and Jerry Nelson.

Landstriders

The Creature: These supremely intelligent beings help out the Gelflings in The Dark Crystal . Fighting off the imposing, beetle-like Garthim, they’re superior in intellect if not brute force.

Henson Magic: A performer on four stilts brought the Landstriders to life. Impressive.

The Storytellers Dog

The Creature: A loveable hound who is told fantastical tales by John Hurt’s storyteller in TV series The Storyteller . He’s the voice of the audience, scared when we are, and asking all the right questions when things get a bit confusing.

Henson Magic: The puppet was created to look real, and was voiced by Jim’s son, Brian Henson.

Elmo

The Creature: Three-and-a-half years old (don’t forget the half, it’s very important), Elmo is one of the younger residents of Sesame Street. He likes referring to himself in the third person, and once went under the name Baby Monster.

Henson Magic: There are a number of different Elmo models used for different purposes. One of them is even radio controlled.

Fozzie Bear

The Creature: “Wocka! Wocka! Wocka!” Fozzie Bear is a stand-up comedian whose life would be a barren wasteland if he didn’t have any jokes to tell. He’s best friends with Kermit, and often nicks well-known gags from Hollywood stars in an attempt to replicate their success.

Henson Magic: “Fozzie is always telling terrible jokes,” says Jim’s son Brian, “but he's just trying so hard you've got to love him.”

The Worm

The Creature: Tiny but nonetheless a chirpy little fella, the Worm is one of the first creatures Sarah encounters in Labyrinth . For some reason, he’s supremely cockney, inviting Sarah in for “a nice cuppa tea”.

Henson Magic: The Worm later resurfaced during doc Jim Henson Hour Pitch , in which the muppet guru gave viewers a tour of his workshop.

Cookie Monster

The Creature: A blue furry monster with goggly eyes, the Cookie Monster is named after his craving for crunchy, chocolate-y goodness. He’s able to scoff treats down by the bucketload, but doesn’t limit himself – Cookie Monster also devours everything from pies to letters.

Henson Magic: Cookie Monster mostly ate rice cakes decorated as cookies on Sesame Street.