Thursday, January 31, 2019

Fozzie Bear to Voice Big City Green Dentist!

Fozzie Bear has a new job title, voice over artist!



That's right, Fozzie has booked the role of Dr. Enamel, a dentist, on the Disney Channel series Big City Greens.



Mashable has an exclusive clip of our favorite stand up bear discussing the role:


Fozzie Bear makes his debut on Big City Greens Feb. 9 at 8:30am on Disney Channel.

Watch The Muppets Drop The Mic!

In case you missed their appearance on Drop The Mic last night,you can now watch the epic rap battle as Kermit and Pepé go up against Miss Piggy and Beaker!







Wednesday, January 30, 2019

First Look: Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Coronation #10

Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Coronation #10 hits comic shops today.
Main Cover: Fiona Staples

Preorder Cover: Cory Godbey

Writers: Simon Spurrier & Ryan Ferrier
Artist: Daniel Bayliss
Colorist: Joana Lafuente
Letterer: Jim Campbell



The battle for the heart of the Labyrinth is underway as the goblin rebellion storms the Owl King’s castle, with Maria and her companions right at the heart of it.

Check out the first few pages below:






You can pick up your copy of Labyrinth: Coronation #10 in comic shops today and through Amazon.

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Riverhorse Fireys Game Expansion Coming Soon!

Don't lose your head, Riverhorse has Fireys game expansion pieces on the way. 




Like their Goblins expansion, these pieces are intend to enhance the game play for Riverhorse's Jim Henson’s Labyrinth – The Board Game.

The set also includes an alternative Jareth figure and optional rules for each figure. 

The full contents of the box includes:
  • 4 Fireys figurines
  • 1 Jareth figurine
  • 5 new Labyrinth cards
  • 1 rules leaflet


These are set to be released in the fall, but you can pre-order then now through River Horse

Monday, January 28, 2019

Coming Soon The Storyteller: Sirens!

Archaia has new Storyteller miniseries on the way entitled, Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Sirens.


The 4 issue series will focus on the magic, beauty, and danger of mermaids.

While the main connecting covers by Cory Godbey have not yet revealed, variant covers by Jakub Rebelka, Chan Chau, Sarah Webb, and Aud Koch, can be seen below.






Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Sirens: #1 arrives in comic shops April 3.

Friday, January 25, 2019

Help Kickstart Mike Quinn's Autobiography!

Muppet performer Mike Quinn has been a puppeteer since the early 80's and has amassed a treasure trove of stories working on films such as The Dark CrystalStar Wars: Return Of The JediThe Great Muppet Caper, Little Shop Of Horrors, LabyrinthWho Framed Roger Rabbit?Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, The MuppetsMuppets Most Wanted, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens to name a few


He would like to share his experiences working with Jim Henson, George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis with the world in an autobiography, but he needs your help!

Quinn is asking fans of these films to help fund his book, cleverly titled "Talk To The Hand", on the crowd funding platform Kickstarter. 

Tall To The Hand: Cover Mock up

Here's a little more about Mike:

Born in an unassuming terraced house to a working class family in the south east of England, raised in a difficult, lonely, sometimes terrifying childhood and written off by my educators early on, my calling of puppetry not only saved me from oblivion or worse but skyrocketed me into the bright lights of the entertainment industry and the stuff dreams are made of. Holding nothing back, I chronicle my escape by being mentored by my hero, Muppet creator Jim Henson, later reinventing myself as a character animator at Pixar whilst battling chronic depression and ultimately becoming a performer for a beloved fan favorite legacy character in four Star Wars films.

Besides his film work, Mike worked on The Storyteller, Jim Henson's The Ghost Of Faffner Hall, Jim Henson's Secret Life Of Toys, Jim Henson's Mother Goose Stories, Jim Henson's The Tale Of The Bunny Picnic,The Muppets ABC TV Series, Showtime's Kidding starring Jim Carrey, and the UK, France, and Germany segments for Fraggle Rock!


If you are interested in learning more about Mike Quinn and his behind the scenes adventures working on many beloved films and series consider donating to the project. 

As this time there are only 5 days to go, so if you're interested head over to Kickstarter and help support "Talk To The Hand."

First Look: Beneath the Dark Crystal #6

Issue 6 of Jim Henson’s Beneath the Dark Crystal hit stores this week. 
Main Cover: Benjamin Dewey

Preorder Cover: David Petersen
Written by Adam Smith and illustrated by Alexandria Huntington, in this issue: Thurma tests her new Fireling abilities with dangerous results while Kensho and the others seal the fate of the town of Dagger Root… for better or worse.

You can find Jim Henson’s Beneath the Dark Crystal #6 in comic stores now and through Amazon

Thursday, January 24, 2019

RIP James Frawley (1936 - 2019)

James Frawley, director of The Muppet Movie has died. 



Frawley began his career by appearing on I Spy, Hogan's Heroes, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Monkees, My Favorite Martian, McHale's Navy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Outer Limits

He later directed episodes of The Monkees, for which he won the 1967 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for the episode "Royal Flush." He was nominated for the same award the following year for another Monkees episode, "The Devil and Peter Tork."

While he is best known to Muppet fans for directing The Muppet Movie he also directed
episodes of 
That Girl, Columbo, Cagney & Lacey, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Magnum, P.I.Father Dowling Mysteries, Law & OrderPicket FencesChicago 
HopeSmallville,
Judging AmyGrey's Anatomy, and Private Practice.

