Jimmy Fallon has been one of the best friends to the Muppets and Sesame Street since Late Night with Jimmy Fallon began five years ago. The final episode of Late Night aired last night as Jimmy Fallon bid farewell to the late slot as he prepares to say hello to The Tonight Show. Jimmy decided to bring on the Muppets on final time to help him say goodbye, and it was pitch perfect and beautiful.
Check out the video from last night's show below, as Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, Bunsen and Beaker, Scooter, Walter, Pepe, Kermit, Miss Piggy, and a load of other Muppets perform "The Weight" from the film The Last Waltz. Like I said, it's simply perfect.
Thanks for everything, Jimmy. Congratulations on The Tonight Show!
And congratulations to the Muppets and the Muppet performers for an exceptional performance.
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com
The Muppets (it's not confirmed which ones) will be appearing on Late Night with Jimmy FallonTONIGHT 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
Next Friday, February 7th, The Muppets Character Encyclopediafrom DK Publishing will be released in bookstores. The folks at DK have released some really awesome pages from the book spotlighting some incredibly obscure characters. This already seems like a must-buy! Check out the pictures below...
This week saw the passing of a musical legend. Folk singer Pete Seeger died at age 94. A major talent and a major influence in the musical world, Seeger was also a big part of Sesame Street's early success. Seeger was one of the first celebrity guests to appear on the show in 1969. Our friends at ToughPigs.com have a fantastic collection of Seeger's Sesame Street moments and our friends at Sesame Workshop have a lovely write-up about Seeger as well.
Last week we showed off Toyota's Vine video starring Animal. This week, they released another 8-second video starring Rowlf the Dog. It's a perfectly continuously looped video, which is always pretty cool. Watch it below!
Huge news was released last night, as it was announced that The Muppets will be appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on February 7th. This is major news because February 7th is Jimmy Fallon's last time hosting Late Night before taking over The Tonight Show. This is sure to be a fun, momentous, and Muppety appearance. No word yet on exactly which Muppets will be appearing... but I'm betting it's gonna be a bunch.
Miss Piggy is appearing in a new commercial for Wonderful Pistachios which has just started airing now all over TV. (I've already seen it three times.) It's funny, cute, and the puppetry is stellar. Watch it below:
Ahead of their big TV debut at the Super Bowl on Sunday, the Muppets released their "No Room For Boring" commercial earlier this week. Well, apparently that wasn't enough--and thank goodness--because Toyota has released another video, featuring an extended rendition of the song. It's essentially a music video for Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, and it's awesome. Watch it now!
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com
The official website for Muppets Most Wantedlaunched this week as an offshoot of Muppets.com. There's not much here that die-hard Muppet fans won't already know, but on the site you can watch the teaser trailer for the movie, read bios of the main cast members (Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Walter, Animal, Gonzo, Sam the Eagle, Constantine, Dominic, Jean Pierre Napoleon, and Nadya), see a gallery of stills from the film (that we've been looking at for three months), and download desktop and phone backgrounds. There are some nice new Muppet poser puppet images, but that's about all the new stuff. I'm sure we'll see it updated as we get closer to the release of Muppets Most Wanted on March 21, 2014!
Our good friends at WeLoveFine are hosting yet another Sesame Street themed t-shirt design contest. Anyone can enter the contest up to five times, and there are no limitations as long as Sesame characters are used. The last day to submit is December 3rd. The grand prize winner can choose one of three prizes: $2000, a Wacom Cintiq HD 13 tablet, or a trip to the set of Sesame Streetin New York City! Oh, and did I mention that the contest is being judged by Caroll Spinney and David Rudman? This is truly a once in a lifetime chance, so if your'e an artsy Muppet fan, get to work and enter this hugely awesome contest! Complete details can be found on the WeLoveFine site.
Speaking of Sesame Street, our friends and exuberantly lucky people Joe Hennes and Ryan Roe from ToughPigs.com visited the set of Sesame to talk to Matt Vogel, Martin Robinson, and Caroll Spinney about Jerry Nelson. And they video taped it and put it on YouTube because they're awesome. Check out the video below!
As if that weren't enough, Joe and Ryan also got to hang out with Count von Count for another awesome video...
