EM.TV to Sell Muppets to Jim Henson's Children for $89 Million

[beaker]

Originally posted by Jennifer12
Now its getting surreal.... Sesame Street characters no longer muppets....next thing you know, someone will be saying Yoda has been consumed by CGI....

Don't worry, I think thats just Luke. As Im halfway through Spinney's book(which rocks!) and virtually every time Sesame is mentioned the words Muppets are not far behind.

 

[Zack the Dog]

So it doesn't list them as Jim Henson's Muppet characters on the end credits of Sesame Street? When I was thinking this I was watching old eps of it. Still everyone thinks of them as Muppets rather then just us Muppet fans so it's what people know and that can never be taken away.

zack,

 

[Luke]

Originally posted by beaker
Putting some sort of revisionist red line there is just silly. Think of it as two huge worlds under the same tent, just with different heading.

Did i ever not acknowledge the Sesame Street characters as Muppets ? (I even referred to Elmo as a 'Muppet'). Did i ever say they don't have a place in 'Muppetdom' ? Of course they do. In puppetry, historical and fan terms it is as you say, one tent under two different banners. However in management terms there are two tents, with two different owners that can both make seperate decisions and pull different ways .... but sure they both got their tents from the same shop. What i'm getting at is that Muppetfest isn't just a squidgy friendly event put on for the fans just for the heckuv it - it's also a carefully put together showcase marketing event for potential licensee's and strategic partners.

If i was to walk into a planning meeting for Muppetfest 2 and said "Hi Charlie, For MF i think we should devote two hours to Sesame Street - we'll put Kermit out back and those SW guys can come down and waggle their Elmo's and Telly's for free. Whadya think ol' buddy ol' pal ?". He would just laugh hysterically at me - he'd ask why we were promoting another companies characters when we have no money and little promotion for our own ? He'd ask why the Henson Company should pay to rent the building and pay the electricity bill for Sesame characters to perform while there could be his Muppets onstage ? He'd ask me why i wasn't using that time to showcase the newest Muppet characters or show clips from 'The Hoobs' in the hope of getting that a distribution agreement and a fanbase ? Of course we'd share a tear for days gone by when JHC owned Sesame and decide to show a clip reel in honor of it or have one or two of their characters come onstage and talk to Kermit in the hope some Sesame fans would pay to come and might rent the next Muppet movie ......... then he'd kick my sorry butt back to "Big Brother 16". Trust me Cory, he would. If you'd like an internship at Henson or another TV company anytime to find out for yourself how it works in media just contact me and i'll help you sort that out.

In all seriousness, i'm with you on the whole traditional connection and how the fans (and puppeteers) will always see the characters. The only red line i am trying to point out is a business one and it relates directly to this thread. Sesame Characters are no longer Henson owned anymore and Muppetfest is an event to promote the work of the Henson Company to both fans and other companies. This is a crunch time for JHC, they have little money, they are underpromoted and could do with a bigger fanbase - plus if their next projects aren't a success they could have serious problems and could well get sold again. Don't you think it's crucial that while acknowledging the past they also put themselves in the spotlight and make sure they have this healthy future or 'new era' as you call it ? If i was planning it, i'd use up every single minute i could hyping the heck out of anything and everything the company can make money on - be it with licensing, distribution, home videos or TV/Movies. If Sesame co-funding it could get over the financial problems then sure, we'd share the event but other than that i would be against anything more than a brief Sesame appearance because that might be enough to attract Sesame fans and viewers to new Henson stuff but other than that there is no advantage to doing much more.

The point i made about whether the term 'Muppet' is used on Sesame merchandise now is because i was aware there has been some change from how it was before. That gives you a direct example of the 'business' divide, even though in terms of the Muppet world and how the fans see it there is no change. I mean guys, if the Henson Kids are stuck on the road to Sesame Street how do you expect them to find the Rainbow Connection ?

 

[Zack the Dog]

Luke know's his stuff and I trust that, I also feel the public will always think of the Sesame chracters as Muppets as well.


Zack,

 

[Luke]

Yeah i completely agree that the general public will always see the Sesame characters as Muppet related. As i said, it's a business divide - but that does mean more than just a formality as had been implied.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Think of the Sesawhats as whozits?

Just kidding!



After reading all this, I don't think SW would deny the fans the opportunity to see the Sesame Street Characters.

 

[beaker]

Luke, I totally see what you were saying...technically, from a business standpoint they are two seperate companies(sort of...I mean they both share Kermit the frog...and employees and legacy)

I was just referring to that one comment about the "Sesame Street Muppets" copyright thing ya brought up.

And Luke...NOONE here wants to see a two hour Sesame show...what a lot would like is a *little* incorporation/acknowlegment of Sesame into the convention...say maybe Telly, Oscar, etc for a Sesame q&a. Thats all. Im as big a Sesame fan as anyone, but yeah MF is all about the Muppet Show brand...tho I do hope they have something fraggle related.

 

[Drtooth]

Originally posted by beaker
Luke, I totally see what you were saying...technically, from a business standpoint they are two seperate companies(sort of...I mean they both share Kermit the frog...and employees and legacy)

I was just referring to that one comment about the "Sesame Street Muppets" copyright thing ya brought up.

I think that this is insane! I mean, now that Henson owns the Muppets, can't they work a deal? They can use Kermit on Sesame and they can use Big Bird, Telly, etc with the Muppets as long as they credit each other.

 

[beaker]

Originally posted by Drtooth
I think that this is insane! I mean, now that Henson owns the Muppets, can't they work a deal? They can use Kermit on Sesame and they can use Big Bird, Telly, etc with the Muppets as long as they credit each other.

I knew you'd find a way to get online my man! ^_^;;

 

[Luke]

Originally posted by Drtooth
I mean, now that Henson owns the Muppets, can't they work a deal? They can use Kermit on Sesame and they can use Big Bird, Telly, etc with the Muppets as long as they credit each other.

It's not as simple as crediting each other, but yes, it's quite possible they could work a deal if they really wanted. Do they want to though ? I guess there is the advantage of cross-promotion but Sesame is a pre-school show and the Muppets are trying to go 'edgy' - it's going to look a little out of place. I thought (going from you guys) SW stopped using Kermit at the time they bought EMTV out, i'm not so sure that would automatically change now. Especially with Sesame Workshop making moves to make general entertainment shows rather than just educational stuff. I fully realise they are cousins though - but i want the focus to be on the stuff Henson can benefit from, if they are going to do crossovers do a massive anniversary or reunion show and make it a major TV event. I like the idea of a co-sponsored Muppetfest too but not sure JHC would go for it.

As for Fraggles at Muppetfest 2 - there is nothing more i'd like to see. With most of the puppets turning to dust there's not much you can do and they can't afford to rebuild just for a fan convention. Hopefully they have a Sprocket/Gobo/Matt they can pull out but it's wierd they didn't do that last time. Possibly they could display the sets if they were ever brought back from Canada or put together a new documentary using archive footage. How bout if they got Karen Prell, Jerry Nelson etc together and had them do a live DVD style commentary while one of the episodes played on a big screen ? Either that or a live script reading !

I'd also like to see them bring the Hoobs puppets over to the states and bring them on stage. The two main puppets and puppeteers adlib REALLY well and are funny - they could introduce clips from the show. It'd be great for adults and kids - and being the show right now that makes Henson the most money in production (not licensing) terms they should be acknowledged with the view to getting a U.S deal.