Sesame Place Classic Character Exclusive Twiddlebug Plush!

After teasing on social media who would be this year's exclusive classic character plush...

Sesame Place unveiled it would a green Twiddlebug! The best part is you won't even need a magnifying glass to get a good look at it!

Strangely though, it doesn't appear to a member of the regularly featured Twiddlebug family,

but a generic Twiddlebug that sort of reassembles the green one pictured below:

You can get your very own Twiddlebug exclusively at Sesame Place and possibly on their website at some point. The park opens for season pass holders tomorrow and for everyone else Saturday, April 28th!

Throwback Thursday: Barbara Bush Sesame Street's First First Lady!

Former First Lady Barbara Bush passed away this week. 

Barabera Bush was the first First Lady to appear on Sesame Street way back in season 21. The First Lady came to the street and read Peter's Chair to Big Bird, The Count, and a group kids.

She later appeared in the celebrity "Sing" montage in the Sing! Sesame Street Remembers Joe Raposo and His Music special.

You can check out her appearance below: 

Bush also contributed a "Bologna for a Cocktail Buffet" recipe for the 1996 cookbook, In the Kitchen with Miss Piggy and appeared in a introduction with her husband, former President George H. W. Bush to the anti-drug television special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.

Barabera Bush was 92. 

Jim Henson's The Power of the Dark Crystal Vol. 2 Now Available!

The second collection of comics from The Power of the Dark Crystal is now available. 

Jen and Kira’s greatest fear has been realized as the Crystal is broken once more, and the evil Skeksis have returned, eager to regain their cruel dominance over the world. Meanwhile, on their own and on the run, Thurma and Kensho must stick together as they journey across the wildlands of Thra. Written by Simon Spurrier (The Spire, X-Men Legacy) and Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Warlords of Appalachia), and lushly illustrated by Kelly and Nichole Matthews (Toil & Trouble), The Power of the Dark Crystal continues the bestselling sequel to one of Jim Henson’s most revered creations. 

This collection consists of issue 5-8 and is available at comic shops today and through Amazon April 24th.

The 3rd and final volume covering issues 9-12 will be released September 4th. 

Muppet Thought of the Week: Miss Piggy Serves Up Wisdom!

For this week's Muppet Thought of the Week, Miss Piggy tells us how she likes to "pig" out...

Chamberlain and Worm Statues Now Available!

As we reported last week, the first of Chronicle Collectibles Dark Crystal and Labyrinth products are now starting to be available for pre-order. 

Now comes word that both their Dark Crystal Chamberlain and Labyrinth Worm statues are in stock and available to purchase as well!

Both are Think Geek/Game Stop exclusives. 

The Dark Crystal Chamberlain Statue:

IT'S TIME TO MAKE YOUR MOVE

Anyone who doubts that birds are the evolutionary descendants of dinosaurs has not seen Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal. The form and movement of the Skeksis is both awe-inducing and terrifying. And now Chronicle Collectibles has captured skekSil, the Chamberlain of the Skeksis, as a collectible figure so that you can admire him all day long.

Available exclusively at ThinkGeek and GameStop, this skekSil statue stands an impressive 14" tall including his sword, about to be wielded in a Trial by Stone. As an added bonus, this does not come with sound, so you don't have to worry about listening to skekSil's whimper all day. "Mmmmhhhhhmmmmmm." Manipulative, deceptive, and whiny. You know, skekSil sounds a lot like a toddler, only he doesn't have the cuteness factor. Although Skeksis sort of have that ugly cute thing going on....

Product Specifications 

• The Dark Crystal Chamberlain Statue
• Officially-licensed Dark Crystal merchandise 
• A ThinkGeek creation
• Available exclusively at ThinkGeek and GameStop
• Features skekSil, the Chamberlain of the Skeksis, in his glorious robes, ready to challenge skekUng, the Garthim Master, to Trial by Stone
• Some assembly required (you have to put the sword in his hands)
• (Or not. He could always be bringing you a little flower or something, we suppose.)
• (But definitely not a Gelfling)
• (After all, they're all dead, right?)
• The base features the film's logo
• Materials: PVC 
• Imported 
• Dimensions: 14" tall (11 1/2" statue on a 2 1/2" base) x 5" wide x 5" deep
• Weight: 2 1/2 lbs.

Labyrinth 'Ello Worm 1:1 Scale Statue

'ELLO!

What a night. Sarah's parents leave her to babysit her little brother, never bothering to ask if she has plans. Goblins come and take the poor boy away. Then she finds herself outside the Labyrinth, tasked with finding her way to the center or losing her baby brother forever! David Bowie sure could be mean. Once inside the Labyrinth, the first creature she meets is only referred to as "The Worm" (and no complaining, because she met Hoggle outside the Labyrinth). And if she just took the time to come inside, she might have learned the easy way to get through.

So, come inside, have a nice cup of tea, meet the missus, and take a little magic from the Labyrinth home with you now, when you buy this Labyrinth 'Ello Worm 1:1 Scale Statue. Chronicle Collectibles made this guy especially for us. With tufts of hair and a fabric scarf, he's perched as if he's about to offer advice on a rock from the wall, only this one has the film's logo on it in case people seeing your statue are confused about where they've met this little guy before. Best part? He's actual size.

