Is it just me?

Something I was contemplating the other day (you'd be surprised at some of the random things that come to light when you're bored at work) was how "real" Muppets are to me...

Strange I know, but when I think about it is it just me who considers such Muppets as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big Bird, Elmo and other such Jim Henson creations as actual sentient entities? Do we actually look at that green lump of felt and think there's a guy underneath puppeteering and doing the voice or do we accept that Kermit and co are real? The reason the thought came to mind was because I saw a picture of Big Bird and Elmo from Sesame Street at Macy's 150th Anniversary Gala (picture below) online and a smile came to my face induced by memories of my childhood spent watching Sesame Street and The Muppet Show on TV and never once considering that these Henson creations were anything but real to me. I've seen Kermit and Miss Piggy interviewed on UK TV on programmes like Richard and Judy (back in the day) and even on the evening news and again they always exuded such realistic characteristics.

Although this is coming from a guy that talked himself into believing no Ewoks died in Return of the Jedi because I didn't want to face the truth... ;)