Jim Henson was a genius when it came to depicting grumpy guys. There were Waldorf and Statler, the two old guys on the Muppet Show who sat up in the balcony and heckled the cast. There was also Sam the Eagle. There was Bert, the surly counterpart to affable Ernie. And naturally, what conversation about Jim Henson's grumpy guys would be complete without an acknowledgement of Oscar the Grouch?

Henson had a way of depicting these grumpy characters that was not only spot-on and eerily-reminiscent of real-world, human grouches... But he did it in a way that allowed them to actually be laughable and loveable, too. Even when Oscar is at his grouchiest, he's not necessarily "the Bad Guy." He's just being a grouch -- in the same way that I can be a grouch sometimes, or that my children can be grouches sometimes.

Have you ever heard the Grouch Anthem, from the film "Follow That Bird?" It's Henson's grumpy guys at their best.

Grouches of the world, unite.
Stand up for your grouchly rights.
Don't let the sunshine spoil your rain:
Just stand up and complain!

Let this be the grouches' cause:
Point out everybody's flaws.
Something is wrong with everything
(Except the way I sing).

Don't let the sunshine spoil your rain:
Just stand up and complain!