MISS MOUSEY
Performed by...Jerry Nelson
First Appearance...
The Muppet Valentine Show (1974)
Most Recent Appearance...
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1986)
Best Known Role...
Female mouse singer; one of Miss Piggy's many rivals
WHO IS MISS MOUSEY?
Miss Mousey is a little mouse woman who appeared in various episodes of The Muppet Show and the pilots that preceded it. Technically, Miss Mousey is in every single episode of the show after the first season, being among the group of female singers that start off the theme song ("It's time to play the music...")
Her first appearance came in The Muppet Valentine Show, in the "Froggy Went a Courtin'" number. Kermit, the titular froggy, and the appropriately-named Big Mouse are both in love with Miss Mousey and are willing to fight for her. They do just that, but in the end Miss Mousey is most impressed by Droop and his snazzy motorcycle, and the two ride away together. Kermit and Big Mouse are disappointed, to say the least. She and Droop sing together during the end number with the rest of the Muppets as well, but evidently this relationship didn’t last long.
As mentioned in the above “Froggy Went a Courtin’” scene, Miss Mousey served as some sort of love interest for Kermit on a few occasions on The Muppet Show, most notably as his partner in some "At The Dance" segments, and singing with him the vaudeville classic “How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I’ve Been a Liar All My Life” in Episode 212. The latter predictably enrages Miss Piggy to no end, and she tortures Statler and Waldorf when they confess to enjoying Miss Mousey's performance.
Miss Mousy sang in various group songs throughout the course of the series, but never had a major role again. Her only other notable appearance came in Episode 122, when she pops out of Waldorf’s teacup, inexplicably tiny, and sings "Don't Sugar Me." Statler and Waldorf are understandably confused, especially when Miss Mousey proceeds to jump off of the balcony at the end of her song.In Jim Frawley's camera test footage for The Muppet Movie, Miss Piggy declares that she snapped Miss Mousey in half long ago. However, Miss Mousey appears in the finale of this movie, and again in the audience of The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years, so this should not be considered canon.
WHY DO THE MUPPETS NEED MISS MOUSEY?
If you ask me, any female character is a good one, because there are so few. True, Miss Mousey isn't an intriguing character by any stretch of the imagination, but neither is Beautiful Day Monster, yet he stuck around. And in a world where Beautiful Day Monster, Droop, and the Afghan Hound can appear in a new Muppet movie, why not Miss Mousey?
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com