Adorkable Rachel Throwback "She Drive Me Crazy"

Today our friend Rachel does a throwback review of the Muppets 1994 music video "She Drive Me Crazy."

Fraggle Rock Complete Series Blu-Ray Now Available!

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced it will celebrate the 35 anniversary of Fraggle Rock with a brand new Blu-ray release!

Join Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, Boober and Red in celebrating the 35th anniversary for Fraggle Rock, from iconic creative mastermind Jim Henson. Catch all 96 episodes – now remastered in high definition – with this jam-packed Blu-ray™ set, featuring hours of special features and a behind-the-scenes scrapbook with an introduction from Uncle Travelling Matt! 

All 96 episodes in the 12-disc set from the show's four seasons are FULLY REMASTERED IN HIGH-DEFINITION and presented with lossless audio on Blu-ray. This set is also available in special limited edition "scrapbook" packaging, featuring rare behind the scenes photos and an introduction from Uncle Travelling Matt.

Fraggle Rock: The Complete Series is loaded with bonus content on Blu-ray, including the all-new "Fraggle Music Celebration," where viewers can enjoy their favorite Fraggle songs with sing-alongs for every episode (100 songs!) or hit shuffle and let the Fraggles choose the songs. Also newly included on the Blu-ray set is a fun and rare personal glimpse behind the curtain with creator Jim Henson, plus a 1993 throwback segment from "The Today Show" featuring Uncle Travelling Matt, along with more than eight hours of archival special features, including interviews with the cast and crew, featurettes, promos and the complete "Fraggle Rock: The Animated Series."


Bonus Features:

• NEW Fraggle Music Celebration
• Celebrate your favorite Fraggle songs with sing-alongs for every episode or hit shuffle and let the Fraggles choose for you!
• NEW Life on Set: Moments with Jim Henson
• NEW 1993 "The Today Show" Segment featuring Uncle Travelling Matt
• Down at Fraggle Rock: Behind the Scenes (48-minute version)
• Fraggle Songs & Doozer Music
• Interviews with Fraggle Rock Creators and Puppeteers
• Seasons 2, 3 and 4 Overviews
• Docs and Sprockets
• "All Around the World" Music Video
• Travelling Matt
• 20 Travelling Matt Segments
• Special Tribute to Jerry Juhl
• Scared Silly: Art Imitating Life
• Production Design Featurette
• Electro-Mechanical Puppetry
• Doozer Design
• How the Trash Heap Came to Be
• Gorg Design
• Interviews with Michael Frith, Kathy Mullen and Gerry Parkes
• HBO Promos
• You Cannot Leave the Magic: Excerpts from the Last Day of Shooting
• Dance Your Cares Away: The Evolution of the Theme Song
• The Inner Gorg: An Interview with the Performers Inside the Costumes
• Let the Music Play: An Interview with Phil Balsam and Dennis Lee
• Celebrating Fraggle Rock: Excerpts from the Wrap Party
• Designing the Puppets: An Interview with the Puppet Makers
• Directing the Fraggles: An Interview with Eric Till and George Bloomfield
• Additional Interviews:
• Dennis Lee with Mokey
• Jerry Juhl with Gobo
• Jocelyn Stevenson with Red and Mokey
• Faz Fazakas with Cotterpin Doozer
• A Minute with Travelling Matt

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

• All 13 Episodes of 
• Animated Series Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
• Animated Series Character Galleries
• Animated Series Opening Scene Storyboards

The set is in stores now and from Amazon.

Happy Birthday, Steve Whitmire!

Celebrate Steve Whitmire's birthday by checking out  a few clips from some of the many characters he created. 

Happy Birthday, Steve!

Happy Birthday, Jim Henson!

A very Happy Birthday to Jim Henson on what would have been 82nd birthday!

To celebrate, check out these clips from The Jim Henson Hour.

Happy Birthday, Jim!

Coming Soon: Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas Soundtrack!

The long awaited soundtrack to Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas is coming soon. 

A link recently surfaced on Amazon and led to speculation that the soundtrack to the beloved 1977 special would finally be released.

We reached out to Varese Sarabande, who has a deal to release Jim Henson Company  soundtracks, and while no official announcement is ready at this time, they did confirm the release is happening. 

We can only hope that extra songs written for the stage version make it to the release as well, but we'll see when the official announcement is made.

According to Amazon, the Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas soundtrack will be released November 2nd.

In the meantime, you can pre-order it here.

Dream Corp LLC To Add Creature Shop Character!

The second season of the Adult Swim series Dream Corp LLC will feature a new character built by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

According to wikipedia:

Dream Corp LLC is an American comedy television series created by Daniel Stessen for Adult Swim. Dream Corp LLC is an absurd workplace comedy set in a neglected dream therapy facility. A rotating cast of desperate patients have their dreams recorded and analyzed by Dr Roberts (Jon Gries) and his unremarkable staff.

While no images have been revealed of the character yet, below is a trailer for the extremely trippy series.

The season premiere of Dream Corp LLC premieres Sunday, October 21 at midnight on Adult Swim.

