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[[File:journalmbabies09.jpg|frame|We apologize for the fact that this picture is not in color.]]
Muppet Babies (1984-1991) was one of the few well-received [[Spinoff Babies]] conversions, partially because [[First Installment Wins|it was one of the first]]. Spinning off from ''[[The Muppet Show]]'', the show's premise was a takeoff from a sequence in ''[[The Muppets Take Manhattan]]'' involving baby-versions of the characters, itself later referred to in an amusing callback. It also naturally spawned a side franchise of children's books.
Aside from the original, and otherwise [[The Faceless|unseen]] Nanny character, it featured most of the big Muppet celebrities ([[Distaff Counterpart|Scooter's hitherto unknown sister]] notwithstanding) discovering quite mundane things and approaching them in a precocious, childlike way -- before completely blowing them out of proportion with [[Deranged Animation|their overactive imaginations]]. The [[Once an Episode]] [[Engaging Chansons|random song]] and trademark gimmick of spliced Live Action [[Stock Footage]] (one of the main factors that has prevented it from getting an official DVD release) gave it a rather surreal quality, too. And despite being a Saturday morning spinoff, it managed to contain all the wit and intelligence of its predecessor. Some fans even prefer it to the original ''Muppet Show''.
Later seasons would feature guest appearances from other Muppet characters, including fan favorites [[Statler and Waldorf]]. The Babies also had a memorable appearance in ''[[Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue]]''.
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* [[Affirmative Action Girl]]: Skeeter.
* [[All Love Is Unrequited]]: See [[Mad Love]] below.
* [[Alpha Bitch]]: Skeeter, just watch "Pigerella
* [[Ascended Extra]]: Rowlf, Scooter and Animal. They were hardly nobodies on ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' or in the first three movies, but for many, it was this show that firmly put them into core character territory with Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie and Gonzo.▼
* [[Artistic License: Biology]]: Shouldn't Baby Kermit be, er, a ''tadpole''?
** Not necessarily. There are species of frogs in which the tadpoles develop in the eggs and emerge as little froglets.
*** Besides, we do see Kermit's even younger nephew Robin in a few episodes, who IS still a tadpole.
▲* [[Ascended Extra]]: Rowlf, Scooter and Animal. They were hardly nobodies on ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' or in the first three movies, but for many, it was this show that firmly put them into core character territory with Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie and Gonzo.
* [[Be Careful What You Wish For]]: "Don't wish for elephants unless you own a zoo/ 'cause wishes have a way of coming true!"
* [[Big Eater]]: Piggy.
* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]: From the episode "Good, Clean, Fun":
{{quote|'''Animal:''' [[Couch Gag|Go bye bye!]]
'''Piggy:''' No, Animal, the show's not over yet!
'''Animal:''' Sorry.
'''Piggy:''' It's ok.
* [[Burping Contest]]: Animal holds this with rocks and some others in "Journey
* [[Butt Monkey]]: Gonzo's fates in many of the go bye-bye skits are shockingly cruel.
* [[Canon Foreigner]]: Skeeter, though an adult version of her has recently made appearances in ''[[The Muppet Show Comic Book]]'', so (depending on how much you're willing to take the comics as canon), she may be verging into [[Canon Immigrant]] territory.
* [[Cat Fight]]: Piggy and Skeeter at least 3 times. For someone so young, Piggy sure can be vicious...
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: In the beginning of the episode "Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Dark?
* [[Clingy Jealous Girl]]: Piggy for Kermit.
* [[The Complainer Is Always Wrong]]: Fozzie Bear suffers this greatly, Not only from his friends but also from his imaginary audience when the boo and throw tomatoes at him for every joke he tells to them, good or bad.
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* [[Cosmetically Advanced Prequel]]: While ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' was set in the 1970s (the time it was airing) this show has baby Scooter with a personal computer.
* [[Couch Gag]]: Animal's "''Go'' bye-bye!''" occurs in different settings and styles, based on the theme of the episode.
* [[Cute Bruiser]]: Piggy. "HI-YAH!"
* [[Different As Night and Day]] with a [[Half-Identical Twins]] chaser: Scooter and Skeeter.
* [[Disney Acid Sequence]]: [[Once an Episode]].
* [[Do Not Pass Go]]: In the Valentine's Day episode, Scooter has his computer generate a Valentine's Day poem, but it's not what he was expecting:
{{quote|''[[Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue|Roses are red''
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''Have a nice banana''
''You live at the zoo.''
''Do not pass Go, do not collect $200'' (over an image of a banana behind jail bars)
* [[Every Episode Ending]]: "''Go'' bye-bye!"
* [[Extreme Omnivore]]: Animal.
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* [[Father, I Want to Marry My Brother]]: Scooter and Skeeter play a married king and queen in two different ''[[Sleeping Beauty]]'' sequences.
* [[Fiery Redhead]]: Skeeter.
* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: Piggy: Oh
** Not to mention Gonzo's nose fetish and his line when Piggy takes him into the closet, "Be gentle with me."
* [[Hidden Depths]]: Piggy always cast herself as the [[Damsel in Distress]] [[Princess Classic]] in their make-believe adventures, only to usually end up saying something like, "Gimme that stupid sword!"
