Seven Years Later: Disney buys Muppets and Bear

[CensoredAlso]

And I agree with Frogboy on the religious thing. Never noticed it.

Look at my previous post. It was definitely there. And not in a bad way.

 

[Yorick]

Fraggle Rock movie (which will NEVER happen).

At least that means the (for lack of a better word) sacred Fraggle Rock will not be ruined.

Now the complaint that the new movie is going to be "hipped up?" NOTHING and I mean NOTHING is further from the truth. The script was penned by a team SICK of the new Muppet movies who wanted the glory of the original 3 films.

Though I actually like all the Muppet movies I've seen (even Very Merry Muppet Christmas had it's moments, though it's the weakest of them) I am VERY glad to hear you say this! Now let's hope no one changes anything at the last minute I agree, Letters To Santa was very good! I thought that one got picked on a lot, but I liked it.

 

[frogboy4]

Well there were Disney projects in the past with a clear religious vibe, such as the 1948 Johnny Appleseed cartoon, which frequently mentions God, the Bible and Heaven. Or The Sword in the Stone which declares: "It's a miracle! Ordained by Heaven, this boy is our King!" (They're not talking about the clouds ; ) ). There was nothing objectionable about either project.

It was more acceptable to make references like that years ago. Now it's not allowed, somehow in the name of tolerance...


But that's off the topic of course.

Yeah, but that's an incredible stretch! Entertainment reflects societal times and Disney didn't play the God card any more than other studios. In fact, I think they played it a little less.

(the off-topic bit) I understand the call for tolerance, yet I don't think that giving different points of view equal time rather than an individual spotlight is anti-tolerance toward already well-exposed religious ideals. That claim to me is as ludicrous as if Lady Gaga complained about not getting enough press coverage because she isn't front and center on the cover of every magazine and that some people choose not to publicize her at all. Her persona isn't being hidden and neither is Christianity. No one wants to hear the popular kids cry foul over not getting their fair share. I believe that with every fiber of my being. This faux culture war is being fought in the delusional minds of some Christian folk who cannot fathom true oppression. That is a common sense point that I'll never abandon no matter how the counter-argument is shaped.

I guess to bring this back to the point - the Muppets have always been able to reference God without getting preachy or alienating others. It's still an all-inclusive brand...and I think it's cute that Zoot is Jewish!

 

[Yorick]

Well there were Disney projects in the past with a clear religious vibe, such as the 1948 Johnny Appleseed cartoon, which frequently mentions God, the Bible and Heaven. Or The Sword in the Stone which declares: "It's a miracle! Ordained by Heaven, this boy is our King!" (They're not talking about the clouds ; ) ). And there was nothing objectionable about either project.

In both cases you mention, it all seems fitting, though, and I wonder if StarChamber meant those.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Yeah, but that's an incredible stretch! Entertainment reflects societal times and Disney didn't play the God card any more than other studios. In fact, I think they played it a little less.

No offence but it's not a stretch. Disney didn't have to make those references, no one was forcing them. I'm not saying they were a super religious studio, but they certainly did incorporate religion into their messages, more than once.

I understand the call for tolerance, yet I don't think that giving different points of view equal time rather than an individual spotlight is anti-tolerance

But all the different points of view aren't being given equal time, or even any time. We've gone from one religion having the center stage, to you can't talk about any religion at all, period. It's being called tolerance but it's anything but. I'd love to see actual tolerance with multiple points of view, but we're too busy thinking that means getting rid of everything.

 

[Yorick]

That claim to me is as ludicrous as if Lady Gaga complained about not getting enough press coverage because she isn't front and center on the cover of every magazine and that some people choose not to publicize her at all.

Not to take this further off topic, ha, but...if she did complain about not getting enough coverage on tv or the press or whatever, she'd have to be sarcastic

I have nothing against her. I have more respect for loud and proud pop acts (whether I can stand their music or not) than so-called-rock acts that are actually just a bland corporate machine with no soul - I have no respect for those. But I do wonder if her over-exposure will lead to the public (who is fickle, mind you! they love and leave their favorite artists all the time) to get sick of her within a year or so.

But I hope no one thinks I didn't understand the point of frogboy4's post, because I did!

 

[beaker]

To clarify, while Jim in his final few years felt Disney was the best new home for the Muppets, his sudden passing ended the possibility of a buyout with Disney due to various reasons. However 1990 also saw the beginning of a Disney partnership with the Muppets that has continued all the way to the buyout of 2004 and beyond.

This includes:

The great "Muppets@ WDW" special

Muppet Vision 3d and other Muppet areas/gift shop at WDW
(sadly the proposed rides and restaurant never happened)

A series of straight to vhs releases around the 92-93 era, some featuring Kermit, Bean, etc

Muppet Treasure Island

Bear in the Big Blue House

People forget that Jim wanted the Muppets to go to Disney. There is a rumor that at one point when the Muppets were king of the world in 1980 and Disney wasn't doing so well, there was informal talks of JHC buying Disney(Crazy I know, but imagine that!) Again, just a rumor...but a far cry from the state of early 2000 Muppets

Many here might forget one ugly, ugly acronym: EM.TV. That corrupt snakeoil German company that almost completely sank the Muppets. While its great JHC bought them back, looking back amidst our loud complaints at the time(mine included)...it's a relief Disney bought them

If the Muppets were under JHC, you could forget seeing a Muppet film, much less the sort of stuff we've been seeing since 2009. You could forget about a big Muppet comeback. While Im happy for JHC regarding the success of Dinosaur Train and Sid the Science Kid, as well as continuing production work for offbeat films...they can barely stand on their two legs in the overall scheme of things, and the Muppets would not be given justice. Just a sad reality

I CANNOT WAIT to take a pilgrimage to D23 in August and experience what will most likely be a massive Muppet tidal wave. Naysayers who claim the Muppets are dead or Disney won't do anything with them only need to go there or read about what will happen to see they are wrong.
Heck I wish I could go to Comic Con as I can almost bet there will be a big Muppet unveiling there too

2011=the big Muppet comeback year, something that just was never going to happen under JHC ownership

 

[Yorick]

But different points of view aren't being given equal time, or even any time. We've gone from one religion having the center stage, to you can't talk about any religion at all, period. It's being called tolerance but it's anything but. I'd love to see actual tolerance, but we're too busy thinking that means getting rid of everything.

So there's nowhere to find something with religious messages? Or you just mean on your average tv channel? (I'm just asking, not being confrontational! We always have to make that clear in text.)

 

[Yorick]

People forget that Jim wanted the Muppets to go to Disney. There is a rumor that at one point when the Muppets were king of the world in 1980 and Disney wasn't doing so well, there was informal talks of JHC buying Disney(Crazy I know, but imagine that!) Again, just a rumor...but a far cry from the state of early 2000 Muppets

Wow! How cool that would have been. And if Jim was still here, I know Disney channel would be better these days

 

[CensoredAlso]

So there's nowhere to find something with religious messages? Or you just mean on your average tv channel? (I'm just asking, not being confrontational! We always have to make that clear in text.)

It's OK, yeah it's hard to read people's tone online, lol. There certainly are religious or spiritual messages, but they are the exception rather than the rule and people are stunned when they see them. And when they are mentioned, I'm not seeing a representation of a variety of points of view, that's still very rare. So I do think what's happened has been lableled as tolerance, but incorrectly so.

Also the examples from Disney that I mentioned I personally wouldn't consider preachy or particularly excluding anyone. Disney has gotten the reputation for preachiness but I think that's mainly from recent years.