Explain to me again...

[BEAR]

I guess I can't really blame Disney. Atleast they care about family entertainment and know how to do it. I guess I didn't realize til now what a schmuck Brian Henson was.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Right now, MHC has long-time JHC producer/stage manager Martin Baker and ex-Exec. JHC Secretary Debbie McClellan running things. Their plans for the future of the Muppets: Get them in the public's eye. How? Guesting on other shows.

No new projects.

MHC/Diz has no idea how to handle the Muppets (get the pun?) or rise them up into public view again (pun #2). I hate to say so, but it looks like to me, as well, that JHC had no idea how to deal with using the Muppets, either, what with all the times they tried to sell them.

Like Bear said, The Muppets are Jim Henson and Jim Henson IS the Muppets; but, we no long have Jim Henson. We have Brian Henson and his siblings, and they obviously wanted to distance themselves from The Muppets a long time ago when the first sale of the Muppets went to EM.TV, flopped, lost the Sesame Street Characters in the mix of that, and honestly I think the only reason that JHC retained Fraggle Rock was because they were so obsolete by the Disney sale that Diz didn't want them.

Diz needs to farm out for useful ideas, skip the legalities of it by paying for the ideas if they sign a contract with someone for it, and do something the fans want.

The Henson 5 don't seem to realize, we love Fraggles/Dark Crystal/Labyrinth and we want to see more of that. We could care less about the Late Night Buffet or Improv.

What we want are Muppets, and things Jim Henson created.

JHC and Diz are both killing those things and pushing them further and further into the "Retro" realm of collecting. We want new stuff.

Granted, JHC has gotten wise and is doing a Crystal sequel, but everything else is going manga/anime. And what made JHC think people care anything about CGI?

Thank GOD for Sesame Workshop, though! They are keeping things alive up there and are thankfully bringing back older characters into the spotlight.

Jim Henson had vision, something people in today's corporate world lack.

 

[redBoobergurl]

Well said Mr. Bear. I was actually going to say the same thing about Sesame Workshop. After viewing the previews for the upcoming season on their webpage I can honestly say at least they get it right.

 

[BEAR]

I must agree with you, Kevin. Especially about Sesame Workshop. When all is said and done regarding the Muppets, atleast we have them to keep things "alive" as you say. I was actually just thinking about that. We don't need to worry about them. SW has managed to keep that same spirit going for over 35 years now and are still strong. They are always coming up with new and exciting things for our furry and feathery pals.

 

[mikebennidict]

I've heard the same stories I'm sure and even some about Jim's real sickness but I won't get into that...don't want to start problems.
It's just that everyone thinks the hensons are so sweet because Jim was...let me tell you right now they do not care about the muppets. Brian in my whol hearted opinion is a spoiled brat who thinks the sun only shines on him and he's the leader of the rat pack. He's really let me down personally.
I never got to meet Jim and well Brian is his son and I finally got to meet the man and I just could tell he's not in it all for the same reasons and everyone around him acts like he never does a thing wrong etc.
I agree 100% though Jim would have never done the things his kids are doing he was to creative and smart and had heart and from what I'm told hardly ever would lift his voice.
sorry guys I'm rambling....I know the muppets will never be the same again i'm trying to get over that fact. But it wouldn't hurt disney to give us wonderfull things from the past so we can remember the things we loved once.

exactly! why isn't muppets at walt disney world out on dvd why isn't muppets go to the movies on dvd they never have been if it was me I'd be jumping all over that to be making money on things never released on dvd people eat that stuff up even non fans as long as you tell them it's never been released ever they will go nuts for it! I mean seriously do I really need to go and apply for the job of marketing at freaking Disney! ugh..

Does anyone know why Brian and the rest of the Henson family feel the way they do? I know Kevin said they want to distance themselves from the muppets. Well fine but if what they're doing is causing all this trouble why did they even bother taking over for their dad? I've heard this happens where if somebody owns a bussiness or something and passes it on to either their kid or kids, they do something that their parent or parents wouldn't do. In the case of the Henson kids, from what some here are saying, seems like they're rebelling against what their dad's work. If so perhaps it's more than just bussiness.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Sesame Workshop seems know what made them what they have become, and they always make it their first and most important priority. They just don't toss it aside or sell it off, and they still care about what they do. They really don't lose focus on what they do, "Try to give kids a lifetime love fro learning", and that is what had kept them around this long. When you lose focus and change hands so many times, stuff like this happens.

Mind you Sesame Workshop is not prefect and cannot please everybody or be all thing to all people, but you still have to respect them for that reason as well as what they do.

 

[David French]

Guys, you are being very harsh, unkind and unfair towards the Henson family and the Jim Henson Company with your statements, none of which are based upon any FACTS.

