New Henson "R2" DVD's coming this Feb. & July '05

[GelflingWaldo]

Let me start by saying I goofed; Disney did buy Great Muppet Caper; they did not buy Muppets take Manhattan. I got the two mixed. But anyway..

MTM and MFS are partial Disney and partial Columbia Tri-Star. KSY is CTHE. IAVMMC is NBC-Universial. I guess when it came down to it, it was a issue of money and contracts. Maybe one day Disney will buy the films outright. But as of now any and all useage/distribution of them has to go through both Disney and the other company. It does not restrict Disney from them, it just limits them and adds more "paper work" when they do. Even Henson did not own all the Muppet productions back when they were in there hands. It's tricky, but just cause you own the characters does not mean you own the productions. Likewise just cause you own the production does not give you total control of it and the characters (NBC could not make Muppet dolls based on IAVMMC just cause they own that production) It's sticky and complicated. I try to leave a lot of this stuff for the lawyers, business folk, and whatnot. Just to put it simply don't assume just cause Kermit and the gang are in it Disney has it, and just cause Disney has it does not mean someone else can't use it or Disney has compleate power over it. Heck even the Jim Henson Company still has slight control over the integrity and direction of the Muppet name and characters.

But I think we've gotten way off topic here, for more debate on the "who owns who" check out this thread: http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=15604&page=1&pp=20 where we try to put together who has what. So to get back on topic: Wow! Dog City on DVD I hope that the R1 market (North America) also gets some Dog City releases on DVD!

 

[Luke]

Disney does not own all the segments from the Jim Henson Hour. Many were retained by Henson and some now shared with HIT! The show really got hacked up in the deal. Just becuase Kermit and the gang do show up in the special does not mean Disney has control over it.

All segments of JHH containing the Classic Muppets were bought by Disney. Only those not containing them were retained by Henson and are available for distribution by HIT!.

 

[timrikthegorf]

I am so confused.

So I guess it's safe to say there is not WAY we will ever see JHH on dvd when some parts are owned by Henson and some owned by Disney. They really butchered Jim Henson's work in this deal.

 

[GelflingWaldo]

I guess it's safe to say there is not WAY we will ever see JHH on dvd when some parts are owned by Henson and some owned by Disney.

Well The Jim Henson Company and Disney are still working together and are on very "friendly" terms, so it is possible (profits would have to be split, contracts delt with, and whatnot); it could be done if they thought it would sell, but it is unlikely for a compleate unedited collection of the show as it is rare and unknown by the general public (it is possible, just not likley) putting it out in pieces is much more likely from a marketing stand point too.

The Storyteller segments are already out on DVD, and it looks like the Henson owned mini-movies may be coming someday too (Dog City may be on the way). I would wait for The Muppet Show and Muppets Tonight before holding my breath for the MuppetCentral stuff on DVD.

If you are interested, Here is a breakdown of who got what from the show episode to episode:

Disney - Blue
Jim Henson Company - Green
Sesame Workshop - Orange
Split Ownership - Black


Innertube (Pilot)

Sesame Street: 20 Years and Still Counting

Science Fiction
[size=-1](MuppetCentral: Louie Anderson / The Storyteller: The Heartless Giant)[/size]

Aquatic Life
[size=-1](MuppetCentral: Ted Danson / Lighthouse Island)[/size]

Monster Telethon
[size=-1](MuppetCentral: The Today Show / The Storyteller: The Soldier & Death)[/size]

Dog City
[size=-1](Muppets go to the Movies / Dog City Mini-Movie)[/size]

The Ratings Game
[size=-1](MuppetCentral: Bobby McFerrin / Miss Piggy's Hollywood)[/size]

Monster Maker
[size=-1](Monster Maker Movie)[/size]

Health and Fitness
[size=-1](MuppetCentral: Smokey Robinson / The Song of the Cloud Forest)[/size]

Musicians
[size=-1](MuppetCentral: Buster Poindexter / The Storyteller: The True Bride)[/size]

Garbage
[size=-1](MuppetCentral: K.D. Lang / The Storyteller: Sapsorrow)[/size]

Secrets of the Muppets
[size=-1](Behind the Scenes of the Muppets, other Henson Productions, and JHH Mini-movies)[/size]

Living with Dinosaurs
[size=-1](Living With Dinosars Movie)[/size]

Food
[size=-1](MuppetCentral: Food / The Storyteller: The Three Ravens)[/size]

 

[timrikthegorf]

Wow. That show got totally split up. It makessensethe SW owns the 20 years an counting though. That's all Sesame Street. I hope that is put on DVD, though I seriously doubt it.

 

[Beauregard]

Heh. How complicated.

So, does anyone know if John Denver Rocky Mountain Holiday will be out on R2 ever?

 

[muppet_dk]

Heh. How complicated.

So, does anyone know if John Denver Rocky Mountain Holiday will be out on R2 ever?

Thats hard to say, since the R1 release has gone out of production.

 

[GelflingWaldo]

Heh. How complicated.

So, does anyone know if John Denver Rocky Mountain Holiday will be out on R2 ever?

That would be a Disney issue, being that the R1 version is no longer in print, it may be a while Before any market sees it again in any form.

 

[Beauregard]

As Rizzo would say: Ah, nuts.

 

[King Prawn]

I thought some might be intrested in this so i'll just pass it along

http://www.hitstoreusa.com/noname12.html