Hoppy Easter!

Our facebook friend Sally, sent over these pictures of the eggs she and her son Connor made:

Marvin Suggs, Lew Zealand, Constantine, Johnny Fiama, Uncle Deadly, & Dr. Teeth eggs

Marvin Suggs even comes with little Muppaphones! Nice touch!

Connor also received a Bean Bunny plush from the Easter Bunny this morning.

Speaking of Bean, here is his debut in long out of print special The Tale of The Bunny Picnic:

Fraggles & Funko!

In our latest video from the Muppet Stuff museum, I show off Super Impluse's new Fraggle plush and talk about what it means to be Funko's "FUNactic of the Week."

You can get you own Red and Gobbo at Think Geek:

My Funko FUNactic of the week interview can be found here and you can view more Funko items in the collection here.

Please support The Jim Henson Exhibition at Museum of the Moving Image at their Kickstarter.

The Jim Henson Exhibition at Museum of the Moving Image Fundraiser!

Just like the Center of Puppetry Arts asked for public support to complete their Henson exhibit, it seems Museum of the Moving Image is now looking to crowdfunding to complete theirs as well.

The exhibition will feature more than 40 original puppets — including Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Elmo, Cookie Monster, the Fraggles, and a Skeksis from The Dark Crystal — as well as puppet prototypes, original character sketches, rare behind-the-scenes footage and photographs, and interactive puppetry design and performance experiences.

Just like most crowd sourcing there are a lot of great pledge incentives including memberships to the museum, an invitation to the opening reception, a signed copy of The Muppets Character Encyclopedia, Palisades Muppet toys, and a personalized autographed from a character performed by Dave Goelz!

For those with more than just disposable income a set of limited edition lithographs (also offered to help the Center of Puppetry Arts) is a available as well.

The video introducing the campaign is hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and features Bonnie Erickson as well as many frequent MOMI event Muppet fans including Matt Soberman, John Papovitch, and Mo Monster creator Sam.

You can watch the video and check all the great rewards in in more detail on their Kickstarter page!

Meet Julia!

Julia, the first Muppet with autism, makes her Sesame Street debut today!

While the character was introduced in storybook form in the 2016 digital storybook "We're Amazing, 1, 2, 3!", today marks her first official day on the street!

In a move that I hope continues, HBO agreed to let PBS stations have the episode the same day it airs the episode instead of the usual 9 month gap. 

Which means you should be able to find it now on both HBO and your local PBS station!
The characters is performed by new Muppet performer Stacey Gordon whose own son has autism.

 

Check out the HBO promos:

To help promote her debut 60 Minutes took their, hard to believe, first ever trip to Sesame Street last month to introduce the character and show how she was created.

Julie and the Sesame gang then headed over to the Today show to tout her debut.

Autism advocate Holly Robinson Peete, Abby Cadabby and Julia even went to Washington last week and spoke about Autism at the Capitol Visitor Center. 

Sesame Workshop also created an official website for children and parents who are dealing with the challenges of autism, which currently affects 1 in 68 children.

In the episodes all-new street story, Big Bird learns about autism when he's introduced to Julia, who helps her new friends invent a game called "boing tag."

Don't have HBO, and can't wait to meet Julia? Sesame Street made the entire segment available online:

Julia will appear in one more episode this year, with more scheduled for next season.

If you donate $100 or more to Sesame Workshop's Yellow Feather Fund you can receive a limited edition Julia plush, while supplies last.

Everyone, meet Julia!

RIP Don Rickles (1926 - 2017)

Legendary comedian Don Rickles has died. 

The honorary Rat Pack member and frequent celebrity roast guest career spanned six decades. His gift for insults earned him the nickname "Mr. Warmth."

Rickles appeared in many TV comedies including episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., I Dream of Jeannie, I Spy, Get Smart, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, Sanford and Son, Archie Bunker’s Place, The Lucy Show, F Troop, Newhart, Murphy Brown, The Single Guy, The Bernie Mac Show, and Hot in Cleveland, and many late night talk shows.

He also appeared on TV dramas like Medical Center, Chrysler Theater, and The Unit and in Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film Casino.

In 1995, Rickles began voicing Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story films and two years later he was a guest star on Muppets Tonight. The second season episode featured Rickles replacing Kermit after he's fired. The episodes other guest star was Coolio and featured cameos by Ed McMahon, Bernard Shaw, and Fred Willard.

