Muppets resurgence at Disney's California Adventure [Archive]

Phillip Chapman

02-04-2004, 09:02 AM

Bean Bunny mentioned this over at the Palisades forum...

Hi Everbody,

Bean here. Over at www.miceage.com, (http://www.miceage.com,/) Al Lutz is reporting that the Muppets are starting to appear in California Adventure. hmmm.

What do you guys make of this? Of most interest is the comment on this page...

"Isaac Martin spotted a Miss Piggy walkabout at California Adventure. It was rumored after the Pixar fiasco that Disney will now refocus on what Henson properties it now has, and look to expand the relationship again."

http://www.miceage.com/allutz/al020304a.htm

Photo of Miss Piggy walkaround at California Adventure...

http://miceage.skyfirehosting.com/al020304pics/al020304e.jpg

Drtooth

02-04-2004, 09:17 AM

I think they should wait it out until Eisner is kicked to the curb. I feel the partnership could breathe new life into the Muppets (projectwise) if properly handled.

zootsuit

02-04-2004, 09:31 AM

I agree.I think disney and the muppets are good for each other and i've enjoyed their collaborations in the past...but youre right , wait until eisners outta there. And any one who owns shares should go to the share holders meeting to make sure that happens.

BoyRaisin2

02-04-2004, 09:38 AM

Yes, Disney and Henson should expand their relationship. Disney has had a bigger interest in the Muppets than anyone else, and Henson NEEDS a partner so they can get back on track.

As for Eisner, I am not anti-Eisner, but he just needs to go. I think he has just lost his way in the past few years and the Disney Company needs new leadership before their reputation gets any worse.

jzion12345

02-04-2004, 10:41 AM

Yes, Disney and Henson should expand their relationship. Disney has had a bigger interest in the Muppets than anyone else, and Henson NEEDS a partner so they can get back on track.

AMEN! The Muppets, and the Jim Henson Company in general, needs one single outlet for their TV programming and movies. Disney is perfect. Since Pixar is not under the Disney umbrella anymore, I think Henson is a perfect replacement. Personally, I think Pixar is making a huge mistake by not continuing with the juggernaut that is Disney promotions. Look at what it got them: Big Box Office returns, promotional deals such as Disney on Ice, Disney Store, Disney Channel, ABC, Video Games, etc...Where else are you going to find that kind of a juggernaut that has a fan base that will buy anything Disney? Nowhere. Henson is walking into a great situation. I think they'll recover and make lots of money off of this.

Beebers

02-04-2004, 11:13 AM

I think they should wait it out until Eisner is kicked to the curb. I feel the partnership could breathe new life into the Muppets (projectwise) if properly handled.

Very nicely put.

:cool:

I particularly love the visual of Eisner being kicked to the curb, perhaps left sitting there next to his Mercedes. Or Bentley. Whatever it is he drives.

:D

King Prawn

02-04-2004, 11:36 AM

I think they should go for it, now might not be the best time for Disney but I don't really see this effecting the Muppets. Although I wouldn't want Disney to buy the Muppet I still wouldn't mind a partnership of some kind.

count_that_bear

02-04-2004, 01:30 PM

I completely agree, just look at what Disney and Henson have done for each other in the past...BEAR FOR 1!!! hopefully Disney will be a big help in getting muppet movies back on the big screen where they belong, and Henson will bring much needed originality and life back to the Walt Disney company.

Luke

02-04-2004, 02:27 PM

I agree with Boyraisin - and i don't mind whether they are Eisnerless or not. The pairing is obviously much needed - Henson can't afford right now for any project not to do well and one slip up could make them toast. Putting Disney in the mix (although with a Pixar type deal - not ownership) will give them the freedom to try new things and more opportunity to use what they've got.

rexcrk

02-04-2004, 02:36 PM

I'd say yes, except, for some reason, I can almost see Disney kind of "ruining" the Muppets. Maybe "ruining" isn't the best word, but Disney hasn't really put out anything *great* lately. But then again, the Muppets would certainly help Disney and Vice Versa...