Tickle Me Elmo Nominated for Toy Hall of Fame!

Tickle Me Elmo has been nominated to secure a place in the Toy Hall of Fame.

The best selling toy of 1996 is part of the "Player's Choice Ballot" competing against other classics like:

American Girl Dolls
Chalk
Chutes & Ladders
Fisher-Price Corn Popper
Magic 8 Ball
Masters of the Universe toys
Pinball
Sled
Tic-Tac-Toe
Tudor Electric Football 

and
UNO

Tickle Me Elmo will need all votes he can to compete with chalk, Sled, and Tic-Tac-Toe. 

Seriously, how are they NOT already in the hall of fame. Chalk is about as basic a toy as you can get!

Head on over to the Toy Hall of Fame's Player's Choice Ballot and cast your vote!

Remember, Elmo's loves you. Now show him you love him back!

Coming Soon: Splash & Bubbles: The Ride!

According to Attractions Management, The Jim Henson Company in partnership with Sally Corporation and Herschend Studios, has developed an array of dark ride concepts, based on the series, Splash and Bubbles.

The immersive underwater-themed dark ride comes with colourful sets, toe-tapping tunes and award-winning 3D media.

Riders will dive into the incredible world of marine biology and oceanography with the show’s stars, Splash and Bubbles.

“Splash and Bubbles presents an excellent opportunity to provide family fun to a whole new sector of the theme park industry including waterparks and aquariums,” says Sally chair and CEO, John Wood.

“Working with a proven intellectual property from The Jim Henson Company and Herschend Studios gives us an excellent platform to create a truly magical experience in a ride-through attraction that can be both meaningful and fun.”

Sally Corporation is currently shopping the attraction around to theme parks aquariums, zoo's and "FEC wanting to gain a memorable guest experience and a marketable IP for their location."

Look for it at a fun, education, venue near you soon!

Miss Piggy to Co-host Canada's WE Day!

While the Muppets didn't have a large presence at this year's US WE Day telecast, other than Kermit's Omaze ad,  they will have a prominently featured at the Canadian version as Miss Piggy has been tapped to co-host the event!

Piggy's co-host for the event is Jurassic World survivor Nick Robinson. 

"Moi is thrilled to be co-hosting this incredible event and sharing the stage with my fellow world-class celebrities. But I'm most excited about meeting all the fabulous young people who make a difference all year long in their own communities. These young people may not attract as many paparazzi as moi (who does?), but they're the real stars of WE Day Toronto," said Miss Piggy.

For those unfamiliar, WE Day is part of WE—a family of organizations making doing good, doable. WE is made up of WE Charity, empowering domestic and international change, ME to WE, a social enterprise that creates socially conscious products and experiences to help support the charity, and WE Day, filling stadiums around the world with the greatest celebration of social good. WE enables youth and families to better the world—supporting 7,200+ local and global causes by volunteering millions of hours of service, shopping daily with an impact, and raising millions of dollars that directly benefit their local communities and the world. Globally, WE teams in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have provided more than 1 million people with clean water, built 1,500 schools and schoolrooms overseas, and empowered more than 200,000 children with access to education. WE was founded more than 20 years ago by social entrepreneurs, brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. Join the movement today at WE.org.

The full list of speakers and presenters so far include: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Apefa Adjivon, March For Our Live Co-Founder Adam Alhanti and Jaclyn Corin, Nasir Andrews, Paul Bolton, Celebrity Marauders, Michael "Pinball" Clemons, Ann Curry, Adam Devine, Olivia Holt, Mariatu Kamara, Craig and Marc Kielburger, LaurDIY, Adam McMaster, The Muppets, Penny Oleksiak, Johnny Orlando, Cerenna-tee Racey, Mason Ramsey, Lilly Singh, Jacob Tremblay, Margaret Trudeau, Spencer West

Musical Performers: Arkells, Jack & Jack, Jessie Reyez, Why Don't We

According to that list of presenters, Miss Piggy probably won't be the only Muppet in attendance.

WE Day will air Saturday, November 24 at 7 p.m. ET, on CTV

More info about WE Canada can be found here. 

Kermit to Play Wizard of Oz in Pasadena!

Kermit has been cast as the titular Wizard of Oz in the Lythgoe Family's Panto holiday stage spectacular in Pasadena.

While no other Muppets are set to appear, it's kind of fitting for Kermit to rule an "Emerald" City.

Apparently these Pantos are famed for their wild and sometimes outlandish approach. 

They're billing thes sow as "Experience the Wonderful Winter of Oz, a fun fairytale musical for the whole family. The theater production combines the old tradition of Panto with a twist of pop culture."

A ticket starts at $40. The show runs Dec. 14 through 30, 2018, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. 

Sesame Workshops Adds Another Emmy to Their Collection!

Sesame Workshops won another Emmy last night at the Creative Arts Emmys!

They won best Children's Program for their primetime special The Magical Wand Chase: A Sesame Street Special

The now Emmy awarding winning special makes it's DVD debut November 6 and can be pre-ordered through Amazon. 

