Even if you are not a fan of the Muppets, you have probably heard of Animal and his history and inclusion as a mainstay in the Muppets franchise is a bit of a strange one and I was unaware of it until I looked it up.
You see, most of the Muppets came into being long before I was born, much less cognitively aware of my surroundings. Animal connects with children just like a lot of the Muppets do, and his very basic way of communicating is a laugh riot among the young. What we didn't realize as kids is that he is funny to kids of all ages just not necessarily for the same reason.
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Animal first appeared in a pilot for what would later become the weekly The Muppet Show and it was entitled The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, which seems like a very poor choice of title considering that the Muppets would later become primarily a children-oriented thing. At first glance it appears to be very risque but that was just meant to get people's attention because there is no sex and very little violence in the pilot. Actually, the only time it is even mentioned is in the opening credits, where they state that The Muppet Show, is the "end of Sex and Violence on television" as they detonate rock wall that says "Sex and Violence."
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As would become their normal "variety show" format, the 6th skit featured "Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem" which is the band that Animal is the drummer in. While the voice and much of the puppetry was performed by Frank Oz, the character itself was created by a man not many people associate with the Muppets but was instrumental in the creation of many of the show's favorite characters and skits.
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His name is Michael Frith, and without him, the Muppets we know and love might be very different than we know them as today. He was the brains behind the character Animal and his life is an amazing story of creativity and design. I'll likely dive into that a bit deeper at some other time but chances are, if you know and love anything about the Muppets, there is a good chance that he is at least partially responsible for it.
If you listen closely to Animal's voice you can hear that it is distinctly similar to Cookie Monster and that is simply because the voice for both of them was done by the same guy. Cookie and Animal share a lot in common in that they have only the most basic instincts and according to Animal's creators, Animal's entire life can be boiled down to just "Sex, sleep, food, drums and pain." I don't know if you ever studied psychology, but that is what all our basic instincts are meant to be...well...except for the drums part.
Animal has to be restrained frequently, and if you anger him he will become violent and on more than one occasion he has attacked a guest who was hosting the Muppet Show including musicians that he admires such as Dudley Moore.
Animal doesn't seem to really listen to anyone other than Floyd Pepper, who is the bass player in his band. Sometimes he will listen to Dr. Teeth, but not always.
Animal is one of the most famous Muppets of all time despite the fact that due to his limited thinking and vocabulary, he can't really be used all that frequently. He was the official mascot of the United States Ski team in the 98 Winter Olympics and he has been featured 11 postal stamps. The band OK Go are big fans of the Muppets and in a promo Animal challenged their drummer to a staring contest. Animal won, and OK Go's drummer was forced to be Animal's roadie for a year.