Disney/Muppet Rumor, for all you rumor lovers!!

[DVC-Landbaron]

OK.

Somebody on another thread asked (as nice as possible) if I knew of any rumors. Here's a link to a Muppet Article that you may find interesting.

Do you think Disney will pony up?

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

But be warned!! It is a Jim Hill article!!

Have fun!!!!

 

[JeffJewell]

...I believe Disney will buy the Muppets. I don't believe that's automatically a good or a bad thing.

Now I'm going to get you in trouble (in the nicest way possible) by speculating on whether it will turn into a good or a bad thing, which will probably spark a debate. Such is life.

Acquiring the Muppets in and of itself is a plus, they are a well-known and respected brand with a history of creating high-quality, family-oriented entertainment.

But I believe that it will ultimately turn into a minus, because I believe Eisner will treat this well-known, respected, high-quality, family-oriented business the same way he treated the last one he got his hands on. I believe the quality will drop, guests will stop consuming the product in the numbers Eisner expects, and the Imagineering budgets will suffer yet again (I'm assuming that Eisner won't have dismantled Imagineering completely by the time the sale goes through, which is by no means assured).

Jeff

 

[pnelson]

Thank you, DVC, in the nicest possible way, for the rumor!! You crack me up!!

 

[YoHo]

We shall see what happens with the muppets.

Jeff, I disagree with your take in as much as one of the few Disney divisions which seems to be firing on all cylindars is Childrens and young adult television Which is what the muppets excel at. I recall last year when these rumours popped up that it was thought by some A worrisome fit. I think it is an excellent fit myself.

 

[Safari Steve]

Before Jim passed, he was in talks with Disney, and the two companies had all but merged. Brian Henson decided against it and pulled out. Within the last year, The Jim Henson Co. was bought (for what I thought was an unreasonably small amount) by a large German company. I don't think that a Disney-Henson merger would be bad for quality, as it was not the first time around (remember 'Here come the Muppets', Muppet*Vision 3d, and A Muppet Christmas Carol? Remember 'Muppets Tonight'-which I think was killed by a bad time slot <7pm on Saturdays in the summer>?????) Perhaps the only lowering in quality (imo) was that Muppet Treasure Island could have been much better (but it was made during a difficult time for the Henson organization)... One thing that I think would be improved if there were a merger is the type of internships offered by Henson. WDW entertainment offers all kinds of creative positions for students, but Henson only offers clerical, 'coffee monkey' positions. Oh well.

I don't think it will happen, but you never know.

Kungaloosh!

 

[Another Voice]

The merger between Disney and Henson was signed, sealed, and delivered. Jim Henson was already moving offices to Burbank and was at the studio just a few days before he passed away. His daughter already had a VP-level job with Disney Pictures. It was Brian Henson and the rest of the family’s threat of lawsuits – and Eisner’s understanding that the only worthwhile asset of the company was gone – that lead to a “voluntary separation”. Disney been paying big bucks ever since, both to keep the limited licenses it has, and to keep them close to the action should a buyout be possible.

It’s an interesting question – what exactly is Disney so eager to buy? The Muppets franchise seems to be very stale and Henson sold off all the rights to the Sesame Street characters. There’s been talk that Henson was trying to create a new syndicated ‘The Muppet Show’ again, but they couldn’t arrange financing. Jim Hill also mentioned the possibility of a Disney/Henson produced ‘Country Bear Show’ for syndication if the ‘Country Beat Jamboree’ movie is a hit. For the time aneffort it would take to make the Muppets popular again, you might as well create a whole new set of characters.

All I can say is that Disney had better keep their frelling hands off ‘Farscape’ or those yotzes will be in some serious strench!

 

[Sarangel]

I'd imagine that one of the primary assets left to the Jim Henson is its creature shop. I'd also like to point out that Frank Oz is not dead & collaborated with Jim for most of his career.

On the down (or up, depending on how you look at it) side, Kermit and Miss Piggy haven't don much lately, but that doesn't mean that they can't make a comeback. Heck, if John Travolta can do it, anyone can...

Sarangel

 

[Another Voice]

John Travolta’s comeback…wait until you see ‘Swordfish’. If only ‘Pearl Harbor’ had a chase scene with a flying bus…

Seriously, one of the problems with the Henson deal was that Frank Oz is not under contract. He’s a very talented film maker and I remember there was some attempt to entice him to Disney. There may have been some sort of fallout from ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ (a very underrated movie). Since then he seems to have made films for everyone but Disney. His next movie is ‘The Score’ with Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton, Marlon Brando, and Angela Bassett. The buzz is luke warm on this one, but the cast alone is worth watching.

 

[YoHo]

I actually thought muppet treasure Island was excellent. It was Muppets from space that really seemed to bomb. I think its a resurectable franchise. Right now, Gen Xers like me (oh how I despise the term) are starting families and if nothing else, we love our Kitchze and our Cartoons and such. I suspect Muppets would do very well If done right.

 

[Don Karnage]

Another Voice.....

I couldn't agree more about Farscape...... However, a Farscape E-ticket ride in Tomorrowland would be acceptable.