News Update: August 15, 2014

AUGUST 15, 2014

It was announced this week that Constantine, the World's Most Dangerous Frog, would be appearing at Walt Disney World's "Villains Unleashed" event on August 23rd at Disney's Hollywood Studios. This announcement pretty much officially solidifies Constantine into the ranks of the Disney Villains! Very exciting. For more information, visit the Disney Parks Blog.

Sesame Street revealed on its Facebook and Twitter pages that another new parody is coming to the show in Season 45. This parody, "House of Bricks" will be a direct parody of Netflix's major-hit House of Cards. One can only predict that the Big Bad Wolf will be involved in the parody. Check out the teaser image below:

Disney and Sony Entertainment have released a trailer for a really awesome looking new Muppet video game called The Muppets Movie Adventure. The game will be exclusive to PS Vita (for now), but the trailer for the game looks incredible. You can play as Kermit, Miss Piggy, Animal, and Gonzo! Firefly and Dr. Who parodies! Uncle Deadly and Timmy Monster!

The Muppets appeared, mostly via pre-recorded videos, at a baseball game for the Brooklyn Cyclones last week. Our friends at ToughPigs.com have a fantastic write-up of the game, including video of Sweetums throwing out the first pitch, and photos of some of the other appearances. Be sure to check it out!

The Muppets took over The View on ABC last Friday, and videos of the appearance have appeared online. Unfortunately, only two videos have shown up, but they're wonderful moments from a wonderful appearance.





By far the most somber news for the entire world this week was the news of legendary actor and comedian Robin Williams' passing. Robin was a good friend to Sesame Street and the Muppets, and we join the world in our devastation over this crushing loss. To read more of our tribute to Robin Williams, visit our sister site The Mickey Mindset. Below are some of our favorite Robin Williams' Sesame Street moments. Thanks for the laughs, Robin.















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

News Update: June 19, 2014

JUNE 19, 2014

The biggest news this week is that Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy will be appearing on PBS's annual A Capitol Fourth special celebrating the 4th of July. Kermit and Piggy will perform "Rainbow Connection" with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of conductor Jack Everly. The appearance will be in conjunction with the promotion for Muppets Most Wanted on Blu-ray and DVD August 12th. A Capitol Fourth airs at 8:00pm EST on PBS on July 4th!

The O'Neill Puppetry Conference is one of, if not the most important puppetry conference and gathering of puppeteers. The Henson family, especially Jim and Jane Henson, were and are integral parts of the conference and have been since its inception. In honor of that, and Jim and Jane's influences on puppetry, The O'Neill Puppetry Conference will erect a new building named in honor of Jim and Jane Henson. According to our friends at ToughPigs.com, The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut is currently constructing a new building to dedicate to the Hensons, set to be unveiled in 2015.

Last week, we reported that The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper had been added to Netflix instant streaming. We also said that they should add the other Muppet movies to Netflix... and lo and behold, The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island were added this week! Now, The Muppets, Muppets From Space, and Muppets Most Wanted are the only remaining Muppet features not on Netflix. Hopefully we'll see those and other Muppet productions will be added soon. But for now, you have no excuse not to watch Muppet movies!

As part of the promotional run for I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story, The LA Times profiled Caroll in a wonderful new article. The article shows, once again, how truly incredible Caroll is, stating that there's no way his final season performing on Sesame Street is coming anytime soon. "If you rest, you rust," Caroll says in the article. The article also sheds more light on Caroll's understudy for Big Bird, Matt Vogel, and has more info on the documentary that Muppet fans are dying to see. Be sure to give the exceptional article a read.

Yesterday Sesame Workshop announced an exciting new development for the future of Sesame Street. For their 45th season, Sesame Street will air both 60-minute and 30-minute versions of the show daily on PBS. The 60-minute show will continue to air in the mornings, with the 30-minute show airing in the afternoon. This allows Sesame Street to be watched by kids at home both in the mornings and afternoons. Below is some info from the official press release:

Furthering a commitment to using the power of media to educate and entertain America’s children, PBS KIDS and SESAME STREET will introduce a bonus half-hour program this fall on-air and on digital platforms. Starting Monday, September 1, the additional half-hour program will air on weekday afternoons on PBS stations, complementing the one-hour series that airs weekday mornings (check local listings). For the first time, selected full episodes of the 30-minute show will also be available for free online at pbskids.org/video, on the PBS KIDS Video App and on the PBS KIDS Roku channel.  By offering this bonus half hour of SESAME STREET in an additional timeslot and through a growing number of digital services, PBS KIDS hopes to reach even more children with one of America’s most beloved and educationally powerful children’s series.

