Fraggle Rock on Dvd

[Luke]

Doesn't the Sony video deal expire this year? Would Henson stick with the winning team or would they consider a Buena Vista video deal to be closer to the Muppets and Bear?

I think there is some definite optimism that Disney and Henson will be working so closely together over the coming years that the mouse won't want them working with another big distributor so offer to distribute the new fantasy films, TV productions and possibly the existing library as payoff. Not even sure if Columbia would want to stick around, they seem to release a lot more of the non-Muppet stuff in the UK what with pre-school.

 

[erniebert1234ss]

Disney didn't get Fraggle Rock.... thankfully.

Nick

I thought they got Fraggle Rock, hence the resurgence of Fraggle plushies and whatnot.

BJ

 

[Luke]

The resurgance of Fraggle Rock is a Henson thing, they have been trying to test the market for putting some Fraggle themed stuff out to nostalgia collectors. The show was not sold to Disney.

 

[The Storyteller]

That would be great! I already have "THe Wubblous World of Dr. Seuss" and I'm going to go and get "The Best of The Muppets!"

 

[McFraggle]

I think that once the Muppets properties start getting rereleased on video and DVD through Disney, that eventually Henson will want to re-release some of the Fraggle stuff with Disney and strike while the iron is hot. It wouldn't surprise me that Disney eventually will purchase the Fraggles from Henson.

 

[McFraggle]

A day later, it looks like HIT might eventually release the Fraggle stuff.

 

[Luke]

HIT will end up releasing Fraggle but i think it'll be compilation DVD's, very kiddified extras (sing-a-longs and things) and with less powerful distribution. First in the UK, then in the USA. HIT are a pre-school company and in a recent interview said they have no plans to move away from that. You have to realise that whatever they do with this stuff will be focused on getting pre-schoolers interested again. The DVD's they release are widely stocked in the UK but they don't have anything like the power of Columbia Tristar so i'm not sure how much stock the stores in the states buy from them. From what i knew the 'Angelina Ballerina' stuff made by HIT rarely ever got USA releases and the stuff that was out was hard to obtain.

 

[Phillip]

Yeah "season by season" box sets of Fraggle Rock are probably more unlikely under HIT than Henson. However, HIT may be able to get Fraggle on TV again (by grouping it with another HIT program) whereas Henson wasn't able to pull that off since 1999. And even in 1999 with Odyssey, Henson owned 50% of the network. Before that Fraggle was last on in the early nineties on Disney.