Baby Chef Makes his Debut!

The Swedish Chef is next classic Muppet to make their Muppet Babies debut. 

Chef make his debut Friday offering his new friends pride cookies which led to a bake-off with Piggy. 

Check out baby Chef's debut in the clip below:

Muppet Babies airs Fridays at 10:30 a.m. ET/PT) on Disney Channel.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance BLOOPERS!

Netflix recently posted bloopers from The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

In the video below, you'll be able to hear the puppeteers actual voices and the crazy puppet mishaps as they filmed the series. Just try to resist laughing...

Coming Soon: Dark Crystal: AOR Wanderer & Heretic Exclusive Pop!

Funko is releasing an exclusive The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Pop! 2 pack featuring The Wanderer & The Heretic.

The 2 Pack will be a shared exclusive and be available next week at New York Comic Con and Target. 

Dark Crystal Age of Resistance Comic!

Today Archaia begins The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance a new 12 issue mini series set BEFORE the events in the Netflix series. 

Based on a story by Jim Henson’s Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance series writers, Will Matthews & Jeffery Addiss, Nicole Andelfinger (Lumberjanes) and Matias Basla (Sparrowhawk) present an official tie-into the next chapter of the pop culture phenomenon, now streaming on Netflix.

Return to another world, another time…in the age of wonder. The great warrior Ordon is sent on a quest to retrieve the mythical weapon that promises to save his people. His only ally is Fara, the future leader of the Stonewood clan. Together, they must find the Dual Glaive before their entire way of life is destroyed

Writer: Nicole Andelfinger
Artist: Matias Basla
Colorist: Miquel Muerto
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Main Cover: Mona Finden

There are also 4 variant covers including the main variant Cover by Kelly and Nichole Matthews:

The first few pages are below:

The Dark Crystal: Age of  Resistance #1 is available now at comics shops and digitally through Amazon. 

Happy Birthday, Steve Whitmire!

Today is also Steve Whitmire's birthday. While he may not be working with The Muppets anymore, he is out and about talking about his Muppet work at conventions around the country.

Check out a few of his most recent appearances below:

Make sure you go and see Steve Whitmire when he's at a convention near you

Happy Birthday, Jim Henson!

Happy Jim Henson Day! Today Jim would have turned 83. Let's take a look back at his life as well as check out a few rare clips. 

In the last 70's Jim Henson and Frank Oz along with Fozzie and Kermit were joined by Ethel Merman and Paul Williams on Dinah Shore's talk show Dinah!

In April of 1989, Jim Henson and Kermit appeared on The Tonight Show appear to promote The Jim Henson Hour.  Future Muppets Tonight guest Jay Leno substituted for Johnny Carson that night, and Muppet Show guest Loretta Lynn was a guest as well,

With The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance continuing Jim's legacy, let's take a look at Jim Henson & Frank Oz discussing The Dark Crystal on the BBC show Harty in 1983. 

The Muppets have a new show coming out next year, the new version of Muppet Babies is a hit of Disney Jr, Sesame Street is still going strong and is celebrating its 50th anniversary, HBO is airing reruns of Fraggle Rock,  The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance just came out and already looks like a huge hit for Netflix. 

It's great to see that while Jim may be gone, his creations are living on. 

Disney+ Official Trailer Features The Muppets!

The official trailer for Disney+ premiered last night during the EMMY Award and The Muppets get things started!

Disney+ will launch in the U.S. on November 12, 2019. Visit DisneyPlus.com to learn more.

Happy World Guitar Day from Animal and Janice!

Yesterday was World Guitar Day. To mark the occasion Janice and Animal posted the following video. 

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

The Muppets assembled a hearty crew featuring Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Pepé, and... Joe the Legal Weasel (?) to celebrate this year's Talk Like a Pirate Day!

A Very Muppet Portal Launch!

The Muppets star in a brand new ad for Portal by facebook.

Watch all the video conferencing mayhem below:

What a great ad! Melancholy and yet still funny, it shows off each characters personality and the choice of characters used was fantastic. Who saw Emily Bear making a comeback? The full Electric Mayhem - yes even Lips! The real question is who was conferencing with Rowlf??

Let's hope this is just the first of many of pieces of new content featuring The Muppets, as Fozzie said... I miss you guys!

Disney+ Pilot Gives Look At Muppet Collection!

