Henson sells Muppets to Disney

[Beth C]

Saying Goodbye...

Picture this if you will:

Curtain pulls back to reveal Kermit & Friends packing their bags

Saying goodbye, going away
*Fozzie packs his rubber chicken, glances at the stage*

Seems like goodbye's such a hard thing to say
*Rowlf touches the keys to the piano one last time*

Touching a hand, wondering why
*Scooter hands Wembly a small piece of stone from the Theater*

It's time for saying goodbye
*Bert & Ernie help load the suitcases into the truck marked 'Disney or Bust'*

Saying Goodbye - Why is it sad?
*Piggy hugs Mokey and wipes a tear away*

Makes us remember the good times we had.
*Gonzo shakes hands with Oscar*

Much more to say, foolish to try
*Elmo watches the commotion, head hanging low*

It's time for saying goodbye
*Animal puts his drums into the truck, for once not wanting to say his usual 'Bye-bye'*

Dont want to leave, but we both know
*Bunsen & Beaker stand together outside of Muppet Labs, shaking their heads in sorrow*

Sometimes it's better to go
*Stadtler & Waldorf climb into the back of the truck, silent, without a single insult*

Somehow I know we'll meet again
*Big Bird hugs the Sweedish Chef and hands him a bag of his best birdseed*

Not sure quite where, and I dont know just when
*Sweetums pats Junior Gorg on the back*

You're in my heart, so until then
*Gobo helps Pepe and Rizzo into the truck*

Wanna smile, wanna cry
*The remaining Muppets now all climb into the truck and wave to the Fraggles and Sesame Street characters*

Saying goodbye
*Kermit now appears, his head looking down, holding onto Robin's hand, his heart heavy as he leaves the only home he has ever known*

La la la la la la la la
*Kermit walks out of JHC and joins Piggy who is standing by the steel gates of his former home; Robin sighs in confusion*

It's time for saying goodbye
*The gates slam shut with a clang, forever locking Kermit & Co away from their past life. Kermit turns away and climbs into the truck with Piggy, and hugs Robin tightly. A single tear slips from his eye and falls to the ground.*

Can you think of anything else that could be so sad?

~Beth C

 

[jediX]

Sheesh..that has to be the most depressing thing I've read today...

 

[Luke]

Can you think of anything else that could be so sad?

Very touching Beth, but the Henson Company haven't owned the Sesame Characters for a few years now either.

I get your point though.

 

[floydnjanicefan]

That is just about the saddest thing that I have ever read. I really want to cry now. They should film it and show it right before the Muppets leave Henson ... The Sesame Street characters can still be in it (with an agreement from Sesame Workshop) because it is symbolic of the fact that the three main groups of Muppets will never be together under on company again

 

[scarylarrywolf]

Wow, that must have taken a lot of effort to put together. It's very well done...

...but we need to stop wallowing in our misery. I went to bed the first couple nights wishing I wouldn't have to wake up to a Disney-dominating world. I was very depressed -- but that's not the Muppet legacy. Jim would have looked for the positive in this situation. By not doing so, we ourselves are ruining the Muppets.

We need to make the best of this situation -- and when I say "make", I'm talking ACTIVE! Go to the "Act!" thread in the Henson Headlines and take this to the executives. We do not have the power to change the fact of the transaction, but we DO have the power to change the nature of it. I plan to write a multiple-page letter to the Disney company, warning them about the precious quality of their new asset and challenging them to continue Jim Henson's legacy. Am I the only one in this?

 

[beaker]

Very touching Beth, but the Henson Company haven't owned the Sesame Characters for a few years now either.

I get your point though.

Well, Muppet Show, Sesame, Fraggle Rock, and Bear In The Big Blue House are all owned by seperate companies and they will forever always be considered Muppets as far as Im concerned...Animal Jam however...*ugh*

 

[dbarrie]

We need to make the best of this situation -- and when I say "make", I'm talking ACTIVE! Go to the "Act!" thread in the Henson Headlines and take this to the executives. We do not have the power to change the fact of the transaction, but we DO have the power to change the nature of it. I plan to write a multiple-page letter to the Disney company, warning them about the precious quality of their new asset and challenging them to continue Jim Henson's legacy. Am I the only one in this?

