Henson sells Muppets to Disney

[Aaron]

calm down

 

[Splurge]

Kermit on SS merchandise?

Phil,

What does this mean for the future sales of videos like "The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street" and CD recordings which include Kermit songs? Would Sesame Workshop have to cease selling copies of these?

I'm just being inquisitive, not a worry wart on how things like this are supposed to work.

 

[dwmckim]

NOt a silly question at all...theres been so much crossover within Henson projects that when you start trying to divide them up, you get some real logistical nightmares....probably the biggest one is: Jim Henson Hour. Hensons name in the title...contained work from both The Muppets (in original segments) and other Henson properties like The Storyteller.


One thing i left out of my original post on this thread was that i cant believe Henson sold the Muppets outright...even if they retained a 1% ownership, that would be preferrable (and then one wouldnt have such owndership quandries)

 

[doctort13]

I just learn of the news

...and I am not that thrilled. Disney is an evil money worshiping company that will eat The Muppets' souls for breakfast and poop out a poor quality Muppet-clone.

This is the end of The Muppets as we knew them.

 

[Jennifer12]

I've actually read all the posts on this thread, and I wonder if anyone over at Henson has also. If so, they are probably either laughing at some of the panic or they are a little irked that just about everyone here has such a negative response. Hopefully they understand that people are alarmed, and rightly so. Change is scary. But I have to believe the Henson folks went into this knowing what they were getting into. Personally I despise Disney and the entire largeness of the corporation. It seems as if larger companies are gobbling up all of the smaller companies so quickly that at some point everything will be owned by one single organization. Scary stuff, but if that's the way we're headed, you either jump on or get crushed into oblivion. None of us know the exact state of the Henson Company, so we don't really know if they could have survived without the Mouse.

I do wonder about several things:

1) Since Disney now has the catalog, will they start the crap they do with their animated movies where you have to purchase it immediately or it goes into the vault for 10 more years?

2) What do the puppeters and other folks directly associated with these characters think? We have read over the years that Henson was a very family-oriented company to work for and people were closely knit. Are they worried about this change or are they embracing it?

3) Even if they exploit their new aquisition, will it be so bad? Maybe we'll finally get a new show on ABC. Of course it will never be exactly the same as it was. Times have changed since the 1970's and even the puppeters have changed. Some have sadly passed away. Others have moved on to other avenues of expression, and still others have shown their stuff and been up to the challenge. Couldn't this give them the ability to come back stronger than ever before?

Maybe I'll get answers to one and three, but never to two. Oh well.

I read an interview once (maybe it was on this website) where Brian Henson said the greatest thing about the muppets was that nothing is set in stone. They adapt. In reading all of these posts I haven't noticed anyone swearing off their fandom because of this. I think that says something.

Now if anyone has actually read this whole post, you should get credit in your English class equal to reading a novel!

Jen

 

[Gremlin]

relax everybody I brought my magic crystal ball ill simply look into the future
hmmmmmmmmm thats interesting, there will seem to be a super hero type muppet film called the frantic four a parody of the fantastic four,whats this the swedish chef is cooking donald duck in a big iron pot lol

 

[crazy ernie]

I think Disney will eventually devour Sesame Workshop and what's left of the Jim Henson Company. Then the Sesame Street products will say "All money made from this product will go straight to Eisner's wallet."

 

[Gremlin]

Im reseiving more phycic readings from the future...... kermit and mickey are in a boxing ring ahhhh it doesnt look good folks whats this bugs bunny is helping kermit there might be hope after all.....

 

[Jennifer12]

A fantastic gesture from Disney would be to re-release The Muppet Movie in theaters. Isn't 2004 the 35th anniversary? They could re-release it and put all of their marketing power behind it. Has anyone noticed it is impossible NOT to know when Disney has a movie out? Even if you didn't watch TV or listen to the radio you're forced to know about it. They advertise on the rubber dividers you use to separate your stuff from the next guy in line at the grocery store! Now that's saturation!

Jen

 

[Green Ranger]

Well, this could be a really good thing. I went through the same feelings when the Power Rangers franchise was purchased by Disney, but they've done a lot for the show since.

PRNS proved to be a PR show of unique quality with improved graphics, trained actors, and a wider merchandise range.

Power Rangers Dino Thunder looks like a promising new series, and a legend from our old Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Tommy Oliver aka Jason David Franks, has even returned.


All I'm getting at is that originally we were scared Disney would play down the violence and action of Power Rangers. But they have let it continue. I don't know what all will happen to the muppets but I do have an ideal scenario in mind.

Though Disney is going through a bit of a dry spell they still are one of the most highly regarded and cared for companies on the planet. They have done a heck of a lot for the world and could do wonders for the muppets.

We may get to see this new muppet show on primetime ABC or ABC Family. This would be a huge boost to the franchise broadening the Muppet's horizons.

This could be better than you guys think.