Why can't Sesame cameo In Muppets Most Wanted?

[minor muppetz]

So uh...did us older folks who saw Muppet Movie and Muppets Take Manhattan or the 1987 special Muppet Family Christmas get confused when we saw Sesame characters in Muppet productions?

Well, when those were made, The Jim Henson Company owned all its characters, and might not have cared that much if there was confusion. Disney doesn't want to confuse the marketplace about who owns who.

And casual fans do get confused. As a kid, I knew who "The Muppet Show" Muppets were and who the "Sesame Street" Muppets were. I knew that Kermit was a regular on both (and was a little confused by that), and whenever a Sesame Street character appeared in a Muppet production, I knew it was special. This reminds me of a time when one of my friends thought that Sesame Street Muppets weren't Muppets, unless they appeared in Muppet productions.

Anyway, it is common for people to think Miss Piggy is a Sesame Street character. In recent years I've heard a few people mistakenly refer to Animal as a Sesame Street character, and I think I've seen somebody mistakenly refer to Gonzo as a Sesame Street character. Somebody once saw a Muppet shirt I had and thought it was a Sesame Street shirt.

It would be interesting to know if kids born in the past decade are aware of Kermit's history with Sesame Street, or if they mistake the two franchises. Do today's kids who grew up with Sesame Street after Henson sold the characters get confused by the few times Kermit material has appeared on the show? Do they get confused when they watch older Sesame Street videos or specials that featured appearances by Kermit, or newer videos that include Kermit material?

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

I hate to break it to you it wasn't Ernie's duck it was this duck

I should know I am a collector of rubber ducks.

You've got to be kidding me. Well, I guess Rubber Duckie has a twin brother or something. Lol.

 

[minor muppetz]

Today The Muppet Mindset posted an interview with writer Nick Stoller, and he said that he had tried to put a cameo by the Martians into the movie, but couldn't find a way that fit the plot (I think they could have been in the "I'll Give You What You Want" song). The fact that they are owned by Sesame Workshop and therefore Disney would have to pay to include (if Sesame Workshop would have allowed it and if Disney wouldn't have vetoed the appearance) was not brought up.

Though if the Martians did make a cameo, it would have kinda been out-there for a Sesame cameo. In most Muppet productions, whenever a Sesame Street character made a cameo, it was always a more major character (though the Martians aren't exactly obscure, but they're not main characters, either). Usually if more minor or obscure characters from Sesame Street did appear in a Muppet production, it was if the appearance included quite a few Sesame Street Muppets. The only exceptions I can think of would be a Dinger making an appearance in an episode of Ghost of Faffner Hall (I've only read about the appearance, don't know any other details) and I believe that the Better World Society "One House" PSA featured a green monster from Sesame Street in the background at one point (about the only time, before or after the ownership splits, that any obscure Sesame Street characters were used merely as extras in a Muppet production).

Interestingly, I don't think the Martians were ever used in any Muppet production that included Sesame Street characters. Not in the TMM or MTM finales, not in the 30th anniversary special or MFC.

Oh, and here's the Muppet Mindset interview. http://themuppetmindset.blogspot.com/2014/03/interview-with-nicholas-stoller-writer.html

 

[beaker]

Why on earth would Disney pay to bring non-Disney puppets into their Disney production? Unless there's a compelling reason (see Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Wreck-It Ralph) they'll use characters they own and can merchandise the bejeezus out of.

If Stoller and Bobbin insisted on one little cameo(as its been revealed, Stoller wanted a cameo of the Sesame Street martians), then I doubt Disney would have much of a problem. If it was Elmo and Abby popping up out of nowhere, yeah that wouldn't happen. As it is, I'm happy with the various Sesame references in MMW

 

[beaker]

Also Wreck it Ralph was a MASSIVE wasted potential, not even coming close to the nightmarish legal wrangle Roger Rabbit was in terms of cameos.

Wreck It Ralph had...Q bert, Ryu from Street Fighter, some third party app game characters, a character from an obscure 80's Sega arcade game and a brief cameo by the bad guys from Mario and Street Fighter. Was actually eerily odd how little cameos there was

 

[beaker]

I'd honestly rather they have made a deal with Henson to have a Fraggle in there.

But last go around, SW wanted too much for Elmo to appear. At least we get a clip of the show this time. Besides, we haven't had a Sesame Street cameo since MTM (unless you count the front stoop of 123 Sesame St. in MFS). MTI and MCC have no excuse, since Henson still owned the Sesame Street characters that time.