Product Specifications 

• Labyrinth 'Ello Worm 1:1 Scale Statue
• Officially-licensed Labyrinth collectible 
• A ThinkGeek / GameStop exclusive 
• Scale: Actual size
• Created using the original puppet itself at Henson studios
• Fluffy, shapeable hair tufts and fabric scarf
• Materials: Polyresin /stone power and calcium carbonate mixture body with cotton / spandex scarf and polyester / acrylic hair
• Imported
• Dimensions: 6" wide x 5 3/4" tall x 2 3/4" deep
• Weight: 1 lb.

You can order your very own Chamberlain and Worm statues from Think Geek using these links.

Hallmark's 2018 Muppet Ornament.....ROWLF!

For whatever reason, Hallmark didn't show off this year's Muppet ornament at NYCC, nor at Toy Fair.

However, thanks to Hallmark stores getting their Dream Catalog in, we now know which Muppet will be this year's ornament... Rowlf!

The ornament will play "Eight Little Notes", which confirms that Hallmark went back to the classic Muppet Show style instead of using the characters as they appeared in The Muppet Christmas Carol. All he's missing is a talking Beethoven bust!

The ornament will be available at Hallmarks stores beginning this summer.

The Storyteller Soundtrack Coming Very Soon!

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Jim Henson's The Storyteller Varèse Sarabande announced it will release a limited-edition box set of music from the series. 

The box set will be limited to 1500 copies, contain music from both Jim Henson's The Storyteller and Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Greek Myths, and include a 32-page booklet of exclusive interviews with the producers of the series and Academy Award winning composer Rachel Portman, as well as a collection of behind-the-scenes photographs.

From Soundtrack.net:

The series was the brainchild of Jim Henson's eldest daughter, Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company. Lisa, who majored in folklore and mythology at Harvard, suggested they create an anthology series based on these stories.

Composer Rachel Portman had been writing music professionally for only a few years when brought on by director Steve Barron to work on the pilot. "Steve and I talked about each film having a special sound and a special voice, and some special instrument that would be part of it. I chose very carefully a different coloration for each story, what the main instrument was going to be—because I wasn't able to have very many instruments, and I wanted it to be orchestral," Portman described.

Brian Henson, who was also the series head puppeteer and is currently chairman of The Jim Henson Company) had nothing but praise for the music. "Rachel Portman gives it a timelessness. She makes the show important," he said. "She makes the stories important. There's a gravitas that comes with her music, but then also the light, lyrical melody. I think it's just beautiful scoring of fantasy."

"I felt I had real freedom to go as dark as I wanted, musically," explained Portman. "I didn't shy away from being really sad, or really dark, or really happy. I think that really matched the way the whole series was done, and the scripts. It always kind of ends in minor. I don't know why. They all come back to a sad chord at the end."

The track list:

Disc I: 

1. Main Title (Extended Version) (0:41)
2. Hans My Hedgehog (Suite A) (4:19)
3. Hans My Hedgehog (Suite B) (6:22)
4. A Story Short (Suite A) (6:50)
5. A Story Short (Suite B) (5:19)
6. Fearnot (Suite A) (5:27)
7. Fearnot (Suite B) (6:37)
8. The Luck Child (Suite A) (6:17)
9. The Luck Child (Suite B) (5:09)
10. The Heartless Giant (Suite A) (6:50)
11. The Heartless Giant (Suite B) (6:53)
12. End Title (0:34)

 Disc II:

1. Main Title with Narration (featuring John Hurt) (0:41)
2. The Soldier and Death (Suite A) (5:04)
3. The Soldier and Death (Suite B) (7:59)
4. The True Bride (Suite A) (5:41)
5. The True Bride (Suite B) (6:18)
6. The Three Ravens (Suite A) (7:34)
7. The Three Ravens (Suite B) (7:59)
8. Sapsorrow (Suite A) (5:18)
9. Sapsorrow (Suite B) (6:03)
10. Main Title (Short Version) (0:37)
11. Unused Bumper A (0:12)
12. Unused Bumper B (0:10)

 Disc III:

1. The Storyteller: Greek Myths Main Titles (UK Version) (0:39)
2. Theseus & The Minotaur (Suite A) (7:23)
3. Theseus & The Minotaur (Suite B) (9:13)
4. Perseus & The Gorgon (Suite A) (7:00)
5. Perseus & The Gorgon (Suite B) (7:21)
6. Daedalus & Icarus (Suite A) (6:42)
7. Daedalus & Icarus (Suite B) (7:18)
8. Orpheus & Eurydice (Suite A) (8:47)
9. Orpheus & Eurydice (Suite B) (6:57)
10. Main Titles (US Version) (0:33)

 Disc III Bonus Tracks:

1. Theseus (Suite) (1:34)
2. Orpheus (Suite) (1:29)

Jim Henson's The Storyteller can be currently viewed via the STARZ app and Fathom Events Labyrinth screenings (April 29, May 1&2) will include a special theatrical The Storyteller excerpt.

The 3-CD set is now available for pre-order and will be released on April 27, 2018.