CrockAlley

02-04-2004, 03:11 PM

I think Disney, as with Sony, Time Warner, etc, is a faceless corporation out for money, and Henson can do no good teaming up with them. It's sad to think that the creative genius of Henson is reliant on the finacial support of larger business, only because said business have squashed out any competeing smaller businesses. Companies like Disney (and their cheap $$-grubbing tactics) are the reason that companies like Henson are struggling.

beaker

02-04-2004, 03:29 PM

Phil, all I know for certain is that related pic on the front of MC's main page is most ghastly. ^___^

Luke

02-04-2004, 04:07 PM

Phil, all I know for certain is that related pic on the front of MC's main page is most ghastly. ^___^

Yeah there's something about that picture isn't there? Heather, Lisa, John and Cheryl all look like they're having fun but its a shame Brian Henson didn't turn up for the photocall! :eek:

muppetsforever

02-04-2004, 04:22 PM

I think they should wait it out until Eisner is kicked to the curb. I feel the partnership could breathe new life into the Muppets (projectwise) if properly handled.

I completly agree with this :concern:

prawncracker

02-04-2004, 05:56 PM

I would have to say it is ok with me. unless we get our own muppetland opening soon i say ride those coat tails. let them carry the burden so we can go and enjoy our muppens ok :rolleyes:

RockSTAR girl

02-04-2004, 06:26 PM

oh wow my two favorite websites are talkin about my 2 fave topics. yay. i think henson really needs this right now. i mean yeah with the monumental success of their food commercials Hensons rollin' in the dough. ::sarcasm::. but this could really bring them back to the spotlight. we've already seen how much disney can do for something such as 'a bugs land' for Pixar's "a bugs life." could you imagine what they could do for the muppets? it would be a dream come true to have anything near to that for kermit and co. (minus the devotion to kiddie rides) the real question is Can it happen? can disney and henson finally work out a plan that would suit the both of them? i think we'll all have to see at this point, but i would be 99% behind them if they choose to give it another shot. :excited:

Bean Bunny

02-04-2004, 07:41 PM

Phil,

Did that picture come form "Here Come The Muppets" that used to be at the Disney MGM Studio? If so, do have more picutres? I was at opening day for "Here Come Muppets" and the "Ninja Turtles" at the Disney MGM Studio way back in 1990. I took some pictures but they didn't turn out to well and that I was young back then.

Any who back to the regularly schduled topic.

P.S. I believe that an old issue of Mickey Mouse Magazine from 1989 or 1990 had a huge artilce about the Muppet coming to Disney. There was even a comic in the magazine with both Disney and Muppets character interacting. I will try to see if I can find it.

BoyRaisin2

02-04-2004, 08:42 PM

P.S. I believe that an old issue of Mickey Mouse Magazine from 1989 or 1990 had a huge artilce about the Muppet coming to Disney. There was even a comic in the magazine with both Disney and Muppets character interacting. I will try to see if I can find it.

Please do, Bean. Please do. :)

I just wonder if this will be IT. Could Disney and Henson finally have some sort of partnership which we have been speculating about for the past many years???

I doubt it.

The Frog Prince

02-04-2004, 08:48 PM

I really hope that Henson and Disney can have a great working relationship. While there are +'s and -'s to working with Disney, I really would like to see the Muppets have more of a presence at the Disney theme parks. I absolutely love MuppetVision 3D and I loved Here Come the Muppets Live Stageshow when they did that. The waiting area was so cool. Bear in the Big Blue House is a great success. They have media outlets that can give them exposure. I wonder, with the ABC execs there now, if Muppets Tonight would last if it were on today? They renewed all their new sitcom shows, even It's All Relative. Seems that they want to give programs a shot. I have been very pleased though with Columbia's Henson video releases, like Rocky Mountain Holiday and such. I was very sad to see that Pixar is leaving Disney. Disney has a history and familiarity with public that is comforting. Although they have gotten off track, Disney was a great fit for Pixar's movies and characters. They got life in themeparks, spinoff cartoons, and merchandise. Disney was stupid to let the Muppets and Pixar get away from them in order to save some cash. They will pay for it in the long run.

alorindanya

02-04-2004, 09:06 PM

Having worked at Muppet Vision 3D for a few months, I SO would love Disney and the Henson Co. to get back together. Financially, it is a must for both parties. However, Disney cannot control the Muppets. Murge, but don't kill the creativity.

