Muppet NuiMOs!

Disney's line of nuiMOs plush is getting Muppetized!

Disney tweeted a couple teaser videos announcing Kermit and Miss Piggy will be joining the nuiMOs plush family.

The Kermit and Miss Piggy nuiMOs, as well as there different outfits, will be available Monday at Disney Stores and ShopDisney.com

First Look The Storyteller: Tricksters #1!

Check out an early look at the first issue of The Storyteller: Tricksters written by Jonathan Rivera, with art by Jade Zhang, and lettering by Jim Campbell.

The main cover is by Peach Momoko (above), with a variant by Dani Pendergast (bellow).

Discover the fascinating tale of Anansi, the spider-god, and his quest to free all Stories from his father, the sky god Nyame. But when Anansi becomes the Keeper of Stories, what will he decide to do with all of his new, potentially world-changing knowledge?

Check the first few pages below:

Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Tricksters arrives in comic shops March 17, 2021
(use comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest one) or at the BOOM! Studios webstore.

Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Madefire.

RIP Peter Harris

Peter Harris, who directed half of the episodes of The Muppet Show and many subsequent Muppet productions has died. 

Harris spilt Muppet Show directing duties with Philip Casson.

He also directed Fraggle Rock  "The Finger of Light," many of the Playhouse Videos, 6 episodes of The Jim Henson Hour including "Miss Piggy's Hollywood,The Animal Show, as well as the TV specials The Muppets Go to the Movies, The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years, Sesame Street 20 & Counting, The Muppets at Walt Disney World, and the all time classic A Muppet Family Christmas.

Harris appeared as himself in interviews for the documentaries Of Muppets and Men and I Love Muppets.

A Peter Harris Muppet was even featured on The Ghost of Faffner Hall episode "Improvised Music" as Mr. Director. 

See Fozzie Bear at The National Comedy Center!

Fozzie Bear is finally being honored along side his peers at the National Comedy Center.

The National Comedy Center is an interactive and immersive museum in Jamestown, NY featuring artifacts from legendary comedians like Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, Ernie Kovacs, Charlie Chaplin, Rodney Dangerfield, and George Carlin.

Frank Oz, who originated our our favorite ursinae comedian, was interviewed about Fozzie's inclusion.

“It’s wonderful that The National Comedy Center, which I love, is highlighting Fozzie in the context of comedy’s heritage,” Oz said. “Fozzie is very close to my heart. A part of me is in him – the part of me that as a young boy loved show business, or as Fozzie would put it, ‘The Show Business.’ But the similarity ends there. Fozzie wants to be the funniest bear in the world. Never mind the heckling, the fumbling of punch lines, the paltry laughter at his jokes. He has a desperate need to get love from laughter. So he will never quit. He will never succeed in being funny. But he will never quit.”

National Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson said, “We are thrilled to welcome Fozzie Bear to the National Comedy Center. As the country’s official cultural institution dedicated to comedy, this is the perfect home for Fozzie, where he is surrounded by comedy legends across all eras and genres of the art form.”

The Fozzie Bear on exhibit is courtesy of the Center for Puppetry Arts.

The National Comedy Center is open from 10-5 Thursdays through Mondays.
Tickets can be reserved in advance at ComedyCenter.org.

Melissa's Voyage to Muppet Treasure Island: A 25th Anniversary Tribute!

Muppet Treasure Island: 25th Anniversary Tribute

By: Melissa Scopelitis

Last week marked the 25th anniversary of Muppet Treasure Island. On June 27th, 1995, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the UK set at Shepperton Studios by Muppet performer, Steve Whitmire.

 A few days earlier, I had graduated high school, and for my graduation gift, my father and I were going to be traveling to London for the first time. It was my first time on a plane, first time overseas, this was a big deal within itself. I had been corresponding with Steve throughout the filming as we were email pals for about 4 years at that point, he knew I was (and still am) obsessed with Tim Curry who was playing Long John Silver, and eventually, the conversation led to “well since you’re going to be in town anyway…” and the invite came. I could not believe it!! I was going to visit not just an actual film set, but a MUPPET film set!!

Fast forward to the actual day of, we had received a fax from Steve sent to our hotel that morning, with a cute little illustration of Kermit in Captain Smollett gear and instructions on what to do once we got to the studio gates. I still have the fax. My father and I had figured out based on some directions Steve had supplied, on how to navigate the British tube and railway system as we were staying in London, and get out to Shepperton, which was a good hour train ride outside of there. 