No, you're definitely not the only person who feels this way. This is exactly the message I've been trying to get across to people on the forum all week! I guess great minds think alike!? (laughs)

We need to stop making ourselves feel miserable. The more we gripe amongst ourselves over could've-beens and should've-beens the greater the risk WE have of killing the Muppets, not Disney. If you think writing to the executives is a healthy way to get over the fear and anxiety of having the Muppets with Disney, then more power to us!

OI MuppetFan

 

[Muppetsdownunder]

Hi everyone! I havent been here for quite a while now but I thought I should come home, its like theres a sick relative or something!

When I first heard the news I didnt think it was a real bad idea but in the last 24hrs what I have been reading has changed all that. Disney are planning to turn the muppets to CGI Characters rather than puppets, why bother, they might aswell get rid of the muppets altogther, that would probable be the better option.

Heres an excerp from an online article: "Disney also believes it can reinvent the characters, by expanding beyond their normal puppet realm and using them as the basis for computer-generated 3D versions."

I was disgusted to read this. Someone please tell me its not true!

Here is the link to the article: http://afr.com/articles/2004/02/18/1077072705633.html

 

[King Prawn]

I posted this over at the Palisades forum but thought I should do so here as well.


Could We as Muppet Fans Possibly Do Anything?

I know this might seem weird coming from me since I already started a thread to help us all get on board with the Disney buy out but although I could possibly start to like the idea of Disney owning the Muppets I would still rather it was all avoided, that's why I've decided to start this thread.

I always thought of The Henson Company as one that would listen to their fans and I still might (i'm very confused right now) but the truth is that with what little companies there are left that still listen to their fans I think if any Henson would be one to do so, not forgetting Palisades.

Now I don't know what's been going on within the Henson Company and such so I have no idea what the best solution for them would be. I for one liked how things were going. The ammount of merchandise was okay as is the quality. Columbia were really starting to go the right direction with the Muppets DVD's (mainly with the R2 releases which had some really great bonus features) there was John Denver & The Muppets A Rocky Mountain Holiday, Muppet Show DVD's, All Nine Episodes from Jim Henson's The Storyteller and are about to begin releasing FR on R2.

The only real thing that I coud complain about was the lack of Muppet movies and TV Special but honestly I'd rather see tiny ammounts of good quality Muppet stuff than huge amounts of what i'd suspect woud be crappy stuff.

So the real question is if you'd rather Henson not sell the Muppets to Disney (which could end up being great or not) then what could we do about it?

I'd advice eveyone against this to send JHC an email at Fanmail@Henson.com and voice your thought and opinions on all this. It probably won't have much of an impact on the outcome but at least (if they even read it) they'll know how against all this we are.

Another thing i'm surprised no ones started or even mentioned is a Petition (and those who also go to MC will know we're big on petitions). I have no idea how to go about or even starting one but even if I knew how to I wouldn't like to start one without knowing how most people really feel. The main problem as I see it is that those of us who don't want the Muppets being handed over to Disney don't really have a solution for it and their might not be one.

I would like Disney to be involved with the Muppets but not have 100% control (I think I just figured out a solution). Disney wants the Muppets more than we don't want them to have them so I think they could be persuaded to buy 50% of the Muppets leaving Henson still in control, they'll get half of what they're asking for (seeing as how for some reaosn they need money) and most importantly we'd be happy

There's probably a reason why it hasn't happened this way but Disney is really desperate, they really need something new, so even if offered half of the Muppets it could be a good possibility that they'll take it.

Anyway if anyone has any ideas on what we could do (if anything), what we could be aiming for and how to go about it all then please share your thought and opinions here.

thanks

 

[BoyRaisin2]

Disney wants the Muppets more than we don't want them to have them so I think they could be persuaded to buy 50% of the Muppets leaving Henson still in control, they'll get half of what they're asking for (seeing as how for some reaosn they need money) and most importantly we'd be happy

There's probably a reason why it hasn't happened this way but Disney is really desperate, they really need something new, so even if offered half of the Muppets it could be a good possibility that they'll take it.

Not.

I mean c'mon, even I wouldn't do that, as a businessman anyway. Besides they already have a "consulting arrangement" and I'm sure these kind of issues came up in the negotiations. I don't think the Henson family, who are businesspeople, would sell two of their company's biggest franchises without seriously thinking about the pros and cons of doing so.