Recommended music: Mahna Mahna – Mahna Mahna
It’s #SomethingElseSunday, and we’re still marking 70 years of the Muppets! Today’s spotlight from Diamond Select Toys is Mahna Mahna!
Mahna Mahna first appeared as an unnamed Anything Muppet in the first season of Sesame Street in 1969. Later that year, he would gain his familiar furry green tunic in addition to his wild orange hair for The Ed Sullivan Show, where he appeared until 1976. The character was renamed Bip Bippadotta for more Sesame Street episodes, showing up again from the mid-1970s through 1989.
Perhaps the most famous appearance of the character was during one of the first sketches on the debut episode of The Muppet Show in 1976, where he performed his signature song with the furry pink creatures known as Snowths. Though Kermit and Statler wonder about the meaning of the phrase “Mahna Mahna,” Waldorf gets the last laugh with the line “The question is, who cares?” The phrase actually comes from a 1968 song by Italian composer Piero Umiliani, written for a documentary about Swedish counterculture.
After a few more appearances on The Muppet Show, Mahna Mahna (and his catchy tune) showed up in The Muppet Movie, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Muppets Tonight (in the Sandra Bullock episode), and many other Muppet productions. The song is still parodied, sometimes with the character and sometimes without, including this video with Disturbed vocals.
Sadly, the Palisades Toys Muppet line ended before Mahna Mahna was made, though he and The Snowths were planned for wave 12. Since then, a few companies have released Mahna Mahna toys, including this action figure in the Diamond Select Toys Muppets Select line. When DST’s third wave came out in 2017, Mahna Mahna was part of a 3-pack with Rowlf and Crazy Harry. He was also included with a handful of other repacks in the Backstage Deluxe Action Figure Box Set in 2023.
I usually don’t collect the DST Muppets figures because of their size and detail. Still, like with Bean Bunny, I had to get Mahna Mahna since he wasn’t in the Palisades line. He’s more of a background Muppet, but if you want an articulated version of the character for your collection, I recommend picking him up. If you’re willing to wait, NECA Toys showed a prototype for a new, larger Mahna Mahna and The Snowths at New York Toy Fair 2026, so a new version might come out in the next few years. 😛
I know the 70th anniversary of The Muppets has already passed, but I still have a good number of characters to feature on the blog. Also, if you missed The Muppet Show’s 50th-anniversary special, it’s now streaming on Disney+, and it’s great … even with Mahna Mahna just in the background.
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