Muppet*Vision 3D

On February 7, 2001 Disney officially dedicated Muppet*Vision 3D at Disney’s California Adventure in a ceremony held outside the theater.

Announcer: Ladies and Gentlemen Disney’s California Adventure is proud to present the Hollywood Pictures Backlot Premiere of our most sensational, inspirational, Muppetational attraction, Jim Henson’s MuppetVision 3*D.

(canned applause and opening notes of the Muppet Show theme)

Now please welcome the President and CEO of the Jim Henson Company, Charles Rivkin and the President of the Disneyland Resort, Cynthia Harriss.

Cynthia: Well, good morning everyone. We are absolutely thrilled to welcome you to this very special occasion. Charlie and I are just delighted to be here today as we get the opportunity to officially open Jim Henson’s MuppetVision 3*D. And on behalf of everybody here at the Disneyland Resort we just really want to thank our wonderfully talented partners and good friends from Jim Henson that have been able to allow us to bring this truly extraordinary attraction right here to Disney’s California Adventure. And you know, I think I can speak on behalf – certainly of our cast and I hope for our guests also – that we are your biggest fans and we are absolutely delighted to welcome Kermit, Miss Piggy and all the Muppets right here in our neighborhood.

Charles: Thank you, thank you Cynthia. I’ve got to say we are thrilled to be here and thrilled to be a part of Disney’s California Adventure. Now what you are going to see today is an incredible creative collaboration. Because the Jim Henson company’s artists, designers, producers, puppet builders, puppeteers and executives worked really closely with Walt Disney Imagineering and the Walt Disney Company to create not only an incredible technological achievement but also some of the most expensive “cheap” 3D tricks that you’re ever gonna see. This is a labor of love for us as I’m sure many of you know that this film was Jim Henson’s last work. So it has a special place in our hearts. So I want to thank everybody who made Muppet*Vision 3D a success and we hope that you enjoy watching it as much as we did creating it. Thank you.

Cynthia: Thank you, Charlie. So I think without further ado we want to welcome all of you and invite you all in…

Kermit interrupts: Excuse me, pardon me.

Cynthia:. (giggles) Kermit!

Kermit: Hi there, guys. Uh..listen. I’m really sorry about this, Charlie.

Charlie Why Kermit? What’s going on?

Kermit: Well we’re actually not quite ready to open the attraction yet. Hmm.. I’m sorry.

Cynthia: Well, Kermit all I can tell you is that we have all the people here, the press. They can’t wait to get in to see those fabulous 3-D effects.

Kermit: I know that Cynthia, but the problem is that right now Muppet*Vision 3D is sort of a D short. (laughter) Um..you see the highly technical electronic gadget that starts the show never arrived. In other words (Kermit gulps) we sort of lost the remote. (laughter)

Charles: That’s great, Kermit. But, well now that we’re all here, what are we supposed to do?

Kermit: Well, I guess (pause) I guess in the great tradition of the Hollywood award show, I will now waste time. And maybe it will show up.

Hi-o everyone, I am Kermit the Frog. Thank you for having me here, Cynthia. It is so great to have been invited here to Disney’s California Adventure. I think it’s a great thing that Disney took its parking lot and turned it into an entire state. (laughter) Sort of just like California which took an entire state and turned it into a parking lot. (more laughter) I want to apologize to you all that Miss Piggy couldn’t be here today. She’s very busy these days shooting her new reality game show its called “Who Wants to Marry a Pig.” It seems that nobody wants to although she tells me Tom Cruise is available.

Kermit: Let me just add that we think Jim Henson’s Muppet*Vision 3D is one of the most spectacular and most ridiculous projects that we ever did and we hope that you agree.

(Kermit starts looking around again) Has anybody seen the remote? Ah, well Fozzie Bear told me this great joke. You see, there were these two peanuts walking down the sidewalk and one of them was a salted.

(A Muppet Labs technician walks onto the stage and whispers something into Kermit’s ear)

Kermit: “You’re kidding! Well folks I’ve just been informed that the electropowered high tech device we needed to start Muppet*Vision 3D is in this box over here. Could we open the box?

Kermit: What the hey! Dr. Honeydew, Beaker what are you doing in that box?

Honeydew: Sneaking past Disney security. (audience laughs) Actually Mr. Frog, I’m terribly sorry we were tardy. We ran into a slight delay at the airport. Well Beakie and I were mistaken for Sigfried and Roy and spent three hours signing autographs.

Kermit: Well could we get this thing started, please.

Honeydew: Absolutely. Mr. Rivkin you did a lovely job on your speech. See you got your lines right after all. And now with the help of my faithful assistant Beaker we will activate Muppet*Vision 3D. Okay Beakie, let ‘er rip! Yes, you Beakie. Pull the chain. You don’t have to be afraid, it won’t hurt you.

(Beaker sighs followed by a flushing noise)

Honeydew: Pardon us, wrong switch there. That was part of an attraction we are working on for Disney’s Flushing Meadow Adventure. Try again Beakie.

(Beaker squeals as steam comes out his ears.)

Honeydew: Oh Beakie. There you go causing another rolling blackout. Shame on you. It appears I will have to take matters into my own hands.

(Bunsen brings out an explosive detonator. )

Kermit: Wait a second, Bunsen.what? What? Are you..?

Honeydew: All right. (clears his throat) I hearby open Muppet*Vision 3D.

Kermit: No, no, no. Bunsen, Bunsen!

(Fireworks explode all around MuppetVision 3*D )

Kermit: Oh, no.

Honeydew: Well, Beakie. I think, uh, why don’t we go somewhere else and do something different.

Kermit: Well, uh, gee, folks, due to an unforeseen circumstance it looks like maybe we won’t be able to open the attraction at all. But if you’d all like to stick around I’ll ask the girls of The View to come over and sing some show tunes. Gee.

Charles: I don’t know, Kermit, but what about this big box marked “Start”?

Kermit: Ooh, look at that. Hey that could work. O.k. guys on the count of three.

Cynthia: o.k.

(They place their hands on the big red button.)

Kermit: One, two, three.

(Confetti covers the crowd and Sweetums bursts through the image of Kermit and the gang and invites the press to follow him into the theater. )

Kermit: Thanks for coming everybody. Make your way inside to see the show. (Muppet theme plays) Come on inside everybody. (Cynthia blows Kermit a little kiss. Kermit helps to direct traffic into the theater.)