BoyRaisin2

02-04-2004, 09:40 PM

Yeah there's something about that picture isn't there? Heather, Lisa, John and Cheryl all look like they're having fun but its a shame Brian Henson didn't turn up for the photocall! :eek:

What picture?

beaker

02-05-2004, 02:42 AM

I would have to say it is ok with me. unless we get our own muppetland opening soon i say ride those coat tails. let them carry the burden so we can go and enjoy our muppens ok :rolleyes:

Awwww! I miss my muppens...*curls into a ball in the corner*

Fozzie Bear

02-05-2004, 09:18 AM

I voted no. At least not until Eisner is gone. He's evil. Pure bred evil. I have convinced myself that he's behind the copter crash that took away Frank Wells, he's pushed all those who care about the company (including nephew Roy and Steve Gold) away...he's just evil.

Now, once Eisner is gone: get along little doggy! JHC and Dizzy would make a nice couple.

Luke

02-05-2004, 10:50 AM

What picture?

It was a joke. There are people dressed as Kermit, Mickey, Minnie and Miss Piggy. I was just doin' a lil speculatin as to who was dancin away happily in the costumes ! ;)

BoyRaisin2

02-05-2004, 01:14 PM

Thought so. :p

Wozza Fraggle

02-05-2004, 01:17 PM

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!

These people make it a habit of making a mountain out of a mole hill!

This is NOTHING, Muppet characters are contracted to walk around outside Muppet Vision 3D no matter which park.

This is no 'message' or nothing saying Henson will sign a deal with Disney. I doubt Disney even asked Henson about putting these outside the show.

This is such a dumb thing.

Wozza Fraggle

02-05-2004, 01:20 PM

Ok, Maybe the photo on the front of the site is slightly misleading. That Photo was taken in 1990.

:attitude:

Luke

02-05-2004, 03:35 PM

This is no 'message' or nothing saying Henson will sign a deal with Disney. I doubt Disney even asked Henson about putting these outside the show.

Oh yeah, the Muppet characters in the theme parks, that means nothing. I think the topic is warranted though as we know Henson has been talking to Disney recently. I think the theme park speculation was just being used as a way of being able to approach and discuss the Henson/Disney topic again which is cool.

BoyRaisin2

02-05-2004, 03:48 PM

Though we know it will all be for nought. There'll be speculation on the boards, thinking D and H will work together again and have some big partnership (which will never happen), then it'll die down and be followed by months of silence. It's just another vicious cycle in the multi-year Disney-Henson saga. But at least it helps me think of the Muppets again.

Wozza Fraggle

02-05-2004, 04:10 PM

Disney and Viacom have been talking to Henson since last year now. Nothing has come of it, Nothing has happened recently other than someone see Piggy outside the show.

Beebers

02-05-2004, 04:17 PM

From Variety:

"To the Editor:

Reading excerpts from Stanley Gold's letter to Michael Eisner, a particular phrase caught my eye: 'the enormous loss of creative talent over the last years.'

My husband, Buddy Baker, who passed away last year, was a composer at the Disney Studio for 28 years. Despite his body of work, including director of all music for Epcot, after Buddy retired in 1983 he heard not one word from anyone regarding returning to do freelance work, of which there was always plenty.

It was not until 16 years later, when the new "Winnie-the-Pooh" ride for Disney World (now also at Disneyland) was being discussed, when someone in a meeting asked, 'Who can we get to do the music?'

Dick Sherman said, 'How about Buddy Baker?' The reply was, 'Oh, is he still around?'

. . .he was very much around, having become Director of Film Scoring at USC, which became the best department of its kind in the world. He also instigated the Buddy Baker Workshop at NYU during the summer. In the last years of his life he did "Innoventions", "Sinbad", and "Journey to the Center of the Earth".

