News Update: April 27, 2012

NEWS UPDATE: April 27, 2012

Awhile back we told you that our friend Rocco Fonzarelli (which still is not his legal last name) got to puppeteer for musician Jill Scott's latest music video along with veteran Muppeteer Bruce Lanoil. Well, the music video is finally online and you can check out our pal Rocco's dynamite work for yourself! (He's performing the Rokko Whatnot Muppet, Bruce Lanoil performs the weasel.) Watch it below!



Another one of our good friends, Sesame Workshop's Louis Henry Mitchell, recently created some awesome chalk drawings for the 8th floor of Sesame Workshop's offices. He made chalk renditions of Elmo, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, and Big Bird on the walls and they are truly beautiful. (See an in-progress drawing at right.) Sesame Workshop was awesome enough to put a Making Of article up on their website written by Louis. It's very, very cool to hear about the creative process and even more cool to see pictures of our buddy Louis hard at work. Congrats, Louis!!

Next year is 2013, and by all mathematical calculations, that means that Fraggle Rock will be turning 30 next year. The Jim Henson Company has decided to celebrate in style with a whole myriad of exciting high-end and affordable products being made available for the 30th anniversary. Perhaps the most exciting offering is A DESIGN CONTEST they're running where fan artists can design products for the 30th anniversary. The winning design not only gets produced for the product line, but the winning artist receives a private tour of The Jim Henson Company and attendance to Fraggle Rock's 30th anniversary party, a framed copy of their artwork, a feature on henson.com, and $2,500. So to all you Muppet fan artists out there... get to designing!! Designs must be submitted by June 20th and voting lasts from June 21-June 28, with a winner declared July 12th.

Over on Facebook, our friend Chris Stulz has started a brand new fan page for Muppet collectibles, aptly named Muppet Stuff. Chris plans to share Muppet collection photos, new Muppet merchandise and where to get it, and highlighting some old Muppet merchandise as well. Already there have been some fun posts to enjoy, so head on over to Facebook and "Like" Muppet Stuff!

Finally, over on Twitter, Muppet writer and keeper of the flame at The Jim Henson Legacy and Jim Henson Company, Craig Shemin, posted an incredible video of legendary Muppeteer Jerry Nelson recording the tune "Get Yourself Free Happy Little Song" from his incredible album Truro Daydreams. (If you don't own Truro Daydreams yet that must be amended immediately... head over to CDBaby.com/NelsonJerry right now and buy a copy--you'll never regret it.) The video is marvelous and it's such a joy to watch Jerry sing. Check it out below:








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

News Update: March 9, 2012

NEWS UPDATE: March 9, 2012

The Muppet Domination continues as we move into March. With the March 20th release of The Muppets on Blu-ray/DVD, we're sure to see Muppets all over the spectrum once again as the promote the heck out of the release and try to get people to buy it. The first of these appearances that we've found out about comes on Wednesday, March 14th, when Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy will be appearing on ABC's The View. The show even features cameo-haver in The Muppets Whoopi Goldberg! So watch and be prepared for all the fun of Kermit and Piggy on TV again!

Yesterday, The Muppets Studio and Wal-Mart released a promotional video starring The Swedish Chef, which features the Chef preparing mini, edible Swedish Chef's alongside someone named Shannon McCook. (Chef and McCook? Sounds like a crime drama series in which the two lead detectives also make food.) The video is pretty funny, plus it doesn't feature Angel from "The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora," so it's automatically decent. Unfortunately, the video can't be embedded yet, but you can watch for yourself by clicking these words that aren't the same color as the others.

Way back in June of 2010, it was announced that the Muppets would be receiving their very own star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard. Well, the date for this star has finally been revealed thanks to WalkofFame.com: March 20th! Yes, on the same day that The Muppets comes out on Blu-ray/DVD, the Muppets will be on Hollywood Boulevard for a special ceremony of presentation as the star is placed in the sidewalk. Guest speakers include Walt Disney Studios President Rich Ross, The Jim Henson Company CEO Lisa Henson, and Jason Segel. It seems impossible for some Muppets not to be there for the ceremony as well. My guess is Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Scooter, Rowlf, and Walter. Maybe Pepe. Maybe all of them? Who the heck knows. But there are always tons of people there recording the proceedings, so we non-Hollywood Muppet fans will have plenty of opportunities to see the ceremony!

Finally, in friends of The Muppet Mindset doing awesome things news, our friend Rocco, who we interviewed last year and who worked on the sound team for The Muppets, just recently had the opportunity to puppeteer in a music video for Grammy Award-winning artist Jill Scott. Rocco performed with his Muppet Whatnot "Rocco" (confusing, I know) and occasional Muppet performer Bruce Lanoil on the music video. Rocco is going to keep us updated on the release of the video, but for now enjoy this great picture of Rocco, Jill Scoot, and Rocco!

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

An Ode to Rocco

A colleague of mine wrote me a lovely note this afternoon appealing for more press coverage for his colleague, Rocco the Rock of Sesame Street. Rocco being one of my favorite characters, I of course agreed. What follows is the culmination of these events.
  
Ryan Dosier - Rocco. Wouldst a rock by any other name sound as sweet? I think not. For what other name speaks such monumental achievement as that of Rocco? For a staggering 12 years, Rocco has been firmly established as a rock-solid character on Sesame Street. Making his first appearance in the show's third decade of entertainment, Rocco has been a part of Sesame Street ever since, becoming someone that we all too often take for granite--er... granted.

As Zoe's pet rock, Rocco the basalt rock has displayed his versatile acting skills by dressing as a ballerina, a doctor, and he even got to play the bass in the Rock Rock Band. Rocco also has an extended family who visit him on his birthday including Rocky, Rockmoninov, Uncle Rock, Aunt Rock, and Little Rock; all of whom are exceptionally proud of the great work Rocco is doing in the show business.

But Rocco's greatest achievement is perhaps his ability to bring out a more three-dimensional side of Elmo. Whenever Rocco is present, Elmo displays jealousy, anger, resentment, and disbelief. Zoe often uses this to her advantage, claiming that Rocco would prefer going to the park as opposed to saying the alphabet. (However, true fans of Rocco know that he is a rock who appreciates his letters.)

Rocco has amassed quite a following in his tenure on the Street. The praise for the talented young rock actor seeps through interviews with the likes of Fran Brill and Kevin Clash. Fran Brill loves Rocco so much that she has even started a Facebook fan page that Rocco has since used as his own outreach to his many fans.

The page is riddled with wonderful tidbits about Rocco and his work, including his many personal interests:
"[Rocco] Enjoys skipping, splelunking, rappelling, '40s swing music, and decent masonry. Rocco can often be found dressed up in embarrassing costumes (not his choice). He is a great raconteur and tells side-splitting jokes."

Truly Rocco's vast filmography, versatility, and wonderful sense of humor have set in stone the career path of this shining young star. His talent is seemingly limitless and the peak of his career can't be far off. Recently, Rocco could be seen in the background of the Academy Award nominated film 127 Hours. He was up for the part of the rock that crushed James Franco's arm, but the producers decided to go with a boulder actor.

What does the future hold for Rocco? One can only speculate... and become a fan of him on Facebook to follow the career of this stalwart performer. A rolling stone may gather no moss... but there's nothing saying it can't gather a few Facebook fans along the way.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier