Alligators and Crocodiles

From Muppet Wiki

Alligators and Crocodiles are different species belonging to the order crocodilia, of the class sauropsida. To the layman, the two species are easily confused. (The main visual differences are that alligators have a broader snout and crocodiles show both sets of teeth when their mouths are closed.) Crocodiles are native to the Americas, Africa, Australia, and Asia, whereas alligators are only native to the United States and China. The U.S. is, in fact, the only location where crocodiles and alligators co-exist, although crocodiles are almost extinct in this country.

Alligators and crocodiles have appeared in several Muppet productions over the years, with the same puppets used interchangeably for both species.

Contents 1 The Muppet Show 2 Sesame Street 3 Other Alligators and Crocodiles 4 Filmography 5 External links

The Muppet Show

A crocodile first appeared on The Muppet Showin the "Never Smile at a Crocodile" number on episode 114. Mary Louise rode the crocodile through a swamp, and as she sang, the crocodile ate a series frogs. In this first appearance, the crocodile puppet had angry eyes and a black mouth.

The crocodile appeared again in "Ugly Song," where he was performed by Frank Oz. Three smaller crocs debuted in episode 214, as back-up singers for Elton John in "Crocodile Rock." For this appearance, the main crocodile puppet was tweaked slightly, having been given eyebrows and a red mouth.

The puppet made sporadic appearances throughout the run of the show, addressed as either an alligator or a crocodile, as called for by the script. The puppets' first appearances as alligators were in episode 221, when Animal took up alligator wrestling as a hobby. The alligators, not surprisingly, lost the match, and one of them could be seen escaping with a white flag of surrender clenched in its mouth.

In another memorable appearance in episode 419, the crocodile ate the Newsman as a punishment from the Egyptian crocodile god, Rezal-evad-gib.

The same puppet appeared as an alligator in The Muppets at Walt Disney World, scaring Miss Piggy as she made the soggy trek to Paradise Swamp.

Sesame Street

On Sesame Street, a life-size alligator puppet was made for Season 24.

Among other appearances, the alligator sings a line in the song "Let's Lay an Egg". It also appears in Ernie's song "Animals in the Bedroom", identified as a crocodile.

Other Alligators and Crocodiles

Another puppet appeared as Sly the Crocodile on episode 104 of The Animal Show.

Arnie the Alligator, a friend from Kermit's home swamp, scares Bernie the Agent at the beginning of The Muppet Movie. Although played by a real alligator in The Muppet Movie, Arnie was portrayed as a puppet in the direct-to-video prequel, Kermit's Swamp Years.

Caiman, a crocodile with a completely different design from any previous Muppet crocodiles, appeared in The Song of the Cloud Forest.

Filmography

External links

• Wikipedia: Crocodilia
• Alligators vs Crocodiles