Question about Nanny - Muppet Babies (1984) Discussion

[–] reneekyndra 20 years ago

I think the reason why they didn't show Nanny's face is so we could imagine what she looked like. I think some kids had a fantasy of what Nanny looked like (I know I did) and the creators didn't want to ruin that sort of fantasy for kids.
That's just a guess though. I noticed that in the episode where there's an interview with Princess Diana on the babies' TV they don't show her face either.

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[–] Adam878 20 years ago

My thought is-- since it was a children's show,
we might had to see to Nanny through the babies eyes,
as the babies were very small, Nanny would be very
big to them....

Or they made Nanny look mysterious
or authoritive by not showing her head...

That it weird -- we see all of the babies, but we only see the
bottom half of Nanny--

It's like she can't fit the screen....

I used to joke that we would need a bigger TV
so we could see Nannies face!!!

But obviously it was fun to think that...

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[–] harryskooter 20 years ago

I think the animators were just plain lazy and didn't wanna bother with a head. OOOOR maybe they weren't sure if Nanny should have been a human or a muppet...

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[–] babyjane986 20 years ago

lol when I was little I thought I couldn't see the nanny's head bc my tv was too small. I miss that show I would still watch it haha.

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[–] bruiseviolet33 19 years ago

i loved this show as a kid. it was my very favorite show. one day, i learned that our family was going to get a big screen tv, and being 4, it seemed logical that i'd see her face if i watched it on a big screen tv. so i dreamed of watching this show to see her face. i always imagined her to be a strawberry blonde, why i don't know. so the tv comes, and i turn on the tv, and of course, her feet were just bigger. i was terribly disappointed and began crying (i was a big cryer), and i did what any mature person would do; i blubbered to my mother about how i couldn't see her face. i actually held a grudge against the tv for a while and would only watch the little one because i was so pissed at it...

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[–] Jallipoli 19 years ago

it was a reference to Charles Schulz. Schulz insisted on only portraying adults in his comic strip from the waist down because "they'd literally have to bend over to fit into the frame." Schulz thought to broaden the frame to embrace adults would distance the audience literally and psychologically from the primary cast. The choice focus was children and this was how Schulz chose to confine it. It's the same thing as committing to a particular literary POV. It's the same thing with <i>Muppet Babies</i>.

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] sockguy3 19 years ago

This might sound strange but I sware I remember one episode where they showed a picture on the wall and and it was nanny when she was little. She had red hair. It was only for a brief second. I could be wrong. Has anyone else seen this?

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[–] GreensboroGate 19 years ago

Yea just like on the peanuts. You could never understand what the adults were saying. All you could hear is"wa wa wa wa" LOL

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[–] fistoffury 19 years ago

Well back in 1987 they did have this Muppet's on Ice play I think at the Rockerfeller Center in NYC. I never saw it, but from the commercials, I know Nanny was in it. I was thinking that maybe if you went to see the Muppet's on Ice play you would get to see her face. Did anybody go see it?

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Heart_Wrencher 19 years ago

I remember being 3 or 4 and wanting to see Nanny's face. Everytime she'd make an appearance I'd run to the TV and try to peer up the screen to see her face.

"Speaking with the voice of bitter experience."

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[–] uruseiranma 19 years ago

I think Nanny was never shown fro Waist up to keep us in the reality of the Muppet Babies' perspective. Little kids don't really see the world from an 'adult height.' For most kids when navigating a crowded room of adults, it's just a sea of legs.

A-ha-ha-ha, you're really weird!-Willy Wonka

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[–] TheColossalAvenger 19 years ago

You know how I used to imagine what Nanny looked like as a little kid?

I used to think she had green spiked up hair.

I'm being serious lol

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[–] miss_chell1219 19 years ago

This used to drive me and my little sister nuts as well. When I was little I watched the muppet babies every day just to see if they would show Nanny's face. One day I was in trouble for some reason and my mom told me that I couldn't watch it. That was cruel, but what was even more cruel is that she got her friend on the phone and she told me that they had showed Nanny's face and "it was beautiful" I just cried and cried! My mom must have felt bad because she let me watch the show which hadn't even been on yet and obviously they didn't show Nanny's face. I don't know why, but that always sticks out in my head as a childhood memory.

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] gplechuckIII 19 years ago

I think the answer of "they wanted to keep in the kids perspective" is right on. If I remember correctly occasionally on teh show they would have other adults also shown from the waist down. Only the kids or totally made up things were shown in their entirety.

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[–] GordonGekko_ 19 years ago

I know what she looked like. Think June Cleaver on "Leave it to Beaver".

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[–] Olivia42 19 years ago

Additionally, Nanny is the omnipotent being, the metaphor for God. You never look upon the face of God. She is indeed more powerful with the air of mystery around her.

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[–] slotaa 19 years ago

All the characters on the show are not human except for the adults, whose faces aren't shown. It could be possible that putting in a human face next to all the muppets would look ridiculous and completely off. or something like that

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