As a side note, random memory: I remember at one point, a good bulk of the crowd on the train got off at one stop for the Wimbledon tennis tournament. We arrived to the set and told security we were there to meet Steve. I think at first, we were just led onto a soundstage where some rehearsing was going on. We saw the huge Hispanola ship, and the elevated sets which in itself was very impressive. 

Finally, Steve came to greet us. This was our first time actually meeting in person. From there, we were given a tour of the various soundstages and the onset Muppet workshop where they were building the puppets and props. We got to meet Kevin Clash again who we met a few years earlier on the set of Sesame Street in NY. It was my first time meeting Bill Barretta, who later that afternoon had joined us for lunch in the cafeteria on set. We got to attend a screening of the dailies from that day, which is basically all the raw footage shot earlier that day, so there was some fun outtakes and bloopers we got to see.

Honestly, there’s a lot of details from that day that are hard to remember as it was 25 ½ years ago, I was 17, and am now 43. So I’ll give you my 3 major highlights of the day: One was Steve introducing us to Tim Curry, who I had met once prior in 1993 in NYC, after a play he did that ran for a brief time, which we talked about and Tim joked about. Tim was very warm and receptive, chatted with us for a few minutes, I did the fan girl thing of asking him for an autograph and getting a photo. Tim is such a good guy, he instructed my father to take a second shot “for safety” he said, because back then I was still using a regular 35mm film camera, not digital, and Tim wanted to make sure I got my photo. 

The next highlight was getting to meet Kermit the Frog. Steve had found a spare Kermit aka not in his MTI costume to grab for the photo. Steve told me to look at the camera and he would pose Kermit for me. I just remembered out of my peripheral vision seeing Kermit’s long skinny fingers slowly stretching over my shoulder. Steve did a bit of chat with me as Kermit, and I totally get now why guest stars, etc. talk just to the puppet, because I did the same thing, even reaching to shake Kermit’s hand that Steve was not manipulating forgetting oh yeah, he can’t move that on his own! The third highlight, was we got to witness the cast and crew presenting Tim Curry and Kevin Bishop with their own Muppet versions of themselves.

The Tim puppet as fans know, later showed up as part of the extras on one of the DVD releases of the film later on. It was a real treat to see their reactions, and at one point, Tim who went off to have a cigarette break in between filming, walked past us and asked “Did you see the puppet?” as he chuckled in disbelief that he now had his own mini-me version. In regards to those puppets, when I later on became an intern for the NY Muppet workshop as a college senior in 1999, I saw the original puppet patterns for the Tim Curry puppet.

I also later sent some of my on set photos to Kevin Bishop who was truly touched and so happy I captured those moments on film and shared them with him, even though they’re a bit dark as we were allowed to take photos, but were not allowed to use flash. Kevin told me he put them in his home office, which I’m delighted and very moved by that he loved them that much.

 

At this point we got to watch some of the rehearsal of the sword fight scene between Kermit and Tim Curry. And then sadly, it was time to go shortly after as we wanted to make sure we got our train back to London. Steve signed my little autograph book for me, and presented me with a MTI crew only baseball cap that I also still own, and still wear occasionally. I remember the next day, being so paranoid about getting the pictures developed, that we tracked down a one hour photo place somewhere near Trafalgar Square so I can get my photos developed as I was so worried the film was going to get destroyed going back through the airport to go home a few days later. 

But we got some great ones which I’m sharing here for all to enjoy, and I’m so happy to be able to share these freely now, since for many years I kept them kind of hidden away to avoid any issues with Disney, and out of respect for Steve and the Jim Henson Company.

Thank you for reading, and for Chris Stulz and Muppet Stuff for the opportunity to share my story!

For more Muppet fun and frolic, or to just say “Hi” and follow me on social media you can find me under:

Facebook: Melissa Scopelitis

Twitter: @MelissaY1

Instagram: @mscope2008

For my professional portfolio including other media projects and companies I’ve been involved with, as well as my volunteer and photography work, please visit: www.melissascopelitis.net

The Muppet Show Comes (Somewhat) to Disney+!

After long-delayed DVD's and much hype about the "Complete series" of The Muppet Show coming to Disney+ it seems we still have to wait a bit more.

Let's take a looks at The Muppet Show's first day on Disney+.

