Muppets, Muppets, Muppets!

I grew up watching Sesame Street.  I never watched anything else related to the Muppets (though Sesame Street and the Muppets are technically separate from each other).  But last night at Bestie’s house, I watched The Muppet Movie (the 1979 film).  Not to be confused with 2011’s Muppet Movie.

But actually, speaking of Muppet Movie, a lot of the hullabaloo lately has been about its (semi-) sequel: Muppets Most Wanted, which comes out March of next year.  Below is the teaser trailer.

Videos from YouTube.

Yes, Disney owns the Muppets.  Only officially since 2004, but even in the 1980s, “Jim Henson entered discussions with The Walt Disney Company, in which the latter would acquire Jim Henson Productions and in turn, own The Muppets franchise.  However, due to Henson's death in 1990, solid negotiations never materialized” (Wikipedia).

Right before Henson’s death, he and Disney paired up to film The Muppets at Walt Disney World, "part of an awareness campaign to promote the planned merger of The Jim Henson Company with The Walt Disney Company” (The Muppet Wiki). 



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As part of The Magical World of Disney, the TV special aired on NBC on May 6, 1990 – literally 10 days before Henson’s death.

The best part of this TV special is when a little girl (played by a young Raven-Symoné) sings “Rainbow Connection” to Kermit to help cheer him up.  “I don’t believe this,” Kermit says.


Image from a Google search.

At the end of the TV special, Kermit takes his Muppet friends to visit Mickey Mouse (animated version, voiced by the brilliant Wayne Allwine), who invites them to put their "names and footprints into the cement...Welcome to the family."  If that doesn’t tell you what was planned for the Muppets, I don’t know what does.



Two of the most iconic characters, together.
Image from the Disney Wiki.

See you all real soon!