CNN Spotlights The Muppets

Last night, CNN aired a new half-hour program spotlighting The Muppets and Jim Henson. The program is actually incredibly well done and surprisingly out of nowhere. It's absolutely worth a watch, highlighting Kermit and Miss Piggy's relationship, Jim Henson's career, and the Muppet comeback of the past few years. Don't miss this!









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

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

Rare Muppet Videos Now On YouTube

Yesterday our good friend Patrick Cotnoir did something awesome. He combed through his extensive collection of Muppet TV appearances and uploaded some of the extremely rare appearances to YouTube. We're so thankful to Patrick for uploading these videos--and even more thankful to him for sharing them with us. Check out the incredible videos below!

60 Minutes Backstage at The Muppet Show - 1979



Johnny Fiama and Sal on Larry King Live - 1996



Jim Henson on What's My Line? - 1974



Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee - 1990



Tales of the Tinkerdee Unaired Pilot - 1962



The Cosby Show episode "Cliff's Nightmare" featuring The Muppets - 1990



Big, big thanks again to Patrick! Enjoy the videos, Muppet fans.






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

Happy New Year from Muppets Most Wanted!

Welcome to 2014, Muppet fans! Doesn't it feel so much different?! Well it should, because two new videos promoting Muppets Most Wanted have been posted online! They're very short, but they feature some awesome new shots from the movie--including one I may or may not have seen filmed. I can't tell you. I don't think. I don't really know. Anyway... here are the videos!











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

News Update: September 6, 2013

NEWS UPDATE: September 5, 2013

This past weekend the annual Dragoncon was held in Atlanta, Georgia. For the past few years Dragoncon has had an uncanny ability to attract Muppet performers and personalities for panels and appearances. This year was no exception, as Karen Prell, Kathryn Mullen, and Michael Frith all appeared to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Fraggle Rock. Of course, since Karen Prell and Red Fraggle are basically inseparable, Red Fraggle was also there--and so was Mokey Fraggle! This is the first time Kathy Mullen has performed Mokey since Fraggle Rock ended. Check out the video below for a purely delightful appearance!



Last week our good friends Bill Barretta and Gene Barretta (henceforth known as the Barretta Bros.) appeared on the "Preston & Steve Radio Show" in Philadelphia. Luckily, since most of us (myself included) probably aren't within listening range, the entire appearance is online! Take a listen for some Barretta Bros. fun!

As you'll certainly remember, The Great Muppet Caper and Muppet Treasure Island are coming to Disney Blu-ray on December 10th. We've already seen the (lackluster) cover art for the dual release, but now, thanks to our friends at StitchKingdom.com, we have information on the bonus features included! First of all, as expected, both films are restored and remastered for Blu-ray high definition, which is incredibly exciting. The "Classic Bonus Features" included are "The Tale of the Story Beyond the Tail" and "Muppet Treasure Island Audio Commentary." The new bonus features include Frog-E-Oke sing-along, a rediscovered music video of "Let the Good Shine Out," and an exclusive preview of Muppets Most Wanted. Some pretty exciting stuff there, but very little bonus content for The Great Muppet Caper which is insanely disappointing.

Last week our friends at ToughPigs.com found some artwork for some gorgeous potential Muppet figures designed by the talented Jim Valeri. On his website, Valeri says he designed the figures for a client but does not know the status of them or what they might be used for. However, judging by the stylistic designs, these figures certainly look like they would be a great addition to the recently released Disney video game/toy line Disney Infinity. Of course, nothing is confirmed, but they look like Disney Infinity figures to me, so perhaps come spring we'll see Muppet figures! Check them all out below:

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

Cookie Monster Meets Tom Hiddleston

Yesterday PBS and Sesame Street released a fantastic, adorable, and lovely little video destined to live eternally as a viral sensation. In the video, Cookie Monster learns a lesson from The Avengers' Tom Hiddleston about delayed gratification. The duo could not be more sweet and fun to watch--and luckily Tom didn't go full Loki on Cookie Monster. Seeing this video makes me even more excited to see Tom in Muppets Most Wanted! Watch below:







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

Kermit and Steve Martin Duel Banjos

Out of the blue this morning came this spectacular new video starring Kermit the Frog and his friend (and The Muppet Show and The Muppet Movie guest star) Steve Martin. The video from Funny Or Die features Kermit and Steve playing the classic "Dueling Banjos." It's worth noting that this is the first time that Hollywood's most famous banjo players have jammed together--and it's awesome. Watch now!

The awesome video was directed by Matt Hoyle as part of his Comic Genius series.