Ominous Warning.

Update:

18 episodes start with the warning below:

"This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures.These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now," the disclaimer reads. "Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.

Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe. 

To learn more about how stories have impacted society visit: www.Disney.com/StoriesMatter."

Those episodes are:

Jim Nabors, Joel Grey, Steve Martin, Peter Sellers, Cleo Laine, James Coco, Spike Milligan, Crystal Gayle, Kenny Rogers, Beverly Sills, Jonathan Winters, Alan Arkin, James Coburn, Joan Baez, Debbie Harry, Wally Boag, Marty Feldman, and Johnny Cash.

The Confederacy is no laughing matter

Random Order:

The episodes don't appear to be air date or production order. 

Useless Mini-Descriptions:

Each episode states "The Muppets Welcome..." under each thumbnail that already list the gest star. 

However, once you click into each episode a more descriptive synopsis appears.

No Extras:

We though maybe Disney would include the Muppet Show Valentine Show and Sex & Violence pilots like they did on the DVD sets or possibly Of Muppets and Men: The Making of The Muppet Show but they, as yet, have not been added. 

Other previously released extras like the episode promos, "The Muppets on Muppets""Keep Fishin'": Weezer music video, "The Muppets on Puppets" - documentary, A Company of Players" - featurette on the Muppeteers, "Muppet Commercials" - four Purina Dog Chow commercials, are also not included. 

Incomplete Episodes:

Us staring down the execs who edited/
omitted episodes of The Muppet Show

Bernadette Peters:
(Episode complete on Season 2 DVD set)

A scene where Robin tells Kermit all about his idea to sing "They Call the Wind Maria," but Kermit wants him to sing a "cute little song" instead.

He then sing "I'm Five" which has also been cut:

Don Knotts:
(Episode complete on Season 2 DVD set)

The entire closing number where Don Knotts & Electric Mayhem perform "Lullaby of Birdland."

Cheryl Ladd:
(Episode complete on Season 3 DVD set)

The UK Spot with Scooter singing "There's A New Sound"

Danny Kaye:
(Episode complete on Season 3 DVD set)

The UK Spot with a Jogger sings "Jogging,"

Roger Miller:
(Episode complete on Season 3 DVD set)

The UK Spot where a bar full of Muppets sing "Down at the Old Bull And Bush."

Anne Murray:

Beauregard singing “Dancing on the Ceiling”

Tony Randall:

Tony singing “Ti-Pi-Tin” as well as Kermit's intro.

James Coburn:

A UK Spot in which Kermit compliments Betsy Bird on the dance she did in the last sketch. He asks if she has any other dances. Betsy says she could wing something and signals for the band to play" Bird Walk."

Wally Boag:

Two Whatnots sing "a very special lullaby in gibberish" .... "The Ying Tong Song."

Buddy Rich:

The UK Spot with A group of Muppets sing" A Transport of Delight" while riding a double-decker bus.

Hal Linden:

Hal and Robin sing :If We Ruled the World" before Gonzo interrupts.

Marty Feldman:

During the "Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" final Fozzie shouting "Open Sesame" the Sesame Street emerges signing the “Sesame Street Theme."

If edited episodes weren't bad enough there are a few episodes missing entirely! 

Missing Episodes:

The Kaye Ballard*, Brooke Shields, and Chris Langham episodes are missing even though the Kaye Ballard* episode - which is where the band quits - was previously release uncut on the season one DVD. 

Newsflash: The Kay Ballard* episode *was* missing!

Anyone seen the substitute guest for our IRL missing guest star? 

Curiouser and Curiouser.. why is was this not included?

UPDATE: We've been told that in Europe the Kaye Ballard episode is available, but the John Denver and Spike Milligan episodes are missing.

* UPDATE: The Kaye Ballard episode is now available in the US!

Also has anyone else noticed that the Muppets Collection is now gone though?

Before...

Current

Update:

Unexpended Endings!:

Unexpectedly each episode ends with Henson Television AND Muppets Studio title cards. While the footage of Zoot no longer has the Muppets Holding Company copyright over it. 

That's what we've found so far, but we'll update the post if anything else is "found."

The somewhat complete series of The Muppet Show is now streaming on Disney+.

The Best (& Worst) of The Muppet Show!

The most sensational, Muppettational series of all time began streaming today on Disney+, of course that could only be The Muppet Show!