Sesame Street is dominating our News Update this week! Earlier this week Sesame also announced that Jimmy Fallon and the Roots will be tagging along on their famous float in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Jimmy and the Roots are sure to only add to the awesomeness of the Sesame Street float by being there--I can't wait to find out what song they perform! The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will air on November 28th. Check your local listings! And for a reminder of why this is an awesome idea, watch Jimmy Fallon, the Roots, and the Sesame Street gang perform the "Sesame Street Theme" with classroom instruments!
The Muppets will finally have a place at Walt Disney World's EPCOT theme park starting in March as Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy topiaries will be unveiled and will headline the annual InternationalFlower and Garden Festival. According to a press release, "Kermit the Frog will find it is easy being green when his artfully-crafted character topiary debuts during the 21st Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival presented by HGTV March 5 to May 18, 2014 at Walt Disney World Resort. With flamboyance to spare, a floral Miss Piggy will join Kermit and his blooming banjo in the World Showcase topiary display." For more information visit our friends at StitchKingdom.com!
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com
Jim Henson's birthday was on Tuesday this week and it saw the release of Jim Henson: The Biography as well as many rememberances and tributes across the internet. But perhaps the biggest tribute to Jim's legacy came from the Henson family themselves and the Smithsonian Museum of American History, who together announced the donation of over 20 Muppets for display in the museum. These include Fozzie Bear, Scooter, the Count, Cookie Monster, Elmo, and many more. Going on permanent display with the already-donated Kermit the Frog is the one and only Miss Piggy. Check out the video below for the entie donation presentation featuring Cheryl Henson and Bonnie Erickson!
Author of Jim Henson: The BiographyBrian Jay Jones has appeared all over the place promoting the book this week. One of my favorite appearances was an audio interview for NPR on The Diane Rehm Show. The hour-long appearance is informative and fun and includes a special appearance from our friend Dave Goelz. Take a listen to the appearance and learn more about the process of writing the biography.
Also making the rounds this week are the Muppets of Sesame Street, appearing on two of the most popular late night shows on TV. On Wednesday, Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Grover, Zoe, Cookie Monster, the Count, Murray, Big Bird, and Snuffy appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon playing and singing the "Sesame Street Theme" with Jimmy and The Roots on classroom instruments. This appearance was spectacular and you've got to watch it below!
Straight on the heels of this magnificent appearance, Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch made a big appearance on The Colbert Report Thursday night. The Caroll Spinney duo appeared as part of Colbert's new "Pointless/Counterpointless" segment, where Colbert hoped they would argue with each other. Of course, this didn't go according to plan, so Colbert's frustration and Big Bird's innocence take center stage. It's a hilarious, wonderful appearance that will make you go "How'd they do that?!" when you realize Caroll is providing the voice for both characters at once. Watch below!
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com
Lisa Alexander - Merry Christmas, everybody! Or Christmas Eve, anyway, which is close enough. Lisa the Intern here to celebrate the utterly adorable present we got from the Muppets and Jimmy Fallon last night: Kermit, Robin, and Jimmy singing "When the River Meets the Sea."
If you haven't seen it, you need to. But maybe don't watch it until you've finished reading, because otherwise you'll be melted into a puddle of goop and won't be able to read. (Yes, I'm biased. Robin has always been my favorite. But that's beside the point.)
Now, the first thing you may notice about this appearance is that Robin's voice is a only slightly off. That's to be expected, what with Matt Vogel trying to do a VERY Jerry Nelson voice, and I really don't mind it at all. Matt's doing his best (and it's pretty darn good), and the characterization is SPOT ON, which is what really matters. And Robin hasn't spoken in a very long time, and I'm really too happy to have him back to really be overly nit-picky. (But mostly, the perfect characterization makes up for anything.)
The second thing you may notice about this appearance is that IT EXISTS! Kermit the Frog and ROBIN--note, one of the more MINOR characters--is singing a song with Jimmy Fallon on a late night talk show in 2011. I had such a hard time believing it that I keep making the same typo and trying to say that this is happening in 2001. There is no doubt in my mind that Jimmy Fallon himself had a huge hand in making this happen, and not just because it's his own show. He could have easily said, "Hey, let's get some Muppets here and sing something!" because we all know he loves the Muppets. But I suspect he specifically requested to sing "When the River Meets the Sea" with Kermit and Robin. Or, also likely, he requested to sing with Robin, and Disney said, "Well... nobody knows who Robin is. Mind if we send Kermit, too?"
