Mah Nà Mah Nà (Mahna Mahna)

Part of a series on The Muppets. [View Related Entries]

PROTIP: Press 'i' to view the image gallery, 'v' to view the video gallery, or 'r' to view a random entry.

This submission is currently being researched & evaluated!

You can help confirm this entry by contributing facts, media, and other evidence of notability and mutation.

Mah Nà Mah Nà (Mahna Mahna) is a popular song which is widely known for its use of comedy and tune. It's also known for its use of reenactments and use of the lyrics.

Origin

"Mah Nà Mah Nà" is a popular song written by Piero Umiliani. It originally appeared in the Italian film Sweden: Heaven and Hell (Svezia, Inferno E Paradiso).

It was a minor radio hit in the U.S. and in Britain, but became better known in English-speaking countries from its use
in the Tv Shows such as The Muppet's, Sesame Street and the Benny Hill Show

Raise In Popularity

Aside from its notoriety from The Benny Hill Show, "Mahna Mahna" became familiar to many from its renditions by the Muppets on television. In 1969, the first season of Sesame Street featured a sketch featuring two Muppet girls who are unsure of what to do, until they decide to sing a song, enter an unusual-looking short, shaggy-haired male Muppet character who begins singing "Mahna Mahna", prompting the girls to join him. None of the characters had names at the time, but the male Muppet who led the "Mahna Mahna" call-and-response was eventually given the name Bip Bippadotta, so as to differentiate him from the official Mahna Mahna character that would be developed later on.

On 30 November 1969, "Mahna Mahna" was performed on the The Ed Sullivan Show by three new and more fully detailed Muppet characters. The male Muppet character was now purple with wild, orange hair and a furry, green tunic, while the female Muppet characters were two identical pink alien creatures with horns and cone-like mouths (with yellow lips) that always remained open. At this point the male Muppet was given the name Mahna Mahna^[9] and the female alien creatures were referred to as The Snouths (as a portmanteau of "snout" and "mouth" since their mouth also served as their noses). The song "Mahna Mahna" was played at a slower tempo and given a more playful, quintessential "children's"-style arrangement as opposed to the previous arrangement which was slightly reminiscent of the early 1960s Calypso.