Speaking of which...MTI was greatly represented in MMW...who saw that coming? Sadly no Clueless Morgan. But still...wow.

Wait, the Sesame St stoop was in MFS??? I recall Uncle Matt was suppose to be in MFS.
Disney used Jim Henson Studios as a big part of the last film, so yes a Fraggle cameo would have rocked.

OR the lemur from Bear in the Big Blue House I don't see why they didn't use Joe the Armadillo for the armadillo joke

 

[beaker]

Well, when those were made, The Jim Henson Company owned all its characters, and might not have cared that much if there was confusion. Disney doesn't want to confuse the marketplace about who owns who.

And casual fans do get confused. As a kid, I knew who "The Muppet Show" Muppets were and who the "Sesame Street" Muppets were. I knew that Kermit was a regular on both (and was a little confused by that), and whenever a Sesame Street character appeared in a Muppet production, I knew it was special. This reminds me of a time when one of my friends thought that Sesame Street Muppets weren't Muppets, unless they appeared in Muppet productions.

Anyway, it is common for people to think Miss Piggy is a Sesame Street character. In recent years I've heard a few people mistakenly refer to Animal as a Sesame Street character, and I think I've seen somebody mistakenly refer to Gonzo as a Sesame Street character. Somebody once saw a Muppet shirt I had and thought it was a Sesame Street shirt.

It would be interesting to know if kids born in the past decade are aware of Kermit's history with Sesame Street, or if they mistake the two franchises. Do today's kids who grew up with Sesame Street after Henson sold the characters get confused by the few times Kermit material has appeared on the show? Do they get confused when they watch older Sesame Street videos or specials that featured appearances by Kermit, or newer videos that include Kermit material?

That's why I kept laughing so hard when Constantine mispronounced Fozzie and Gonzo's name. As to me it's a spoof of how so many people in society screw up their names. As well as Constantine saying he thought Muppet Show was "a show about sharing and numbers". The writers definitely are aware of this problem.

I'm not sure if it's the lack of Muppet visibility in the post JH years, or if society is just kind of stupid? Also didn't Kermit do a cameo on Sesame Street a few years ago? Could of sworn I remembered that.

As a toddler in the early 80s for some reason I never was confused by it. I was definitely way more drawn to the Muppet Show characters but I did like Sesame Street. when youre a toddler in 1979/1980/1982/1983....man, the Muppets were literally everywhere. Now we're lucky to get a couple plushes and a t shirt

 

[mbmfrog]

Also Wreck it Ralph was a MASSIVE wasted potential, not even coming close to the nightmarish legal wrangle Roger Rabbit was in terms of cameos.

Wreck It Ralph had...Q bert, Ryu from Street Fighter, some third party app game characters, a character from an obscure 80's Sega arcade game and a brief cameo by the bad guys from Mario and Street Fighter. Was actually eerily odd how little cameos there was

Wreck it Ralph, wasn't that bad, I mean they did have a cameo of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega's mascot, on there. They just didn't have enough for the Mario Bros..

 

[mbmfrog]

That's why I kept laughing so hard when Constantine mispronounced Fozzie and Gonzo's name. As to me it's a spoof of how so many people in society screw up their names. As well as Constantine saying he thought Muppet Show was "a show about sharing and numbers". The writers definitely are aware of this problem.

I'm not sure if it's the lack of Muppet visibility in the post JH years, or if society is just kind of stupid? Also didn't Kermit do a cameo on Sesame Street a few years ago? Could of sworn I remembered that.

During Sesame Street's 40th anniversary, Kermit did made an appearance on the show.

Also, if that joke by Constantine is as close as a Sesame Street reference we'll get in the Muppet movies, then so be it.

 

[Drtooth]

Also Wreck it Ralph was a MASSIVE wasted potential, not even coming close to the nightmarish legal wrangle Roger Rabbit was in terms of cameos.

The inclusion of other arcade characters was nice, but it was not the focus of the film. For what it's worth, the video game companies hammered down some harsh regulations of what could and couldn't be done. That may have a huge role to play in it as well.

And Capcom yanked Dr. Wily's cameo because it wasn't Street Fighter, which was pretty disappointing on there level.

I've noticed at the end of MMW, they did have to have the Sesame Street copyright for the footage they used, even without a single Sesame Street character being on screen. And a lengthy one at that. The sad irony is that SW is to blame for the lack of any Sesame Street characters in these films, not Disney.