By the time this header goes up, MuppetVision 3D will be officially closed to the public. I already did a header dedicated to the show; tonight I wanted to pay tribute to two characters featured in MuppetVision who have since fallen into obscurity.

First up, Waldo C. Graphic. Introduced as “the spirit of 3D”, Waldo serves as the antagonist of the show; after Bunsen and Beaker try to shut him off, he spends the rest of MuppetVision trying to escape. Waldo’s time as a Muppet character was short-lived. Outside of MuppetVision, he only appeared in five of the twelve episodes of The Jim Henson Hour, and hasn’t been seen since.

The most interesting thing about Waldo is how he was created, as a blend of CG effect and traditional puppet. The idea of a “waldo” came from a Robert A. Heinlein short story of the same title where a man invented a glove that allowed him to control a much larger and more powerful mechanical hand. Decades later, the Henson version of a waldo was a device that mimicked a Muppet head and would allow a puppeteer to perform Waldo. A low-res version of the character was rendered in real time and displayed on the monitors the puppeteers use to track their performances, before being replaced with the more detailed final render in post-production. This video from the Jim Henson Hour demonstrates the technology, which was mind-blowing in 1991 and is still impressive today.

Next up, we have Bean Bunny. Bean’s characterization mirrors his behind-the-scenes creation; Kermit (or Jim) brought him on to be impossibly cute so the other Muppets wouldn’t have to be. Bean was fully aware of his cuteness, and the manipulative little jerk frequently weaponized it to get what he wanted. During the late eighties and early nineties there appeared to be a concentrated effort to make Bean popular. He had his own special and a key role in MuppetVision, was added to the final seasons of Muppet Babies, and even appeared as a walkaround character in Disney World. That’s right, for a brief time you could get Bean Bunny’s autograph!

The thing is…it didn’t work and Bean’s star faded as quickly as it rose. While it’s tempting to blame Bean’s fall on his performer Steve Whitmire inheriting Kermit, Whitmire’s other character Rizzo became much more prominent in the nineties. Brian Henson said “Inside the Muppet Company, we love to hate Bean Bunny” on the Muppet Treasure Island DVD commentary, and that doesn’t appear to be a joke given the noticeable shift in how Bean was used. Bean’s three appearances on Muppets Tonight were indicative – two of them were as a background character, and in the third Sal drop-kicked poor Bean out of a window. Bean’s last appearance to date was in a web video over a decade ago.

What does the future hold for Waldo and Bean? It’s hard to say. They’d have to be recast, since both were played by Steve Whitmire who no longer works with the Muppets. They’d also likely have to be rebuilt – a new puppet in Bean’s case, and updated CG models for Waldo. But it’s worth pointing out that Waldo did make an Easter egg appearance as a keychain in the Netflix Muppet Babies revival, and appeared on some Disney World 50th anniversary merchandise. And 2023’s Muppets Haunted Mansion did revive some forgotten characters, bringing back Dr. Phil Van Neuter and Johnny Fiama the Italian Stereotype Muppet for the first time in over a decade. The curtain might be going down on Waldo and Bean for now, but I believe we’ll meet these Muppets again…just not tonight.

Have fun posting!