It has been quite some time, but Frank Oz has returned to the world of puppetry… just not The Muppets. However, there is cause for Muppets fans to be excited. A new series of shorts called Judge Boing Boing has arrived on YouTube. Along with the three episodes being released, two interviews with Frank Oz and co-creator Bill Barretta have also arrived.

The first interview goes into the origins of Judge Boing Boing. In what seems to be a very fitting origin story, it came out of Frank Oz and Bill Barretta hanging out with a group of puppeteers and playing around. After the character was created, it eventually evolved into the Judge (performed by Barretta and based on Ed Wynn). Finally, after about a year of “playing around,” Frank Oz said they came together to create Judge Boing Boing with everyone doing it for free and for fun. The humorous interview is about 45 minutes long and well worth watching. Check it out here:

Here is a shorter edit of this interview:

Judge Boing Boing sees Frank Oz returning to the world of puppetry. He not only helped co-create the series. He also returned to directing puppets for it. People came together to be part of this project, which was filmed in the Volume at Amazon, which also donated the space. Many of the people who came together and donated their time worked with The Muppets. Legendary Muppet performer Dave Goelz came on board to help with this as well. Other veterans also helped, including Kevin Clash, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Alice Dinnean, Tim Lagasse, B. Lanoil, Peter Linz, Russ Walko, Grant Baccioco, and Jackson Barretta. Other people from the world of Muppets that contributed included Production Designer Darcy Provost, composer Mick Giacchino, Muppets Mayhem Executive Producer Jeff Yorkes, and others.

While this series is not Muppets at all, it does seem to have the spirit of The Muppets. It’s a bunch of people coming together to make something that will make people happy. It is people contributing their gifts to make a bigger gift to give to the world, all because it is fun.

Below are the three episodes of this new series:

In 2024, Frank Oz was named a Disney Legend at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. Oz was being recognized in the Film & Television category. He is known for bringing many Muppets to life through the years, both in front of and behind the camera. He also brought Yoda to life in Star Wars. On top of that, he could be heard as Dave in Pixar’s Inside Out 2.

What do you think of Judge Boing Boing? What do you like most about this project? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!