News Update: March 14, 2014

MARCH 14, 2014

First of all, I have to apologize for the lack of news since last Friday. I didn't have the foresight to ask someone to cover the big, breaking news stories while I was in LA for the Muppets Most Wanted premiere--so that's my bad! Here's all of the major things you don't want to miss since last Friday. It's quite a lot.

Last night, the Muppets and their human friends from Muppets Most Wanted appeared on ABC's Nightline, a very serious newscast which was disrupted by a frog and pig. I haven't had time to watch the video yet, but I'm sure it's fantastic and YOU can watch it right here, right now!



Tons and tons and tons of amazing behind the scenes content from Muppets Most Wanted has been released online. This includes 20 minutes of B-roll footage (which you can see below and is extremely spoiler filled) and over 30 interviews with the cast and crew of the film. You can see those over on ToughPigs.com, because they're not as lazy as we are.




Another Muppets TV ad for SUBWAY has been released. This one stars Miss Piggy, Kermit, and Constantine. Boy oh boy do I love that evil frog.



SUBWAY also released some fantastic behind the scenes footage from the shoot--which is longer than commercial itself. Constantine continues to be incredible.



At the World Premiere of Muppets Most Wanted at the beautiful El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, Statler and Waldorf introduced the movie with some of their patented heckles! I'm so thrilled that Disney recorded this and it's great to see Steve Whitmire and Dave Goelz clearly so excited.



The Muppets (Miss Piggy, Rowlf, Fozzie, Animal, and the Swedish Chef) appeared in a new video from BuzzFeed to answer the age-old question... what if the Muppets were interns at BuzzFeed?



Kermit the Frog travelled to the White House immediately after the World Premiere to attend and introduce a special screening of Muppets Most Wanted for military families with First Lady Michelle Obama. The appearance is adorable and Kermit even kissed the first lady's hand! You can watch the whole video here: http://bcove.me/3nisz12c

Constantine has a fantastic new official website (from Disney) which has a lot of crazy new content, including some hilarious new introductory videos. The bad frog even has a shop open for #BadFrog merchandise that may or may not be real (but probably isn't). Hop on over to http://www.badfrog.me/ for all the Constantine you can handle!

Swedish Chef and Miss Piggy stopped by the set of Nerdy Nummies to make "M" shaped cookies with the host! I've never heard of Nerdy Nummies, nor have I had time to watch this video yet, but I'm sure it's fun!



Toyota has released some more incredible "reality" videos featuring the Muppets in the Toyota Highlander. There really is nothing better than Muppets unscripted, and Bill Barretta and Steve Whimtire make such a magnificent team. These videos are hysterical. First up, Rowlf and Rizzo try to get food without any money to pay for it.



Next, Rizzo and Pepe attempt to get gas.

 

Finally, Kermit and Pepe swing through a gas station and get mobbed by adoring fans.

 

Fozzie Bear and Animal appeared as guests on The Arsenio Hall Show last Friday night. Fozzie acted as Arsenio's announcer and Animal jammed with Robin DiMaggio. Watch both videos below!

 



Miss Piggy is promoting a new lifestyle brand, designed by her, entitled "Moi" which will sell on QVC. What's more important though, is this incredibly well-filmed promo video for the brand. I don't know what any of it means, but I love it.



The Muppets will appear in the wedding scene of the season finale of ABC's Trophy Wife on March 18. We're not sure why, and we're not sure what they'll be doing or which Muppets will be there, but it'll probably be funny! For more info, we once again defer to our friends at ToughPigs.com.

Gonzo is stopping by NASCAR's Auto Club 400 to kick off the race by shouting "Drivers, start your engines!" Gonzo will appear at the race on March 23rd and video will surely follow after. I'm sure Gonzo is thrilled to be announcing, but we all know that he'd be even more thrilled to be driving.

Just this morning, the Muppets appeared to once again takeover Good Morning America. There isn't a lot of video online yet, but you can see one video right now!

 

Kermit the Frog will appear as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday, March 17th on NBC at 11:35pm. You won't want to miss this appearance!

Lastly, our great friends at StitchKingdom.com have collected all of the incredible hi-res pictures that the official Disney photographer took at the World Premiere of Muppets Most Wanted. There are some truly amazing shots, including quite a few shots of the Muppet performers, which we almost never see. Our own coverage of the world premiere, including interviews with over 15 stars and so many pictures, will be online very soon. For now, we leave you with this unbelievably awesome picture of Ricky Gervais and Bill Barretta.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

News Update: February 27, 2014

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

The Muppets have yet another extraordinary advertising partner in their promotions for Muppets Most Wanted. Lipton Tea has partnered with the Muppets as part of their new "Be More Tea" promotion. A brand new commercial has been released starring Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and an entire metropolitan area full of Animal. Watch the truly incredible new commercial below, and be on the lookout for it to air on Sunday during the Academy Awards on ABC as well.



Plus, you can now watch a behind the scenes video about the making of the commercial! (Thanks ToughPigs!)



Speaking of the Oscars, Statler and Waldorf contributed their typically curmudgeonly reviews for the nominees for Best Picture to PAPERMAG. Read all about their choices, and try not to act surprised when they favor Nebraska, the film about an old man trying to collect a million dollars.

The internet collectively lost their minds this week over the Muppets' Instagram account, which has been active for months now. Everywhere from CNN, to Buzzfeed, to The A.V. Club went crazy for the Muppet selfies present on the account. Check out a few of the selfies below, and follow The Muppets on Instagram for more!

The other day a beautifully random video from Toyota came out of nowhere. The video features Rowlf the Dog and Rizzo the Rat in the Toyota Highlander getting ice cream. The video was directed by Muppet master Kirk Thatcher and was apparently filmed completely in "reality" style, so the human participants had no idea what was coming. Their reactions are WAY too tame. Anyway... watch the awesome, awesome video below.



The Muppets are getting a cover feature in the UK-based Starburst Magazine. The official details on what's inside are: It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights, it's time to meet the Muppets... in the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational issue of STARBURST yet! That’s right, in honour of the iconic characters’ continued cinematic comeback with this month’s MUPPETS MOST WANTED, we turn the spotlight on Kermit and co. to explore their 40+ year career on screen. We also speak to key talent that contribute to the magic, including director JAMES BOBIN and The Jim Henson Company chairman, BRIAN HENSON. You can order the issue from the Starburst site, and it it is available at some Barnes & Noble stores in the U.S.

Walt Disney Records will be re-releasing The Muppet Movie Original Soundtrack on vinyl record this year for Record Store Day (April 19, 2014). The release features all-new liner notes from legendary songwriter Paul Williams, which is sure to be great. To search for stores in your area participating in Record Store Day, check out their official website.

The Disney Channel staple, The Movie Surfers, visited the set of of Muppets Most Wanted and chatted with Walter, wrangled some penguins, and unleashed Animal. The video is actually pretty entertaining. Watch it below...


Big Tour - Movie Surfers - Muppets Most Wanted BTS on Disney Video

Finally, in "Set your DVR" news, Gonzo will be appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC on Monday, March 3rd at 11:35pm ET. This is sure to be a crazy experience (based only on the fact that Gonzo is there), and you can't deny it's really really cool that Gonzo is getting to appear solo on a late night show.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

News Update: January 26, 2014

JANUARY 26, 2014

A lot of this week's News Update will focus on the Muppets' upcoming Super Bowl commercial for Toyota. The Muppets are co-starring in the spot with actor Terry Crews. To promote the ad, Access Hollywood visited Terry and the Muppets on their first day of shooting. The video is below, and it features lots of Zoot and Floyd!

Another making-of video was posted on YouTube by Toyota themselves. This one features an extended listen to the brand new song in the commercial, performed by Dr. Teeth, Floyd Pepper, Janice, and Animal. Could this be our first brand new Electric Mayhem song since 1990? The video also stars Terry Crews' pecs, which seemingly have minds of their own.   Animal stars in the Vine video for Toyota, getting excited about the trunk space of the new Toyota Highlander. Miss Piggy, ever the renaissance woman, has now expanded into the world of newspaper contribution. In February's Wall Street Journal Magazine, Miss Piggy has written a short column on love. And she even got her own, beautiful Wall Street Journal illustrated portrait. Read the column here and admire the portrait below!