All 5 season are finally available but beware, out of 120 episodes there are a few clunkers. 

The Elke Sommer, Doug Henning, Chris Langham, and the Glenda Jackson episodes come to mind, but even they have some great songs and sketches.

Below are the highs and lows of the 5 worst episodes.  

Elke Sommer:

Low: "Row Row Row" 

High:

Bobby Benson's Baby Band -  "Pennsylvania 6-5000": 

 

Low/High: "Animal Crackers in My Soup"

It's starts of low - and the Muppets know it, and finally turns Elke into a bizarre Muppet human hybrid. that's just too bizarre not be a high. 

Doug Henning: 

Low: pretty much anything with the guest star.

High: The running Gag of Fozzie's magic act

 

Glenda Jackson:

Low: the subplot of Jackson being a pirate captain and taking over The Muppet Theatre. - the blue screen effect is overs used and just doesn't work. Looking back it looks like a low-budget version of Muppet Treasure Island.

 

High: Gonzo singing "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues"

 

Chris Langham: (Update - Not on Disney+)

Low: pretty much anything with Langham

 

High: "Friendship"

To be fair Chris Langham was a writer on the show and filled in for scheduled guest Richard Pryor after he became unavailable at the last minute.

Now that the worst is out of the way, let's look at the 10 best episodes. 

Vincent Price:

Price may seem like an odd choice for a guest, but the horror actor fits right in. 

John Cleese:

Cleese was instrumental in writing his episode and the running gag that he doesn't actually want to be there is hilarious.

 

Rita Moreno:

There's a reason she won an Emmy for her appearance

Mac Davis:

There's too much to like in this episode from Davis perming "It's Hard to Be Humble", a show-stopping "I Believe in Music", and "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me" add a subplot of menacing Beakers and this is The Muppet Show firing on all cylinders.

Elton John: 

This episode is overflowing with incredible permeances from start to finish. It's one of, if not the only, episode to feature 4 musical acts by the guest stat and you still don't want it to end. 

Roy Clark: 

Clark brings so much to his episode but a highlight for sure is multipart "Rocky Top":

Paul Simon:

There's a reason the entire episode features only music by Simon. The "50 ways to leave your lover" running gag is one of the series' best. 

Brian Henson recalled that "Scarborough Fair" was at the time the most complex staging of a sequence on the series.

Alice Cooper:

Like the Vincent Price episode Alice Cooper's episode bring a darker element to the show including Alice trying to buy the Muppets' souls! and it's all all balanced out with Robin singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow."

 

Steve Martin:

Unlike some episode where subplots and gimmicks don't work, the plot of Martin's episode is genius. The show's been cancelled - and without telling Steve, who then performs his acts for the Muppets

Harry Belafonte:

While this best of list was in no particular order, the Harry Belafonte episode is something special. 

From the TV debut of "Day-O (Banana Boat Song)", to the emotional "Earth Song" that brings the house down and won't even stop for the closing theme. The Harry Belafonte episode is clearly exceptional.

   

The Muppet Show is now streaming on Disney+.

The Muppets BEFORE The Muppet Show!

The Muppet Show begins streaming tomorrow on Disney+, but today let's look at a few of our favorite characters as they appeared BEFORE the series that led them to international superstardom.

It's hard to imagine now but before The Muppet Show many of the best known Muppets didn't exist. 

There was no Fozzie Bear, Gonzo was a little known "Cigar box" frackle in 1970's The Great Santa Claus Switch. 

Sweetums and Robin made their debut in 1971's The Frog Prince.

Miss Piggy made her debut during an appearance on Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass' 1974 special

 Rowlf was best known as Jimmy Dean's Sidekick. First appearing on The Jimmy Dean show in 1963.

Mah Na Mah Na first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1969, where he sang "Mah Na Mah Na" for the first time.

Before Sex and violence Waldorf , Sam, Janice, appeared in the very first Muppet Meeting film: Jim Henson's Muppet Meeting Films: Picker-Upper (1975)

Statler & Waldorf first appeared together, sans balcony in the Muppet Show pilot: Sex and Violence

Which is also were we were introduced (literally) to Crazy Harry and Nigel who would later be demoted from host to orchestra conductor.

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem's first gig was also on Sex and Violence

The Muppet Show begins streaming tomorrow on Disney+.

Celebrate Muppet Treasure Island's 25th Anniversary!