We all love what Jim Henson did with the Muppets when he was alive,a dn we all love the classic voices etc BUT you can't honestly tell me you expected things to stay the same forever after retirements/deaths do you? It's just not feasible or realistic; things change. Look at Scooby-Doo for example; most of us love the old Scooby-Doo cartoons of the 1970's as they used the "classic" voices that we all love and grew up. Today, only two of the original voices are still Scooby-Doo and while it's not the same for us "big kids", for the younger ones it's perfect for them.

I have a cousin who watched The Muppet Movie (she's aged 12) and she didn't quite understand it, whereas she did understand The Muppet Christmas Carol. Not surprising as TMM is directed at more of an Adult audience than TMCC is. The point is, that most Muppet projects are being aimed at a younger audience intentionally because the JHC don't want those kids to be alienated from all the fun.

The Henson family are under no obligation to follow their father in any respect. I doubt that even he would have wanted them to be exactly like him or to hold the exact same values that he held when he was alive.

Everyone needs to get a grip and put things in perspective. Some of those Muppet specials wouldn't sell as DVDs because they are rarely shown on TV and most people wouldn't even remember them anyway; they're better suited being part of other DVD sets.

Please stop all the name-calling, ******** and whining please as it's not going to do anyone any good and it's simply a case of bad-mouthing and making accusations against two companies without any real proof/evidence.

 

[Tim]

I have so many mixed emotions about what's been happening with this whole Disney/Henson situation. At the core is nothing more than money and ego on everyone's part-that's a given.

It's no one's "fault" per se, no one planned on Jim's death, and the people involved now are just not Jim, Frank or Jerry. God knows there has been more than enough time for Brian to prove himself and for Disney to do something with the Muppet "brand". Brian's had chance after chance to show what he could do with the characters, and he's failed miserably. And Disney can't truly invest on something that's a losing battle-they have stockholders to answer to. Muppets are handled by the Consumer Products divison because that's the only thing they are profitable at.

We all know that if that stupid Chritmas movie, Elmo picture, Space film or Swamp video had done "Pirates" kind of business, the kids would never have parted with the characters. And if they had, Disney would have rushed Muppet Show 2 into production overnight.

It's great to say that someone like John Lassiter is a fan of The Muppets, but a fan of what? Most likely the work of Jim Henson. Here's a thought: Can you imagine what we would have gotten if Jim had live long enough to create WITH Lassiter? It boggles the creative mind.

I can't begin to say that I know what made the Muppets "good" beyond the hard work, sheer talent, brilliant artwork and writing, but I recognized it very early on. As a kid in front of our old Packard Bell black & white TV watching The Ed Sullivan Show with nervous anticipation. Wading through opera singers and nightclub comedians, jugglers and animal acts just to get to see what jim and Company had in store was torture! I may not have always understood what was being pitched at me, and I certainly didn't pick up on all the sly social commentary woven in, but I knew that was something special. Sullivan showcased many "puppet acts" and I got my only chance to ever see some of them on televison. But The Muppets were different. Johnny Carson once introduced them with "Everytime you see Jim Henson with The Muppets they come up with something new." Maybe this is what made the "good". Maybe this is what is lacking now.

 

[BEAR]

Guys, you are being very harsh, unkind and unfair towards the Henson family and the Jim Henson Company with your statements, none of which are based upon any FACTS.

We all love what Jim Henson did with the Muppets when he was alive,a dn we all love the classic voices etc BUT you can't honestly tell me you expected things to stay the same forever after retirements/deaths do you? It's just not feasible or realistic; things change. Look at Scooby-Doo for example; most of us love the old Scooby-Doo cartoons of the 1970's as they used the "classic" voices that we all love and grew up. Today, only two of the original voices are still Scooby-Doo and while it's not the same for us "big kids", for the younger ones it's perfect for them.

I have a cousin who watched The Muppet Movie (she's aged 12) and she didn't quite understand it, whereas she did understand The Muppet Christmas Carol. Not surprising as TMM is directed at more of an Adult audience than TMCC is. The point is, that most Muppet projects are being aimed at a younger audience intentionally because the JHC don't want those kids to be alienated from all the fun.

The Henson family are under no obligation to follow their father in any respect. I doubt that even he would have wanted them to be exactly like him or to hold the exact same values that he held when he was alive.

Everyone needs to get a grip and put things in perspective. Some of those Muppet specials wouldn't sell as DVDs because they are rarely shown on TV and most people wouldn't even remember them anyway; they're better suited being part of other DVD sets.

Please stop all the name-calling, ******** and whining please as it's not going to do anyone any good and it's simply a case of bad-mouthing and making accusations against two companies without any real proof/evidence.

WITH ALL RESPECT, Mr. French, most of what you have said is just recycled information that we already know and that has nothing to do with the conversation. We already know that stuff. And what you said about the Henson kids not having any obligation to follow in their father's footsteps and hold his same values is true. However, they should be expected to follow the same values when dealing with the Muppet characters Jim Henson created from his pure heart. There seems to be a lack of respect for them. And I don't see any name-calling, do you?

 

[Ilikemuppets]

This whole thing is kind of depressing.