Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Welcomes Back Sesame Street!

This year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is next week and our friends from Sesame Street will be back singing and performing through the streets of New York.

After being scaled down last year due to the pandemic this year Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is returning to all is usual splendor.

In addition to the cast of Sesame Street, NBC announced performances from Carrie Underwood, the K-pop group aespa, Jimmie Allen, Jon Batiste, the “Blue’s Clues" hosts, Kristin Chenoweth, Darren Criss, Jordan Fisher, Foreigner, the cast of Peacock’s “Girls5eva” (Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell, Busy Philipps), Andy Grammer, Mickey Guyton, Chris Lane, Miss America Camille Schrier, Nelly, Kim Petras, Kelly Rowland, Rob Thomas, Tai Verdes, Zoe Wees, and Tauren Wells.

Broadway will be represented by the casts of “Six,” “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Wicked.” The Rockettes will be there, as will the cast of the upcoming NBC live production of “Annie.”

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade airs Thursday, November 25 at 9:00 AM on NBC.

Gonzo Venture Into Cures!

Gonzo the Great will be adding his star power tonight for a celebrity filled telethon to raise awareness and find a cure for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).

Gonzo tweeted the following video to promote his appearance: 

Join @GonzotheGreat and @ebresearch tomorrow, November 18th at 8pm EST for #VentureIntoCures! There’ll be songs, laughs, and plenty of surprises all in the name of raising awareness to find a cure for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). RSVP at https://t.co/YulGVvRgTF. #HealEB pic.twitter.com/uds93H06sS

— The Muppets (@TheMuppets) November 17, 2021

Hello fellow adventurers and culture lovers! Join me, lots of famous friends, and @ebresearch tomorrow, November 18th at 8pm EST for #VentureIntoCures! Together we’ll raise awareness to find a cure for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). RSVP at VentureIntoCures.org. Let’s #HealEB!

In addition to Gonzo, host Tom Holland and The Brothers Trust have joined EBRP Co-Founders Jill and Eddie Vedder to help #healEB. 

Venture Into Cures will feature uplifting stories of individuals with EB and their families along with appearances and performances by celebrity friends Fred Armisen, James Arthur, Mayim Bialik, Jack Black, Carrie Brownstein, Brandi Carlile, Sofia Carson, Choir!Choir!Choir!, Pete Davidson, Robert Downey Jr., Lily Hevesh, Tom Holland, The Finns, Selena Gomez, Jim Jefferies, Jack Johnson, The Jonas Brothers, Charlotte Lawrence, Bill Maher, Gaten Matarazzo, Lamorne Morris, Catherine O'Hara, Ed O'Neill, Pearl Jam, Ed Sheeran, Martin Short, Scott Van Pelt, Harper, Jill and Eddie Vedder, Zendaya.

Donations can be made at https://give.ebresearch.org/venturein... or by texting CURE EB to 24365.

The 2021 Venture Into Cures telethon will be streamed live on Youtube at 8pm ET tonight. 

Early Christmas Present: The Muppet Christmas Carol Gets Vinyl Release!

The Muppets Studio and Walt Disney Records have teamed up with iam8bit to release a remastered version The Muppet Christmas Carol soundtrack on vinyl.

This vinyl reissue contains all the classic Paul Williams songs completely remastered while the jacket features an illustration by Kevin Wilson released a few years ago as an unofficial print. 

Kevin Wilson's original The Muppet Christmas Carol print

The inside sleeve features an illustration of Kermit gazing at the shooting star from the film and the center-label features Statler and Waldorf as Jacob and Robert Marley.

iam8bit will have two exclusive versions a “Ghosts of Christmas Blue” Blue Vinyl and a "Ghosts of Christmas Yet" to Come Red Vinyl.

Other distribution partners and retailers will have green variant.

The Muppet Christmas Carol vinyl soundtrack goers for $29.99 and will be available through iam8bit November 26 at 9 a.m. PT. 

RetroKid's Sesame Street "I Remember Collection"!

RetroKid released a new exclusive Sesame Street "I Remember Collection" clothing line.

Celebrate the street we all grew up on with the first-ever, officially licensed 'I Remember' Collection. We've gone deeper than ever to bring life back to several childhood classics that'll be sure to tickle your retro bone. Four exclusive designs, remastered and hand-drawn plucked straight from your childhood. These won't last long!

The limited edition collection includes: 

Sesame Street I Remember:

Sesame Street Pinball T-Shirt:

Sesame Street Barkley Hoodie - Heather Grey:

Sesame Street Teeny Super Guy:

Remember to order yours using the links above and at RetroKid. 