Buddy became an official Disney Legend and received the ASCAP Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award. Too bad millions of people were deprived of hearing more of the wonderful music of this talented, underrated composer because of those lost 16 years, during which no one seemed to care."

Charlotte Baker
Santa Clarita

Luke

02-05-2004, 04:30 PM

Disney and Viacom have been talking to Henson since last year now. Nothing has come of it, Nothing has happened recently other than someone see Piggy outside the show.

True, but it's coming upto the point where the distribution contract expires which is pretty much Henson's biggest deal. If anything was to come out of these talks and they dump Columbia now would be the most predictable time for something to actually happen with anyone else.

jeremyactor

02-06-2004, 01:46 PM

The Muppets appearing at Disney theme parks is nothing new.

What's probably going on is that they got the costumes fixed or cleaned, and had the proper staffing to bring them out at DCA. We have them out all the time at the Disney MGM Studios... they've been around for a LONG time (see my avatar for proof, it's been the same since this summer), so this isn't anything new. I wouldn't read anything into it.

Jeremy

wesbunting

02-06-2004, 07:24 PM

:sing: Look, the problem isn't with Disney leadership as much as it is with Henson's. Disney gets worried sick when they see anyone come along with just a smidgeon of popularity and puts things in motion to acquire the potential threat. Henson would be well advise to jump this sinking ship and begin an amusement park/studio of their own and start working toward their own original programming leaning largely on formulas that have worked for them in the past. Disney is only out to control a threat.

BoyRaisin2

02-07-2004, 10:00 AM

Please, like Disney is scared of Henson. Henson is fighting to stay alive after all the crap they've been through the past few years, and they certainly have no money to build an amusement park. Henson is better off riding Disney's (or whoever else's) coattails so they can actually DO things that make them successful.

Mr.Penguin

02-07-2004, 06:45 PM

Disney should pair with Henson. That Piggy costume rocks!

turlem

02-08-2004, 12:01 AM

No, i'm sorry to say it, but disney is evil, it's just evil, market involvemnt would be fine, help w/ merchandise and financing, but if the mouse owns them, it could be disastrous,

And i hate to say it, but part of me wonders if them pullin out in 1990 is a sign of this, they said the muppets can't live w/o jim, but they'd been centered around a dead guy for a while.

They're evil. I really hope they don't end up owning the muppets, they'll change them.

Now, if you'll excuse me, i hafta get the door, i'm not sure who it is, but i see a sillouette of a short fellow with two big ears and what appears to be a shotgun.

zootsuit

02-10-2004, 08:59 PM

Disney is not evil. It is a wonderfull company that has entertained generations of familys and has been a great community for those who work there...I should know, my father worked for Disney for twenty years and I grew up at the parks...but that is rather irrelevant...the point is that a partnership between Disney and Henson (partnership,not corporate takeover) would be beneficial to both. A distribution arrangement something along the lines of the previous pixar contract would let Henson be as creativley independent as ever and at the same time bring exposure and finacial backing that is sorely needed.Now I agree that Eisner needs to be ousted..he has become a tyrant and has lost sight of what matters...but regardless, I still believe disney and henson are good for eachother. ok.sorry..thats all i have to say.

zootsuit

02-10-2004, 09:03 PM

so i lied...i have one more comment. A distribution contract is the only kind that is even feasible...just sayin

Tera

02-11-2004, 07:25 AM

It appears to me that a distribution deal for the Muppets through Disney could be great. However, I don't think anything beyond that is a good idea. They need their independence to create.

BoyRaisin2

02-11-2004, 08:47 AM

Agreed.

But I think the Muppets are missing out. They would be a great fit in the "Comcast Disney" empire. ;)

zootsuit

02-11-2004, 09:03 AM

:) ha ha. Gee I hope not :o

Bean Bunny

02-12-2004, 08:16 PM

AOL Time Warner has joined the mouse hunt. Just imagine Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Kermit under one roof.

http://www.nypost.com/business/business.htm

zootsuit

02-12-2004, 08:43 PM

ugh

BoyRaisin2

02-12-2004, 09:32 PM

The former AOL Time Warner doesn't need to buy Disney. They're both identical. They both have movie studios, networks, etc. That's just getting two media giants at the price of one.