My reason for suspecting he specifically requested Robin? Well, as he explained last night, he's always loved the album the Muppets did with John Denver. (Remember when he sang "Twelve Days of Christmas" with them, based entirely on the rendition they did with John Denver?) And when The Roots started to play "When the River Meets the Sea," he immediately told Kermit it's his favorite. Add those to the obvious fact that Jimmy Fallon knows who Robin is: when they sang "Twelve Days of Christmas," Robin sat on Jimmy's shoulder. (Have I mentioned I'm incredibly jealous of Jimmy?) Earlier in the week, when telling the audience who would be appearing on upcoming episodes of his show, Jimmy was trying to explain who Robin is. "Robin, you know--the little guy?" he said, holding his hands out to indicate Robin's approximate size, clearly excited that he would be performing with "the little guy." (Like I said... I'm SO jealous.)
As I mentioned, Robin's characterization was perfect. Matt may not have the voice quite down yet, but he clearly knows Robin's personality perfectly. He's five years old and RIDICULOUSLY excited for Christmas, imitating his uncle's signature "YAY" in celebration of the fact. Twice. And his scarf is adorable. He's also incredibly excited to perform and sing, and trying his best to be just as professional about it as his uncle: note his "Thank you" when Kermit compliments him on the first line.
And that reminds me--Kermit was great last night, too, clearly bursting with pride for his little nephew. And, y'know, his voice and characterization were great and all that other stuff we all know Steve Whitmire is perfectly capable of doing again and again. We all love Kermit. And Kermit loves Robin. And Lisa the Intern is very, very happy, to put it mildly. I lost track of how many times I watched this clip last night.
And speaking of the clip... now it's your turn! YAAAAAAAAAY!
MightyFine T-Shirts have announced the top five winners of their recent Muppet t-shirt design contest! Five wonderful t-shirts are being produced from artists and friends of The Muppet Mindset, Kenny Durkin and Dave Alvarez, along with three other talented artists! I honestly can't pick a shirt I like the best... they're all very, very well done. But I know for sure that I will be purchasing Kenny's and Dave's, and probably the Electric Mayhem Tiki shirt as well. The shirts are $25 dollars each and come in varying colors and levels of awesome. Be sure to get one for yourself and secretly hope it gets there before Wednesday!
As we mentioned a few weeks ago, the Muppets teamed up with UL Fire Safety Labs, which debuted with the UL Fire Safety PSA, and now continues with two new videos: Holiday Safety with Kermit, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, and Beaker, and Cooking Safety with Kermit and The Swedish Chef. You can check out the latter embedded below!
Earlier this week, The Muppets Studio debuted three Muppets parody posters just in time for the release of Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (ugh). The posters feature Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and Rowlf the Dog parodying characters from the popular Twilight series, Edward Cullen (the sparkly vampire), Bella Swan, and Jacob (the shirtless werewolf). Rowlf's poster is featured at right, and you can see the other two from the links above!
Muppet fans over seas have been mostly getting the shaft in all of this movie promotion, and especially in the much later release date. But they've finally got a win under their belts, with the amazing, epic United Kingdom movie theater exclusive commercial for the Orange cell phone company. The commercial features the Muppets selling out for Orange and completely revamping their show. Thankfully, we still get to see a countless troupe of Muppets singing and dancing and being awesome. Check it out below!
Our good friends over at StitchKingdom.com always seem to get the best Muppet scoops (probably because they're the best), and they recently acquired some awesome new content including tons of hi-res stills from the movie, magazine pictures, and specific Muppet pictures as well! Be sure to check out the great stills from the film, because they really are spectacular. Also, it's nice to have an official, hi-res picture of Scooter, Rowlf, Sam Eagle, and The Electric Mayhem!
A few weeks ago, we mentioned that DisneyStore.com would be releasing a Walter plush toy very soon. Well... he's here! Yes, Walter is finally available for purchase! Walter is 18 inches tall (that's how tall he actually is!), costs $16.50 plus shipping, but he looks like he's worth every penny. Trust me, once the movie is out people everywhere will be clamoring for a Walter plush, so pick yours up while you've got the chance! I ordered mine already (which is really the only reason this is included in the News Update).
