The year is 1994. VHS is still going strong.
3 years after The Jim Henson Company and Disney made a deal to create Jim Henson Video, they decided to release a few early Henson created specials including The Frog Prince and Hey Cinderella!
This was neither the first time the specials were released on VHS or distributed by Disney, that would be the Muppet Home Video versions released on 1983. But it would be the last the special would be commercially released to date. *Editors note: Yes, Henson company we've noticed.
To promote the release, Disney mailed a paper doll / sticker set to people who signed up for their video mailing list or registered their past VHS purchases.
As you can see above, the exclamation point is missing on the cover, spine, description, and all throughout the promotional materials. The special's title is Hey Cinderella! so I'm wondering who approved the change? Certainly not a punctuation fan.
I can understand wanting Kermit to be featured on the cover, but as you can see, he already is:
The fold-out mailer featured a $5 off Hey Cinderella! or The Frog Prince if you also bought any full-length Disney movie as well.
Once completely opened stickers featuring characters and scenes from The Frog Prince were on one side, while a paper doll of Cinderella was on the other.
You could dress Cinderella in her ball gown, tiara, mask, and of course glass slippers.
You could dress Cinderella in her ball gown, tiara, mask, and of course glass slippers.
Two things though have always bugged me about these releases.
One is that Hey Cinderella! is continually referred to as "Hey Cinderella" without the exclamation point.
One is that Hey Cinderella! is continually referred to as "Hey Cinderella" without the exclamation point.
The other is even more infuriating. It's this image of Princess Melora kissing Kermit.
It's used both on the cover and as a sticker in the promotional materials, but when does this happen in the special? Never. It simply does not happen. What actually happens is Melora kisses Robin.
Spoiler Alert: he's the frog prince, not Kermit!
I can understand wanting Kermit to be featured on the cover, but as you can see, he already is:
Instead Robin, the actual frog prince, is needlessly pushed to a small photo on the back. Disney literally photoshopped him out of his big scene!
Was it done to avoid spoiling the ending? Like the mystery of the missing exclamation point, or why Muppet Musicians of Bremen wasn't released at this time as well we may never know.
Was it done to avoid spoiling the ending? Like the mystery of the missing exclamation point, or why Muppet Musicians of Bremen wasn't released at this time as well we may never know.
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