Jonathan Klotz | Posted
The Muppets are having a rough decade following their cancellation. that office-great show, that muppetsProduced by ABC in 2015. There are no new Muppet movies coming out soon, and the last two shows are muppets now and electric mayhemIt was buried in Disney+ with an estimated marketing budget of two cans tied together.
What makes the current state of the Muppets franchise even worse is that Disney is removing MuppetVision 3D from Hollywood Studios. This is notable for being the last project Jim Henson worked on before his death. That’s not surprising, since Disney hasn’t released one yet either. Jim Henson HourIt was left locked in a safe next to it. song of the south and Ernest goes to camp.
MuppetTV
Jim Henson Hour Henson himself hosted and introduced every episode before it began. MuppetTVIt’s a modern take on the classic variety show featuring the gang in charge of a TV studio. Each episode featured a variety of celebrity guests, such as Louie Anderson and Ted Danson, and included sketches ranging from Fozzie becoming a weather forecaster to a fake nature documentary that turns into a war between butterflies and caterpillars. As a lifelong fan of the Muppets, even I will admit that this part of the show was uneven and Waldo, the new CGI Muppet, never quite caught up. But this gave us the Bean Bunny and was only half the episode.
The second half of each episode Jim Henson Hour This was one of the following episodes: storytellerAdaptations of classic folk tales or new fables for the show. These stories were darker and more serious than that. MuppetTV That’s because they tried to maintain the feel and tone of the source material, which makes for a strange viewing experience for kids who want to watch Kermit.
storyteller It first aired in 1987 and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Program for the episode “Hans the Hedgehog.” You can stream the series today to see for yourself.
mini movie
Not all episodes Jim Henson Hour Included storytellerOne follows Miss Piggy as she attempts to interview celebrities, in a segment later revived for the Corona era. muppets nowPart 3 was an hour long movie. dog city, Living with Dinosaursand monster maker. dog city A noir film narrated by Rowlf that included the Muppets involved in mob and protection rackets, it became an animated Saturday Morning Cartoon in the ’90s. Living with Dinosaurs It’s the story of a dinosaur doll coming to life to help a child navigate his broken home life. Although both are fun in their own way, monster maker When I first saw it, I got the impression that it never wavered.
The second best episode in my opinion Jim Henson HourHarry Dean Stanton plays a special effects master who takes on a young apprentice, but one of his latest projects, the mechanical dragon-looking Ultragorgon, comes to life. It doesn’t fly. Instead, he becomes the boy’s mentor, offering life advice to help him graduate from school and deal with his father, but slowly takes a dark turn. The Ultragorgon, Henson explains, was a colossal work of practical effects magic, brought to life by eight different puppeteers and voiced by Dumbledore himself, Michael Gambon.
you can find both dog city and monster maker It’s streaming as a standalone movie without any of it. Jim Henson Hour Framing device. But the best episode of the series, “The Muppets Secrets,” released as a standalone special in 1992, is nowhere to be found.
Henson pulls back the curtain and explains to the kids how the Creatures Shop created the puppets for the show, how the puppets work on set, the magic behind what makes them ride bikes, and then shows them the puppeteers responsible for the various Muppets, including Henson. I give it to you. Kermit introduces Henson the Puppeteer. It’s one of the most enjoyable hours of television explaining the magic of Hollywood without talking down to kids, and Henson excels at it.
Disney must honor Henson’s legacy
You can stream storyteller for free peacock, amazon freebieand cracklewhile dog city It’s on Tubi, monster maker It’s on Tobi. It’s good that audiences today have access to mini-movies, but MuppetTV It remains lost in time.
What has been lost is also what I think is the heart and soul of what is happening. Jim Henson HourA segment with Jim Henson himself. You can’t get those things anywhere else. Henson was a creative genius and his work will live on forever, but Disney, the rights holder for the Muppets, is denying people access to the last series he worked on before his death.
That’s why Disney’s announcement that it’s removing MuppetVision 3D from Hollywood Studios is so troubling to fans. It was Jim Henson’s last work with the Muppets. Because the company won’t release it Jim Henson HourAs this is his final series, there is little faith that his final creative work will be respected and remembered in any way by the company. It’s nice that the Muppets house band Electric Mayhem is taking over Rock’n’Roller Coaster, but it has no direct connection to Henson.
If Disney is keeping Carousel of Progress, the last attraction at the Magic Kingdom that Walt Disney worked on, then Jim Henson deserves the same level of respect.
