The Pause Screen: Muppet Babies

Most of us remember the Muppet Babies, a show that came on after we got out of school or played on the weekends, and showed the Muppet cast as toddlers that let their imaginations take them to new worlds. The show brings a lot of nostalgia, especially if watched today, but within the show as well, as there were many parodies and references made to other entertainment, such as Indiana Jones and Star Wars to name a couple.

One episode, however, revolved around video games. In "It's Only Pretendo", the children play video games on their Nintendo -- or, rather, "Pretendo" -- system, and plenty of parodies were made from beginning to end. For any fans of Muppet Babies and retro gaming or Nintendo classics, this episode is practically a must-see.



Gonzo as Mario right from the start. That's the shit.

The show opens with a blocky construction site that resembles a colorful version of the first Donkey Kong stage. A dragon wearing a crown is perched at the top, throwing down what looks like fluffy yellow cloud balls at the hero, "Super Bario Weirdo," whom is Gonzo dressed up as Mario. He travels across the level, only to be seen outside of his dream world to be messing up everyone else's fun. He claims he's going to defeat the evil "King Koopa Cabana," although the clip shown on the nursery's television is clearly Donkey Kong.

Piggy unplugs the game, and they argue over whether they enjoy watching Gonzo play. When no one agrees with Gonzo, he gives the controller to Piggy, who plays Donkey Kong Jr. Upon nearly instantly failing, she tries again where the game is magically Donkey Kong again, and beats King Koopa Cabana on the first try. While everyone congratulates her, Gonzo decides to start a competition and find a game he can beat Piggy in.



Donkey Kong Jr.? In MY Muppet Babies? It's more likely than you think...

At this point I'll point out that most of the show's music is composed to sound synthesized and 8-bit. Most of it sounds generic or original, though a few sound like parodies. One sounds like a distant take on Tetris, while the RPG themed game ironically sounds like a take on the underground theme from Super Mario Bros 2. It's certainly a nice touch to the episode. On top of that, all the games are takes from real games, such as "Galaxy Invaders," and "Adventures of a Link Sausage." It's entertaining to see what they can come up with.

Fozzy finds a game he thinks he can play, which turns out to be a puzzle game that looks like a cross between Tetris and Q*Bert. When blocks continue filling the room Fozzy's in, they switch games, dumping Fozzy into a new game. The Skate or Die knockoff, called "Skateboard of Doom," leaves Fozzy on a skateboard trying to outrun three evil skateboarders that chase after him.



Skate or Die! Die die die die die!

Gonzo shuts the game off, throwing Fozzy aside in a wagon, in order to play "The Legend of Emelda: The Quest for the Golden Key" with Piggy. The other kids get up to defend Fozzy and his chance to play, until Piggy shuts them up to play with Gonzo. The two start the RPG, which looks like the beginning of Zelda II, and make their way to a swamp. Gonzo is attacked by completely round reptiles, but reveals he knows how to beat them using gumballs, which he had kept a secret from Piggy. The reptiles look like Pac-Man with sharp teeth, and the gumballs remsemble the pellets from the same game.

Gonzo runs into Animal, who teams up with him to find the Golden Key. On their way to a shortcut, Fozzy passes by, still being chased by skateboarders, before the duo try to beat Piggy to a distant village. Piggy is already there waiting, however, and a musical number begins where the two sing-argue about which one is better. The song has cameos of Space Invaders and Goombas from Mario, as well.



Totally looks like Zelda II's beginning...

After the song, Gonzo jumps over a pit, and Piggy tries but misses, clinging to the edge. Gonzo finds a 500-point banana and chases after it, leaving Piggy to fall; the screen shows a still from "Keith Courage", which was actually a Turbo-Grafx 16 game instead of an NES game oddly enough. The other kids, obviously having never heard of COMPETITION, scold Gonzo for not helping out his opponent, before Piggy gets up and chases after him. Once gone, Skeeter grabs a sports game and hooks up a "Mighty Mat," a play on the NES' Power Pad. She convinces Skooter to join her, despite him not wanting to play and would rather enjoy a chess game.

The two play a game, looking like World Class Track Meet, and start running down the in-game path. Fozzy once again goes by with his skateboard buddies, and upon being thankful that skateboarders aren't chasing them, find they've been running from a stampede of angry bulls. The two end up jumping off of the pad in order to escape them.



Mighty Mat, MIGHTY MAAAT!

Piggy walks up and throws the twins' game aside, putting in another game for her and Gonzo to play. The footage on screen shows Fantasy Zone, and when animated shows Piggy, Animal, and Gonzo inside the cockpit. When Gonzo and Piggy start arguing over who the captain is, their ship explodes. Gonzo and Animal escape with secret parachutes, and Piggy loses a second life. The crew gets mad at Gonzo again for being competitive, and Piggy once again chases Gonzo away.

Kermit decides he wants to play a game, and puts in a game like Frogger. Kermit tries to think of a way to cross, when another frog shows up on crutches and completely beaten up. He throws a beach ball with a frog on it into traffic, telling Kermit there's no way to cross as the ball comes back deflated and run over. Kermit, however, grabs some crossing guard gear, stops traffic, and helps his new friend across the street. Once there, though, the alligators in the river scare Kermit away from playing.



Fantasy Zone's cameo in Muppet Babies

Rofle decides to play a game, showing footage from Vigilante on the nursery television. The detective game, looking like it'd be either Sam & Max, Roger Rabbit, or Dick Tracy, has Rolfe looking for a case, when Fozzy comes in. Rolfe decides to try to find the skateboarders after Fozzy, and the two get seperated, where Fozzy is chased once again by the evil skateboarders, and Rolfe runs into Piggy, Gonzo, and Animal, who take the game back away from Rolfe.

Gonzo tells Piggy she needs to start from the beginning since she lost two lives, and Piggy, dressed as a ninja, starts to make her way back through the games. Gonzo, meanwhile, finds the box that holds the golden key, when Piggy shows up. The two fight over the treasure chest, only to find that Fozzy pops out. While hiding from the skateboarders, he says the key wasn't in the box, and saw it around there somewhere. Gonzo and Piggy find the key and have a tug of war over it, and decide to ask everyone else who truly won. To their surprise, though, no one was watching; they had all gone off to enjoy themselves with influence from the games they were playing. Animal, of all people, convinced them in broken english that it didn't matter who had won, but that they enjoyed themselves, and when Piggy agreed, Gonzo claimed himself as the winner, causing the two to fight all over again.



He looks so terrified...

Sure, it's a kids' cartoon, but to look back to a cartoon that came out over 20 years ago and see a lot of gamer love in it is pretty interesting and nostalgic. From the change in music to fit the episode, to the parodies of both game ideas and titles, there was a lot of thought put into this episode, and it feels like someone in the Muppet Babies' crew had a love for video games. It's like a wonderful little kids'-show-tribute to gaming, and gets a salute from The Pause Screen.