The Netherlands is getting a pilot version of Disney+, Disney's upcoming streaming service, and a few screenshots of their initial Muppet offerings have leaked. 

Each Disney property can be found by category, and The Muppets Collection can be accessed via this icon:

Which take to the full list of offerings available:

As you can, it looks like Disney+'s initial Muppet offerings include...

Movies:

The Muppet Movie
The Great Muppet Caper
The Muppet Christmas Carol
Muppet Treasure Island
The Muppets
Muppets Most Wanted


TV:

The Muppets (2015)
Muppet Babies (reboot)

We know that they will be adding Muppets Now to the service in 2020. You might notice that Muppets Take Manhattan and Muppets From Space are the only two theatrically released Muppet films not included. This is because they are owned by Sony and not Disney. 

Hopefully they will also more classic Muppet series and specials down the line. 

Disney+ launches Nov. 12

Kermit Sets Sail!

Have you ever wanted to cruise to the Bahamas with Kermit? Well, you're in luck, as an upcoming Disney Cruise will let you do just that. 

According to Disney Vacation Club, Kermit will star in one of the nearly 30 unique shows in development for the Oct. 5-12 Disney Vacation Club Member Cruise. 

The following video was posted to promote Kermit's appearance:

More information about the cruise can be found at Disney Vacation Club.

Farmers Insurance Heads to Sesame Street!

Farmers Insurance is teaming up with Sesame Street to help celebrate the show's 50th anniversary. 

“For over 90 years, education has been a key component of Farmers efforts to help make a positive impact in our communities. The opportunity to work with one of the most engaging and educational programs, Sesame Street, and its cherished characters to help people learn a thing or two from Professor Burke (Simmons) was a natural fit for Farmers,” says Leesa Eichberger, head of brand marketing at Farmers Insurance.

As part of the partnership, Farmers is sponsoring a short-form video series on Sesame Street’s YouTube channel that focuses on problem-solving.

“We’re incredibly pleased to work with Farmers on new content that encourages families to be healthy and safe,” says Scott Chambers, senior vice president and general manager, educational media and licensing, North America, Sesame Workshop. “Farmers’ support of the new YouTube series allows us to extend our mission of helping kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder.”

Of the three commercials above, two feature real-life Farmers claims reenacted with “Sesame Street’s” familiar furry faces.
The spots will air on broadcast networks such as NBC and CBS during college football, MLB and NFL games, in-theater and will also be supported digitally with presence on Hulu and Buzzfeed.

For the duration of the campaign, Sesame Street will have a presence on the Farmers Insurance website, where a special hub contains behind-the-scenes photos and shareable content featuring Professor Burke and the Muppets of Sesame Street.

Puppet Up! Uncensored Coming to Knott's Scary Farm!

The Jim Henson Company is bringing their adult improv show Puppet Up! Uncensored to Knott's "Scary Farm."

Knott's "Scary Farm" is the name Knott's Berry Farm calls itself from Sept 19-Nov 2 when they re-theme the park for Halloween. 

Puppet Up! Uncensored - Exclusively performing nightly at Knott's Scary Farm for the 2019 season, Puppet Up! Uncensored is an outrageous, off-the-cuff live show featuring a combination of improvisational comedy and the magic of puppetry performed by a cast of world-class comedian puppeteers from The Jim Henson Company. Created by legendary puppeteer and award-winning director Brian Henson and directed by Patrick Bristow (Ellen, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Whose Line Is It Anyway?), Puppet Up! - Uncensored is no ordinary puppet show. In true uncensored form, the content is driven by audience suggestions and participation, topped with the zany antics and bawdy shenanigans of the colorful and brazen puppet cast. 

Puppet Up! - Uncensored will be performed three times each night at Knott's Scary Farm and is intended for mature audiences and is not recommended for children.

You can watch the official announcement below:

For more info and tickets head over to Knott's Berry Farms. 

Caroll Spinney Officially Retires!

Caroll Spinney announced that he's officially fully retiring from public appearances.

His last last public Comic Con appearance will be at Rhode Island Comic Con in November as long as he if feeling up to it. 

You can read his entire message to fans below:

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Exhibit Coming To NYC!

An exhibit of the puppets and creatures from The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is coming to the Museum of the Moving Image in New York. 

