Disney Owns the Muppets, So NOW What?

[Kryton]

I still have the first Muppets TV special after Henson's death on a VHS tape somewhere. It was called "The Muppets Remember Jim Henson", which was funny because none of them did. At one point, when the story of Henson came around to puppetry, all the Muppets looked down at their handlers and freaked out swearing never to look at them again!

Anyway, the secondary plot of the show (besides all the flashbacks from Henson's past) was that Kermit was MISSING! Of course, anyone who knows anything about the Muppets knows that Kermit WAS Henson's own heart and soul...and it's actually making me tear up a bit remembering how, when they finally found Kermit (voiced by Brian Henson), it was hard because you KNEW it wasn't Henson and the voice hadn't quite been perfected yet.

But Kermit still lived. A very gut-wrenching moment, to be sure. But cathartic at the time as well (Henson's passing was SO SUDDEN and unexpected it had become hard to handle that he was gone for those of us who grew up with him always there).

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

This thread reminds me of a book that I used to read a lot when I was a kid. I still have it in fact. It was written by Jim Henson, or he made the characters for it, or something. He was heavily involved. I think it was "Christmas Toys" or something like that. It was about a group of toys who came alive after humans left the room. It took place on Christmas Eve and they went through an ordeal trying to get downstairs to see what was under the Christmas tree, or something along those lines. When Toy Story came out a bit later I actually thought it was based off that book because they were so similar.

Anyway, my point is that it was a really good book by Jim Henson and that he was obviously fantastic at what he did.

They did a puppet TV special of that one too. It was a bit sappy for my taste but it makes my mother all nostalgic. Lionsgate just put it out on DVD. It was only $10 at Target, so my mother will be getting that for Christmas.

 

[Christopher]

I still have the first Muppets TV special after Henson's death on a VHS tape somewhere. It was called "The Muppets Remember Jim Henson", which was funny because none of them did. At one point, when the story of Henson came around to puppetry, all the Muppets looked down at their handlers and freaked out swearing never to look at them again!

Oh, I remember that!

Anyway, the secondary plot of the show (besides all the flashbacks from Henson's past) was that Kermit was MISSING! Of course, anyone who knows anything about the Muppets knows that Kermit WAS Henson's own heart and soul...and it's actually making me tear up a bit remembering how, when they finally found Kermit (voiced by Brian Henson), it was hard because you KNEW it wasn't Henson and the voice hadn't quite been perfected yet.

Actually that was when Steve Whitmire made his debut as Kermit. As far as I can tell from IMDb, Brian Henson didn't perform in that special.

I've always wondered how Whitmire got the job as the replacement Kermit. Was he already known for doing a Kermit impression, or were there auditions?

But Kermit still lived. A very gut-wrenching moment, to be sure. But cathartic at the time as well (Henson's passing was SO SUDDEN and unexpected it had become hard to handle that he was gone for those of us who grew up with him always there).

Yes, Henson's death hit me very hard. It was just so wrong. If he'd just been a little less self-effacing, if he'd sought help sooner rather than staying quiet because he didn't want to bother anyone, he could've probably been treated and lived on. For a while, I was actually kind of angry at him for not taking care of himself, for not appreciating just how important he was to us.

And it's sad looking at the credits of that special and realizing that Henson was just the first to go. Richard Hunt died, Jerry Nelson and Frank Oz have moved on to other careers, head writer Jerry Juhl died... it's all so different now. Gonzo, Rizzo, and that stupid prawn thing have become so central in recent years (now that Goelz, Whitmire, and Barretta are the core group) that sometimes Kermit, Fozzie, and Piggy seem almost like afterthoughts. Don't get me wrong, I like Gonzo, and he's the one core player who's still truly himself (though Eric Jacobsen does do an incredibly good Fozzie impression, I'll give him that). But I liked him better playing off of Kermit and Fozzie and Piggy than being paired up with Rizzo as he usually is these days. Rizzo was okay on The Muppet Show, but he's just not a star player. And that prawn is just annoying.

 

[Kryton]

Whitmire, eh? Huh...I may well have always just presumed it was Brian. Oh well, the points themselves remain.

 

[Christopher]

Brian Henson doesn't sound much like his father and hasn't taken over any of his characters, except for the Muppet Newsman a couple of times. His one regular Muppet character is Sal, the monkey assistant to the Sinatra-like Johnny Fiama. He's also occasionally done two Richard Hunt characters, Scooter and Janice, though David Rudman performed both those characters in last week's Christmas special. But Brian Henson mainly works behind the camera as an executive, director, producer, writer, etc.

Of Jim Henson's major characters, Kermit, Ernie, and Link Hogthrob are now Steve Whitmire; Waldorf is Dave Goelz; Rowlf and the Swedish Chef are Bill Barretta; and Dr. Teeth has been various people including Barretta.


By the way, I've been looking over the Muppet Wiki, and I think it answered my earlier question about how Whitmire got the job as Kermit:
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Steve_Whitmire#Trivia

Was nicknamed Kermit in his youth because he aspired to become a puppeteer and even performed with a Kermit which he made. His high school yearbook even has the name "Kermit" on the front cover. [5]

Shares the same birthday (September 24) as Jim Henson.

At one of his last meetings with Jim Henson, Henson commented to Whitmire that although he was a main Muppet performer, he didn't really have any main Muppet characters besides Rizzo and Bean Bunny, and told him that he was going to try to create a new main character for Whitmire to perform. [2]

Ouch, there's a sad irony to that last one.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Since this seems to be the Muppets thread I have a question. Why is it that I cant find "A Muppet Family Christmas" on DVD? It seems like it used to be available as I see it selling for insane amounts on ebay. Did Disney pull the DVD after they bought the Muppets? Anyone know if it will ever be released again??