“We’re thrilled to extend our reach on PBS. What better way to celebrate our 45th anniversary season than to touch more children’s lives,” added Terry Fitzpatrick, Chief Content and Distribution Officer at Sesame Workshop. “These days, families expect to be able to connect with their favorite SESAME STREET friends at any time of day. The new afternoon show is a great complement to our continuing efforts to reach more kids with engaging lessons that will help them grow smarter, stronger and kinder.”

The half-hour version of SESAME STREET will help kids learn a variety of skills, including the school readiness skills – such as impulse control and socio-emotional lessons – for which parents are increasingly seeking resources.

Each half-hour episode of SESAME STREET is a shortened version of each one-hour program and will include a “Street Story,” a “Word on the Street” segment, a celebrity vocabulary segment, songs, spoofs, dance breaks and popular segments like “Cookie’s Crumby Pictures” or “Super Grover 2.0.”

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

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: February 16, 2014

JANUARY 16, 2014

Miss Piggy and the Muppets will be offering up their talents to home-shopping channel QVC next month in connection with both Muppets Most Wanted and "Miss Piggy's Haute Tote," a tote bag designed by the divine swine herself. Miss Piggy will be on QVC's Red Carpet Style event on February 28 at 9:00pm to exclusively debut her tote bag. But that's not all, because on March 16th, the Muppets (it's unclear which ones) will appear on QVC throughout the day to promote the movie, sell stuff, and probably wreak havoc. For more information, including a chance to enter to win a trip to the Muppets Most Wanted World Premiere, visit the QVC website.

Speaking of our favorite porcine princess, Miss Piggy received some major news this week with the reveal of her brand new wedding dress, which will be featured in Muppets Most Wanted. The dress was designed by beloved designer Vivienne Westwood. The dress is made entirely from recycled water bottles. You can learn more about the dress details and read a brief interview with Piggy and Westwood on Harper's Bazaar. Check out the dress below, and join us in speculating who Piggy will walk down the aisle with in Muppets Most Wanted.

Our friends at Sesame Street won the internet this week with the release of a new cell phone game: Flappy Bert. The game is based off of Flappy Bird, an addicting and challenging game released last week that was subsequently taken down by the developer. This led to a slew of rip-off games, but many people have agreed that Flappy Bert is the best of the lot. Plus, the game features the voice of Frank Oz, which is crazy in itself. You can play the game here: http://www.sesamestreet.org/cms-static/flappy_bert/

The Jim Henson Company has a new animated kid's show, Doozers, all about the little green working creatures from Fraggle Rock. Doozers will arrive with a 52-episode debut on Hulu starting April 25th. Jim Henson Company CEO Lisa Henson said, "Our pod squad is right at home with Hulu Kids, because Hulu is a company of builders and innovators like the Doozers, and because kids can learn from and spend time with these characters on-demand like never before." For more information on the new series, check out The Hollywood Reporter's report.

A whole bunch of exciting merchandise for Muppets Most Wanted is arriving in the coming months. Our friends at Muppet Stuff (who just started an awesome new website) shared a number of the new things coming up, including a talking Kermit plush, Kermit shoes (see right), OPI nail polish, and more. Not mentioned in the post are Muppet puppets coming to Toys R Us and FAO Shwartz, plush at Walgreens, and a number of other awesome things. Hope you've been saving your money, Muppet fans!

The Muppets are appearing in a new promotion for Subway restaurants coinciding with Muppets Most Wanted. Check out their new commercial, featuring Kermit, Miss Piggy, The Swedish Chef, and Subway's Jared below!



Earlier this week, a new Valentine's Day-themed spot for Muppets Most Wanted debuted online. The spot features lots of Tina Fey's Nadya character expressing her undying love for Kermit. I laughed. Multiple times. Watch it below.



Yet another promo for the movie debuted last night during the Winter Olympics and appeared online immediately afterwards. The Twitter review aspect of the commercials have reached their peak with this one. Watch below...