As we've reported in the past, the Syfy Network is developing a brand new reality competition show themed around Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Contestants in the show will design and create their own incredible creatures to be judged by the all-star panel, which includes Brian Henson. Syfy has released a teaser for the show, which you can watch right here! Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge premieres on Syfy on March 25th at 10:00pm/9:00pm central time.
Finally, our friend Tim Shields has alerted us to yet another Disney Store exclusive piece of Muppets Most Wanted merchandise. A brand new, much improved Miss Piggy plush is now available at certain Disney Stores, soon to be available at all Disney Stores. Check out the photo below. Thanks Tim!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

The Muppets Go to the Super Bowl!

The folks at USA Today posted a teaser trailer for a commercial today. Why do we care about such a ridiculous thing, you ask? Because the teaser trailer for the commercial in question stars the Muppets! Yup, the Muppets will star in a Super Bowl commercial for the Toyota Highlander with actor Terry Crews! Watch the teaser below:
Rowlf? Electric Mayhem bus?! Terry Crews?! I'm sold. This looks to be a fantastic commercial with a lot of potential. How awesome is it that Disney is promoting Muppets Most Wanted in such huge venues? First the Golden Globes, now the Super Bowl, the most watched television program of any year. I would bet my hat that an Oscar ad is soon to follow.

As if all that weren't enough, Disney today released an official press release and eight hi-res images from the making-of the commercial. They're awesome and you can see them all right here:

Disney’s Muppets will hit the road with Terry Crews, star of the Golden Globe®-winning FOX series ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine,’ in Toyota’s new commercial for the all-new 2014 Toyota Highlander. The 60-second spot, entitled ‘Joyride,’ will make its broadcast debut during Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday, February 2.

‘Our game-day spot shows how Toyota Highlander puts the “fun” in function,’ said Jack Hollis, vice president of Toyota Division Marketing at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. ‘Toyota vehicles are built to last and can even endure the most boisterous Muppets, a former NFL player as well as a center console full of chickens.’

With their over-the-top personalities, the Muppets teach Crews’ character a thing or two about ‘unborifying’ his lifestyle as they ‘borrow’ his sweet ride, the Toyota Highlander. The spot features humorous hijinks, dancing and surprises — and no Muppet caper would be complete without an original song. Viewers will see that with seating for up to eight human passengers or more than a dozen Muppets, the all-new Toyota Highlander has plenty of room for everything–everything except boring.

‘We’re always game for a wild ride,’  said Kermit the Frog, who makes a special appearance in the campaign, ‘as long as Animal’s not driving. He doesn’t quite get the whole concept of brakes.’

In addition to the commercial, the Muppets gang will provide real-time updates as they travel to the big game in their Toyota Highlander on February 2. Fans and customers are invited to chat live with the Muppets on game day by tweeting @Toyota or using #NoRoomForBoring.

Super Bowl XLVIII is on Sunday, February 2nd on FOX

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Two New Commercials and a Sneak Peek at "The Muppets"

The promotional engine for The Muppets is being revved fairly often by the Disney powers that be. In the past four days, we've seen a ton of new content promoting the film on television and Disney's main website.

First up is an official, Emmy-themed commercial for the movie that aired during FOX's broadcast of the countdown to the Emmys red carpet ceremony. It's very notable because for the first time in promotion for the movie, we get to hear and see Pepe prominently featured!



Our friend Chris Stulz uploaded the video for us and has also provided us with an awesome breakdown of the commercial! Check it all out below:

0:01 - We start off with new Miss Piggy footage superimposed over what I'm sure is going to be one of the final scenes the new movie. "Reporting" like she's on the Emmy Red Carpet. She is obviously covering up Walter, Kermit, Fozzie, Zoot, Animal, and er, herself from the footage of the movie, but we CAN clearly see Scooter, Rowlf, Dr. Teeth, and Janice wearing a coat. The coat reminds me of the ones you see Ralph Lauren or Robert Redford wearing in the mountains, at Sundance, or in over priced catalogs. But the real question that should get fans heads scratching is why. Why is she wearing a coat? Was is it cold in LA that night? I mean it makes me feel bad for poor Rowlf. All he has on is a golf cap. Poor dog must be freezing!