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

Muppet Retro Reviews: An Evening with Jim Henson and Frank Oz

Adam Bush - There's nothing like watching old videos of Jim Henson puppeteering. If you've seen the behind the scenes footage from The Muppet Show DVDs, you've experienced what I'm talking about. To watch Jim in his natural habitat, in a time when he was inventing the world of puppetry as we know it now, is really thrilling.

In 1989, Jim Henson and Frank Oz were invited to perform at the Puppeteers of America national festival at MIT in Boston. Due to, as Frank puts it, their laziness, they instead ended up doing a Q&A session with the audience. There are two wonderful things that happened that evening.


1. It was filmed.
2. They brought a few friends.

Below, for your enjoyment, is An Evening with Jim Henson and Frank Oz. The camera work is terrible, the audio is hideous, yet the video is just fantastic. It's all about the content. Throughout the one-hour discussion, you hear from Jim on several shows and films, Frank talks about directing features, and they do plenty of performing with (to name a few) Rowlf, Cookie Monster, and Grover (I don't want to give all the character performances away. It's be fun to be surprised.)

Frank introduces the entire video circa 1993. As you watch this, it's cool to think about what was going on with Jim at the time. 1989 was the year he initially started talks with Disney to purchase rights to the Muppets, and it was during the only season of The Jim Henson Hour. It's also around the time he was developing Muppet*Vision 3-D for Walt Disney World.

Enjoy!

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

First Official "Muppets Most Wanted" Videos

Disney is ready to teach you all about the word synergy with the first official videos from the set of Muppets Most Wanted (or The Muppets Most Wanted, no one is really sure). These two videos feature Kermit and Miss Piggy as they interact with Disney Channel sensations and apparent cameo guest stars Ross Lynch and Debby Ryan. Normally, I'm not a fan of Disney Channel people shoe-horning their way into Muppet stuff, but these two seem pretty decent and their parts seem VERY small, so it could be worse. Anyway, watch the videos for some very brief snippets of Muppet footage including Kermit in an awesome gold tux!





Special thanks to our friends at ToughPigs.com for finding the videos!

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

Cute Kids and Cute Muppets Sing "Sing"

While scrolling through the depths of Tumblr over the weekend, I came across an adorable video starring the Muppets of Sesame Street (seriously like all of them) and the kid chorus of PS22, who also uploaded the video. Oh, and George Stephanopoulus is there too. Anyway! Everybody is there to sing "Sing." This song was performed at the Sesame Workshop Gala in May. How are we just now seeing it?! You even get a glimpse at some of the Muppeteers! Enjoy.



See? Wasn't that enjoyable? I told you! Now go, carry on about your day humming "Sing."






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

Gobo Finds His Voice Again

Yesterday afternoon (conveniently after our News Update was posted), a video was discovered on YouTube. The video is a promo for The Hub cable channel's upcoming Fraggle Rockathon celebrating Fraggle Rock's 30th Anniversary. Why is this 20 second video noteworthy, I hear you ask? Because it features Gobo Fraggle speaking for the first time since Jerry Nelson passed away. Watch the clip below and see/hear for yourself:



You can watch a much higher quality version of the video via our friends at Entertainment Weekly.

Amazing, no? Gobo sounds almost spot-on and I'm already incredibly impressed by this recast. Mostly because the voice is so solid, but also because I never expected Gobo to be recast--let alone this quickly. Muppet fans are baffled about who is performing Gobo here. Matt Vogel, the prime suspect, confirmed on Twitter that it is not him. So who could it be? Tyler Bunch? John Tartaglia? We do not know... but hopefully we'll find out soon!

UPDATE: The Jim Henson Company confirmed to our pals at ToughPigs that Gobo was indeed performed by our good friend John Tartaglia. John is a friend of the site and to me personally so I could not be more thrilled to hear that he gets to be Gobo!

What say you, Muppet fans? Does Gobo's new voice make you want to dance your cares away?





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

News Update: March 22, 2013

NEWS UPDATE: March 22, 2013

According to a picture posted by The Jim Henson Company on Facebook (seen at right), the Fraggles, including at least Red and Gobo, shot a video with NASA's Bobak Ferdowsi. A quick Google search of that name tells me that Ferdowsi works in the NASA control room and has a mohawk that gained him some odd notoriety during the Mars Curiosity Rover landing. Anyway... no word yet on what the Fraggles talked to him about, when a video might be up, or if Gobo speaks, but all of these could yield very exciting developments which we will definitely keep you posted on!

Since they're filming their new movie, The Muppets... Again, in London, the Muppets have become big supporters of the Red Nose Day charity. They've even got Ricky Gervais in on the act as well! Check out the video below to see Ricky poke Pepe in the throat and ask you to send all your monies.