And now for the Amazing Muppet Talk Show Appearances of The Week section... first up, Miss Piggy on Jimmy Kimmel Live from Monday, where she and Jimmy discuss the movie, her stardom, the rest of the Muppets, and so much more. The pig looked gorgeous, and you can see her entire interview for yourself below!
The very next day, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Walter, Gonzo, Fozzie, Animal, Scooter, Sam Eagle, Rowlf, Bunsen, Beaker, and The Swedish Chef all appeared on ABC's Dancing With the Stars to perform a massive song and dance number to "Life's a Happy Song" from The Muppets (and Statler and Waldorf appeared to heckle). This is probably my absolute favorite of all the Muppet appearances we've seen in this fervor of promotion for the movie--and you can see the whole thing below!!
As if that weren't enough, on Wednesday, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon! As we Muppet fans are all aware, the Muppets are always at their best on Jimmy's show, and this appearance was absolutely not an exception. Below you'll find the interview segment with Kermit and Piggy, plus the frog and pig playing "Password," hosted by Jimmy and played alongside the always-wonderful Martin Short and R.E.M.'s leading man, Michael Stipe. Watch the greatness unfold below!
And closing off the week of Muppet appearances yesterday was the massive Muppet takeover of Good Morning America on ABC. Kermit, Piggy, Gonzo, Pepe, Fozzie, Animal, Rizzo, The Swedish Chef... the gang was all on hand to celebrate their movie and goof around with Robin Roberts, George Snuffleupagus (spelling?), and the rest of the GMA crew all morning long as they overtook Times Square! Lucky for you, our good friends at ToughPigs.com have every single clip from yesterday's show in one convenient place! But we've got something they don't... an exclusive, Muppeteer-filled, video from our friends at StitchKingdom.com. Watch the video below to see Bill Barretta (Mahna Mahna), Steve Whitmire (Kermit), Dave Goelz (Gonzo), Eric Jacobson (Miss Piggy), Matt Vogel (Snowth, Camilla), and Peter Linz (Snowth) in a rare on-camera appearance! It's amazing how unbelievably talented these performers are... and it's just so much fun to see stuff like this.
And as a reminder for the rest of the week... Animal will be drumming with The Roots on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon TONIGHT (November 18th) on NBC, so be sure to tune in. Also, an appearance that should not be missed... Jason Segel is hosting Saturday Night Live on SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19th on NBC. No Muppet appearances are confirmed... but we know for a fact that all of the Muppeteers are in New York City anyway... so why not stop by SNL while they're there? It only makes sense. Tune in to find out if they make it!!
Remember way back when we were still talking about The Muppets filming? Remember way back when we didn't even know Amy Adams was in the film? Well, now you can find out how she got involved in the film: a specially-filmed video invitation from Jason Segel and Kermit the Frog, asking Amy to come play with the Muppets (and also possibly be in a movie). Here, watch it for yourself below!
Well, I think we've had just about enough with this (massive) News Update, so we'll close with two great videos from the World Premiere of The Muppetsat the El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard! Our very own Ryan Dosier was present at the premiere, the green carpet, and the after party! If you look closely, you can actually spot Ryan in the crowd in the first video, and in the second, Ryan gets interviewed by the gorgeous girls of newly launched online video series, Fan Am! Enjoy the fun!
With all the Muppet movie excitement that has been sweeping all around us these past few days, we have missed out on some fun, cool news items from other branches of Muppet fandom. Let's get caught up some, shall we? And, of course, this News Update ends with even more news about The Muppets.
The D23 Expo will be held once again this year in Anaheim, California on August 19-21. A tradition for Disney for years has been inducting new members into its distinguished Disney Legends Awards, honoring individuals who have contributed quite a bit to the Disney stable. 2009's honorees included Betty White and Tony Anselmo, voice of Donald Duck. The honorees at this year's expo include Regis Philbin, the voices of Disney Princesses, the original Zorro, and none other than Jim Henson. It is unknown who will be on-hand (that's a joke, son) to accept the award for Jim, but I'll be sure to let you know, because I've officially decided that I will be attending and live-blogging from the D23 Expo this year! So... yeah, there's that to look forward to.
Late this past Wednesday night I got a text from Lisa the Intern saying, "Paul Williams on Jimmy Fallon NOW! Watch!" Unfortunately, I was with four friends in the middle of a movie that I don't remember, so I couldn't watch. However, thanks to the magic of Hulu, Paul Williams' appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon is now online for all of us to see. Here's the video of Paul closing the show performing "Rainbow Connection" with The Roots.