"Creatures from the Land of Thra: Character Design for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance"

 Will open next week on September 11 and run until February 23, 2020. 

Creatures from the Land of Thra: Character Design for The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance explores the process of designing the fantastical characters for the new Netflix series, a prequel to the 1982 film co-directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. 

The exhibit features a selection of concept art, maquettes, puppets, and behind-the-scenes images, tracing the collaboration between concept artist Brian Froud, who originated the world of Thra in The Dark Crystal, and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, which built the puppets for the series. Highlights include the Hunter Skeksis, the General Skeksis, a Fizzgig, and the All-Maudra and Seladon Gelflings, as well as a series of detailed maquettes, created by Toby Froud, which were used as models for the characters. 

Info and tickets to the museum can be found here.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is currently streaming on Netflix.

D23 (Tries to) Highlight The Muppets!

The latest issue of D23, Disney's fan club newsletter, was sent to fans this week and contains a few surprises for Muppet fans.

The focus seems to be introducing a few of the major characters including Summer from the new Muppet Babies, where you can see them in the parks, and encouraging people to become gold members of D23 to get an exclusive Muppet Movie pin. 

That's all well and good, but a closer look at the article makes this showcase a mishmash of info that's either completely wrong or at times misleading.

Let's take the opening to the article for example:

Notice anything odd? 

First, "The Muppets burst onto the small screen in 1976" that's a bit misleading. The Muppet Show introduced many of "The Muppets" we know today- and it's this family of characters that Disney owns - but The Muppets excited on TV screens for 20 years prior including Sam & Friends, Sesame Street, Saturday Night Live, appearances on talk shows, and commercials - more on that in a minute. 

Then they go into The Muppet Movie "which features everything from a 1951 Studebaker and The Happiness Hotel to Doc Hopper's Frog Leg Fast Food Franchise."  ugh. 

Anyone who's seen The Great Muppet Caper knows The Happiness Hotel is from The Muppets second feature, and not The Muppet Movie. 

Doc Hopper's Frog Legs as seen in The Muppet Movie and It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

They didn't even get the name of Doc Hopper's Frog Legs restaurant correct, calling it "Doc Hopper's Frog Leg Fast Food Franchise" instead of simply "Doc Hopper's Frog Legs."

Remember how I mentioned The Muppets appeared in commercials prior to being on TV in 1976? Rowlf's write up mentions his start doing Canadian Purina Dog Chow commercials in 1962!

It's great that they are hyping the Muppets at the parks including Muppet Vision 3D, PizzeRizzo's, and Great Moments in American History. However, readers who've never been to park might be a bit surprised to find a Muppet Vision 3D that hasn't looked like the picture in the article for a couple years now. 

Muppet Vision 3D as it appears in the article vs today

The issue also features an image commemorating 10 years of D23.

if you look closely you can see....the swinetrek!

It's great to see Disney acknowledging, promoting, and even re-introducing The Muppets, but I'd wish they'd get their facts straight. It doesn't give the impression that they're truly invested in the characters when they can't get their history - even their modern history - correct.

On a related note, the issue also highlights Disney+, Disney's upcoming streaming service. There was no word about The Muppets in either the Disney+ article or the one featuring The Muppets.

The Disney+ article makes a point to note that both the original and recent reboot of DuckTales will be available on the service. They make a point to mention that having both versions will help parents relate and share the original with their kids who may be more familiar with the reboot. 

What a great idea! If only there were another set of characters Disney owned that they could apply the same idea too.....

The latest issue of D23 featuring a cover story about the upcoming "live action" Lady and The Tramp remake should be arrive to D23 members soon. If you're not already a member, you can sign up using this link. 

Meet Weldon the IT Guy!

Steve Whitmire has been making the convention rounds and hinting at a new character he's been working on. 

That character, Weldon the IT Guy. 

 

The "IT" stands for internet troll and the little guy made his debut this weekend by "hacking" Steve Whitmire's social media and website! 

The interesting thing is Steve is performing him live as people call in to talk to Weldon. 

The series is titled CAVE-iN and you can watch the premiere episode: "Welcome to the mob" below:

You can find more into about Weldon (and Steve) on Steve's website. 

Happy Lab-O Day!

Happy Lab-O Day. We hope you're enjoying binge watching the The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance!

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is now streaming on Netflix.