Fraggle Rock goes "Back to the Rock"!

Apple TV+ unveiled the first look at their new Fraggle Rock reboot Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock.

Check out the teaser trailer for the highly anticipated reboot below:

As well as the official press release:

Apple TV+ today unearthed the teaser trailer for the highly anticipated reboot of the beloved classic series “Fraggle Rock,” titled “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock.” Debuting on Apple TV+ on Friday, January 21, 2022, the new 13-episode Apple Original series from The Jim Henson Company in association with New Regency follows last year’s celebrated Apple Original shorts “Fraggle Rock: Rock On!”

Jim Henson’s fun-loving, musical Fraggles are back! Join Gobo, Red, Wembley, Mokey, Boober, and new Fraggle friends on hilarious, epic adventures about the magic that happens when we celebrate and care for our interconnected world.

Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock" is executive produced by The Jim Henson Company's Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford, and longtime Henson collaborator John Tartaglia. Matt Fusfeld and Alex Cuthbertson, who serve as showrunners, also executive produce as well as New Regency's Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer. Co-executive producers are Dave Goelz and Karen Prell, and executive music producer is Harvey Mason Jr. The series is produced by Ritamarie Peruggi.

In addition to “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock,” Apple’s growing partnership with The Jim Henson Company includes “Harriet The Spy,” the first animated adaptation of the iconic children’s novel premiering this Friday, November 19; the popular “Fraggle Rock: Rock On!” shorts; the 88 episodes of the original “Fraggle Rock” series and recently added bonus specials, “Down at Fraggle Rock,” “Doozer Music” and “Fraggle Songs,” all of which are now available to stream on Apple TV+.

First thought - this looks really good, but who is that new purple Fraggle and where is Mokey?

Ohhhh that is Mokey! eeek. Looks like they rebuilt her as an arm rod puppet instead of a live hand, made her all a one tone deeper purple, changed her outfit, her hair, and even her eye placement is different. It's a shame, because all that has made her almost unrecognizable.

Fraggle Rock: Rock On

It looks like the original Mokey was used for the Rock On shorts - but maybe it was failing and need a facelift? What make it baffling is the rest of the Fraggles look BETTER then they did for Rock On. Poor Mokey. I hope her personality comes though all her exterior changes.

We'll find out when Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock premieres January 21 on Apple TV+.

New Sesame Street "See Us Coming Together" Special!

Sesame Street has a new special See Us Coming Together that will introduce Ji-Young—a seven-year-old Korean American Muppet. 

It's "Neighbor Day" on Sesame Street and everyone has something special to share! Created for families to watch together, See Us Coming Together is a special that celebrates the rich diversity of Asian and Pacific Islander communities as part of Sesame Workshop’s ongoing racial justice initiative.

The special follows the Sesame Street friends through a community celebration with new friend Ji-Young—a seven-year-old Korean American character performed by Sesame Workshop puppeteer Kathleen Kim.

Original music and celebrity guests like actors Simu Liu and Anna Cathcart, comic book artist Jim Lee, chef Melissa King, television personality Padma Lakshmi, and athlete Naomi Osaka round out the celebration!

Below is "Ji-Young's Song with the Best Friends Band":

See Us Coming Together beginnings streaming November 25 on HBO Max, PBSKids, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.

 

To celebrate the special Sesame Street is hosting a Twitter watch party! Join the conversation using hashtag #SeeUsComingTogether Saturday, November 27th at 3pm EST. 

Muppets Christmas Caroling Coach Debuts with Disney Merriest Nites!

As we first told you about back in September, The Muppets are now starring in a Disneyland ticketed after-hours event called "Disney Merriest Nites."

Last night was first "Merriest Nite" and The Muppets performed a medley of Christmas Carols using a retrofitted double-decker bus very similar to the one used in The Great Muppet Caper. 

The OC Register talked with Disneyland show director Jordan Peterson about the the show. 

“They wanted to come out and sing with guests,” said Peterson, “This is their own standalone show.”

Of note, we could be wrong, but it looks like these aren't the oversized park "Muppets" used previously for Walt Disney World's "Great Moments in History” but the actual Muppet puppets, or at the very least better made versions for park use.

The Muppets in "Great Moments in History”

Disney Merriest Nites will run the following nights:

• November 11
• November 16
• November 30
• December 7
• December 9

But, if you can't get to Disneyland, Laughing Place already has a video of the entire show!

Disney Merriest Nites is after-hours, separate-ticket holiday event that starts 8 p.m. each night. Tickets for the sold out event ranged from ​​$165 to $175.