Animal is a wild and primitive humanoid Muppet who loves to play the drums. He serves as the drummer for the Muppets' resident rock and roll band Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.
A crazed percussionist, Animal has three styles of music ― loud, louder and deafening. He speaks in a guttural shout, often repeating a few simple phrases, such as "BEAT DRUMS! BEAT DRUMS!" or "WO-MAN!" or "DRUM DRUM!" In relatively calmer moods, he is capable of more coherent conversation, but these instances are infrequent.
Animal first appeared in the 1975 pilot, The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, chained up in a basement, when he wasn't onstage performing with the Electric Mayhem. He later became a main character on The Muppet Show and his unrestrained style has made him popular with young people for decades.
Animal's wild attitude can be compared to Cookie Monster. In A Muppet Family Christmas, after observing Cookie Monster eating all of Janice's cookies in his signature manner, Animal comments, "That my kind of fella!"
Animal's family life is generally non-existent, and outside of the band, the Muppet Show troupe and women in general, he has no other relationships. A significant exception is depicted in the book The Case of the Missing Mother, which reveals the existence of Animal's mother, LaVerne. LaVerne is also a drummer and it's implied that percussion skills are a family trait.
Three of the other members of the Electric Mayhem were created by Muppet designer Michael K. Frith and the sketches reproduced in the 1981 book Of Muppets and Men show that they were based on famous musicians. Dr. Teeth is a cross between Dr. John and Elton John; Sgt. Floyd Pepper is based on the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album and the original concept for Janice was a skinny, long-haired male character based on Mick Jagger. Animal, on the other hand, was designed by Jim Henson and the rough sketch (also seen in Of Muppets and Men) doesn't appear to be related to any real musician.
However, it's not surprising that Animal is often compared with famous drummers ― as Buddy Rich said in his Muppet Show episode, "All drummers are animals." Animal himself considers Rich one of his musical influences, along with Gene Krupa, Keith Moon of The Who and Ginger Baker of Cream and Blind Faith.
Animal makes a cameo in Disney Infinity as a townsperson. In the 3DS version, he will change all the adventure spaces into Power Adventure.
Trivia
Guest stars on The Muppet Show could request to appear in a scene with their favorite Muppet. Miss Piggy was the most requested, with Animal as a close second.
His film appearances in The Muppets Take Manhattan and Muppets from Space are both owned by Sony Pictures, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is owned by NBCUniversal, the other Muppet movies are owned by Disney (along with the rest of the Muppet franchise).
This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Muppet Wiki. The list of authors can be seen in the page revision history (view authors). As with Disney Wiki, the text of Muppet Wiki is available under the CC-by-SA Free Documentation License.
Kermit the Frog (voiced by Matt Danner) – A level-headed and good-hearted frog who enjoys acting out adventure and making music with his banjo. However, he can get flustered rather easily, usually by the antics of those around him. He is also the leader of the Muppet Babies.
Miss Piggy (voiced by Melanie Harrison[1]) – A beautiful and glamorous yet temperamental and self-centered pig who considers herself a star and harbors a crush on Kermit. She mostly speaks in a high-pitched voice but would at times greatly deepen when she gets passionate or angry. She is best friends with Summer.
Fozzie Bear (voiced by Eric Bauza[1]) – A fun-loving and goofy bear who aspires to be a comedian. He is also best friends with Kermit.
The Great Gonzo (voiced by Benjamin Diskin[1]) – A highly eccentric and unpredictable "whatever" who loves to do stunts and anything that can be considered weird.
Summer Penguin (voiced by Jessica DiCicco) – A good-hearted and sweet-natured penguin from the South Pole who loves to make art. She is best friends with Piggy.[2]
Miss Nanny (voiced by Jenny Slate[1][3]) – The caretaker of the Muppet Babies who is only seen from the shoulders down. The pattern on her stockings changes to reflect relevant elements in the episode plot. Miss Nanny won a gold medal in a gymnastics discipline at the Sport-A-Thon.
Camilla the Chicken (vocal effects provided by Melanie Harrison) – A white chick and Gonzo's best friend who is involved with the Muppet Babies' activities.
Other Muppets
Mr. Statler and Mr. Waldorf (voiced by Eric Bauza and Matt Danner respectively) – The neighbors of Miss Nanny who often comment about the Muppet Babies' activities from the balcony of their home.
Rizzo the Rat (voiced by Benjamin Diskin) – A self-centered and scheming rat who lives in the mouse hole in the Muppet Babies' playroom.
Beaker (voiced by Matt Danner) – Bunsen’s assistant.
Dr. Teeth (performed by Bill Barretta) – The band leader of the Electric Mayhem. He appeared in a live-action transmission in "Muppet Rock" where he saw Animal perform backstage and is interested in having him join the Electric Mayhem. Animal turns him down for now as he needs to continue practicing.
Rowlf the Dog (voiced by Matt Danner) – A fun-loving and easygoing dog who loves to sing and make music, usually with his piano.
The Swedish Chef (voiced by Matt Danner) – A mock Swedish-speaking cooking prodigy.
Robin the Frog (voiced by Eric Bauza) – A small polliwog who is Kermit's nephew. He has a tail due to being in his tadpole state.
Scooter (voiced by Ogie Banks) – A young boy who wears a green and yellow track jacket.
Skeeter (voiced by Cree Summer) – Scooter's athletic twin sister who wears a sports-inspired purple jacket, a baseball-shaped watch, and pig tails.
Other characters
Priscilla – One of Camilla's fellow chicks who is yellow.
Beep – One of Camilla's fellow chicks who is brown and makes the sound of a car horn instead of clucking.
Carlos (voiced by Todrick Hall) - A blue frog that appears in "Frogs of a Feather". In "Frog Scouts", Carlos becomes part of the Frog Scouts alongside Kermit and Robin.
Mr. Manny (voiced by Dulé Hill) - A friend of Miss Nanny. Like Miss Nanny, his head is never shown. Mr. Manny is known for his catchphrase where he states that a certain thing "is groovy" which is always accompanied by Mr. Manny doing horizontal gestures with his hands, bending his knees, and doing a motion that has him wiggle his hips. He is also shown to be a volunteer at the local library and the scout troop leader of the Frog Scouts.
Rozzie (voiced by Charlie Townsend) - A young koala who is Fozzie's adopted sister.
