The Muppets industry and popular culture in the United States, receiving recognition from various cultural institutions and organizations, including the American Film Institute, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Library of Congress, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Muppets were created by puppeteer Jim Henson in the 1950s, beginning with Kermit the Frog, who would become Henson's most recognizable character. Originally conceived for an adult audience, Henson claimed, and later retracted, that he coined the term "Muppet" as a portmanteau of the words "marionette" and "puppet". In 1955, the Muppets were introduced in "Sam and Friends", a short-form television series
The Muppets (film) de Walt Disney Records" on December 6, 2011. McKenzie won an Academy Award for the song "Man or Muppet", beating out "Real in Rio" from "Rio". Although it was the fourth Muppet film to receive an Academy Award nomination, this was the first time a Muppet film had won an Academy Award and the first Muppet film nominated for Best Original Song since 1981's "The Great Muppet Caper" and the first time a Muppet film in general had been nominated for any kind of Academy Award since 1984's "The Muppets Take Manhattan". "The Muppets" premiered at the 2011 Savannah Film