Henson sells Muppets to Disney

[Fozzie Bear]

The first go-round with Dizzy could be considered more of a loan than a merger or sale, but that deal fell through because Disney wanted to suddenly pay less for The Muppets after Jim died than before...and Eisner likened the problem to "taxes." HA! The big cheese is so...cheesey.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Look what disney did to Winnie the Pooh!

Actually, Disney didn't do too badly with Pooh. The original movie, that is. The first film that came out was awesome, but in more recent years the oversaturation of Pooh into society has been more than meaningless. There was something to be gained from the original film entertainment wise, but nowadays Pooh is pooped out!

However, the Book of Pooh--with the Puppets--is pretty awesome, and the puppets are beautifully sculpted like the cartoons!! There are morals to the stories, too. So, for Pooh, it's in the original movie and Book of Pooh for me.

The rest of the Pooh-poop Disney can keep.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Interesting to read in the Financial Post here that Eisner is trying to rally shareholders and avoid losing his job in a March 3 vote. So far Roy Disney, Stanley Gold and several important fund managers are lining up against him. A lot of Wall St. types are also betting apparently that sooner or later Disney will become a takeover target, even if Comcast doesn't get the company. That would put the Muppets in play once again.

 

[MuppetNewsFlash]

A lot of Wall St. types are also betting apparently that sooner or later Disney will become a takeover target, even if Comcast doesn't get the company. That would put the Muppets in play once again.

You think that Disney being bought out would be good for the Muppets!
As the great bard Charles Brown would say "AAARGH", that situation is as lose/lose as you can get. Not only would the Muppets fall through the cracks because whoever purchases Disney will be re-structuring what it is going to do with the mainstay traditional Disney franchise characters, plus many financial analysts believe whoever buys Disney will sell off the parks leaving us possibly without MuppetVision 3D. Secondly we would lose entirely (although I know content wise it's not far off now) the great product that is the Disney franchise. Pray for no sale of Disney. Pray instead that Roy Disney can oust Michael Eisner, return Disney animation to it's glory, return Disney itself to it's glory, and focus on the return of the Muppets in it's true form keeping up to the Henson standard.

 

[FragglettesMom]

Look what disney did to Winnie the Pooh! What do you think will happen to Kermit, Ms. Piggy, and the others. Makeovers? I sure hope not.........

I can not imagine that Piggy would ever agree to wear mouse ears.

 

[camillachick]

complete response, read thru esp. the very end

My reaction to the Disney purchase of the Muppets:
I was quite shocked at first. . .It was not a good week for me. Those of you reading the Fozzie De-evloution thread know I just found out Frank Oz doesn’t voice the muppets that were originally his. Somehow that really disappointed me because I thought he was still active with these muppets. Two days later Disney buys the muppets. This was very unexpected and made me sad. I was certain that Disney would abuse the muppets out of a bigger concern for money than anything else and the magic would be lost.
Thinking it over and reading other thoughts on this purchase, I realize the blame for losing the muppets (in my case) lies with me. I became a teenager in the mid 90’s and began to ignore things that were too childish. My resurging interest in the muppets has been very recent. I could have been paying some attention all those years while movies were made. Now it may end up being a little late, depending on what Disney actually does with the muppets and if it is of any quality. There’s the blame I take.
Next is the fact of life. Nothing lasts forever, and that includes our beloved muppets. After all, we have had them for a long time. Something else will come and be as exciting as the muppets were when Jim Heson began with his mom’s coat. I know that is hard to hear, but it has happened in the past and will happen again. Think of the things lost before we were born that we never even knew about. We don’t miss them- we can’t. Anyone who wants to can keep the muppets in their own memories for as long as they like. I would not try to press the muppets beyond what the rest of the public wants. It won’t work. Something new will come that everyone loves and wants never to end. It will also end someday.
No, I don’t think this is the end for the muppets, but I have decided to accept whatever it ends up being. There’s no use in getting depressed over it, which is how a lot of us seem to be getting. I anticipate some good muppet stuff soon, but worry that in the long run the muppets will be overmerchandized and we will end up seeing Muppets Take Manhattan 2 movies and the like. I’m going to just enjoy what new shows or movies come out until there aren’t any more.
I apoligize if my topic conflicts, matches exactly, or contradicts something already up- what I mean is many of these posts are too depressing for me to read through entirely. I’m taking a break from the website with this my semi-final post. As my fiance aptly put it, I need a new obsession. For anyone who wants to catch up with me or comment on this post, I’m still at the email address:

charliespal@yahoo.com

I will miss you all, but this recent stuff is definitely making me too depressed to think about muppets for awhile.

 

[DisneyNut]

I think it will do good things for both companies. It'll give The Muppets a new life (they now belong to the biggest film studio in the world) and it will give The Disney channel something worth watching. A friend of mine works at Barnes and Noble and they were doing a promotion on the Muppet DVD's this month. Last week he was ordered to pull all the product before the promo was even over. I'm assuming this means we won't be able to buy the DVD's anymore but I'm also hoping it means that Disney will release them in a better way (like more then three episodes per disc). You add that to Disney's ability to create high end collctibles and it sounds like a good deal to me. I think it's worth it just to get whatever collectibles Disney will produce.

 

[muppetsforever]

Pass The Collection Plate

I only wish we could just pool our money together and buy the muppets our selves.........

I wish it was as easy as that.

*too depressed to say any more*

 

[Whatever]

Check this out.. the part about Muppets is near the end.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4364191

 

[dmx10101]

Check this out.. the part about Muppets is near the end.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4364191

Thats funny.