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* [[Hypocritical Humor]]:
{{quote|'''Piggy:''' I'm not [[School Play|playing]] any [[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (novel)|wicked queen]]! Why... I haven't got a '''DROP''' of '''''wicked in me!!!'''''}}
* [["I Am" Song]]:
{{quote|'''Kermit''': [[The Hero|I like adventure!]]
'''Piggy''': [[Clingy Jealous Girl|I like romance!]]
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'''Beaker''': [[The Unintelligible|ME-MEEP MEEP MEEP MEEEEEEEEEP!!!]]
'''Nanny''': [[Team Mom|Is everything all right in here?]]
'''All''': [[This Is Reality|Yes, Nanny.]]
* [[I Just Want to Be Special]]: One episode dealt with Scooter feeling like his computer abilities were nothing compared to the other kids' areas of expertise. Oh, [[Reverse Funny Aneurysm|if only he'd]] [[Tech Marches On|been born later]]...
** In one episode, the babies try to figure out how to relate with Gonzo better by finding ways where they are really weird too. It worked too well, and Gonzo wound up coming to the conclusion that he wasn't really weird and if he wasn't a 'weirdo', then he wasn't anything at all. Of course, for the [[Muppet Babies]] version of Gonzo, [[I Am What I Am|being labeled "weird" was always a point of pride.]]
* [["I Want" Song]]: "The Biggest Little Pig In Hollywood" in the episode "This Little Piggy Went To Hollywood"▼
* [[Irony]]: In "The Muppet Museum of Art", Skeeter slips on Gonzo's roller skate and twists her ankle, forcing Nanny to cancel a trip to an art museum to take care of her, and Gonzo has a guilt trip over ruining the trip they were all waiting for. The (dramatic) irony is we see Skeeter slipping on one of Piggy's roller skates, and she swapped it with one of Gonzo's to pass the blame to him. The rest of the episode has the other babies making their own art museum for Skeeter, while Gonzo makes various works of art featuring [[Author Appeal|Piggy]], subconsciously sneaking a roller skate in; Piggy reacts negatively to each one as it reminds her that Skeeter's accident was ''her'' fault.
** Additionally, Skeeter gets to stay in the living room with Nanny, watching TV and drinking soda-pop while Nanny pampers her. Not a bad deal at all.
▲* [["I Want" Song]]: "The Biggest Little Pig In Hollywood" in the episode "This Little Piggy Went
* [[Mad Love]] [[Love Triangle|Triangle]]: Piggy's crush on Kermit, Gonzo's crush on Piggy.
* [[May the Farce Be with You]]
* [[Narrative Shapeshifting]]: Baby Beaker, while explaining his fear of the monster under his bed to the other babies (since, like Adult Beaker, all he can say is "Meep!").
* [[Never Say "Die"]]: In
* [[Non-Nude Bathing]]: This is justified because they are children, and there are some scenes they are seen taking a bath while wearing clothes.
* [[Not Quite Starring]]: A weird example: none of the original puppeteers
** Didn't happen with the ''[[Fraggle Rock]]'' [[Animated Adaptation]] either.
* [[Off-Model]]: It is a Marvel animation production (see also ''[[My Little Pony]]'')... But then [[AKOM]] took over...
* [[Pirate Girl]]: In one episode, the kids pretended to be treasure hunters and encountered a trio of female pirates.
* [[Produce Pelting]]:
{{quote|'''Fozzie''': "Something tells me I oughta give up comedy and go into the tomato sauce business."}}
* [[Reality Warper]]: Well, not officially, but [[Epileptic Trees|it would]] [[Fan Wank|explain]] [[Wild Mass Guessing|a lot]].
* [[Reasonable Authority Figure]]: Nanny fits this, even to the point she would admit to her own mistakes when she realizes them. She often acknowledges what is going on, willing to explain the matter, and often there to help out the kids out.
* [[Remember the New Guy?]]: Skeeter. As of the first episode, she was just plain always there.
* [[The Renaissance Age of Animation]]
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*** The target audience being [[Small Reference Pools|relatively familiar with the works due to their fame]] helped matters a lot, too.
** Another episode had Scooter and Piggy re-enacting Nanny's favorite movie, ''[[The African Queen]]''.
** "Nice to Have Gnome You" is based around shout outs to ''[[Labyrinth]]'' and the film adaptation of ''[[The Witches]]''.
** There's a part when Animal comes out of a toy chest dressed in medieval garb while [[Monty Python and the Holy Grail|clicking a pair of coconuts together]].
** This troper's favorite episode to this day is still, "It's Only Pretendo".
* [[Spinoff Babies]]: The [[Trope Codifier]].
* [[Straight Man]]: Rowlf.
* [[Theme Tune Roll Call]]
* [[Tomboy and Girly Girl]]: Piggy and Skeeter respectively ([[Hidden Depths|
* [[Tough Room]]: Fozzie getting pelted by tomatoes for telling bad jokes.
* [[Writer's Block]]: Shows up once, and solved in the most zany fashion possible - writer's termites.
{{reflist}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Comedy Series}}
[[Category:The Kiddie Ride]]
[[Category:The Renaissance Age of Animation]]
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[[Category:Saturday Morning Cartoon]]
[[Category:Western Animation]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Nickelodeon]]
[[Category:The Muppets]]
[[Category:Western Animation of the 1980s]]
[[Category:Western Animation of the 1990s]]
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