A week ago, Sesame Street posted a preview of a brand new sketch from Season 42 on their YouTube page called SpiderMonster, The Musical and somehow we missed that too. It's hysterical and charming and features a (semi) cameo by Bono. We have received confirmation that the performers in this sketch are indeed Jerry Nelson as Mr. Johnson/Fat Blue and Frank Oz as Grover. How awesome is that?
Rolling Stone magazine is reporting that the band Scissor Sisters have been tapped to score the music for the Fraggle Rock feature film, but then quickly edited the article with a quote from The Jim Henson Company saying no deal has been made with the band, but they are in talks with Scissor Sisters and others. This is odd for many reasons, since we have no idea who even owns distribution/production rights for the film (we've heard through the grapevine that The Weinstein Company is out). So... take this article as you will. Could be vastly old, unreported news from when the film was still maybe happening, or it could be something else entirely. In other words... we have no idea.
In "movies that are actually happening" news, ComingSoon.net has posted a fantastic new article, "It's Time to Light the Lights!: On Set with The Muppets" chronicling their visit to the set of The Muppets. They get to talk with Jason Segel, Amy Adams, and producers Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman. It's a really well-written, heartfelt article that also provides us with some information we didn't know.
Remember that robot seen driving the car in the full length trailer? Well, apparently his name is 80's Robot, "'80s Robot looks exactly like a larger scale version of any generic sci-fi toy you would have seen on your local drug store toy aisle back in the early '80s. Unlike most Muppets, '80s Robot appeared to be almost 100% plastic. Not the traditional felt and cloth we associate with Muppets. To that end, it is probably incorrect to label '80s Robot a Muppet at all. What we do know is that '80s Robot is Kermit's driver... as it is him in the driver's seat of the Rolls for the scene. This was later confirmed on set by Debbie McClellan, Disney's creative director for the Muppets (and again confirmed in the new trailer)."
And the burly looking pig we've been wondering about since the first teaser trailer? That's Miss Poogy. According to the article, "Poogy is the anti-Piggy. A ruddy, rough-looking pig adorned in leather and chains, Poogy addressed the others while sharpening a knife in her left hand. She was obviously getting the crew mixed up in something bad, telling them not to 'worry about it' and expressing surprise that they'd never 'done this before.'"
We can't even go two days without more movie news--and I'm not complaining! Be sure to read the whole article because it's a real treat with some fun pictures included as well!
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com
I just love it when Muppets make talk show appearances. Especially Muppets that I love (even though that's all of them)--even more especially when Muppets that I love appear on talk shows that I love. This was very much the case last night when Elmo appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Mr. Fallon is not afraid to showcase his immense Muppet love, and that was certainly apparent last night when he and Elmo basically just goofed around.
Check out the AWESOME appearance for yourself in the two video clips below from the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon website:
Also on the show last night was perennial Muppet favorite Whoopi Goldberg, who got to see her old friend Elmo again backstage. So... to conclude this post, I present this awesome picture:
Greetings, Muppet fans! Are you getting tired of hearing Jason Segel talk about The Muppets? Good. There's really no way you could be! Currently, Segel is making the promotional rounds for the new Jack Black vehicle, Gulliver's Travels, in which Segel also stars. But, of course, they just can't stop Jason from talking about The Muppets every chance he gets. Especially on last night's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, in which he went on and on about how immensely talented the Muppet performers are (which then gathered a huge round of applause). See for yourself below--and make sure you stay until the end to hear The Roots playing "Movin' Right Along" for Jason:
Even on the red carpet for Gulliver's Travels you can't stop Segel's talk about The Muppets, there he confirmed that Jack Black will be making appearances in The Muppets and Emily Blunt confirmed her own cameo appearance:
Let's take a look at the confirmed list of super stars appearing alongside the Muppets in The Muppets shall we?
Jack Black
Ricky Gervais
Emily Blunt
Billy Crystal
Wanda Sykes
Rashida Jones
Chris Cooper
Dave Grohl
Alan Arkin
Zach Galifianakis
Jean Claude Van-Damme
Mickey Rooney
Amy Adams
Jason Segel
I don't know about you, but I am beyond thrilled by all of this. These celebrities are in the top-tier of talented, funny, and fun. And Jason Segel could not be more excited about it either. He was literally on Jimmy Fallon for 30 seconds before he started talking about The Muppets. His dedication and passion and heart are what reassures me that this film will be magical and wonderful.
Now if only they could get a better title. The Muppets starring The Muppets? That's a little weak.
Did you see The Muppets on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon last night? You didn't? What a shame... Good thing it's already online! Check it out and see how incredibly AWESOME it is! Rowlf, Scooter, Sam Eagle, Robin? Epic. Who else agrees that Jimmy Fallon NEEDS to be hired for the next Muppet project?
NEWS UPDATE: DECEMBER 22 Don't forget to watch The Muppets on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon tomorrow night (Wednesday, December 23rd). Muppets Studio's Facebook page is reporting that Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Rizzo, Pepe, Scooter, Rowlf, Robin, Sam Eagle, and Animal will all be appearing to sing "The 12 Days of Christmas." This is sure to be an incredible appearance--and not just because Scooter, Rowlf, Robin, and Sam Eagle will be there. Well... okay, mostly because of that. Be sure to check it out!
MultipleDisney blogs are reporting that the Muppets will be a big part of the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World's daily "Celebrate a Dream Come True" parades. Tentatively scheduled to begin January 4, 2010, Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Sweetums will be on-hand to help welcome those volunteers who got into the park for free as part of the Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. promotion during the pre-parade ceremonies. Some sources are reporting that the actual Muppets, and not walk-around characters, will be in the parade. If we find out more information, you know we will report it!
ToughPigs has another interview with The Muppet Show Comic Book writer and artist Roger Langridge posted. Be sure to check it out!
ToughPigs has also broken the news that artist Katie Cook will be writing and drawing one of the new Fraggle Rock comics from Archaia Comics to be released next year.
The Muppets will be appearing on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy FallonWednesday, December 23rd for what some are calling a "can't miss performance." No word yet on which Muppets will be on the show or what they will be doing, but if any of Jimmy's other interactions with Muppets provide insight into how the appearance will be, it truly will be can't miss!
The surge of Muppet appearances will continue into 2010 as well. On Sunday, January 3, 2010 the Muppets will be appearing on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for the third time. Apparently the entire Muppet gang will be on hand (pun definitely intended) to "Get on the Bus" with Ty Pennington and his rag-tag group of misfits as they band together to build a house for a family that is less fortunate than others. You won't want to miss this appearance!
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!
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!
This week saw the passing of a musical legend. Folk singer Pete Seeger died at age 94. A major talent and a major influence in the musical world, Seeger was also a big part of Sesame Street's early success. Seeger was one of the first celebrity guests to appear on the show in 1969. Our friends at ToughPigs.com have a fantastic collection of Seeger's Sesame Street moments and our friends at Sesame Workshop have a lovely write-up about Seeger as well.
Huge news was released last night, as it was announced that The Muppets will be appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on February 7th. This is major news because February 7th is Jimmy Fallon's last time hosting Late Night before taking over The Tonight Show. This is sure to be a fun, momentous, and Muppety appearance. No word yet on exactly which Muppets will be appearing... but I'm betting it's gonna be a bunch.
The official website for Muppets Most Wanted launched this week as an offshoot of Muppets.com. There's not much here that die-hard Muppet fans won't already know, but on the site you can watch the teaser trailer for the movie, read bios of the main cast members (Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Walter, Animal, Gonzo, Sam the Eagle, Constantine, Dominic, Jean Pierre Napoleon, and Nadya), see a gallery of stills from the film (that we've been looking at for three months), and download desktop and phone backgrounds. There are some nice new Muppet poser puppet images, but that's about all the new stuff. I'm sure we'll see it updated as we get closer to the release of Muppets Most Wanted on March 21, 2014!
Our good friends at WeLoveFine are hosting yet another Sesame Street themed t-shirt design contest. Anyone can enter the contest up to five times, and there are no limitations as long as Sesame characters are used. The last day to submit is December 3rd. The grand prize winner can choose one of three prizes: $2000, a Wacom Cintiq HD 13 tablet, or a trip to the set of Sesame Street in New York City! Oh, and did I mention that the contest is being judged by Caroll Spinney and David Rudman? This is truly a once in a lifetime chance, so if your'e an artsy Muppet fan, get to work and enter this hugely awesome contest! Complete details can be found on the WeLoveFine site.