When studios were weary of putting up funds for a Muppet film, Frawley shot the test footage below to prove Muppets could work in the real world. 



James Frawley makes a cameo in The Muppet Movie severing frog legs in the El Sleezo Cafe. 



You can read more about James Frawley from the Palms Springs Desert Sun. He was 82. 

Sesame Street Under Construction at SeaWorld!

Last year we told you that a new Sesame Street land is was coming to SeaWorld in Florida.
This week local Orlando, Florida reporter Q McCray got a behind-the-scenes tour of the progress so far.


They even wore special Sesame themed hard hats for the visit! Take a look...



When finished it will look like this:



Sesame Street at SeaWorld is under construction and is set to open in the spring or early summer.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

The Muppets to Appear on Drop the Mic!

The Muppets are set to Drop the Mic. 


To promote the new season of the comic battle rap competition series, The Muppets appear in a new video singing, host of the show, Method Man's "Bring The Pain."


Other celebrities in the video include Lonzo Ball, T-Pain, Mark Cuban, Taran Killam, Jason Biggs, Boy George, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, and more!



The show is based on a popular segment from The Late Late Show with James Corden and is hosted by Method Man and Hailey Bieber.

Each week, celebrities face off in a rap battle. At the end of each head-to-head battle, Method Man picks the winner.

While we don't have a date yet for The Muppets' episode, The new season of 
Drop the Mic premieres tonight at 10PM EST on TNT.

UPDATE:

The Muppets will battle it out Wednesday, January 30th at 9pm on TNT!


Tuesday, January 22, 2019

RIP Kaye Ballard (1925 – 2019)

Musical theater, television actress, comedian, and singer Kaye Ballard has died.

Ballard starred in the 1960's sitcom The Mothers-in-Law and made appearances on The Mel Torme Show, Henry Morgan’s Great Talent Hunt, and guested repeatedly on The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Gary Moore Show, The Jack Paar Tonight Show, and The Ed Sullivan Show.
She is known to Muppet fans for her appearance on the first season of The Muppet Show performing "One Note Samba" with Miss Piggy and "What Would You Say" with Thog.





The episode is also notable for the plot in which Floyd convinces the rest of the band to quit over the show's theme song.  

You can read more about Kaye Ballard from Variety She was 93. 

Happytime Murders Nominated for Multiple Razzie Awards!

Yesterday we previewed a new Oscar salt & pepper shaker and today the Oscar nominations were announced. Along with the Oscar noms celebrating the best films of the year come the Razzies, "celebrating" the worst. 


This year the Razzie noms are extra salty (see what I did there) as they include multiple nominations for The Happytime Murders.


The "accolades" Happytime has been noted for include: 


Worst Actress: Melissa McCarthy for both The Happytime Murders and Life of the Party
However, she is also received an oscar nomination for Best Actress for Can You Ever Forgive Me? (is that a subconscious apology for the other two?)


Worst Supporting Actor: Joel McHale


Worst Screen Combo: Any Two Actors or Puppets (Especially in Those Creepy Sex Scenes)


Worst Director: Brian Henson 


Worst Screenplay: Screenplay by Todd Berger, Story by Berger and Dee Austin Robinson


and 
Worst Picture for which The Happytime Murders is facing off against GottiRobin HoodWinchester, and Holmes & Watson.

The 39th annual Razzie Awards will take place Feb. 23, the night before the 91st Academy Awards.

Personally, I think the hate is undeserved and hope it loses all the "awards" it is nominated for. 

Monday, January 21, 2019

Oscar Salt & Pepper Set Coming in March!

An Oscar and Slimey salt & pepper set is coming soon from Vandor.


The set stacks on top of each other and makes it appear as if is Oscar is popping out of his can, while his pal Slimey crawls at the base.

Below are a couple close-ups:


The set is due out in March, and can be pre-ordered from Entertainment Earth.

Friday, January 18, 2019

Labyrinth Door Knocker Replicas Coming Soon!

Chronicle Collectibles is releasing scaled replica Door Knockers from Labyrinth!



From their announcement:
Announcing the world’s only officially licensed scaled replica Door Knockers from Labyrinth!
Fans have wanted these for years, and now the dream has come true! The Jim Henson Company graciously granted us access to the actual screen-used props so that we could capture the smallest of details in making these replicas.
➡️ Details:
• World’s first officially licensed Labyrinth scaled replica Door Knockers
• Limited Edition
• Crafted in cast metal; functions as a real door knocker!
• Created by referencing the actual screen-used props!
• “Left” Door Knocker Approx. 14.8” wide, 5.5” deep, and 19.4” tall
• “Right” Door Knocker Approx. 14.7” wide, 6.2” deep, and 25.3” tall
• Estimated to Ship Q4 2019
* Priced at $675 for the set ($399/ea. when purchased individually)
• Payment plan eligible
• 📌 Pre-order link goes up at 3pm CST (9pm UTC) on January 18th at chroniclecollectibles.com
Journey back to the magical world of Labyrinth with these scaled replica Door Knockers!!








The set costs $675 or $399/each individually. They are scheduled to be released at the end of the year , but you can preorder them today at 4PM EST at chroniclecollectibles.com!