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Muppets Live Stageshow
- Thread starter TsWade2
- Start date
speck76
Well-Known Member
This show was located in a theater that used to be the end of the walking portion of the Backstage Studio Tour. The holding area of the show featured Muppet posters and a video of Rowlf playing the piano and singing.
Inside the theater, Kermit, Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear performed. Doctor Teeth and the Electric Mayhem band made a memorable entrance by crashing a monorail onto the stage! An animated Mickey Mouse also interacted with characters during the show.
The show premiered on May 25, 1990 and was meant to tide guests over while Muppet*Vision 3D was being built. Here Come the Muppets played until September 2, 1991. The building was later used for The Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
General Grizz
New Member
Check out this website for some more information on "Here Come the Muppets" - http://www.toughpigs.com/anthdisney00.htm
speck76
Well-Known Member
I posted this a while back
Why Miss Piggy Wore Prada:
Disney Relaunches Muppets
By MERISSA MARR
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
May 19, 2005; Page B1
GLENDALE, Calif. -- Kermit the Frog dangles by his spindly legs in the hallway of a Walt Disney Co. office here, his red-felt mouth slightly ajar and his ping-pong ball eyes staring blankly at the floor. Like so many aging stars, the iconic Muppet has struggled in recent years to find a role for himself, only to be relegated to ancient re-runs and B-list movies.
Now, Disney is making a bid to return Kermit to stardom. After a marathon courtship, Disney last year added Kermit and his co-stars from the 1970s television hit, "The Muppet Show," to its coterie of characters for the seemingly modest sum of around $75 million. Done right, Disney thinks Kermit's troupe could become a classic like Mickey Mouse. "I've always been convinced that there are three real characters that have enduring entertainment value, that are evergreens: Mickey, Winnie and Kermit," says Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner, who has led the chase for the Muppets ever since the characters' creator, Jim Henson, was first looking for a television network to back his show.
The big challenge: making the 50-year-old frog relevant to today's audiences.
Disney's plan is to start by dusting off Kermit, Miss Piggy and other Muppets with a "soft" launch designed to appeal to a nostaglic adult audience.
The first test comes tomorrow, with "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz," a made-for-television movie, on Disney's ABC network, starring Kermit as a singing and dancing Scarecrow, Miss Piggy as the witches, the R&B singer Ashanti as Dorothy, and Pepe the Prawn in the role of her dog, Toto. Instead of the wide-eyed innocent in the 1939 movie, the new Dorothy wears Manolo Blahnik shoes, talks about Kabbalah and wants to be a pop star.
In the runup to the movie, Disney has been priming Muppets fans in their 20s, 30s and 40s with cameo appearances meant to restore some of the original TV show's hip, irreverent lustre. In December, for instance, Kermit appeared alongside Robert De Niro on NBC's "Saturday Night Live," and ABC has been running a series of ads for the coming "Oz" movie featuring the characters in scenes based on its hit shows "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost." Miss Piggy, meanwhile, modeled a Prada dress in the British fashion magazine Pop. Kermit was featured at the wheel of the latest BMW, zipping across a desert, in German television commercials.
In the works for summer: a line of retro-hip Muppets apparel, including green T-shirts with glitter-encrusted images of Kermit. And Disney will trot out various TV shows, such as "America's Next Muppet," a reality-style contest in which new characters vie for a spot in the Muppets lineup.
After the characters find their feet, Disney plans a "hard" launch, broadening the appeal to a wider audience including younger children, starting with a feature film in 2007. Then, if everything goes to plan, the floodgates will open to such things as stage plays, ring tones, theme-park attractions, TV specials and a possible relaunch of "The Muppet Show" itself. "This is franchise that will ultimately appeal to most age groups," said Chris Curtin, general manager of Disney's Muppets Holding Co., who is leading the launch.
Despite the frantic schedule, Disney says it is taking things slowly. It estimates that by 2009 the Muppet brand will generate around $300 million in retail sales from consumer products including apparel, books and toys. "Patience is the key here," says Andy Mooney, chairman of Disney's consumer-products division, which oversees the Muppets Holding Co. "We don't want to create a flash in the pan."
The heart of Disney's strategy is to take the Muppets back to their roots in the TV show, in which Kermit sang classics such as "It's Not Easy Being Green," and fended off Miss Piggy's advances. When Mr. Henson created the Muppets in the 1950s, he pitched them for adults, albeit with a child-friendly tone. After appearances on shows such as "The Ed Sullivan Show," Kermit the Frog became a star on "Sesame Street," which went on the air in 1969. After "The Muppet Show" started airing in 1976, Kermit made fewer "Sesame Street" appearances, although other Muppets, such as Bert and Ernie, remained as mainstays of the educational show. Since Mr. Henson's death in 1990, however, "The Muppet Show" characters have been increasingly directed at children -- a strategic turn many people blame for their recent flops.
