Coming Soon: Funko Dark Crystal Age of Resistance Action Figures and Pops!

Funko unveiled their new line of Dark Crystal Age of Resistance action figures and Pops!

The action figures feature Aughra, Deet, Rian, Poddling Hum, a Crystal spider, and an armored, sword wielding, Skexis!

The Pops! feature Aughra, Deet, Rian, Poddling Hum, and the armored, sword wielding, Skexis!

There are also a few exclusive Pops! to keep an eye out for. Target will have young Chamberlain, Funko shop will have a metallic variant of the armored, sword wielding, Skexis, and FYE will have a glow in the dark Deet.

No release date has been announced yet, but we'll keep you posted!

Watch The First Two Muppet Babies Play Date Shorts!

The first two Muppet Babies live action "Play Date" shorts are now online. 

First, Gonzo leads Kermit and his friend Kingston in a silly game of Gonzo Says!

Then, Summer and Kaylee lie in the grass and look for shapes in the clouds with the help of Gonzo!

As a reminder, these puppet versions of the Muppet Babies are all performed by the Muppet performers and voiced by the cast of the show.

A new short will be released each week on Disney Jr's youtube channel. 

Netflix Releases Poster and Teaser Trailer For Dark Crystal Age of Resistance!

Netflix has released a poster, teaser trailer, and a image of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance's Chamberlain Skeksis!

They also launched an official Instagram account. 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance begins August 30th on Netflix!

New Zealand Mint Releases Fozzie Coin!

Fozzie, the next coin in the New Zealand Mint's Muppet collection, has just been released.

From the official description:

This delightful Disney’s The Muppets 1oz Silver Coin shows cheerful Fozzie Bear in all his orange-brown, fuzzy glory, with an engraving further highlighting his charming personality! The addition of The Muppets logo completes the joyful design. The obverse features the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the coin is legal tender in Niue.

Packaged in an acrylic block, the coin can be just as easily displayed as admired within its packaging, also featuring Fozzie Bear. The coin fits snugly inside the outer box surrounded by green felt which creates a fuzzy feel.

A limited-edition coin with a worldwide mintage of only 10,000, its uniquely numbered Certificate of Authenticity is also found inside the packaging.

Officially licensed by Disney, this coin is sensational! If you are a fan of The Muppets, you’ll definitely want to add this second coin to your collection.

You can order your Fozzie coin from the New Zealand Mint.

Big Bird to Lip Sync Battle Jason Schwartzman!

An epic Lip Sync Battle is happening tomorrow night. Big Bird will battle Jason Schwartzman to find out who is the lip sync champ!

As you'll see in the previews below,  Cookie Monster and Elmo will also be making an appearance to help their feathered friend. 

Big Bird vs Jason Schwartzman's Lip Sync Battle airs tomorrow night at 10pm on Paramount Network.

Sesame Street Stamps Available to Pre-Order!

The United States Postal Service announced that it is honoring Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary with a set of stamps.

We previously showed the stamps themselves, but now we know what the sheet surrounding the stamps will look like as well as a release date.

The set will be release June 22, and you can pre-order them now through USPS. 

Happy Memorial Day!

Rachel Interviews John Tartaglia!

Our friend Rachel is back with a brand new interview. She recently skyped with John Tartaglia to discuss his experience on Avenue Q and his thoughts on the show's closing!

Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Coronation Vol. 2

 Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Coronation Vol. 2 is in stores now. 

This volume covers Issues 5-8. 

As the clock ticks ever closer to the thirteenth hour, Maria struggles through the canals of the Labyrinth alongside her peculiar band of companions, wishing desperately to be reunited with her son. While she may be no closer to the Owl King’s castle, Maria begins to uncover the secrets of the Labyrinth and her own power within the walls of this magical domain. But from deep in the shadows, the Owl King watches her every move, plotting and waiting to bring her demise by any means necessary. Written by Simon Spurrier (Jim Henson’s The Power of the Dark Crystal) and Ryan Ferrier (Kong on the Planet of the Apes) and illustrated by Daniel Bayliss (Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Dragons) and Irene Flores (Heavy Vinyl), Labyrinth: Coronation Volume Two continues the bestselling prequel to one of Jim Henson’s most iconic creations.

You can pick up your copy at comic stores and through Amazon. 

The Muppet Movie Returns to Theaters for 40th Anniversary Events!

The Muppet Movie is returning to theatres to celebrate the film's 40th anniversary. 

In June the Museum of the Moving Image is holding two screenings hosted by Jim Henson Legacy president Craig Shemin. 

On June 22, Craig will be joined by  puppet designer/builder Ed Christie and Muppet costume designer Calista Hendrickson.

The following day Craig will be joined by Austin Pendleton, who played Max. 

However, if you can't make it to NY either of those dates, Fathom Events is holding screenings around the country July 25 & 30. Click the link above to get tickets and to find out where it is playing near you. 

Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Photos & Release Date Revealed!

This month's issue of Empire magazine has a whole spread of brand new images from the upcoming Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

The images show Deet with podling Hup:

The emperor in battle armour:

The Librarian:

And the Skeksis convening in the crystal chamber.
 

Entertainment Weekly and Variety just released a slew of exclusive photos as well:

UPDATE: more photos!

And we now know the release date.....The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance ......will premiere..... August 30th on Netflix!

Rumor: Muppets Shorts Coming To Disney+!

