Narration is a device in storytelling meant to provide descriptive or expositional information to an audience. Narrators can be utilized in literary and visual media as omniscient figures, specifically designated individuals, and sometimes even protagonists. Their presence serves to communicate information in the story that is otherwise unavailable, and often as a stylistic choice on the part of the author.
The Muppets have used narrators in a number of productions, perhaps most prominently with Kermit the Frog in several specials. Some serve to provide bookends (opening and closing the narrative), while others weave in and out of the story (either on-screen or in voice-over).
Kermit as Narrator[]
1971
Muppet narrators[]
- Scooter narrates "Jabberwocky" in The Muppet Show episode 506. He later narrated the book and audio version of The Muppets Take Manhattan.
- Sam the Eagle narrates "The Ant and the Grasshopper" in The Muppet Show episode 212.
- Charles Dickens and Rizzo the Rat narrate The Muppet Christmas Carol.
- Gonzo and Rizzo narrate Muppet Classic Theater.
- Stiller the Elf narrates Elmo's Christmas Countdown.
- Joe Snow attempts to narrate It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, but his efforts are thwarted.
Human narrators[]
- Ed Sullivan narrates The Great Santa Claus Switch.
- Maya Angelou narrates Elmo Saves Christmas.
- Tim Curry narrates A Sesame Street Christmas Carol.
Storytellers[]
Narrators who tell the story to an audience, often reading directly from a book, are often called storytellers. Most of the occasions where Sesame Street humans read stories fit that definition. Other characters are explicitly called Storytellers, most also narrating specific scenes off-camera.
- Human cast members in any number of Sesame Street Stories.
- Storyteller Fraggle on Fraggle Rock.
- Storyteller Bunny (and at the end, Bean Bunny) in The Tale of the Bunny Picnic.
- The Japanese Storyteller of various Japanese Stories on Sesame Street.
- The title character on Jim Henson's The StoryTeller and its spinoffs.
Announcers[]
When the narrator exists only as an off-camera voice and serves to state titles or as a master of ceremonies, the role is referred to as an announcer. Both announcers and narrators will often set the scene with opening descriptions. This approach is common for Sesame Street animated or live-action inserts.
- The Announcer on The Muppet Show
- A. Ligator on Muppets Tonight, who often set the scene
- The Cow Announcer who narrates the exploits of Lash Holstein on Muppets Tonight episode 202 while also serving as commercial announcer
Audio[]
Other forms of media rely on, or prominently feature, a narrator by the nature of their structure. Most Muppet audio stories have featured the characters themselves as narrators (often Kermit or Big Bird), directly addressing the listener. Others use a voice-over narrator who doesn't interact with the cast or story.