News Update: June 27, 2014

JUNE 27, 2014

This week, the annual Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony was held and, of course, Sesame Street won quite a few of them! In fact, Sesame was tied for the most trophies won this year! Below are the awards they won. Our huge congratulations to everyone at Sesame Street on their fantastic and much-deserved wins.

• Outstanding Preschool Series
• Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series
• Outstanding Directing in a Children's Series
• Outstanding Achievement in Multiple Camera Editing
• Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing - Live Action 
• Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Live Action

D23, the official Disney fan club, posted a great article all about Rowlf the Dog last Thursday and somehow we missed it until this week. The article covers quite a few fun facts about Rowlf, and gives lots of credit to Jim Henson, The Jimmy Dean Show, and lots more. It's really a wonderful look at Muppet history, which is always exciting to see from Disney. It's also quite nice to see Rowlf get some more love.

Remember a few months ago when those awesome photos of Ricky Gervais, Constantine, and Matt Vogel started making the rounds? Well, Brad Trent, the hugely talented photographer who shot the photos, recently posted some behind the scenes shots from the awesome photo shoot. Check out the full article for all of them, but below are five our favorites from the post.

Earlier this week, Ryan Dosier (hey, that's me!) held an impromptu live-tweet of a few episodes of Season 1 of The Muppet Show on The Muppet Mindset's Twitter account (@MuppetMindset). It was a lot of fun and a lot of people seemed to enjoy it, so we're going to do it again--and invite you to join us! On Monday, June 30 at 7:30pm Central Time/5:30pm PST, I'll be watching The Muppet Show Episodes 201 and 202 (the first two episodes of Season 2) and live tweeting from @MuppetMindset. Join us in the watching, join us in the tweeting, join us in the fun! We hope to see you then, Muppet fans!

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

News Update: June 13, 2014

JUNE 13, 2014

Netflix is the new streaming home for both The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper. Both films are now available to watch on Netflix Instant service. So if you don't have both films on DVD, Blu-ray, VHS, or laser disc, there's finally a way for you to watch these Henson/Muppet classics! If you don't have access to any of these means... I'm so sorry. With these additions, this leaves only The Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, The Muppets, and Muppets Most Wanted as the only Muppet feature films not on Netflix. Hopefully these will be added soon as well.

As we reported in our last News Update, Archaia is publishing a new graphic novel based off an unproduced 1968 screenplay from Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl called The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow. The graphic novel will feature art from the extremely talented Roger Langridge (of The Muppet Show Comic Book fame). USA Today officially announced the project a few days ago, and our friends over at ToughPigs.com have done a bang-up job of collecting all of the info in one convenient place. Check it out! The graphic novel will release in stores this October!

The folks over at The 13th Dimension website recently posted a fantastic tribute to the late John Henson. The tribute goes in depth with John's career as both a puppeteer and an artist. The author, Aimee LoSecco, notes how John's work was always larger than life, yet completely relatable, which is one of the finest descriptions of the man I've heard. The whole tribute is very beautiful and I suggest giving it a read, plus you get to see some of John's rarely-seen Kermit golfing illustrations (see right).

A few weeks ago, Disney announced the release of Disney Infinity 2.0, a sequel to their ultra-popular Disney Infinity video game/toy system. With this announcement, it was revealed that Marvel characters would be playable in the game and a whole slew of new Power Discs (in-game items) were revealed as well. One of these Power Discs is Miss Piggy's U.S.S. Swinetrek (see right), which allows players to bring the Swinetrek into the game and ride it. Always great to see the Muppets getting more representation in the Disney family!

This week, Variety published an article interviewing the writers of Sesame Street, Joey Mazzarino and Belinda Ward, about the upcoming, groundbreaking 45th season of the show. The article is really interesting, discussing everything from their spot-on "Homelamb" parody to the challenges of writing for both kids and adults. It's incredibly interesting.

Last but not least, last week Ricky Gervais tweeted the picture below, revealing that he had filmed a guest spot on Sesame Street, presumably for the upcoming season. I'm so glad to see Ricky is still working with the Muppets and coming back to Sesame Street!