Sesame Street is dominating our News Update this week! Earlier this week Sesame also announced that Jimmy Fallon and the Roots will be tagging along on their famous float in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Jimmy and the Roots are sure to only add to the awesomeness of the Sesame Street float by being there--I can't wait to find out what song they perform! The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will air on November 28th. Check your local listings! And for a reminder of why this is an awesome idea, watch Jimmy Fallon, the Roots, and the Sesame Street gang perform the "Sesame Street Theme" with classroom instruments!
The Muppets will finally have a place at Walt Disney World's EPCOT theme park starting in March as Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy topiaries will be unveiled and will headline the annual International Flower and Garden Festival. According to a press release, "Kermit the Frog will find it is easy being green when his artfully-crafted character topiary debuts during the 21st Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival presented by HGTV March 5 to May 18, 2014 at Walt Disney World Resort. With flamboyance to spare, a floral Miss Piggy will join Kermit and his blooming banjo in the World Showcase topiary display." For more information visit our friends at StitchKingdom.com!
Author of Jim Henson: The Biography Brian Jay Jones has appeared all over the place promoting the book this week. One of my favorite appearances was an audio interview for NPR on The Diane Rehm Show. The hour-long appearance is informative and fun and includes a special appearance from our friend Dave Goelz. Take a listen to the appearance and learn more about the process of writing the biography.
Lisa Alexander - Merry Christmas, everybody! Or Christmas Eve, anyway, which is close enough. Lisa the Intern here to celebrate the utterly adorable present we got from the Muppets and Jimmy Fallon last night: Kermit, Robin, and Jimmy singing "When the River Meets the Sea."
My reason for suspecting he specifically requested Robin? Well, as he explained last night, he's always loved the album the Muppets did with John Denver. (Remember when he sang "Twelve Days of Christmas" with them, based entirely on the rendition they did with John Denver?) And when The Roots started to play "When the River Meets the Sea," he immediately told Kermit it's his favorite. Add those to the obvious fact that Jimmy Fallon knows who Robin is: when they sang "Twelve Days of Christmas," Robin sat on Jimmy's shoulder. (Have I mentioned I'm incredibly jealous of Jimmy?) Earlier in the week, when telling the audience who would be appearing on upcoming episodes of his show, Jimmy was trying to explain who Robin is. "Robin, you know--the little guy?" he said, holding his hands out to indicate Robin's approximate size, clearly excited that he would be performing with "the little guy." (Like I said... I'm SO jealous.)
As I mentioned, Robin's characterization was perfect. Matt may not have the voice quite down yet, but he clearly knows Robin's personality perfectly. He's five years old and RIDICULOUSLY excited for Christmas, imitating his uncle's signature "YAY" in celebration of the fact. Twice. And his scarf is adorable. He's also incredibly excited to perform and sing, and trying his best to be just as professional about it as his uncle: note his "Thank you" when Kermit compliments him on the first line.
And that reminds me--Kermit was great last night, too, clearly bursting with pride for his little nephew. And, y'know, his voice and characterization were great and all that other stuff we all know Steve Whitmire is perfectly capable of doing again and again. We all love Kermit. And Kermit loves Robin. And Lisa the Intern is very, very happy, to put it mildly. I lost track of how many times I watched this clip last night.
MightyFine T-Shirts have announced the top five winners of their recent Muppet t-shirt design contest! Five wonderful t-shirts are being produced from artists and friends of The Muppet Mindset, Kenny Durkin and Dave Alvarez, along with three other talented artists! I honestly can't pick a shirt I like the best... they're all very, very well done. But I know for sure that I will be purchasing Kenny's and Dave's, and probably the Electric Mayhem Tiki shirt as well. The shirts are $25 dollars each and come in varying colors and levels of awesome. Be sure to get one for yourself and secretly hope it gets there before Wednesday!
Our good friends over at StitchKingdom.com always seem to get the best Muppet scoops (probably because they're the best), and they recently acquired some awesome new content including tons of hi-res stills from the movie, magazine pictures, and specific Muppet pictures as well! Be sure to check out the great stills from the film, because they really are spectacular. Also, it's nice to have an official, hi-res picture of Scooter, Rowlf, Sam Eagle, and The Electric Mayhem!
