Hey Cinderella Pilot

[GelflingWaldo]

There is a very small handful of Henson projects that I (and I would assume others) know little about - mainly the older "hidden gems", rare pilots, and other stuff. I was looking though some articles today and read that in 1965 Jim taped a pilot called "Hey Cinderella!" -- this is not "The Tales from Muppetland: Hey Cinderella!" TV special that was taped in 1968 -- this is a diffrent production. I have read about this pilot before, and have always wondered about it. I would assume it was something similar to the Tinkerdee pilots and the Muppetland specials, but I really don't know much about it. What exactlly was this pilot? How did it differ from the Tales from Muppetland special "Hey Cinderella"? Who was in it? Does it still exist? Has anyone seen it?

 

[minor muppetz]

what a coincidence!

I myself was thinking about starting a thread about this pilot. I wonder if hey, Cinderella was the title of the pilot. If hey, Cinderella gets released on DVD, this pilot should be included as a bonus feature (assuming that Disney owns the rights to it). Of course, many of us were hoping that the tales from Muppetland specials would get a DVD release in one 2-disc set. I made a track lisitng for such a set in the Muppet DVD Wishlist thread, but I think I forgot to include this.

 

[Rowlf+Buster]

I to was wondering! haha! but can anyone give a list of these tales of muppetland things I don't know about many but here's what I got so far:
Tales from Tinkerdee
Frog Prince
Hey Cinderella
and
The muppet musicians from Bremnen (or somthing like that)

 

[minor muppetz]

descriptions

Tales of the Tinkerdee was an unsold pilot that Jim Henson made in 1962. The plot involves a king, King Goshposh (performed by Jim Henson), who made plan sfor his daughters birthday party. The only person in the kingdom not invited is Taminella Grinderfall (performed by Jerry Juhl), a witch who attempts to wreck the party and, with the help of her ogre, charlie (voiced by Jim Henson), steals the presents. kermit appeared as a singing narrarator who played an instrument (i forget what it's called). This can be viewerd at the museum of television and radio in New York and Los Angelas. A fallow-up pilot, Labn dOf Tinkerdee, was also produced, but I don't know what the plot is like.

Hey, Cinderella was filmed in 1968 and broadcast on ABC in 1970. This features the same king from Tales Of The Tinkerdee, who is joined by his assistant, Featheerstone (performed by jerry nelson). Cinderella is a human gil who meets and falls in love with the kings son, who is working in the royal garden on the day that he meets Cinderella and, realizing that she doesn't recognize him as the prince, tells her that she is the gardenour (he thouhgt that all girls who knew him as the prince were stuck up). He manages to get her invited to the ball by convincing the king to invite everybody in the kingdom (so that the king can get presents from everybody), but the king makes it a masked ball. Kermit appears as a friend of Prince Charmings, and is joined by a full-body monster named Splurge (performed by Frank Oz). This special has been released on video in 1982 and 1994, and was also released on laserdisc.

The frog prince was broadcast in 1971 and is kind of narrarated by Kermit. A prince, Sir Robin The brave, is turned into a frog (Robin, who would later be known as Kermit nephew) by Taminella, who wants to feed him to her ogre, Sweetums (who is voiced by Carl Banas in this special). This special also features King Goshposh (called King Rupert the second in this special and with hair added) and featherstone. An album for this special was made, and it was released on laserdisc in 1982 and on video in 1982 and 1994.

The Muppet Musicians Of Bremen is narrarated by Kermit and focuses on four animals who get thrown out (or threatened) by their mean owners and decide to become traveling musicians. A soundtrack to this special was made, and it was released on video and laserdisc in 1982.

 

[GelflingWaldo]

I to was wondering! haha! but can anyone give a list of these tales of muppetland things I don't know about many

Tales from Tinkerdee (Pilot) - 22 mins.
The Muppets shot this in Atlanta in the summer of 1962. Tales of the Tinkerdee features Kermit as a lute-playing narrator in the fairy tale kingdom of Tinkerdee. Filled with rhymes and puns, the pilot also featured Tamanilla Grinderfall and King Gosh Posh, characters who would all reappear a few years later in the Tales From Muppetland TV specials.

Land of the Tinkerdee (Pilot) - 21 mins.
This program was only recently discovered. "Land of the Tinkerdee" was another Tinkerdee-themed TV pilot, featuring many of the same characters as the first pilot. It’s a notable production because it featured probably the first real blending of Muppets and actors; a technique later employed in almost every Muppet project from Sesame Street onward.

Hey Cinderella (Pilot) - ?? mins.
This was filmed in 1965. That's all I really know about it.


The Tales from Muppetland: Hey Cinderella! - 52 mins.
Picture Cinderella riding to the royal ball in a beautiful pinkin coach pulled not by mice, but by a large purple beast naed Splurge and driven by Kermit the Frog. That's only part of the fun of "Hey Cinderella", a musical Muppet version of the classic fairly tale made in 1970. Kermit the Frog is features throughout the program, along with a cast of Muppets, live actors, and a slightly off-center version of the tale.
The Tales from Muppetland: Frog Prince - 51 mins.
In this Muppet special from 1971, Kermit narrates the tale of Robin the Brave and Princess Melora. Robin is brave, talented, gallant, and courageous, but he also happens to be a frog. He wasn't always a frog, however - he was a handsome prince until an evil witch named Taminella turned him into a frog with a spell that can only be broken by the kiss of a beautiful princess.

The Tales from Muppetland: The Muppet Musicians Bremnen - 50 mins.
Kermit the Frog is our host and narrator for this 1972 reworking of an old German folk tale set in Bayou country of Louisiana. Leroy the donkey, T.R. the rooster, Rover Joe the hound dog, and Catgut the pussycat form a traveling band and roam the countryside looking for food and a family to love.


...and technically Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977) was also a "Tales from Muppetland" special, but over the years ir has separated itself from the others - not only legally (as it is the only one still owned by Henson), but also in most fans' eyes.