The question now is how far Disney is willing to push the boundary -- especially in an era when a movie like "Team America" last year featured puppets engaging in behavior that would have been unspeakable 25 years ago. Disney envisions the Muppets occupying a space similar to that of Pixar Animation Studios Inc.'s animated fare or TV's "The Simpsons." With one caveat: "They'll stay away from politics and religion," Mr. Eisner says. "The Muppets have a certain modicum of innuendo. They're not gratuitous."
Mr. Eisner has waited a long time for this moment. As an executive at ABC in his 20s in the late 1960s, he recalls, he was eager to put the Muppets on the network. But like many suitors, ABC wanted the Muppets to be a broader children's property. Mr. Henson was determined not to change the tone of the Muppets, and he went into business instead with the British TV mogul Lew Grade. "The Muppet Show" was syndicated around the world and launched Kermit as an international star.
After five seasons, though, Mr. Henson decided to move on. He made some Muppet movies but then turned his attention to other projects. Still Mr. Eisner kept in contact with him and in 1990 struck a deal to buy the Muppets. On the day of signing, though, Mr. Henson died of a rare bacterial infection and Mr. Eisner's deal fell through.
After that, the Muppets got caught up in years of corporate tag. Mr. Henson's children took control of the family business after their father's death but later sold the company to German media firm EM.TV & Merchandising for $680 million in stock and cash. EM.TV soon found itself in financial trouble and three years later sold back parts of the company for $78 million to the five Henson children, Brian, Lisa, Cheryl, Heather and John.
Ultimately, the children felt the characters belonged in a bigger media company that could leverage the brand. Disney was an obvious choice; while Mr. Eisner's deal fell through, Disney had worked on other Muppets ventures, including a theme park ride. "We fully intend to work together going forward," says Brian Henson, co-chairman of the Jim Henson Co.
For Mr. Eisner, the launch comes as he prepares to hand over the reins to incoming CEO Bob Iger. "The irony is I've been trying to get this for 40 years," Mr. Eisner says. "I'll still be rooting for them from the outside."
Write to Merissa Marr at merissa.marr@wsj.com
Why Miss Piggy Wore Prada:
Disney Relaunches Muppets
By MERISSA MARR
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
May 19, 2005; Page B1
GLENDALE, Calif. -- Kermit the Frog dangles by his spindly legs in the hallway of a Walt Disney Co. office here, his red-felt mouth slightly ajar and his ping-pong ball eyes staring blankly at the floor. Like so many aging stars, the iconic Muppet has struggled in recent years to find a role for himself, only to be relegated to ancient re-runs and B-list movies.
Now, Disney is making a bid to return Kermit to stardom. After a marathon courtship, Disney last year added Kermit and his co-stars from the 1970s television hit, "The Muppet Show," to its coterie of characters for the seemingly modest sum of around $75 million. Done right, Disney thinks Kermit's troupe could become a classic like Mickey Mouse. "I've always been convinced that there are three real characters that have enduring entertainment value, that are evergreens: Mickey, Winnie and Kermit," says Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner, who has led the chase for the Muppets ever since the characters' creator, Jim Henson, was first looking for a television network to back his show.
The big challenge: making the 50-year-old frog relevant to today's audiences.
Disney's plan is to start by dusting off Kermit, Miss Piggy and other Muppets with a "soft" launch designed to appeal to a nostaglic adult audience.
The first test comes tomorrow, with "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz," a made-for-television movie, on Disney's ABC network, starring Kermit as a singing and dancing Scarecrow, Miss Piggy as the witches, the R&B singer Ashanti as Dorothy, and Pepe the Prawn in the role of her dog, Toto. Instead of the wide-eyed innocent in the 1939 movie, the new Dorothy wears Manolo Blahnik shoes, talks about Kabbalah and wants to be a pop star.
In the runup to the movie, Disney has been priming Muppets fans in their 20s, 30s and 40s with cameo appearances meant to restore some of the original TV show's hip, irreverent lustre. In December, for instance, Kermit appeared alongside Robert De Niro on NBC's "Saturday Night Live," and ABC has been running a series of ads for the coming "Oz" movie featuring the characters in scenes based on its hit shows "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost." Miss Piggy, meanwhile, modeled a Prada dress in the British fashion magazine Pop. Kermit was featured at the wheel of the latest BMW, zipping across a desert, in German television commercials.
In the works for summer: a line of retro-hip Muppets apparel, including green T-shirts with glitter-encrusted images of Kermit. And Disney will trot out various TV shows, such as "America's Next Muppet," a reality-style contest in which new characters vie for a spot in the Muppets lineup.
After the characters find their feet, Disney plans a "hard" launch, broadening the appeal to a wider audience including younger children, starting with a feature film in 2007. Then, if everything goes to plan, the floodgates will open to such things as stage plays, ring tones, theme-park attractions, TV specials and a possible relaunch of "The Muppet Show" itself. "This is franchise that will ultimately appeal to most age groups," said Chris Curtin, general manager of Disney's Muppets Holding Co., who is leading the launch.
Despite the frantic schedule, Disney says it is taking things slowly. It estimates that by 2009 the Muppet brand will generate around $300 million in retail sales from consumer products including apparel, books and toys. "Patience is the key here," says Andy Mooney, chairman of Disney's consumer-products division, which oversees the Muppets Holding Co. "We don't want to create a flash in the pan."
