| The Return of the Muppets? | |
|
|
Author | Message |
---|
darthstich Supreme Chancelor/Admin
Number of posts : 1215 Location : My Secret Moon Base, on the Moon Registration date : 2008-01-29
| Subject: The Return of the Muppets? Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:56 pm | |
| | |
|
| |
Rocks Jedi Master/Moderator
Number of posts : 332 Location : A galaxy far, far away... Registration date : 2008-02-02
| Subject: Re: The Return of the Muppets? Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:21 pm | |
| Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE the Muppets? | |
|
| |
darthstich Supreme Chancelor/Admin
Number of posts : 1215 Location : My Secret Moon Base, on the Moon Registration date : 2008-01-29
| Subject: Re: The Return of the Muppets? Sat Jul 26, 2008 12:38 pm | |
| Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear and the rest of the Muppets gang will be joined by some of the biggest stars with kids and tweens when Disney Channel presents Studio DC: Almost Live next month. Airing on Sunday, Aug. 3 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT), the half-hour musical sketch comedy special will feature Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana), the Jonas Bros. (Camp Rock), Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical), Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Brenda Song and Phill Lewis (The Suite Life of Zack & Cody).
Featuring classic Muppets backstage antics, the special will be hosted by Dylan and Cole Sprouse, with comedy sketches featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley’s country singer father. The junior Cyrus will get to play with the Electric Mayhem Band and Miss Piggy will cast herself as the “Jonas sister” and perform with the famous brothers. Kermit will sing the High School Musical hit single “Bop to the Top” with Ashley Tisdale, then join Miss Piggy and Gonzo in paying a visit to the Tipton Hotel, as seen in the hit series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
Created by the Disney-owned Muppets Studio, Studio DC: Almost Live is exec produced by Martin G. Baker.
Disney is also bringing the Muppets back to the big screen with a new movie being written by actor Jason Segel and director Nick Stoller, the driving forces behind the hit comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Stoller will direct the flick, which came about when the duo teamed with The Jim Henson Co. for a puppet scene in Sarah Marshall. | |
|
| |
Rocks Jedi Master/Moderator
Number of posts : 332 Location : A galaxy far, far away... Registration date : 2008-02-02
| Subject: Re: The Return of the Muppets? Sun Jul 27, 2008 2:02 pm | |
| Sunday August 3 - I have it marked down in my calendar! Thanks DarthStich! | |
|
| |
darthstich Supreme Chancelor/Admin
Number of posts : 1215 Location : My Secret Moon Base, on the Moon Registration date : 2008-01-29
| Subject: Re: The Return of the Muppets? Mon Jul 28, 2008 10:16 pm | |
| | |
|
| |
darthstich Supreme Chancelor/Admin
Number of posts : 1215 Location : My Secret Moon Base, on the Moon Registration date : 2008-01-29
| Subject: Re: The Return of the Muppets? Mon Sep 22, 2008 10:54 am | |
| Poor Miss Piggy. Like most aging stars in Hollywood, that prima donna pig, along with most of her Muppet pals, has struggled to find substantial roles. Almost nobody under the age of 30 remembers "Pigs in Space." What's a down-on-her-luck puppet to do?
Walt Disney Co. feels her pain. Since it bought Miss Piggy, Kermit and crew in 2004, executives have struggled to figure out how to put them to work. Efforts in 2005 to rejuvenate the furry creatures created by Jim Henson sputtered as the Muppets got lobbed between corporate divisions.
Now Disney is giving it another go. This time the Muppets are getting the Hannah Montana treatment, being blasted into every pop-culture nook and cranny that the company owns.
"We think there is a Muppet gene in everybody," said Lylle Breier, a Disney executive who is the new general manager of Muppets Studio.
Disney 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.
A stream of comic videos is in production for Disney.com, where a new Muppet channel recently made its debut, and videos have been unleashed on YouTube. NBC will broadcast a Christmas special in December, and special skits will arrive on certain ABC DVD releases.
And then there is the merchandise: Muppet clothing at Urban Outfitters and Limited Too stores; a Muppet boutique at FAO Schwarz.
Disney does not want to create a flash in the pan, but creating any flash at all is the challenge. With the exception of a guest appearance here and there, the characters have largely been in cold storage for the last three years. Ms. Breier said recent focus groups indicated that some children could not even identify Kermit and Miss Piggy.
It has been a rough decade for the Muppets. After Mr. Henson's death from a rare bacterial infection, at 53, in 1990 his five children took control of the company. The last Muppets movie, Muppets From Space, sputtered at the box office in 1999.
The next year Mr. Henson's heirs sold the family business to the German media company EM.TV and Merchandising for about $680 million. But as the German conglomerate slumped under crushing debt and an insider-trading and fraud investigation, the Muppets stagnated. The Henson children later bought back the classic Muppets and the characters from the HBO series Fraggle Rock for $78 million (before selling the classic characters to Disney in 2004 for $75 million); the Sesame Street Muppets were sold to Children's Television Workshop.
But even Disney has struggled to rekindle the Muppet spark.
Gently attaching the Muppets to today's touchstone issues – healthy living, the environment – is one way Disney hopes to make them more relevant to the young and the trend conscious. Hence Miss Piggy's donning of workout gear and Kermit's recent appearance on ESPN (yet another Disney outpost) chatting with athletes about being environmentally friendly.
At the same time maintaining the core DNA of the characters is crucial. Miss Piggy, as a result, does not suddenly become a vegan; she communicates about exercise by talking about how she hates to exercise. Kermit does not pontificate on going green; he listens to others talk about it in his humble, unassuming way. | |
|
| |
darthstich Supreme Chancelor/Admin
Number of posts : 1215 Location : My Secret Moon Base, on the Moon Registration date : 2008-01-29
| Subject: Re: The Return of the Muppets? Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:30 pm | |
| A new installment of "Studio DC is coming Sunday at 8
"Teen star Selena Gomez of Disney Channel's hit series Wizards of Waverly Place stars with the world famous Muppets in a music-filled sketch comedy show with classic Muppets backstage antics, Studio DC Hosted by Selena Gomez, this Sunday, October 5 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel.
Also featured are The Cheetah Girls (The Cheetah Girls One World) performing a Bollywood dance number with Miss Piggy and Demi Lovato (Camp Rock) performing the hit single "This is Me" with Beaker, after a jealous Miss Piggy drags Kermit the Frog off the stage. Selena Gomez also gets tutored in the art of joke telling by Fozzie Bear.
Other vignettes include Statler and Waldorf teaching Moises Arias (Hannah Montana) and Jake T. Austin (Wizards of Waverly Place) the ins and outs of being a critic; Jason Earles (Hannah Montana) and Jason Dolley (Cory in the House) paying a visit to the Swedish Chef's craft services table; and David Henrie (Wizards of Waverly Place) jamming on the guitar with Floyd of the Electric Mayhem Band." | |
|
| |
darthstich Supreme Chancelor/Admin
Number of posts : 1215 Location : My Secret Moon Base, on the Moon Registration date : 2008-01-29
| Subject: Re: The Return of the Muppets? Wed Oct 15, 2008 5:33 pm | |
| | |
|
| |
darthstich Supreme Chancelor/Admin
Number of posts : 1215 Location : My Secret Moon Base, on the Moon Registration date : 2008-01-29
| Subject: Re: The Return of the Muppets? Fri Oct 24, 2008 2:27 am | |
| | |
|
| |
Sponsored content
| Subject: Re: The Return of the Muppets? | |
| |
|
| |
| The Return of the Muppets? | |
|