0:06 - Glamour shot of Animal, Zoot, and Dr. Teeth exiting the theater. "Teeth" as he's affectionally known to OK GO, is wearing a black scarf. Wow all those tassels, long, and and I do mean long, sleeves, his trademark furry hat, and he still needs a scarf? Man, how cold out was it! Now I really feel bad for Rowlf!

0:07-0:09 - Movie footage of Crazy Harry doing what he does best... wear a sweater... wait no, that's not it.. it's him blowing something up! Only this time it's himself! The face Crazy Harry has post explosion is just too awesome for words, and that old school, Wile E. Coyote barrel of TNT next to him is just the icing on the cake! All it needs is an ACME logo!

0:20 - New footage of Statler and Waldorf commenting on not wanting to tell Amy Adams that she's in the movie. She may want to get her agent on the phone! But behind them we get our first glimpse of the theater's seating section and balcony as seen from the stage! Now you can see exactly what Kermit saw from center stage every episode without all those pesky audience member in the way! The set design crew really did their homework and it looks amazing!

0:25-0:28 - THE MUPPETS .. and the announcer doesn't even say "Disney's"... how could this get any better! PEPE!!!!!!! In new footage!!! Telling us the date the movie comes out and then laughing in his perfect devious way!! We haven't seen much of Pepe in the marketing or scenes shown yet in the previous trailers, but this tells me he may not have as minor a role as we thought!

0:30 - Then they end it all with a triumphant shot of Adams and Segal with Piggy, Walter, and Kermit above the Hollywood Boulevard dancers and we can see Thog, Behemoth, Sweetums, and Jim Henson, behind them. Wait, Whoa, Huh? WHAT!... YES you read that correctly. While I know many saw pictures from the filming of these scenes, this trailer in that last two seconds would seem to confirm that yes, the sign that featured Jim did make it into the film so we shall se the man who started it all in this film 21 years after his death. Just amazing!!

And if that weren't enough (and, c'mon, we know it's not), yet another commercial for the movie aired during Tuesday night's season premiere episode of Glee. Lucky for you, I'm an unabashed (well... slightly bashed) Gleek and as soon as I finished watching the episode, I had my brother record the commercial on his iPhone and I uploaded it to The Muppet Mindset YouTube account... check it out below!



We don't have a breakdown of this commercial at the moment... but do take note that it features chickens clucking Cee Lo Green's "Forget You," which is fantastic. Plus, more Pepe (in Behemoth's mouth!), lots of Scooter, penguins, and just a general awesome feeling.

Yet this is still not it! Yesterday, the first video to start playing on Disney.com was an exclusive sneak peek at the movie! It features talk segments with Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Animal, Floyd (yes, Floyd), Jason Segel, Amy Adams, and we get to hear Uncle Deadly speak with Matt Vogel's voice for the first time! (Spoiler: He sounds perfect.) Lucky for you, our friends at Muppet Musings have uploaded the video to YouTube for all to enjoy forever!



How awesome is this? Three brand new videos promoting The Muppets since Sunday... and each with new content. Incredible! What a great time it is to be a Muppet fan.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com

News Update: September 20, 2011

NEWS UPDATE:   SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

Promotion for The Muppets is ramping up very quickly, so expect to see Muppets everywhere (except in your closet, unfortunately). First up, Kermit recently filmed a commercial for the celebrity-heavy ad campaign of Wonderful Pistachios. You can check out Kermit's cute TV spot (that you'll surely be seeing all the time on while watching your shows) right here:



On October 2nd, Miss Piggy will be returning to Disney Channel on their extremely popular sketch comedy show So Random! (think SNL for 14 year olds). Piggy will be playing herself as the big, celebrity guest star for the show who everyone on the show attempts to appeal to. You can see the promo for the episode here:



And in extremely random Muppet appearance news, the Muppets will be appearing on the wrestling program WWE Raw on October 31st to promote the movie. The official WWE website provides this little bit of information on the upcoming appearance, "What will happen when Kermit the Frog meets The Viper? Will the Divas make Miss Piggy flip with jealousy? Will Beaker be confused for Sheamus? On Halloween, it's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights, because the Muppets are about to get Raw!" I don't really know what any of that means, but this has the potential to be a very fun and funny appearance!