The heart of Disney's strategy is to take the Muppets back to their roots in the TV show, in which Kermit sang classics such as "It's Not Easy Being Green," and fended off Miss Piggy's advances. When Mr. Henson created the Muppets in the 1950s, he pitched them for adults, albeit with a child-friendly tone. After appearances on shows such as "The Ed Sullivan Show," Kermit the Frog became a star on "Sesame Street," which went on the air in 1969. After "The Muppet Show" started airing in 1976, Kermit made fewer "Sesame Street" appearances, although other Muppets, such as Bert and Ernie, remained as mainstays of the educational show. Since Mr. Henson's death in 1990, however, "The Muppet Show" characters have been increasingly directed at children -- a strategic turn many people blame for their recent flops.
The question now is how far Disney is willing to push the boundary -- especially in an era when a movie like "Team America" last year featured puppets engaging in behavior that would have been unspeakable 25 years ago. Disney envisions the Muppets occupying a space similar to that of Pixar Animation Studios Inc.'s animated fare or TV's "The Simpsons." With one caveat: "They'll stay away from politics and religion," Mr. Eisner says. "The Muppets have a certain modicum of innuendo. They're not gratuitous."
Mr. Eisner has waited a long time for this moment. As an executive at ABC in his 20s in the late 1960s, he recalls, he was eager to put the Muppets on the network. But like many suitors, ABC wanted the Muppets to be a broader children's property. Mr. Henson was determined not to change the tone of the Muppets, and he went into business instead with the British TV mogul Lew Grade. "The Muppet Show" was syndicated around the world and launched Kermit as an international star.
After five seasons, though, Mr. Henson decided to move on. He made some Muppet movies but then turned his attention to other projects. Still Mr. Eisner kept in contact with him and in 1990 struck a deal to buy the Muppets. On the day of signing, though, Mr. Henson died of a rare bacterial infection and Mr. Eisner's deal fell through.
After that, the Muppets got caught up in years of corporate tag. Mr. Henson's children took control of the family business after their father's death but later sold the company to German media firm EM.TV & Merchandising for $680 million in stock and cash. EM.TV soon found itself in financial trouble and three years later sold back parts of the company for $78 million to the five Henson children, Brian, Lisa, Cheryl, Heather and John.
Ultimately, the children felt the characters belonged in a bigger media company that could leverage the brand. Disney was an obvious choice; while Mr. Eisner's deal fell through, Disney had worked on other Muppets ventures, including a theme park ride. "We fully intend to work together going forward," says Brian Henson, co-chairman of the Jim Henson Co.
For Mr. Eisner, the launch comes as he prepares to hand over the reins to incoming CEO Bob Iger. "The irony is I've been trying to get this for 40 years," Mr. Eisner says. "I'll still be rooting for them from the outside."
Write to Merissa Marr at merissa.marr@wsj.com
MagicalMonorail
New Member
A live show would be great, but a ride would be even better. Either way, I think the Muppets are coming to WDW.
slappy magoo
Well-Known Member
GenieGirl said:
There are some episodes out, as TimonRulz points out, but now they're going to start releasing them in season box sets. You can read more about it @ tvshowsondvd.com
dxwwf3
Well-Known Member
I remember parts of the show from my youth. I'm almost positive we were there for the first performance of the show. I would love to see a picture of the inside of the building that led to the theater. I've seen pics of the outside and pics of the theater, but I can't remember for the life of me what the rest of the building looked like. Oh well. I do remember liking the show as a kid though. I'm sure it was much better than the outdoor show they did a few years later that is at the exit of Muppet Vision 3D.
Julius & Boobah
Member
mickeyrob said:
A symbol of America? Didn't American networks turn them down so they came to British T.V first, and wasn't Jim Henson Canadian?
Julius & Boobah
Member
mickeyrob said:
A symbol of America? Didn't U.S Networks turn them down so British T.V had them first? And wasn't Jim Henson Canadian?
I.M.Fearless
New Member
Dude you Double Posted.
I'm just waiting patiently for the Muppet Great Movie Ride. WOOT.
I'm just waiting patiently for the Muppet Great Movie Ride. WOOT.
lebeau
Well-Known Member
I read a British article not too long ago about how the Muppets in their hey day were kind of a symbol of anarky. Kind of a gentle, hippy-stoner anarky. The columnist theorized that Disney could never duplicate that skewed perspective that made the Muppets great back in the 70s.
Regardless, I'd love to see the Muppets return to prominence. The Muppet Movie (which is not out on DVD!) is a childhood favorite. And Muppetvision was one of my favorite attractions at the parks. That was Muppets done right. If they can do something else like that, I'd be very much in favor of it.
Regardless, I'd love to see the Muppets return to prominence. The Muppet Movie (which is not out on DVD!) is a childhood favorite. And Muppetvision was one of my favorite attractions at the parks. That was Muppets done right. If they can do something else like that, I'd be very much in favor of it.