Disney Talk – They’ve Gotten Things Started

Image copyright Disney.

The Muppets Studio gets the ball rolling for a comeback of Kermit and company.



By Blake



Originally posted November 28, 2009.





Another Thanksgiving has come and gone, and with it, as usual, came the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC. Disney happenings in the Thanksgiving tradition included a performance by Walt Disney Records artist Mitchel Musso (from Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana), as well as a balloonized Buzz Lightyear to ring in the summer 2010 release of Toy Story 3 and an all-new balloon of sailor Mickey Mouse to promote the upcoming additions to Disney Cruise Line. The non-Disney highlight for me would have to be the performance by the cast of Sesame Street, especially considering that the beloved program celebrates its 40th anniversary this month.


But by far the most prolific contribution from the Walt Disney Company into this year’s Macy’s Parade was the duet performance of the song “I Believe” by Kermit the Frog (who also appeared in balloon form in the parade) and Tiffany Thornton (from Disney Channel’s Sonny With a Chance).


Kermit and Thornton’s appearance in the parade comes off the heels of a two-year-long effort to revitalize the Muppets franchise, a goal that came full-circle this week.


In February 2008, after several years of dormancy from anything Muppets aside from occasional DVD releases, Disney began a layered campaign to put the Muppets back in the spotlight in time for a theatrically-released movie sometime within the next several years. The first step in this process was to quietly debut a revised version of Muppets.com, complete with character pages for the main Muppet characters, as well as all-new video footage featuring the furry friends at their best.


But Disney.com wasn’t the only video-sharing website that would host official new Muppet footage. In summer 2008, character pages were created on YouTube for Sam the Eagle, Beaker, the Swedish Chef, Gonzo, Statler and Waldolf, Fozzie Bear, and Rizzo the Rat. Each of the pages featured their respective users in specially-created hysterical viral videos – Beaker’s even won a Webby Award!


From there, in an endeavor to attract a larger audience to the Muppets, Disney aimed at the elementary and tween demographic as they aired two Disney Channel specials (under the title Studio DC: Almost Live!) in mid-2008. The programs featured the Muppets in a variety show-style setup alongside the likes of Disney Channel celebrities Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and more. When you think about it, this is actually rather smart. What better way to introduce the Muppets to a new audience than by pairing them with faces that that generation is familiar with?

The Electric Mayhem band performs with Miley Cyrus during Studio DC: Almost Live!. Image copyright Disney.

The following fall, the “Muppet Whatnot Workshop” opened at FAO Schwarz in New York City, which allowed guests to create their own Whatnot (a Muppet background character/extra).


In December 2008, the Muppets starred in a brand spankin’ new primetime Christmas special on NBC entitled A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa. Truly a professional modern classic, Letters to Santa featured toe-tapping new songs, a host of favorite Muppet friends, celebrity guests, and a heartwarming story.

Kermit, Gonzo, Fozzie, Rizzo, and Santa Claus in A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa. Image copyright Disney.

With the exception of the occasional new Muppets.com video, nothing major was to be heard of the Muppets until the arrival of the D23 Expo in September 2009, where many new and exciting Muppet projects were announced.


In late September, Kermit and Miss Piggy helped announce Disney Parks’ 2010 promotion (Give a Day, Get a Disney Day), in which guests that volunteer with select HandsOn Network activities can receive a free one-day admission to an American Disney Park. With the Give a Day campaign comes a series of newly-produced TV spots and online Disney Park vignettes featuring the Muppets on-location at Disneyland.


This brings us to earlier this week on November 23, when the first of the anticipated projects announced at the D23 Expo took fruition as a parody music video of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” debuted on a new Muppets Studio YouTube channel. The video features practically every Muppet imaginable and has sparked a wildfire of Muppet buzz in the media, even enough to make “Muppets” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” a trending topic on Twitter. Personally I think this new video marks the official kickoff of the Muppets’ return – like the previous build-ups have led to this, as if to say “We’re back!”


Other exciting events this week included the debut of a Muppets Studio Twitter account, as well as the aforementioned appearance by Kermit and Tiffany Thornton in the Macy’s Parade. Additionally, Kermit and Thornton’s recording of “I Believe” debuted on Radio Disney on November 27, will premiere its music video on Disney Channel on December 4, and will be available for digital sale on December 8.

Tiffany Thornton and Kermit the Frog debut their "I Believe" duet this Christmas season. Image copyright Disney.

What’s next for the Muppets? On the horizon are even more YouTube parody videos, an appearance in this year’s Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade on ABC, DVD releases of the Studio DC specials and The Muppet Show’s fourth season, a Muppets Revisited CD featuring modern bands performing Muppet classics, a Halloween special in fall 2010, Muppet*Vision Remastered at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, Muppet Whatnot Workshops at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, and an eventual theatrically-released film entitled The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made!.


The future certainly looks bright for Muppet fans. With so many forms of media hopped up on Muppet fun – whether it be television, DVDs, music, theme parks, and (eventually) the silver screen – it seems that Muppets Studio truly has gotten things started.




Related BlakeOnline articles:

• Channel Flippin' - The 82nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (posted November 28, 2008)
• Disney Talk - Expo Excitement (posted September 12, 2009)
• Disney Talk - Movie Mania and Muppet Mayhem (posted September 19, 2009)
• Theme Park Headlines - Commuppety Service (posted October 3, 2009)
  
  
  

By Blake; posted November 28, 2009. All images © Disney. “The Muppet Show Theme” music and lyrics by Sam Pottle and Jim Henson.