Disney23 Update: Special Muppets Presentation

TiVo ALERT! Kermit the Frog to appear TONIGHT on the MTV Video Music Awards!

BREAKING MUPPET NEWS

Today at the Disney23 (D23) Expo in Anaheim, CA, The Muppets' own Lyelle Breier was on hand to present the crowd with a huge update on The Muppets recent outings and their incredibly exciting future outings!

It started out with Lyelle showing off Muppets.com and talking about the constant updates. She also highlighted A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa DVD release coming in just over two weeks.

Then the real news started to pour in. Since I only saw brief Twitter updates about all of these, I'll just be listing the exciting new things coming out of Muppets Studio this year!

• A brand new online Muppet cooking show called "Cooking with Cat Cora" with, shockingly, TV chef Cat Cora. (Presumably on Muppets.com.) Coming THIS Fall.
  
• UPDATE: More Muppet YouTube videos to hit the web in 2010. Including Muppet versions of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," Kansas' "Dust in the Wind," "Carve O'Matic," "Carol of the Bells," "Stand By Me," and more!
  
• Muppet Halloween Special slated for release on ABC next year.
• UPDATE: Kermit will sing "Jingle Bells" with Andrea Bocelli on The David Foster Christmas special THIS Christmas on PBS.
• UPDATE: Kermit will be back at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, once again singing "I Believe." This time with Disney Channel "star" Tiffany Thornton.
  
• Muppet*Vision 3D in Walt Disney World and Disneyland will be receiving an overhaul in Disney Digital 3D. Currently billed as Muppet*Vision 3D Remastered. UPDATE: Muppet*Vision 3D will also be getting a new pre-show and new parody posters for the front of the queue. Posters include "Pirates of the Amphibian" with Kermit dressed as Capt. Jack Sparrow.
  
• Steiff plush of Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Fozzie coming soon.
• New line of Muppet merchandise coming to the Disney Store.
• More Muppet TV cameos and appearances coming next year.
• Muppet iPhone applications planned for 2010. Applications include, "Pepe's Love Meter," "Animal's Drum Set," "Gonzo Grams," and a movie application featuring Statler and Waldorf.
• Statler and Waldorf will be writing a book called "From the Balcony" due out next year.
• Studio DC: Almost Live! on DVD in 2010.
• The Muppet Show: Season 4 on DVD in 2010. Gonzo will be on the cover.
• "Mobile Electric Mayhem Band" coming to Disney parks as part of Disney's "Living Character Initiative."
• New line of Muppet merchandise launches next year. Macy's is the new licensing partner.
  
• The Muppet Whatnot Workshop will have branches in both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. New Whatnots with facial hair and "monster fur" are expected.
• UPDATE: Weezer to record "Rainbow Connection" and The Fray to record "Mahna Mahna" with the Muppets for a new CD due out next year titled "Muppets Remastered."
• UPDATE: The Muppets will appear on NEXT WEEK'S episode of America's Got Talent.
• UPDATE: The Muppets will be appearing on upcoming episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and America's Funniest Home Videos.
• UPDATE: The Muppets will be featured on the ABC Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade.
• UPDATE: "Muppet Mobile Comics" coming soon. These are moving comics to be downloaded to your phone.
• UPDATE: The Muppet Whatnot Experience: A contest in which the winner gets Muppeteer training with their Whatnot, and the chance to perform with their Whatnot in a YouTube video with the Muppet performers.
• And, of course, The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made, was announced. Still no release date revealed.
  

Along with all of this incredibly exciting news, Sam Eagle appeared at the end of the presentation but was interrupted by Gonzo, Fozzie, and Pepe on video screen. The three of them then went on to do a meet and greet with the fans at D23.

This concludes the Special Muppet Presentation at D23 today. If any more Muppet news comes from D23, you can be assured that it will be posted on The Muppet Mindset!

Special thanks to sticthkindgom, MuppetNewsflash, MuppetWiki, and zkwarl on Twitter for their updates from D23. Thanks to Sean Johnson for the new pictures of Sam Eagle. Also, loads of thanks to RockSTAR girl and Was Once Ernie on Muppet Central Forum for their report. And big thanks to ToughPigs.com for The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made! logo. Hope they don't mind me using it! For even MORE amazing pictures, visit Tough Pigs!

Check The Muppet Mindset's coverage of Friday's Muppet news here.

Be sure to participate in The Great Muppet Survey!


And make sure you set your TiVo's or DVR's tonight to the MTV Video Music Awards to see Kermit!