Not to be outdone, Miss Piggy appeared with someone named Dermot O'Leary during the fundraising event to announce the first fundraising total. She's in perfect form and makes a grand entrance. Check out the video below!



In exciting cameo news, British comedian Peter Serafinowicz will be joining in on the fun of The Muppets... Again. If you've never heard of Serafinowicz (which it turns out I hadn't), you may know him from the movies Shaun of the Dead or Couples Retreat. Or maybe you've heard him as the voice of Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Or maybe you haven't heard of him at all! But from what I've heard, he's very funny. No word on what his role will be, but it's nice to know more cameos keep coming!





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

Video News Update: July 12, 2012

Video News Update: July 12, 2012

The folks at Sesame Street have always been innovating and on the cutting edge of pop culture, with their numerous references and spoofs, not only on the show, but on the internet as well. This trend brilliantly continues with their latest spoof video: "Share It Maybe," a direct take on the smash-hit song "Call Me Maybe." The video derives from a joke sent out by @sesamestreet on Twitter last month, "Cookie Monster: Me just met you. Dis is crazy. But me love cookies! Gimme, maybe?" This expanded into a full-fledged, hysterical video starring Cookie Monster and the staff of Sesame Workshop. Enjoy!



Tuesday was the birthday of Muppeteer legend and friend of The Muppet Mindset, Jerry Nelson. To celebrate, longtime Muppet producer and writer Craig Shemin posted yet another amazing video of Jerry recording in the studio for his incredible, must-own album Truro Daydreams (which you absolutely must go buy right now if you haven't already). Check out Jerry performing the wonderful song "Noah's Ark" alongside his Muppeteer colleagues Tyler Bunch, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, and Stephanie D'Abruzzo!



Finally, I'm thrilled to reveal a teaser for an incredibly exciting interview with one of the greatest Muppeteers working today. I won't say who it is, but I will post this picture as a hint.

Any guesses? The interview will be going up soon, so keep checking back on The Muppet Mindset to find out for sure!






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

Videos for the Muppet Soul

The past few days we've linked to some highly exciting Sesame Street and Muppet videos online. Instead of just briefly mentioning them, we've decided to give these videos/video pages their due.

First up, there's the absolutely phenomenal webpage Sesame Street has created for their 40th birthday. This site features a behind-the-scenes look at the new 40th Anniversary book, downloads of some really cool Sesame desktop wall papers, and a collection of vintage videos.

The highlight of this site, by far, is the "Best Sesame Ever!" section. Here, Sesame fans young and old have the chance to vote for their favorite Sesame Street clips from all four decades of the show. Each week, videos from a new decade are added for voting, and after all four decades the top clips will be voted on to choose THE GREATEST SESAME STREET CLIP OF ALL-TIME! This week: The 2000s! Grover hosts and informational/instructional video about voting in this decade (suggesting that you vote for a video starring a very cute, furry, blue monster) but the rest is up to you.

There's a great selection of clips to choose from including Feist's fantastic performance of "1,2,3,4," "Preschool Musical," Wayne Brady singing "Between," "Pigeons, Cookies, and Trash," Plain White T's singing "I'm a Letter T," Ernie and Bert's Banana Phone, "American I," "A's Anatomy," the web-sensation "Mad Men" parody, and more!

Voting results can be viewed as well. Currently leading the race: "Pigeons, Cookies, and Trash" with 9% of the vote, followed closely by Feist's "1,2,3,4" with 7%. Make sure you do your Sesame Street fan duty and vote today! You can count on The Muppet Mindset to keep you updated each week when a new chance to vote arises.

Next up, The Muppets! That's right, those wacky, irreverent beasts of felt and fur are back with more videos in commercials for the Disney Parks and their "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" promotion. The first commercial features TV Chef Cat Cora (who will star in a brand new cooking show with the Muppets later this year) with Kermit, Gonzo, and The Swedish Chef all volunteering at a restaurant of sorts. Without revealing what happens in the video... I just have to point out that Steve Whitmire and Dave Goelz are masters at comedic reactions.



The second video features fake doctor Sara Ramirez with Pepe and Fozzie Bear (with a cameo by Sweetums) volunteering in a hospital. Notice how Fozzie ruthlessly tries to fry up Pepe for lunch--see if you can find THAT on Sesame Street!



Can these videos get anymore awesome? I'm loving all of the classic Muppety vibes they give off. I only hope we see more and more like this! Now, if you'll excuse me... I'm off to volunteer so I can go to Walt Disney World and ride Toy Story Midway Mania with Gonzo and Fozzie!

Here are the three previous "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" promos:

With James Denton:


With Teri Hatcher:


With Taye Diggs: