The Muppets Original and Limited Edition Art

The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference to the original characters created by Henson.

Henson had said the word "Muppet" predating the show Sam and Friends. He would sometimes tell people the term had been created by combining the words "marionette" and "puppet", but he also said that it was really just a made-up word.