News Update: August 30, 2012

NEWS UPDATE: August 30, 2012

Last week, Grover stopped by ABC's Good Afternoon America to promote a new Sesame Workshop initiative called "The Partnership for Healthy Mouths and Healthy Lives." Grover showed up to brush his (lack of) teeth with a dentist, a bunch of kids, and the overly-perky show hosts. It's mostly the dentist talking about fairly boring things... but watching Grover try to brush makes it all worth it. I don't understand how to embed videos from Hulu at the proper point, but luckily our good friends at ToughPigs.com do! So head on over there to watch the video, and then watch the other video in which the hosts and Grover discuss I Am Big Bird!

New Muppet plush toys are now available at Toys R Us! Currently available are beanbag plush dolls of Kermit, Fozzie, Animal, and Gonzo for $7.99, medium sized dolls of Kermit, Gonzo, and Animal available for $14.99, and bendable plush toys of Kermit, Gonzo, and Animal as well. To the right is the adorable Fozzie beanbag plush, but you can find them all on ToysRUs.com.

This weekend in Atlanta, Georgia is the annual DragonCon fantasy convention! Guests at the convention this weekend include our good friends Peter Linz and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph as well as Heather Henson! If you're in the area, you should absolutely join in the fun. Below is a breakdown of the various panels that Peter, Leslie, and Heather will be a part of:

• Friday, 4:00pm: The Muppets Screening w/ Peter Linz
• Saturday, 11:30am: Puppetry for Children’s Television with Peter Linz and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
• Saturday, 4:00pm: Heather Henson: "A Daughter Remembers" 
• Saturday, 4:00pm: Puppetry for TV with Peter Linz
• Saturday, 7:00pm: Leslie and Lolly Make Stuff Up LIVE!
• Sunday, 11:30am: It’s Time to Raise the Curtain... with Peter Linz and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
• Sunday, 4:00pm: Create-A-Puppet Workshop w/ Lolly Lardpop
• Sunday, 7:00pm: Peter Linz Muppeteer

The annual Star Wars convention, Star Wars Celebration VI was held last week. Much like the Jedi Knights on Geonosis in Attack of the Clones, out of nowhere, Muppets appeared! (Congratulations, Ryan, that's the nerdiest thing ever said on The Muppet Mindset!!) During the Disney Parks panel at the convention, they revealed two new sets of upcoming Muppets/Star Wars figures! Amazingly, this series includes Bean Bunny as Wicket the Ewok and Uncle Deadly as Emperor Palpatine!! Check out the amazing pictures below!

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