Shiver My Timbers! It's hard to believe, but Muppet Treasure Island turned 25 today. 

It grossed $34 million on a budget of $31 million having the biggest opening weekend gross for a Disney film in February. 

Muppet Treasure Island received generally positive reviews from critics:

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 70% based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Though less Muppet-centric than the original trilogy, Muppet Treasure Island is an energetic, cheerful take on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure, with typically solid gags." 

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average rating of "A-"

Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised the playfulness of the Muppets as keeping "the story amusingly off-kilter. The mood is perfectly in keeping with the notion of the Muppets as contemporary children dressing up and improvising their own versions of classic tales."

Ken Tucker, reviewing for Entertainment Weekly, gave the film a B+ noting that "the film is notably handsome in a dark, foreboding way. The Muppet action blends seamlessly with the human actors, and adults will be kept giggling with wittily anachronistic jokes about codependence, water-skiing, and Henry Kissinger."^[

Roger Ebert, reviewing for the Chicago Tribune, gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four. While he was favorable to Tim Curry's performance, he summarized the film as being "less cleverly written, and for moi it's a near miss."

Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two stars out of four writing that the film was a "boring Muppet adventure that doesn't successfully meld the Muppets into a conventional buried-treasure story. I wanted the Muppets to play themselves rather than phony pirate-related characters."

The film has been released on VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray and most recently on Disney+.

In the UK version, lines which contain the word "bloody" have been redubbed:

Billy Bones' line "How does she bloody do that?" changed to "How does she bloomin' do that?"

Black Dog's line "Billy's dead and he hasn't got the bloody map." is redubbed "Billy's dead and he hasn't got the bloomin' map".

Long John's line "Where's the bloody treasure?!" became "Where's the blasted treasure?!"

To promote the film, Disney produced Muppet Sing Alongs: Muppet Treasure Island a direct to VHS special.

Muppet pirates Clueless Morgan, Mad Monty, and Polly Lobster are prominently featured in the video. Oly two songs from the movie are included, while seven new songs were created just for the release:

Sailing for Adventure
I'm a Little Pirate
There Was an Old Pirate
Old Bad Polly
I'm a Rock
Truffle Shuffle
Real Pirate
Cabin Fever
Let the Good Shine Out

Clueless Morgan and Polly Lobster were later featured several spots UK spots on Muppets Tonight where the pair work as bartenders seen through the eyes of the never seen cross-dressing, Mr. Callahan.

The Muppet Treasure Island Soundtrack features an instrumental score by Hans Zimmer with songs written by the husband and wife pop songwriting team Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann known for "On Broadway" Running with the Night" Somewhere Out There" "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and the theme to "Christmas Vacation." among many other hits. 

The film's ending includes the Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers song "Love Power" which was released as a single and music video:

McDonald's released a set of Happy Meal Toys, which we featured in a 2014  "Throwback Thursday."

Activision turned the film into a CD-ROM game for Windows PCs.

You can watch a complete walkthrough of the game below:

As part of their Muppet line, Palisade Toys released a few Muppet Treasure Island action figures including Kermit as Captain Smollett, Cabin Boy Gonzo and Rizzo, Sam Eagle as Samuel Arrow and even an exclusive Ghost Samuel Arrow figure.

There were also many other product tied to the film including plush dolls, View-Master Reels, plates, and bedroom sets!

Like Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island is also considered one of the best adaptations of the "Treasure Island" story. 

And, as the AV Club pointed out 25 years, later with many of us stuck inside due the pandemic, "Cabin Fever" has become an anthem of sorts. 

Finally, take a look at the Making of Muppet Treasure Island in this rarely seen Disney Channel special.

D23 is holding many Muppetational events this week to celebrate the milestone as well.

Today there's A two-part “Cabin Fever” Watch Party!

 

At 3PM EST Set sail with a special look behind the “seas” with a panel of some of the swashbuckling crew that brought this high-seas adventure to the big screen! Join Director Brian Henson, Puppeteers Dave Goelz and Bill Barretta, Jim Hawkins actor Kevin Bishop, and host Leigh Slaughter, Vice President of Muppets Studio, as they share stories about bringing Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic pirate tale to the screen in the most Muppetational way!

Then at 7PM EST join the Twtitter "Watch Party" by watching the film while following #D23MuppetMayhem

Happy 25th Anniversary Muppet Treasure Island!