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

Muppets Most Wanted Press Conference - Full Video

Ryan Dosier - This past Sunday, after seeing a screening of Muppets Most Wanted at the Walt Disney Studios, The Muppet Mindset (me and my friend Dan) was extremely lucky enough to be invited to the press junket for the film. We went with our friends Joe Hennes and Matt Wilkie ToughPigs.com and we're thrilled to be sharing this post with them. Joe filmed the entire press conference and Daniel Shick was taking tons of pictures. Watch the awesome videos below!

The first video features producer Todd Lieberman, director and co-writer James Bobin, and songwriter Bret McKenzie.



The second half of the press conference featured Tina Fey, Kermit the Frog, Ricky Gervais, Constnatine, Ty Burrell, Sam Eagle, and Miss Piggy.



Below are just some of the incredible photos taken by Dan Shick...

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

News Update: March 6, 2014

MARCH 6, 2014

I really don't remember the last time we had two News Updates in one week... quite honestly I don't know if we ever have. But here we are with enough great new Muppet content released this week to fill another post entirely. Crazy, crazy times.

Anyway, Sam Eagle was on Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday night for a brief surprise appearance. It seems that his role in Muppets Most Wanted as a CIA agent has led him to a new line of work: security detail. Watch the video for an explanation.



Jimmy Kimmel clearly loves Muppets Most Wanted (or ABC/Disney is making him love it), because last night on the show he had Ricky Gervais on to talk about the movie. Watch the clip from Ricky below--it's wonderful! Fair warning: a clip from the movie opens the video.



The Muppets have capitalized on John Travolta's flubbing of Idina Menzel's name at the Oscars on Sunday night. Travolta called Menzel "Adele Dazeem" and the Muppets ran with it to promote Muppets Most Wanted in this new spot. It's just... too perfect. Watch below.



Four amazingly cool new posters for Muppets Most Wanted have appeared online. They parody James Bond, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Face-Off in hilarious fashion. Check them out! (Thanks to our friends at ToughPigs for finding these.)

Disney has released another clip from Muppets Most Wanted today. In this one, Constantine has to deal with his hatred of Miss Piggy without ruining his evil plot.


Keeping Up Appearances - Muppets Most Wanted Clip on Disney Video







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

News Update: March 4, 2014

MARCH 4, 2014

The Muppets are virtually all over the place now as the promotion for Muppets Most Wanted kicks into the highest of gears. Last night alone, Miss Piggy was on E! Network, Kermit and Miss Piggy were on The Bachelor, Gonzo was on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Tina Fey was on The Tonight Show. I, for one, am exhausted and can't keep up anymore... but here's what you missed!

Miss Piggy was on E! Network last night discussing celebrity fashion at the Academy Awards. Miss Piggy was the most lifelike of the E! personalities present, and she looked good. For some reason the embed code for this video keeps screwing up the rest of our post, so you can watch it on E!'s website.

Muppets Most Wanted star Tina Fey had a fantastic time on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night, discussing the movie. The rest of the appearance was incredibly fun, but you can watch the Muppet-relevant part right here! Warning, there is a spoiler-ish clip at the end of the appearance, but Jimmy Fallon gives you plenty of warning.



My favorite Muppets Most Wanted appearance yet was last night as The Great Gonzo appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night. Gonzo rarely, if ever gets solo talk show appearances, so this was fantastic. Watch the entire hilarious appearance below!





Kermit the Frog has continued the partnership with Lipton Tea for their #BeMoreTea campaign with a brand new song. The song is super cute and Kermit's banjo playing is fantastic. Watch it!



Down in Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios, there has been a really cool update to Muppet*Vision 3D's pre-show. A new segment featuring Constantine has been added to the pre-show, seemingly without taking up time from anything else. I think it's awesome and very funny. Check it out!



Speaking of Constantine, Disney Channel's "Movie Surfers" got the chance to have the first ever interview with the evil frog. We can't embed the video here, but you should definitely watch it over on the Movie Surfers site. It's really funny and I'm really impressed by our friend Matt Vogel. Constantine is awesome!

The other night on QVC, Miss Piggy appeared to sell her new, self-designed tote bag. While on the show, she had a run in with her old Muppets Take Manhattan co-star Joan Rivers. It... did not go well. Check out the video below and watch some poor waiter get stuck in the middle of the latest celebrity feud.