The Dis-insider is reporting that The Muppets will be featured is a series of shorts coming exclusively to Disney+.  

According to the report, the "shorts will be an unscripted series featuring three different segments of a game show, a cooking show, and a talk show and each segment will be no longer than ten minutes."

No release date has been announced, but with The Dis-insider saying "production is set to begin June 9 - June 18th" it could be assumed that the shorts could debut with the service in November.

Until we hear more, consider this all just a rumor.

David Solove's Muppet Collection!

Today David Solove takes us on a tour of his amazing Muppet collection. 

David has been a Muppet fan his entire life and has been collecting Muppet stuff for over 40 years!

If you want to show off your muppet collection please send us an email or message us on Facebook. 

Disney's Muppet Babies Get Real!

Disney's Muppet Babies are now actual Muppets! 

No, they have grown up to be their adult selves yet, but they are now actual puppets as opposed to 3D animated characters. 

Executive Producer Tom Warburton with the Muppet Babies puppets

The Muppet Babies puppets were created for a series of shorts that be available every Friday beginning today through Aug. 1 on Disney Junior’s YouTube page.

Entertainment Weekly sat down with Muppet Babies Executive Producer Tom Warburton to talk about the shorts and how they came about. 

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Where did this idea come from?

TOM WARBURTON: Well, there’s always a little gap in between seasons and I thought, “How can we do something fun with the Muppets, with the Muppet Babies in between seasons while kids are waiting for the new episodes?” And I thought, “What if we…” Of course, I’ve always wanted have real Muppets with these characters, so I came up with this idea of them interacting with real kids and I talked to Matt Danner, my co-producer and supervising director, and he’s also the voice of Kermit. I said, “What if we did this?” And he has an adult Kermit puppet sitting on his shelf. So we got the five-year-old niece of one of the production assistant and we went to the park and just shot on my iPhone a little skit of going like, “Hey, I saw you go down the slide. I really looks fun, but I’m scared. Can you show me how?” And the girl goes down the slide and then Kermit goes down the slide. It’s down and dirty. We shot it in half an hour, and then I went to Disney and showed it to them and they were like, “This is great. We have to do this.” Then we had to go through the process of budgeting and scheduling and, on top of all the production we’re already making. And we did it. It was a 3-day shoot and every day my heart was just exploding with how cool it was to see the Muppeteers work with our characters. This has been a dream come true.

The puppet versions are all performed by the Muppet performers and voiced by the cast of the show.

You can watch the first short below:

Click here for the full interview. 

RIP Grumpy Cat!

Internet and meme star Grumpy Cat has died. 

The cat with a permanent scowl made appearances in Mashable viral videos with Oscar and Cookie Monster in 2013 and 2015 respectively. 

In 2014, Jim Henson's Creature Shop supplied animatronic doubles for Grumpy Cat in the TV-movie Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever.

While her real name was Tardar Sauce, but she'll alway be Grumpy Cat to us.

Sesame Neighbors Return to the Street!

Bob McGrath, Linda Bove, Roscoe Orman, Dr. Loretta Long and Alison Bartlett better known as Bob, Linda, Gordon, Susan, and Gina all reunited on Sesame Street. 

The following photos were taken this week as the series continues its 50th Anniversary celebration. 

Bob McGrath, and Linda Bove rehearse

Dr. Loretta Long and Noel MacNeal

Dr. Loretta Long,Noel MacNeal, Whoopi Goldberg, and Roscoe Orman 

 
As you can see, even Whoppi Goldberg was in attendance. 

We're not sure yet where footage from the event will be used, but we know it will make a lot of fans happy just to see their former neighbors again.

Jim Henson Tribute & Muppet*Vision 3D!

Today is one of those bittersweet days of the year as we mark the passing of Jim Henson.

As you probably know, just before he died Jim was in the process of selling his company to Disney. 

As Disney's Hollywood Studios turns 30 this year, it appears that The Muppets presence in the park is being slowly phased out.  

Muppet*Vision Circa 1991

Jim Henson's name, the balloon, and even the original sign have all since been removed, and we get updates every so often that even more parts of the Muppet area being de-Muppetfied.

Muppet*Vision 2019

Hower, shortly before his death Disney produced a video of Jim Henson speaking about the Muppets for Disney employees.

It's a great reminder of who The Muppets are for and what The Muppets can be. 

Muppet*Vision 3D was the final production Jim worked on and was opened exactly one year after his death. 

Below you'll find both the full Muppet*Vision 3D preshow as well as the show itself, encompassing all the elements around theater, courtesy of the same youtube account. 

The fact that Muppet Vision has run countless times daily for 28 years and still holds up is a testament to Jim's legacy. We'll always wonder what couldn't have been, but we still have everything that was.

We hope Disney takes note and renews their vow to keep the magic alive. 

We still miss you, Jim!

Sesame Place Classic Character 2019 - Ovejita!

Sesame Place announced their 2019 Classic Character plush is...Ovejita!

Ovejita made her debut in 2008 in "What's the Word on the Street" and "Murray Has a Little Lamb" segments. 

Having such a modern character in the "Classic Character" is odd, but makes sense as there may not be much general demand for Ovejita products compared to Elmo or Cookie Monster.  

The limited edition "Classic Character" Ovejita plush is available now at Sesame Place. 

Unfortunately, it not available online yet.