Why Rowlf the Dog Is the Best Muppet – Collider

There are many great Muppets, but Rowlf, for many reasons, is the greatest Muppet to ever hit the screen.
Trying to pick a favorite Muppet can seem like an impossible task. How do you do that? How do you pick a favorite child? How do you pick a favorite moment of connection with a romantic partner? How do you pick a favorite Carly Rae Jepsen or SZA song? These are the kind of impossible questions that come to mind when figuring out which idiosyncratic member of the Muppet troupe is the best creation of all. Though an enormously difficult task, through tremendous consideration, it becomes clear which of these iconic figures is the best Muppet. Somehow, it isn’t unforgettable creations like Kermit the Frog or non-binary legend Gonzo the Great.
Instead, it's a canine who enjoys the simple things in life, like going home, reading a book, having a couple of beers, taking himself for a walk, and going to bed. There’s no other choice: it has to be Rowlf the Dog.
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Part of why Rowlf is such a great Muppet creation can be seen in how long he’s lasted in pop culture. The history of Rowlf is almost as old as the Muppets themselves, with only a handful of creations in this universe (like Kermit the Frog and other companions on Sam & Friends) getting invented before this pooch. Having been around for so long, Rowlf’s been in everything from dog food commercials to late-night TV appearances to feature-length movies and everything in between. There’s an elder statesman quality to Rowlf that immediately makes him endearing. Much like how actual dogs stand by your side no matter what, Rowlf is a fixture of all forms of Muppets media.
Of course, being such an indisputably large part of the Muppet legacy wouldn’t help Rowlf out if there wasn’t a compelling personality attached to this canine. Slapping a fictional character everywhere suddenly won’t iron out the wrinkles in flawed writing. However, Rowlf’s ubiquity is a welcome sight given how enjoyable his persona is. This character is armed with a gruff voice that suggests years of experience, but also an easygoing demeanor that suggests none of that experience has made him bitter about the wider world. He’s also got a cuddly look (his fur looks so soft and snuggly!) that’s able to balance the discernible presence of human hands (albeit covered up in brown fur to make them look like Rowlf’s paws) without undercutting the idea that we’re watching a piano-loving dog.
Rowlf, in other words, is an enjoyable contradiction. A mellow critter with vocals informed by worldly adventures. A creature instantly recognizable as a dog that also features the human fingers of his puppeteers. No wonder it’s always a pleasure to see Rowlf in Muppet media, he’s such a quietly detailed figure! Rowlf’s omnipresence is also delightful given that he’s such an anomaly in the primary cast of Muppets. Most of these characters are delightful weirdos, people who want nothing more than to get shot out of cannons or karate chop their opponents. Even straight man Kermit is prone to bursts of frustration or flights of fancy.
Just as you can always count on Rowlf showing up in a Muppet property, you can also always be assured he’ll be a relaxed contrast to his Muppet co-stars. He’s the guy that a forlorn Kermit can turn to for a vulnerable rendition of “I Hope That Somethin’ Better Comes Along” in The Muppet Movie, for instance, or somebody who can sing a version of “What a Wonderful World” in the middle of an otherwise chaotic Muppet Show episode without the number coming off as forced or schmaltzy. This is just who Rowlf is, the calm of the storm within the delightful mayhem of The Muppets.
Music and The Muppets have always been inseparable. All the way back on Sam & Friends, an early version of Kermit and other puppet creations would lip-sync along to pop tunes of the day while the earliest Sesame Street episodes garnered much of their popularity from using catchy tunes to impart important lessons to youngsters. Given how deeply intertwined tunes and these characters are, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Rowlf the Dog stands above all other Muppet figures thanks to his status as a piano player.
Tickling the ivories is always a surefire recipe for entertainment whenever Rowlf is involved, especially on some of the best Muppet Show sketches. These segments delivered the biggest laughs in the history of The Muppet Show by juxtaposing Rowlf's usually calm demeanor with absurd lyrics and equally ludicrous scenarios for his musical talents to contend with. Watching Rowlf try to maintain his artistic composure while replaying the same song three times in an increasingly speedy fashion is hysterical, there’s no other word for it. Meanwhile, watching Rowlf sing the bizarre words of “You and I and George” with faux-gravitas (perfectly communicated through those distinctive vocals of his) never fails to make me cackle with glee.
The fact that this dog is always playing the piano competently in these sketches even as the wackiness around him ramps up just makes Rowlf’s various piano-based sequences on The Muppet Show extra hilarious. Rowlf’s gifts with this instrument were most apparent on this TV show, but they still informed incredibly memorable moments in Muppet media in the years to come, namely the “I Hope That Somethin’ Better Comes Along” number in The Muppet Movie. Taken on their own merits, these various shenanigans with Rowlf and his piano are already wonderful. But in the context of The Muppets as a pop culture institution, Rowlf’s antics embody all the comical creativity that came about when merging these characters with music. Encapsulating such a critical part of Muppet storytelling alone is enough to make Rowlf a contender for the greatest Muppet of all time.
One could prattle on for hours about the finer intricacies of why Rowlf the Dog is the best Muppet. But it’s also the simplest facets of this character that make him so wonderful. Like how he was briefly retired in the 1990s because he was apparently the Muppet closest to the real-world personality of Jim Henson. This man’s legacy is embodied in many ways in the modern world, but having Rowlf still around in pop culture (the character was brought back at the dawn of the 21st century) is an especially touching way for Henson to still exist in some form in the modern world.
Then there are the silliest surface-level pleasures about Rowlf. Like those ears! Rowlf’s ears fly every which way whenever he’s playing on the piano, dancing, or even just expressing pronounced emotions. They’re adorably vivid and there’s really no other Muppet with similar appendages. Rowlf’s an idiosyncratic individual in so many ways, but especially when it comes to those ears of his. Plus, Rowlf gets the best gags in many modern Muppets productions, like his inquiry as to why he wasn’t included in a montage sequence in the 2011 feature The Muppets.
There isn’t just one reason why Rowlf the Dog is the best Muppet of all time. But if there were going to be one, well, it’d be in how well he embodies the spirit of the Muppets in being enjoyable on so many levels. Just like so many Muppet TV shows, movies, and specials, Rowlf can be entertaining at face value. However, break down either something like The Muppet Christmas Carol or the character of Rowlf, and you begin to understand the craft, wit, and heart that went into such unforgettable silliness. Rowlf isn’t just wonderful because it’s amusing watching him harmonizing about George falling into a river or tadpoles inexplicably having feet. He’s wonderful because he encapsulates the multi-layered joys of the Muppets themselves.
Douglas Laman is a life-long movie fan, writer and Rotten Tomatoes approved critic whose writing has been published in outlets like The Mary Sue, Fangoria, The Spool, and ScarleTeen. Residing both on the Autism spectrum and in Texas, Doug adores pugs, showtunes, the Wes Anderson movie Fantastic Mr. Fox, and any music by Carly Rae Jepsen.

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