Muppets Mania: Fozzie Bear

Introducing you to a little bit of history each day as we ramp up the excitement for The Muppets in theaters November 23rd. Fozie Bear is the comedian of the bunch, or at least he believes he is. My kids love the “fart” shoes.

FOZZIE BEAR (Fozzie Bear) lives to make people laugh. So during the Muppets’ extended hiatus depicted in Disney’s “The Muppets,” the stand-up comic bear was determined to keep his act and the spirit of the Muppets alive—even if it meant joining up with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the Moopets may be sincere, but they’re also a little creepy.

“The Moopets recreate great Muppet moments,” says Fozzie Bear (“The Great Muppet Caper,” TV’s “The Muppet Show”), who is back on the big screen as his namesake, “at least that’s what they told me we were doing. Could’ve fooled me.”

Regardless of whom he shares the stage with, Fozzie will try anything to tickle the audience’s funny bones: gags, novelties, whoopee cushions, banana peels, custard pies and recycled jokes that earn more winces than laughs—particularly from his in-house hecklers, Statler and Waldorf (aka “those two old guys in the balcony”). In truth Statler and Waldorf just might be the bear’s biggest fans. Though they’d never admit it, they may actually be happy to see Fozzie and the Muppets reunited—and they might have to throw the bear a laugh or two this time if it means saving Muppet Studios.

WHO’S FOZZIE? Fozzie is the world’s greatest stand-up comic bear. He’s also the world’s ONLY stand-up comic bear. Fozzie’s act isn’t great. In fact, it’s filled with every old gag in the joke book. His jokes are old. His puns are pun-ishing! And he punctuates each punchline with a “Wocka! Wocka!”—just to alert the audience it’s time to laugh. What Fozzie lacks in good material, he makes up for in perseverance and heart. This bear believes he can be a great comic, and you can’t help but love him for trying.