Disney in talks to buy Muppets

[sarah_yzma]

Re: I hope irony isn't lost to us...

Originally posted by Fozzie Bear


Like I said before:
Officially, I'm against it, period.
UNLESS Disney gets them and gives them creative freedom.

that's the exact same way I feel

Sarah

 

[sunday]

i think we should all join our own company and buy henson. lol

sigh. i just..i dunno. i have mixed feelings about disney. i dunno what they would do to it.

 

[BoyRaisin2]

New proposal: We all form our own company and buy the Creature Shop. Muppet links or not, that company does cool stuff.

And, here's my take on what Disney should do once and if actually, after all these years and rumors, they sign the papers, pay the money, and succeed in buying the Muppets.

In no particular order:

1. Whatever you do, continue with the new Muppet show (if that's indeed still happenin'). I can't see Disney canning that just because it's not on ABC. Touchstone-produced "Scrubs" is on NBC, and it's doing very well.

2. Air at least The Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock (not to mention the specials) on Disney Channel or ABC Family. Put the two most beloved Henson series (AND the specials) on the air.

3. Though it may take time, announce whatever theme park attractions you may have planned. I read that Eisner and Jim conceived Muppet*Vision 3D the night before they announced the merger. So hopefully there'd be brainstorming this time.

4. Take care of all Disney-Muppet appearances now. As in, let Eisner, Mickey, and Kermit sit in front of the large Muppet mural in NY; Eisner and Kermit open or close the bell at the NYSE; and other things like that. Then let the Muppets do their thing within the Disney circle. (Man, I got ideas)

Soooo, no thought to follow that.

 

[Chilly Down]

I agree that someone with strong creative vision and good marketing savvy needs to be in charge of the Muppets. Not the people responsible for the direct-to-video cheapquels. But also not the people at the Henson company, since they're the ones who have made all the miscalculations over the past decade. That's not a personal attack, nor am I saying that anyone should be fired. The Henson Company should work for Disney (or whomever) with one person at the top who can bring fresh ideas to the franchise.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I could use a job.

 

[BoyRaisin2]

I could use a hobby.

 

[Drtooth]

In short: We're boned.

To lenghten my speah...

Yes, JHC has had a few failures, but come on... I'd rather see KSY (even if I wasn't a fan) than 102 Dalmations, or Cinderella 2 (we have to give Disney credit for this... they made a movie from the stupidest idea ever, the end of a fairy tale), or MFS than Treasure Planet (you set the whole thing in outer space, big honkin' deal!)

Walk into a Disney Store... they have mounds and mounds of unwanted, unsellable Country Bears/ Treasure Planet toys. If you scoop up all the unsold Piggy and Kermit figs, they don't even measure up to unsold... whoever the heck were in those two lame movies. And they are like Marked down well over 50% off. As a friend of mine once said, "tumbleweeds!"

And the live action films are almost as bad as the cheapquals. 102 dalmations was infinantly worse than the cheapest cheapqual. I still see toy stores with tons of unsold 102 toys.

And as for Pixar ditching Disney, I dunno. I mean, on one hand, it's a good way to stick it to the mouse. On the other hand, they won't make as much money off their features. (Plus, they can't hide Toy Story, Bug's Life, or Monsters Inc characters in the background anymore!) Plus the collectibles (I love collecting toys, especially from my favorite cartoon shows and movies) will be impossible to find....

 

[Hat Sharpener]

Pixar

Anyone want to take a minute to clarify Pixar's exact deal with Disney for some of us?

It seems to me that over the last few years Pixar has been making the best stuff to have "Disney" stamped on it.

However, I do remember reading stories about development of the original Toy Story that would scare the pants off of Henson fans... Disney was throwing their weight around a ton on that one. Pixar had to fight hard to prevent it from becoming a musical, etc... or at least that is my recollection...

I'm just wondering if a JHC/Disney relationship could ever be anything like the Pixar/Disney relationship, and not knowing much about such things, I'm probably comparing apples to oranges...

- Derek

 

[danielromens]

Dr. Tooth writes...

>>>And as for Pixar ditching Disney, I dunno. I mean, on one hand, it's a good way to stick it to the mouse. On the other hand, they won't make as much money off their features. (Plus, they can't hide Toy Story, Bug's Life, or Monsters Inc characters in the background anymore!) Plus the collectibles (I love collecting toys, especially from my favorite cartoon shows and movies) will be impossible to find....<<<


On the contrary my friend. You forget that Pixar has the financial backing of Steve Jobs, not to mention a so far spotless record in movie making. They will have no problem lisencing thier work. They are the current leader in film animation in my opinion and their are people all over hollywood who would probably agree. They have stars all over the place who want to be part of their work. Disney has seen their leaving as a huge threat to their animated work. Not to mention, look how many people think Disney has owned the Muppets since 1990. I'm willing to bet a lot of people will feel the same of Pixar and go to see the movies just for that alone.

Also look at movies like Shrek and Ice Age. Their merchandise was seen all over the place and they are disney. Also as for having thier characters in the backround, I'm pretty sure Jobs and Lasseter worked out a deal where they also own at least 50 percent of the rights to anything they produce.

Again, don't worry friend, they will have no problem finding people who want to get rid of their merchandise.

Also quite simply they will always be billed as the directors of Toy Story, Bug's Life, and Monsters Inc. They will be far from forgotten.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Not to mention that our own Karen Prell works there as well as performing Muppets! And her husband Mike, too.