After Henson’s death from a rare bacterial infection, at 53, in 1990 his five children took control of the company.
The ubiquitous franchise spawned hit movies (“The Muppet Movie”), hit songs (“The Rainbow Connection”), loads of merchandise and, eventually, an animated series called “Muppet Babies.”īut those glory days are long gone. The show, which ran for five seasons, at one point was syndicated in 100 countries. Witty, somewhat subversive dialogue and the hilarious-looking Muppets themselves quickly won audiences over. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, the show’s house band. Rudolf Nureyev and Miss Piggy, clad in towels, sat in a sauna and sang “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” a bejeweled Elton John performed “Crocodile Rock” with Dr. Some of the biggest names in entertainment at the time populated each episode. Dancing chickens were thrown in for good measure.
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(The Muppet characters that populated the inaugural season of “Saturday Night Live” a year earlier were different.) “The Muppet Show” was full of song-and-dance numbers and skits, often featuring absurdist humor, along with backstage antics. “The Muppet Show” made its debut on CBS stations in 1976, introducing the classic characters Disney owns today.
The Muppets are hardly moribund, but they do represent one of the most striking examples of franchise fumbling in Hollywood history. But how do you make 50-year-old puppets, even those as beloved to many people as these, relevant in a “Wall-E” world? Undeterred, Disney expects the Muppets to expand their fan base beyond nostalgic older generations to the age group between 6 and 12 that has powered “Hannah Montana” and “High School Musical” into international blockbusters. And because the Muppets have been without a regular television gig for more than a decade, many children and younger teenagers don’t know them. With the exception of a guest appearance here and there, the characters have largely been in cold storage for the last three years. But creating any flash at all is the challenge. Schwarz.ĭisney does not want to create a flash in the pan it sees the Muppets as a franchise that can sit side by side with, say, Winnie the Pooh.
Coming soon: Muppet clothing at Urban Outfitters and Limited Too stores Muppet-theme items like stuffed animals and tote bags, at Macy’s and a Muppet boutique at the New York flagship of F. More Muppet-theme attractions are being discussed for Disney theme parks.Īnd then there is the merchandise. Meanwhile the Muppets will work overtime elsewhere, appearing on a new float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, on “Nightline” interviewing political candidates and on various talk shows. (One skit with the working title “Desperate Housepigs” is on a coming “Desperate Housewives” DVD.)Ī new feature film, still untitled, is planned for 2010, with more in development. NBC will broadcast a Christmas special in December, and special skits will arrive on certain ABC DVD releases. A stream of comic videos is in production for, where a new Muppet channel recently made its debut, and viral videos have been unleashed on YouTube. “We think there is a Muppet gene in everybody,” said Lylle Breier, a Disney executive who is the new general manager of Muppets Studio.ĭisney Channel is presenting new specials the first ran last month, the second will be shown in October in which Muppets interact with “High School Musical” stars and the Jonas Brothers, among other teenage wunderkinder. The balcony blowhards Statler and Waldorf would be impressed with the ambitiousness of the plan even if it does come with equally outsize challenges. Instead of the take-it-slow approach, this time the Muppets are getting the “Hannah Montana” treatment, being blasted into every pop-culture nook and cranny that the company owns or can dream up. Now Disney is giving it another go by revving up the full power of its culture-creating engines. Efforts in 2005 to rejuvenate the furry creatures created by Jim Henson sputtered as the Muppets got lobbed between corporate divisions, and a new television series a parody of “America’s Next Top Model” called “America’s Next Muppet” died in the planning stages.
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Since it bought Miss Piggy, Kermit and crew in 2004, executives have struggled to figure out how to put them to work. Almost nobody under the age of 30 remembers “Pigs in Space.” All everyone wants to talk about is this Hannah Montana person. Like most aging stars in Hollywood, that prima donna pig, along with most of her Muppet pals, has struggled to find substantial roles.
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