abstract
| - The Muppet Musicians of Bremen is an hour-long Muppet TV special, syndicated in 1972 as part of the "Tales from Muppetland" series, following the 1969 special Hey Cinderella! and 1971's The Frog Prince. Bremen is a modern telling of the German "Town Musicians of Bremen" fairy tale popularly recorded by the Brothers Grimm. In this musical special, Kermit the Frog narrates the story of the Muppet Musicians of Bremen. In a departure from the source material (the folk tale "The Musicians of Bremen"), the action takes place not in Germany but in the Louisiana countryside. Leroy (a donkey), T.R. (a rooster), Rover Joe (a hound dog) and Catgut (a cat) escape the clutches of their cruel human owners and set out in search of a better life. They find musical instruments -- which they learn to play remarkably quickly -- then form a band and go on the road, playing their own distinctive brand of Louisiana Bayou . While their owners -- a gang of robbers named Mordecai Sledge, Farmer Lardpork, Mean Floyd and Caleb Siles -- are hiding out in a cabin in the Bayou to divide their loot, the fugitive animals mistake the cabin for lodgings where they can play their music in exchange for room and board. The superstitious gang members are spooked out of their lair by the sound of mysterious music on a night with a full moon. Two of the most prominent , the rats and the chickens, were first created for this special. The special was taped in Toronto from February 14 to March 2, 1972.
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