The Museum of Moving Image in New York City, which is currently playing host to the wonderful Jim Henson's Fantastic World exhibit, is having a fun celebration for Jim's birthday on September 24th. Here is a breakdown of what's occurring on the 24th, for more information visit the museum's website:

• At 1:00 p.m. in the Main Theater, attend the special program “Muppet Music Moments,” with special introductions by Craig Shemin, President of The Jim Henson Legacy, and Bonnie Erickson, Executive Director of The Jim Henson Legacy and designer of Miss Piggy, along with special guest speaker Larry Grossman, music consultant for The Muppet Show. This special 77-minute compilation features performances by Harry Belafonte, Elton John, Linda Ronstadt, and other Muppet Show guest stars, in a wide range of musical genres—classic music numbers interpreted as only the Muppets can. Tickets are free with Museum admission and will be distributed first-come, first-served. Museum members may reserve advance tickets. (This compilation program will also be presented on Sunday, September 25, at 1:00 p.m. with Larry Grossman in person).
• Receive a custom-designed commemorative cookie featuring Kermit the Frog’s signature foot prints (as long as supplies last). These artisanal cookies were produced especially for the Museum by Bonne Fete Baking, Inc. and You Cake, Inc., two Queens-based small businesses that operate at the Entrepreneur Space, a partnership of the Queens Economic Development Corporation and Mi kitchen es su kitchen.
• Watch a special episode of The Muppet Show in which the cast celebrates Kermit the Frog’s birthday. The 22-minute program will screen continuously in the Museum’s Fox Amphitheater in the Education Center and is included with Museum admission.
• Write a personal message and sign your name in a commemorative journal that will be given to The Jim Henson Legacy for their archives.

Our good friends over at WeLoveFine T-shirts are hosting another official Muppet T-shirt design contest and they want YOUR art! The Grand Prize winner wins $3,000, with prizes for first and second place as well. The winning design will also get printed on a shirt and sold at WeLoveFine. It's really exciting to think of the prospect of another amazing Muppet t-shirt after our friend James Carroll's shirt was printed. Submission deadline is October 2nd before 11:59 PM and voting for the designs opens up on October 14 until November 4, with winners being announced on November 11. And, just between you and me, most of the designs submitted so far pretty much suck (thankfully not all--see right), so to all you extremely talented Muppet fan artists who we know and love... get to it!

Speaking of t-shirts and awesome artists, our friend and staff member James Carroll's gorgeous and insanely awesome "Muppetational Mosaic" design is now being printed on all sorts of things (unfortunately not your chest) at the Threadless-sponsored Society 6. Via the site, you can order Art Prints, Canvas Prints, iPhone Cases, Laptop and iPad Skins, and iPhone and iPod Skins. It's awesome, and some of the proceeds do go to James, whose artwork makes our website so gorgeous (the header). Buy something! (You know, if you can.)

Finally, Disney has given the official website for The Muppets, TheMuppets.com, a complete makeover and Disney website overhaul. On the site, you'll find Characters (descriptions/pages for Kermit and Piggy, with others coming soon), About the Movie (The Story, The Cast, The Crew [coming soon]), Video Clips (just trailers for now, but more probably coming soon), a picture Gallery, Products (currently only selling The Green Album, but Movies, Toys, Books, Apparel, Beauty, Designer Apparel, Kitchen, Electronics, and Sationary coming soon), Games (Coming Soon), and Downloads (Coming Soon). There currently isn't too much to see on the site, aside from a few cool new pictures if you know where to look, but there is certainly a ton coming very soon as promotion heats up. Keep an eye on the movie site and on The Muppet Mindset for whatever might come from Disney!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com