Congrats to everyone involved!

Muppet Babies Renewed!

The new Muppet Babies reboot has been renewed for a second season!

Our fury CGI pals have will have more imaginary adventures along with other Disney Jr series Vampirina and Puppy Dog Pals according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

Disney Junior, which targets kids ages two to seven, says the three shows combined reach an average of 515 million households via Disney Channels and Disney Junior channels around the world. The three series also have delivered more than 360 million views on YouTube and social media platforms and nearly 140 million views on VOD, DisneyNOW and related Disney apps. 

"We're privileged to work with an amazing group of talented creators every day," said Joe D'Ambrosia, senior vp original programming at Disney Junior. "Our Disney Junior production teams continue to deliver a diverse group of aspirational characters and entertaining, heartfelt stories to which our youngest viewers have developed a remarkable emotional connection. We look forward to more of their imaginative stories onscreen and to new opportunities for preschoolers and parents to extend that experience." 

Combined, Muppet Babies, Vampirina and Puppy Dog Pals have more than 50 book titles and comics from Disney Publishing, multiple DVD releases from Walt Disney Studios and various soundtracks from Walt Disney Records, which can be heard on Apple Music's Disney Junior Radio Station. Meanwhile, Friday marks the debut of the Vampirina character at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. 

In addition, Vampirina and Puppy Dog Pals have product lines at retailers nationwide, with an exclusive Muppet Babies toy line from Just Play heading to Target beginning this fall and more debuting in other stores nationwide in the spring.

Yes, you read that correctly. The first batch of Muppet Babies toys we previewed will be Target exclusives!

The Jim Henson Company Options Susan Dennard’s The Witchlands Books!

The Jim Henson Company announced this weekend at Dragon-Con that they have optioned Susan Dennard’s The Witchlands books for a potential new TV series!

Check out the full press release below. 

Atlanta, GA, September 2, 2018 - The Jim Henson Company has optioned The Witchlands books, written by best-selling author Susan Dennard, to be developed as a live-action television series. The surprise announcement was made today by Halle Stanford, President of Television for The Jim Henson Company at a Dragon Con panel led by Dennard and Stanford entitled Two Misfits Who Dream: Women Who Create Fantasy Worlds.

The series is set in a world where three empires rule and every member of the population is born with a magical skill set, known as a “witchery". Now, as the Twenty- Year Truce in a centuries-long war is about to come to an end, the balance of power will fall on the shoulders of two young women Safiya and Iseult, who must accept their fate, and themselves, to survive. Published by Tor Books, with two of the books and a spinoff already on the shelves, the third release in the series, Bloodwitch, is set for February 2019.

“The Witchlands features a world of magic and astonishing characters that our Creature Shop can sink its teeth into and bring to life in an exciting and fresh way,” said Stanford. “These books fulfill our desire to dive deep into a high fantasy world a la Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, where the women are the heroes and the world itself is seen through a feminine lens."

Dennard said, "I’m so thrilled that The Witchlands is in the hands of such a dynamic and creative company as The Jim Henson Company. This is a literal dream come true, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with to bring the world, characters, magic, and creatures to life!”

Lisa Henson, CEO and President of The Jim Henson Company, and Stanford will serve as executive producers for the project. Susan Dennard will serve as co-executive producer. The Emmy Award-winning Jim Henson's Creature Shop will create the creature characters for the series.

About The Witchlands

A favorite of booksellers, reviewers, and readers alike, Susan Dennard has become widely known for her young adult epic fantasy saga set in the imaginative world of her New York Times bestselling series published by Tor Teen, The Witchlands, told through Truthwitch, Windwitch, the special illustrated novella Sightwitch, and the forthcoming Bloodwitch (February 2019). The Witchlands is set on a distant continent, in which some are born with a "witchery," a magical skill that sets them apart from others. The series follows best friends Safi (a Truthwitch) and Iseult (a Threadwitch), as well as the cunning ship captain Prince Merik (a Windwitch), and the mysterious and powerful Aeduan (a Bloodwitch) as they must navigate warring empires, political machinations, and mercenaries who seek to use their magic for selfish gain.

Any fan of a gripping and fast-paced fantasy saga will be captivated by the wonderful world of The Witchlands, where Dennard focuses on the true power of magic, bravery, and most importantly, friendship.

We'll keep you posted as more info is released.

Muppet Babies Books on The Way!

We already told you about some of the new Muppet Babies toys coming soon, but there are a few Muppet Babies coloring and storybooks are on the way as well!


Meet the Muppet Babies!:

Show-and-Tell (Little Golden Book):

Muppet Babies Coloring Book: Great Activity Book for Kids:

Based on the back images, it looks like this is a reprint of coloring pages from the original series, even though it has the branding and characters from the reboot. 

Muppet Babies Coloring Book: Great Coloring Book:

And more are coming in 2019 including:

Disney Muppet Babies: You Say Potato, I Say Best Friend:

All can be to pre-ordered/ordered from the links above. 

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day... or this year "Lab-O Day" as we take a look at some of the great work being done at Muppet Labs!