When Henson Associates bought the Muppet characters back from EM.TV in 2003, they lacked the capital to produce new content on their own. Before they sold and repurchased the characters, they had a similar issue and partnered with Disney and Sony for assistance. Not long after, they decided the best thing to do was to let the characters go to a home where they would be appreciated and valued. Disney bought the Muppets in 2004 for an undisclosed amount. The deal also included the name “Muppet,” Bear in the Big Blue House, and a four-year contract where Henson Associates would provide advice on how to use the characters and a three-year production deal.
With this production deal, Disney produced a made for TV film that was in pre-production before their purchase. The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz. The film was conceptually akin to The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island where the Muppets star in a familiar story, but celebrety cameos were also reintroduced. With low production values, poor creative choices, and unmemorable songs (cowritten by Michael Giaccino before he was famous), the Muppet’s spin on Baum’s classic tale was critically bashed. However the ratings were decent (nearly 8 million viewers) when it premiered on May 20th, 2005, on ABC.
Whether due to disagreements over what should be done next with the Muppets or due to poor response to the film they had just made, Disney chose to ride out the rest of the four-year production deal with Henson Associates. The Muppets were used solely for merchandise and random guest appearances on talk shows. While Disney did commit to releasing The Muppet Show on DVD in its original broadcast format, copyright issues and changes within their home entertainment department would cause them to stop after the third season. Season four was announced at the first D23 Expo, but it was never released.
When 2008 rolled around, Disney was free to use the characters however they wanted. New management was brought in to head The Muppet Studio, who looked to the internet as a tool to reintroduce the characters to modern audiences. Their efforts went viral quickly when a Muppet version of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” went viral, quickly getting 25 million views and winning two Webby Awards. It was followed by other successful shorts, including Beaker’s “Ode to Joy” and web series such as The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora and Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony.
The Muppets also made a successful return to television in 2008 in a Christmas special called A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, which was commissioned by NBC and produced by Disney. The 60-minute special was full of charm and saw the Muppets helping a friend’s letter get to Santa on Christmas eve. It was a huge ratings success for NBC, who ordered a Halloween special in the same style. However, Disney was about to aim their focus on returning the characters to theaters and that special was never made.
At the D23 Expo in 2009, head of Walt Disney Pictures Dick Cook announced that there would be a seventh Muppet film and he debuted the title: The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made. Over time, the title was changed to The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time before they finally settled on the oversimplified title, The Muppets. Lifelong Muppet fan and television star Jason Segal pitched the idea to Disney in 2008 with his Forgetting Sarah Marshall cowriter Nicholas Stoller. Disney loved the premise and cast Segal in the film as well. Director James Bobin, who had previously worked on the HBO series Flight of the Concords, was responsible for bringing in Bret McKenzie from that series to write music for the film. This would earn Disney an Oscar for the song “Man or Muppet.” After an impressive marketing campaign, The Muppets was released on November 20th, 2011, and was a critical and commercial success.
Following the success of the film, Disney nominated Kermit to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The committee selected him as one of 2012’s recipients and Disney paid the $30,000 fee to have the star installed. The ceremony was held on March 20th, the same day The Muppets premiered on DVD and Blu-Ray.
That same month, Disney announced that a sequel was in the works. The story was written by director James Bobbin and Segal’s writing partner Nicholas Stoller. Originally titled The Muppets… Again, Bret McKenzie returned to write more songs for the film that would eventually become Muppets Most Wanted. The crime caper musical comedy adventure premiered at Disney’s El Capitan theater on March 11th and hits theaters nationwide on March 21st.
There’s no telling what’s in store for the future of the Muppets. Their potential is seemingly limitless, but one can dream of a day where Muppet films are a semi-annual tradition and the characters appear weekly on television sets around the world. Who knows, maybe a whole Muppet Land isn’t far away at a Disney theme park if their success continues to grow. But I think we can all agree that the Muppets are back thanks to Disney, and that makes life a little easier for all of us who feel green.
Alex is currently watching and reviewing all of Disney’s films in chronological order. You can follow along here.