A few weeks ago, we mentioned that DisneyStore.com would be releasing a Walter plush toy very soon. Well... he's here! Yes, Walter is finally available for purchase! Walter is 18 inches tall (that's how tall he actually is!), costs $16.50 plus shipping, but he looks like he's worth every penny. Trust me, once the movie is out people everywhere will be clamoring for a Walter plush, so pick yours up while you've got the chance! I ordered mine already (which is really the only reason this is included in the News Update).
And as a reminder for the rest of the week... Animal will be drumming with The Roots on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon TONIGHT (November 18th) on NBC, so be sure to tune in. Also, an appearance that should not be missed... Jason Segel is hosting Saturday Night Live on SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19th on NBC. No Muppet appearances are confirmed... but we know for a fact that all of the Muppeteers are in New York City anyway... so why not stop by SNL while they're there? It only makes sense. Tune in to find out if they make it!! 
The D23 Expo will be held once again this year in Anaheim, California on August 19-21. A tradition for Disney for years has been inducting new members into its distinguished Disney Legends Awards, honoring individuals who have contributed quite a bit to the Disney stable. 2009's honorees included Betty White and Tony Anselmo, voice of Donald Duck. The honorees at this year's expo include Regis Philbin, the voices of Disney Princesses, the original Zorro, and none other than Jim Henson. It is unknown who will be on-hand (that's a joke, son) to accept the award for Jim, but I'll be sure to let you know, because I've officially decided that I will be attending and live-blogging from the D23 Expo this year! So... yeah, there's that to look forward to.
Rolling Stone magazine is reporting that the band Scissor Sisters have been tapped to score the music for the Fraggle Rock feature film, but then quickly edited the article with a quote from The Jim Henson Company saying no deal has been made with the band, but they are in talks with Scissor Sisters and others. This is odd for many reasons, since we have no idea who even owns distribution/production rights for the film (we've heard through the grapevine that The Weinstein Company is out). So... take this article as you will. Could be vastly old, unreported news from when the film was still maybe happening, or it could be something else entirely. In other words... we have no idea.
Remember that robot seen driving the car in the full length trailer? Well, apparently his name is 80's Robot, "'80s Robot looks exactly like a larger scale version of any generic sci-fi toy you would have seen on your local drug store toy aisle back in the early '80s. Unlike most Muppets, '80s Robot appeared to be almost 100% plastic. Not the traditional felt and cloth we associate with Muppets. To that end, it is probably incorrect to label '80s Robot a Muppet at all. What we do know is that '80s Robot is Kermit's driver... as it is him in the driver's seat of the Rolls for the scene. This was later confirmed on set by Debbie McClellan, Disney's creative director for the Muppets (and again confirmed in the new trailer)."
And the burly looking pig we've been wondering about since the first teaser trailer? That's Miss Poogy. According to the article, "Poogy is the anti-Piggy. A ruddy, rough-looking pig adorned in leather and chains, Poogy addressed the others while sharpening a knife in her left hand. She was obviously getting the crew mixed up in something bad, telling them not to 'worry about it' and expressing surprise that they'd never 'done this before.'" 
Don't forget to watch The Muppets on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon tomorrow night (Wednesday, December 23rd). Muppets Studio's Facebook page is reporting that Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Rizzo, Pepe, Scooter, Rowlf, Robin, Sam Eagle, and Animal will all be appearing to sing "The 12 Days of Christmas." This is sure to be an incredible appearance--and not just because Scooter, Rowlf, Robin, and Sam Eagle will be there. Well... okay, mostly because of that. Be sure to check it out!
Multiple Disney blogs are reporting that the Muppets will be a big part of the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World's daily "Celebrate a Dream Come True" parades. Tentatively scheduled to begin January 4, 2010, Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Sweetums will be on-hand to help welcome those volunteers who got into the park for free as part of the Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. promotion during the pre-parade ceremonies. Some sources are reporting that the actual Muppets, and not walk-around characters, will be in the parade. If we find out more information, you know we will report it!
ToughPigs has another interview with The Muppet Show Comic Book writer and artist Roger Langridge posted. Be sure to check it out!
The Muppets will be appearing on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Wednesday, December 23rd for what some are calling a "can't miss performance." No word yet on which Muppets will be on the show or what they will be doing, but if any of Jimmy's other interactions with Muppets provide insight into how the appearance will be, it truly will be can't miss! 
.jpg)