But I don't think it's serious, Time Warner has its own problems. And they already house Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, and Tom and Jerry. But Mickey and Kermit under the same roof would be cool.

Wait, didn't someone buy Henson last year?

Wayne

02-13-2004, 06:13 AM

Would do you think about Pixar & Henson being together than Disney
I think this would be a cool combo

Bean Bunny

02-13-2004, 09:31 AM

Would do you think about Pixar & Henson being together than Disney
I think this would be a cool combo

That would be cool, but Pixar is now considering buying Disney as well as Microsoft.

BoyRaisin2

02-13-2004, 10:01 AM

Good grief. They're the world's second-largest media company and they have to go through this.

I like the name The Walt Disney Company, but if Comcast succeeds they better darn well rename themselves Comcast Disney.

The Storyteller

02-17-2004, 05:59 PM

AMEN! The Muppets, and the Jim Henson Company in general, needs one single outlet for their TV programming and movies. Disney is perfect. Since Pixar is not under the Disney umbrella anymore, I think Henson is a perfect replacement. Personally, I think Pixar is making a huge mistake by not continuing with the juggernaut that is Disney promotions. Look at what it got them: Big Box Office returns, promotional deals such as Disney on Ice, Disney Store, Disney Channel, ABC, Video Games, etc...Where else are you going to find that kind of a juggernaut that has a fan base that will buy anything Disney? Nowhere. Henson is walking into a great situation. I think they'll recover and make lots of money off of this.

UH, Time Warner, Viacom, News Corp., NBC Universal, Sony(They own Game Show Network, Muppet's Hollywood Squares! :crazy: ) BBC, Corus Enter.

BoyRaisin2

02-18-2004, 01:45 AM

ekuska

02-19-2004, 01:37 PM

Its too bad 'Eisner' is the key word here. I personally think its an effort to win back some shareholder support. This courting is not out of love, its just a lousy boyfriend scratching at the door again.

It doesnt seem like Henson's is in the financial place to create their own projects without a big backer like Disney. So Im sure it makes for an interesting proposition, but lets face it,, Eisner's Disney is looking for a female dog, and not a partner. They have lost Pixar, who was always way way WAY out of their league, and I think Henson has that potential as well.. A Pixar/Henson combo completely opens the imagination, a Disney/Henson makes me cringe.

I've watched the cashing in of theatrical animation by Disney execs and now that the industry is on its deathbed, they are looking for a new 'host' to exploit. Im sure these were all part of Jim's original hesitations to signing with the mouse,, I only hope for the best for the muppets, I really do.

Good luck guys :concern: :concern: :eek:

Green Ranger

02-25-2004, 03:04 PM

Beauregard

02-27-2004, 11:33 AM

This is a cool thread, considering that a few days later Disney bought the Muppets...

dmx10101

02-27-2004, 11:36 AM

what about Muppets resurgence at Disney's Florida Adventure?

BoyRaisin2

02-27-2004, 12:47 PM

That's a given.

Bean Bunny

02-28-2004, 04:40 PM

That's a given.
Yes, the head of Disney parks reported that Muppets will be appearing more in the near future at the Walt Disney World Resort and it's sister park.

Screamscape has a link to the interview. He doesn't say much though, it the Muppets are coming. The rest of the interview is about the new Buzz Lightyear ride coming to Disneyland and something called Virtual Magic Kingdom, which sounds like a Hug Multiple Player Online RPG.

dmx10101

02-28-2004, 09:36 PM

Yes, the head of Disney parks reported that Muppets will be appearing more in the near future at the Walt Disney World Resort and it's sister park.

Screamscape has a link to the interview. He doesn't say much though, it the Muppets are coming. The rest of the interview is about the new Buzz Lightyear ride coming to Disneyland and something called Virtual Magic Kingdom, which sounds like a Hug Multiple Player Online RPG.

Hmmm, Sounds like some interesting new things are coming.