Muppets Most Wanted released yet another TV spot this week following the Oscars. Since they weren't nominated for any this year, they decided to let us know what awards they're totally going to be nominated for next year! They're pretty much a lock for all of them.



Muppets Most Wanted released the first actual uncut clip from the movie at the end of last week. The clip sees the Muppets meeting Ricky Gervais as Dominic Badguy for the first time. Obviouslyly, this clip is one entire spoiler alert, so if you're avoiding spoilers, don't watch! Unfortunately, we can't embed the video, but you can watch it exclusively on Yahoo! Movies right now!

Finally, Miss Piggy appeared on the E! Oscars Red Carpet Pre-Show (catchy title). Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), there's no video of the appearance, but you can check out Miss Piggy's amazing Vivienne Westwood designed gown that she wore to the event right here. She looks gorgeous!

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

The Internet Goes Crazy for "Muppets Most Wanted"

Disney is finally letting the lid off of their big-time promotions for Muppets Most Wanted. Check out the brand new promo video below, featuring tons of new content from the film, some hilarious moments, and quite a few SPOILER ALERTS.



And if that's not enough, today Entertainment Weekly has revealed that "Party Central," a brand new Pixar short film starring the characters from Monsters University, will debut in front of Muppets Most Wanted when it comes to theaters on March 21st. The great relationship between Pixar and the Muppets continues!

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

Muppets Most Wanted Theatrical Trailer Breakdown, Part 2

Ryan Dosier - Last week the first theatrical trailer for Muppets Most Wanted premiered--and it turned out that three different trailers were released at once. I've already broken down two of the trailers so today I'm here to finish the job with the third trailer. This is the UK trailer, and I am only including screenshots from this trailer that weren't seen in the first two. Also, huge thanks and shoutout to Muppet Wiki, who got hi-def screenshots of all three trailers before I could blink! I'll be using their screenshots here. Let's get started, shall we?

I know I've said it a bunch of times, but the puppetry in this movie already astounds me. These shots of a hooded Constantine leaping across foggy buildings are absolutely stunning.

The triumphant return of the Muppet Newsman--at his news desk! I don't remember the last time we saw that. The classic set from The Muppet Show is expertly recreated here. Kudos, design team!

That's one reference to The Shawshank Redemption! Think we'll see more? I just love this shot.

I didn't mention it last time, but I'm really digging Walter's new wardrobe for this movie. So many sweaters!!

If you've ever dreamed about a moonwalking frog... Muppets Most Wanted will be a dream come true.

I really should be keeping track of Piggy's outfits just in this trailer. I think she's going to end up wearing more clothes than any other film before!

Where is Constantine? That's obviously some large and impressive vault.

Constantine sure is a fan of blowing things up. Methinks he and Crazy Harry will get along well. Amazing, amazing shot here.

Aww, look at Kermit in his Russian garb. Ain't he cute?

If you look very closely here, you can see Annie Sue's yellow afro in between Dominic and Constantine. Also... LINK!

And if you look closely here you can see Mildred Huxtetter between Constantine and Link! This is Mildred's first appearance since Muppets Tonight! FrogFan76 must be convulsing from excitement!

There's nothing especially notable in this shot, other than Dominic's outstanding line, "The comedy capitol of the world: Berlin, Germany!"

Floyd gets a line in the trailer! Huzzah! Plus, Kermit is here, so this has to be before Constantine takes over.

This was the only cameo shown to not be seen in the other trailers. I had no idea who it was, but someone on Muppet Wiki's Facebook claims it's Randa Nelson, who I've never, ever heard of.

This shot is awesome. Constantine is clearly a force to be reckoned with.

More awesome helicopter stuff! Here we see Kermit being carried off by himself. Someone grab him!!

 Is Kermit in handcuffs?! He must have been apprehended by Sam and Jean-Pierre Napoleon!

Okay, this is absolutely terrifying.

"Kermit, you were just like James Bond out there!"

I really dig these Russian clothes on Kermit.

And winter clothes for Fozzie, Walter, and Animal!! Are they the Kermit rescue squad?

Well there you have it, another breakdown! I am bursting with excitement for this movie. You can rewatch the UK trailer below!









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