I taped that special when it first aired...oh those Kraft commercials! I always wanted that "Christmas Toy" poster they advertised...(sigh)
They also had (I think) an M&M's commercial with a horse drawn sleigh (with Christmas lights!) going down a hill. As a kid, I was amazed at the concept of the battery-operated Christmas lights.
Back on topic...do we know for sure if Kermit will be edited out? The only other special where Kermit is just a "bookend" is in Mr. Willowby. Let's hope that someone can convince Disney to play nice and keep Kermit in them both. To me, having Kermit in these specials is like he's introducing us to friends outside his Muppet family.
I'm tired (as I'm sure many of us are) with chopped up versions of our favorite Muppet Christmas specials. Disney played nice and let Kermit be in the Old School Sesame Street sets (thank goodness). Does Sesame Workshop have better negotiations with Disney than Disney does with the Henson Company?
Is it a money issue? Is Disney worried that another company would make a lot of money from DVD sales featuring Kermit? If so, why would they be concerned about relatively little-known Christmas specials rather than the widely-known Sesame Street? Sure, Sesame Workshop is a non-profit organization, but the way Disney
operates...
We'll, just have to see, I guess.
Convincing John