The entire episode can be seen below:

That wasn't the last time he worked with The Muppets though. Last year Rickles was joined by Regis Philbin and certain female pig in NBC's Tony Bennett 90th Birthday Tribute special:

He would have turned 91 on May 8.

Julie's Greenroom Soundtrack Coming Soon!

Julie's Greenroom has been streaming on Netflix for less than a month and a soundtrack has already been announced!

The soundtrack will released by Varèse Sarabande digitally April 14 and on CD May 5th.

Tracklist:

1. Mash-Up (Theme Song) – Performed by Giullian Yao Gioiello

2. Anything Can Happen In the Theater – Performed by Julie Andrews & Giullian Yao Gioiello

3. Hugo

4. Shakespeare Shakes – Performed by Giullian Yao Gioiello, John Tartaglia, Jennifer Barnhart, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Dorien Davies & Tyler Bunch

5. Spike’s Despair

6. Let Your Voice Be Heard – Performed by Giullian Yao Gioiello, John Tartaglia, Jennifer Barnhart, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Dorien Davies

7. Cheering Performed

8. When You Act Performed – Performed by Julie Andrews & Alec Baldwin

9. Fizz Breaks Joshua’s Violin

10. Julie & Gus

11. Yes And – Performed by Ellie Kemper, Giullian Yao Gioiello, John Tartaglia, Jennifer Barnhart, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Dorien Davies

12. Circus Day

13. You Gotta Bring the Wow – Performed by Giullian Yao Gioiello, John Tartaglia, Jennifer Barnhart, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Dorien Davies & Tyler Bunch

14. Sticky Handshake

15. Juggling & Handstands

16. Cirque du Soleil

17. Snap It – Performed by Giullian Yao Gioiello, John Tartaglia, Jennifer Barnhart, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Dorien Davies

18. Runaway Cart

19. Costume Workshop

20. Someone Else’s Shoes – Performed by Tituss Burgess, Giullian Yao Gioiello, John Tartaglia, Jennifer Barnhart, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D’Abruzzo & Dorien Davies

21. A Scarftacular Day

22. Wheelchair Steed

23. Circle Up Greenies

24. Take A Leap Performed – Performed by David Hyde Pierce, Julie Andrews, John Tartaglia, Jennifer Barnhart, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D’Abruzzo & Dorien Davies

25. Mash-Up The Musical

26. Anything Can Happen in the Theater (Part 2) – Performed by Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, Giullian Yao Gioiello, John Tartaglia, Jennifer Barnhart, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D’Abruzzo, Dorien Davies & Tyler Bunch

27. Mash-Up (Reprise Finale) – Performed by John Tartaglia, Jennifer Barnhart, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D’Abruzzo, Dorien Davies & Tyler Bunch

As you can see, the soundtrack features songs performed by  Julie Andrews as well as guest stars like Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Ellie Kemper, and Dave Hyde Pierce. The original score composed by Ryan Shore will be included as well.

Julie’s Greenroom is streaming exclusively on Netflix and you can pre-order the soundtrack on Amazon. 

Muppets Meet the Classics: The Phantom of the Opera Cover!

As we first told you last month, Penguin Workshop will be releasing a new series of Muppet books under the "Muppets Meet the Classics" banner. 

The first book will spoof The Phantom of the Opera and we now have a look at the cover!

The cover was designed by illustrator Owen Richardson, who worked on the young adult book series Warriors, Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Artemis Fowl, Daniel X, and many others.

Official synopsis of the book is below: 

What do you get when you cross the Muppets and the classics? A monster hit! Join Kermit, Miss Piggy, Uncle Deadly, and the other Muppets as they bring this gripping tale of mystery and suspense to life in their own hilarious way.

This classic tale of love, intrigue, and jealousy at the Paris Opera House, which has thrilled readers, musical lovers, and movie goers for more than a century, has now been reimagined with the cast of the Muppets. Readers will gasp, cry, laugh, and laugh again as Kermit (as Raoul), Miss Piggy (as Christine), Uncle Deadly (as the phantom), and the chickens (as the ballet corps) give a whole new meaning to the word "classic." This imaginative tale is sure to win the hearts of all Muppets fans, as well as fans of literary classics.

Muppets Meet the Classics: The Phantom of the Opera will be released October 17,
you can pre-order it here.