Muppets, Sesame Street, and JHC

[Fozzie Bear]

I posted this here because it fits in so many areas.

I was looking at this link which was posted by Bear:
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/aboutus/pressroom/presskits/season37/the_muppets_of_sesame_street.php

and I began to wonder: The "Muppets" of Sesame Street?

Well, Disney bought "The Muppets" from Jim Henson Company, which we all know. Are the particular 'design' of the characters still and forevermore to be known LEGALLY as "The Muppets?"

If Disney owns the name The Muppets, what are Fraggles now? What will the JHC call their puppets?

Is Sesame Street still legally able to use the name "Muppets?"

And we know PuppetHeap.com is making the puppets for MHC/Diz; is JHC still making the SS puppets?

Thoughts? Knowledge?

 

[JJandJanice]

Well the frist season of Fraggle Rock came out while Disney own the Muppets and it still says "Fraggle Rock featuring Jim Henson's Muppets. I don't know if they own the word Muppet(s) as much as the own Kermit and the gang, whom are most known as Muppets.

Also, what's this you say about another puppet company building the Muppets for Diz, rather than the Jim Henson company. I think that's too bad.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

At the end of Sesame Street today, since they had a Kermit sketch, there was a credit talking about how Kermit was property of Disney with all this other legal stuff. Interesting, I've never noticed this before.

 

[BEAR]

The characters on Sesame Street have always been referred to as "the Sesame Street Muppets" or "The Muppets of Sesame Street". These characters were created by Jim Henson and were always known as Muppets. The puppeteers who work on Sesame Street are the same people who work on all the other Muppet projects and are always called the "Muppeteers" or the "Muppet Performers". So I would say that it isn't the word "Muppet" that is necessarily owned by Disney now, it is that group of characters that is owned by them. Same with Sesame Workshop. SW now owns the Sesame Street Muppet characters. Just because the Jim Henson Company does not "own" Ernie anymore (a character that Jim Henson himself helped create and perform) does not mean we should take the Muppet label off of him. Just my two cents on the matter. They are all the Muppets because they were started by Henson and his name will always be attached to them whether or not his family's company gets money or not.

 

[Tim]

I've also seen the S.S. characters billed as "Jim Henson's Sesame Street Muppets" so there is no confusion.

I personally don't know a thing about Puppet Heap (except to say that they will be getting my resume' tomorrow!), but Henson has been subcontracting desin, buiding and performance jobs for years. The CGI Waldo character was completely developed by others.

Henson is not making "puppets" their top priority, and as long as they are not on the air consistantly needing new material, you can't have saleried builders sitting around for weeks doing nothing, so others will be getting the work. It would be nice if everything were done like in the "old days" (we've been saying that for a long time here!), but as the quality is there, it shouldn't matter.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Also, what's this you say about another puppet company building the Muppets for Diz, rather than the Jim Henson company. I think that's too bad.

www.puppetheap.com

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Wow, they make some great stuff!

 

[JJandJanice]

Yeah, they should do.

 

[beaker]

I posted this here because it fits in so many areas.

I was looking at this link which was posted by Bear:
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/aboutus/pressroom/presskits/season37/the_muppets_of_sesame_street.php

and I began to wonder: The "Muppets" of Sesame Street?

Well, Disney bought "The Muppets" from Jim Henson Company, which we all know. Are the particular 'design' of the characters still and forevermore to be known LEGALLY as "The Muppets?"

If Disney owns the name The Muppets, what are Fraggles now? What will the JHC call their puppets?

Is Sesame Street still legally able to use the name "Muppets?"

And we know PuppetHeap.com is making the puppets for MHC/Diz; is JHC still making the SS puppets?

Thoughts? Knowledge?

Here's my take.

ONLY the Henson/Disney legal team makes the seperation.

The REST of the world will ALWAYS see them as Muppets.

To me the following are and will ALWAYS be Muppets, and in the muppet
universe:

The Muppet Show characters(including Cinderalla, Great Santa Switch, Sam and Friends, commercials featuring JH puppets from 55-75, Lachoy dragon, etc)

Fraggle Rock

Bear in the Big Blue House

Sesame Street

Animal Jam, Hoobs, Mopatop, Australian Animal Show

***NOT MUPPETS***

Dark Crystal, StoryTeller, Labyrinth, Dinosaur and any Creature Shop
(tho in Jim Henson Hour creature shop sometimes did mingle with muppets...and Fizzgig did cameo on the Fraggle Rock show)

Questionably Muppets:
Dominoe's Bad Andy(tho Im told he counts as a Muppet now)
Levi's Flat Eric
Late Night Buffet

Of course, this is all my biased opinions

 

[superboober]

Do you include the Emmett Otter gang?