We close this week on a very sad note. John Henson, son of Jim and Jane Henson and performer of Sweetums from the late 80s to the early 2000s, passed away Friday night at age 48. The Jim Henson Company confirmed John's passing on Saturday and we join the rest of the Muppet community in sending our thoughts to his family and friends. John was a wonderful talent, a partner of The Jim Henson Company, and is remembered as a kind, generous, and thoughtful person. Thank you for sharing your talent with the world, John. You will be missed.

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

News Update: February 7, 2014

FEBRUARY 7, 2014

The Muppets (it's not confirmed which ones) will be appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon TONIGHT on NBC at 11:00 PM. This is very, very huge because tonight is the final episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Jimmy Fallon will be moving to The Tonight Show, so the Muppets appearing on the final show is a very big deal--and not to be missed! The Muppets are officially billed as the musical guests, so they will be performing as well. Very exciting!

Four new banners for Muppets Most Wanted have been released. Unsurprisingly, they use the same old poser stock images we've seen a million times before. The Kermit one is especially off-putting... but they're colorful and bold, so it's hard to complain too much. Here they are:

Our friends at ToughPigs.com were the first ones to find an odd little video featuring Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Constantine shilling for Love Movies, which is very much anti-movie pirating. In the video, Constantine and Kermit are used as a goofy metaphor for high quality movies you pay for, and low-quality, evil movies you obtain illegally. Anyway, it's a fun video. Watch it below:



My favorite thing that happened this week was this fantastic video from PBS featuring Murray Monster, Count von Count, and Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock). The video is very, very funny and Murray steals the show. Also, how great is Matt Vogel's Count? Watch the video (which already has over three million views) below to find out!



An early screening of Muppets Most Wanted is taking place in New York City at The New York International Children's Film Festival on Saturday, March 15th. But this is no ordinary early screening, this one features a sing-along with songwriter Bret McKenzie! Tickets for this are sure to go extremely fast, so if you're interested ingoing, you should buy tickets ASAP!

Finally, our friend Sam O'Rama is hosting a special Muppet Monday! on March 17th in Chicago, Illinois at Club Foot. The event will feature Muppet trivia, Muppet themed drinks, Muppet music, videos, and much more. If you're in the Chicago area it sounds like it will be a rocking good time! For more info check out the official event page on Facebook.





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

News Update: January 16, 2014

JANUARY 16, 2014

The Muppets Most Wanted merchandise train is finally leaving the station at the Disney Store. Yesterday, our friend Max Jessop alerted us to the fact that new Muppet plush are being released for the movie. The characters being made into plush are Constantine and, most excitingly, Rowlf the Dog! Check out pictures of the plush below. We also have been told that a lot more Muppets Most Wanted stuff is on the way as well.

CBS This Morning got the chance to send one of its correspondents, Mo Rocca, to the set of Sesame Street recently, where he got to learn how to be a Muppet performer from our friends Matt Vogel and Martin P. Robinson. The video is really, really cool and fun. Gotta love seeing the Muppet performers given the spotlight they so richly deserve.

Muppets Most Wanted is in the running in MTV's Movie Brawl, a March Madness-style tournament pitting the year's most anticipated movies up against each other. Muppets Most Wanted is up against something called Camp X-Ray that I've never heard of. So let's rock the vote, Muppet fans, and make sure the Muppets win the first round (and the whole thing, if we can help it)!

In big, hugely exciting news, the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, Georgia announced this week their plans for a major expansion to be completed in 2015. The press release has everything you need to know about the amazing full expansion, but here is the relevant Muppet related info:

In 2007, Jim Henson’s family announced a momentous gift of puppets and props to the Center for Puppetry Arts. We are thrilled that approximately half of our expanded museum space will be dedicated to the Jim Henson Collection. 

This interactive exhibition will follow Henson’s prolific imagination chronologically, transporting visitors through environments that typified the master puppeteer’s world such as Jim’s Office and the Television Studio.

In addition to learning how Henson’s characters came to life and are stillperformed, visitors will be able to view iconic puppets such as Kermit 
the Frog and Miss Piggy.

We are so, so thrilled for our great friends at the Center. They are a huge part of keeping the art of puppetry alive and well and their museum is absolutely amazing. If you ever have the chance to visit them in Atlanta, I cannot recommend it enough. Already they have on display Big Bird, Rowlf, Dr. Teeth, Emmet Otter, Mokey and Red Fraggle, Link Hogthrob and Dr. Strangepork, and plenty, plenty more. Take the time to see it if you can!

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