According to IMDB, Disney has put it in "the vault." In other words, it's out of print. There are also some problems with rights, because of the music and because the characters are owned by four different companies. So it's uncertain when there will be a new release. It's kind of the same fate that The Great Santa Switch is suffering.

 

[Cutter John]

Starting to make me wish they'd just retire the Muppets. At least we'd have fond memories of their past work instead of Disneys raped, half-assed version.

 

[Meredith]

Muppets haven't been the same since Henson died, now we have wrong sounding muppets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sHSygCg9mY

 

[Meredith]

Since this seems to be the Muppets thread I have a question. Why is it that I cant find "A Muppet Family Christmas" on DVD? It seems like it used to be available as I see it selling for insane amounts on ebay. Did Disney pull the DVD after they bought the Muppets? Anyone know if it will ever be released again??

According to IMDB, Disney has put it in "the vault." In other words, it's out of print. There are also some problems with rights, because of the music and because the characters are owned by four different companies. So it's uncertain when there will be a new release. It's kind of the same fate that The Great Santa Switch is suffering.

Screw Disney and their stupid ass "vault"

 

[DBR]

The Muppets have so much potential, and I think the franchise is extremely under valued right now. Disney should do something with them: I don't know what, but something other than churning out those mediocre, insulting-to-anyone-older-than-three DTV movies.

The Muppet Show is a classic, and the Muppet Xmas Carol was a masterpiece.

A few years ago when Saban (Power Rangers) was in the runnnig to buy the Muppets, all I could think of were Pink and Blue and Red heroes fighting villains wrapped in saran wrap, but maybe they would have done something with The Muppets other than what we have been getitng.

 

[Falcor5]

The Muppets have so much potential, and I think the franchise is extremely under valued right now. Disney should do something with them: I don't know what, but something other than churning out those mediocre, insulting-to-anyone-older-than-three DTV movies.

I agree Disney is really not doing anything with the Muppets at all it seems. Its almost as if Disney bought the Muppets just to keep another company from getting them and to keep away any possible future competition from another company that would have used the Muppets more. It seems that Disney has no intention of doing anything with them except really low budget stuff which is a shame.

 

[Neopeius]

After Jim Henson's untimely death, the Muppets lost all their appeal. The wit, irony and writing were all gone.

And Disney automatically drops everything down by 30 I.Q. points these days.

I was not surprised at the outcome...

QFT

I'd add that the Muppets, like Henson, were creatures of their time. If you don't grok the 60s and 70s, then the Muppets are so much garbage. I also don't see how they can make an interesting transition to the modern era.

 

[Kryton]

They will never be "garbage"...but the image of lifeless felt is saddening.

 

[Christopher]

I agree Disney is really not doing anything with the Muppets at all it seems. Its almost as if Disney bought the Muppets just to keep another company from getting them and to keep away any possible future competition from another company that would have used the Muppets more. It seems that Disney has no intention of doing anything with them except really low budget stuff which is a shame.

Actually I read recently that Disney is trying to change that and relaunch the Muppets as a major franchise, with this Xmas special being one of the first steps. Although if anything, seeing the Muppets become fodder for the Disney monster marketing machine, getting overexposed and overcommercialized and oversanitized and overkitschified like all Disney's other stuff, could be worse than seeing them languish in obscurity.

 

[TGTheodore]

The Muppets will always be basically two factions: the "original" Muppets and the Sesame Street Muppets.

The former Muppets are the ones struggling for an image under Disney, mainly since they haven't been a constant or consistent pop presence in the last twenty years (they were extremely visible on TV in the late 50's, 60's and 70's). I don't think the PBS Muppets are in any danger of going "out of fashion" at all.

Good comments from all in this thread. That's why I started it. I have a friend high up in Disney and she says they're just perplexed as to what to do with them.

--Ted

 

[Christopher]

You know, I recently read that there was a time back in the '80s when Disney was in such dire financial straits that Henson was considering buying them. And when I read that, I sighed at what might have been....

 

[Aragorn]

At one point, when the story of Henson came around to puppetry, all the Muppets looked down at their handlers and freaked out swearing never to look at them again!

The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson

The scene you mentioned is two minutes in. And the whole thing is on YouTube.

 

[Falcor5]

At one point, when the story of Henson came around to puppetry, all the Muppets looked down at their handlers and freaked out swearing never to look at them again!

The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson

The scene you mentioned is two minutes in. And the whole thing is on YouTube.

Wow thanks for posting that. I have not seen that special since it originally aired. Still makes me sad after all these years

 

[Christopher]

At one point, when the story of Henson came around to puppetry, all the Muppets looked down at their handlers and freaked out swearing never to look at them again!

Something similar happens in the earlier Secrets of the Muppets, a behind-the-scenes episode of The Jim Henson Hour, which can also be found on YouTube (though the guy who posted it does a pointless intro for four minutes before the show actually starts). The Muppet characters are rather alarmed when Jim Henson starts talking about exposing their secrets, they react to "the P word" ("puppet" or "puppeteer") as a taboo term, and they try to run away and urge the viewer not to watch when the time comes to pull back the camera and expose the Muppet performers operating them from below.

Of course, their routine interaction with Henson on that show contradicts the conceit of the tribute special that they didn't know who Jim Henson was. But that's the way it is with the Muppets. They have no consistent "canon" (though Gonzo has often been shot from a cannon).

 

[Timby]

Muppets haven't been the same since Henson died

If I hear any negative words about the Muppet Christmas Carol, I will ruin so many lives.