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  • All The Muppet Christmas Stuff You Can Handle in 2017

    Muppet Christmas Carol Movie Poster“It’s in the singing of a street-corner choir, it’s going home and getting warm by the fire, it’s true wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas…”

    The holiday season is upon us, and what better way to spend it than with all your favorite Muppet movies, TV specials, records, and more? There’s so much to enjoy! I don’t know about you, but every year I try to watch “everything”, and every year it seems like I miss something. Once January comes around, and the decorations go away, I remember, Omigosh! I totally forgot to watch [insert name of thing here].

    So in an effort to combat my own forgetfulness – and maybe yours too – let’s put together a list of everything you should watch/listen to this holiday season from the Muppets. And just so we’re clear: this isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list of everything ever produced by Jim Henson & company for the holiday season. There’s a different website for that. It’s called The Muppet Wiki, and it’s amazing.

    But just for us, let’s see what needs to be seen (and heard) this year.

    Muppet Christmas Movies

    There aren’t many Muppet feature-length Christmas movies, and even fewer which were released in theaters. Two of these are made-for-TV movies, but they still get counted here.

    • The Muppet Christmas Carol
    • It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
    • Letters to Santa

    You Must See: Muppet Christmas Carol is the best, if you ask most Muppet fans. It feels the most like a Jim Henson-made Muppet production, possibly because it was the first major production undertaken after his death, and the fact that it was directed by his son, Brian Henson.

    – Watch it now on: HBO, Google Video, iTunes, and Amazon Video, or purchase the discs on Amazon.

    You Can Skip: Letters to Santa is the most recent Muppet Christmas “movie”, and as much as I want to love it, I don’t. What’s interesting is that the music for both Muppet Christmas Carol and Letters to Santa were written by the same person, Paul Williams, yet one set of songs connects with me so deeply, and another almost completely misses the mark.

    Muppet TV Specials

    This is where things start to get a little tricky. These are productions that aired on TV (not screened in theaters), have a shorter running time than a feature-length film, and are not counted as a regular episode of any Muppet TV series.

    • Muppet Family Christmas
    • Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
    • Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas
    • A Special Sesame Street Christmas
    • Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas
    • John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together
    • The Christmas Toy
    • The Great Santa Claus Switch
    • Elmo’s Christmas Countdown
    • Elmo Saves Christmas
    • Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree

    You Must See: Muppet Family Christmas, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, and Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas. All 3 are essential viewing for Muppet fans of any age.

    Muppet Family Christmas is arguably the most Muppet-y thing ever created, let alone the Muppet-iest Christmas production. It includes nearly the entire cast of characters from The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and even Fraggle Rock, all singing Christmas carols in one huge living room. Need I say more?

    You absolutely must watch Christmas Eve on Sesame Street if you grew up watching Sesame in the 70’s and 80’s. It’s a wonderful walk down memory lane, and attempts to solve one of the great Santa Claus mysteries with Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Bert & Ernie, Oscar, Mr. Hooper, and even Kermit the Frog.

    Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas is a touching take on the classic Gift of the Magi story, told with woodland creatures created by Henson solely for this production. The music was written by Paul Williams (see a trend?). After just one viewing this will become part of your yearly Christmas rotation.

    – Watch Muppet Family Christmas now on: YouTube
    – Watch Christmas Eve on Sesame Street now on: YouTube, Google Video, iTunes, and Amazon Video, or purchase the discs on Amazon.
    – Watch Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas now on: Amazon Video and iTunes, or purchase the discs on Amazon.

    You Can Skip: Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree is a half-hour special starring a singing Robert Downy Jr, based on a children’s book of the same name. And it’s just…weird.

    Muppet TV Episodes

    Moving right along, these are Christmas/Holiday productions that appear as part of a Muppet series. Some of these are difficult to find, or at least aren’t streaming online anymore, unfortunately. But your efforts in searching them out will be greatly rewarded!

    • Fraggle Rock: The Bells of Fraggle Rock (Season 3, Episode 1)
    • Furchester Hotel: A Furchester Christmas (Season 2, Episode 16)
    • Bear in the Big Blue House: A Berry Bear Christmas (Season 3, Episodes 25 & 26)
    • Dinosaurs: Refrigerator Day (Season 2, Episode 5)
    • The Muppets: Single All the Way (Season 1, Episode 10)

    You Must See: The Bells of Fraggle Rock tells the “Fraggle” equivalent of a holiday story, in which Gobo goes off to find the Great Bell of Fraggle Rock. Cantus the Minstrel (performed by Jim Henson) appears as an unlikely guide, and the Fraggles find the true meaning of the holiday season within themselves. That sounds like something you’d read on the back of the VHS box, doesn’t it? But I really wrote it myself, just now.

    – Watch The Bells of Fraggle Rock now on: HBO and Google Video, or purchase the discs on Amazon (The Complete Season 3 DVD Set) or purchase the complete series.

    You Can Skip: Single All the Way. Honestly, I haven’t seen Berry Bear Christmas or Furchester Christmas to rate them, but most of The Muppets’ ABC series wasn’t incredibly “Muppetational”, so this gets the bottom spot. And incidentally, you need to watch the Refrigerator Day episode of Dinosaurs…Hilarious!

    – Honorable Mention: Watch the Refrigerator Day episode of Dinosaurs now on Amazon Video and Google Video, or by purchasing the discs on Amazon.

    Muppet Christmas Albums/CDs

    Music has been an essential ingredient in nearly everything the Muppets have ever done, so naturally there are some great Christmas collections out there. Too many, in fact, to list here (psssst, that’s what The Muppet Wiki is for). Here are several highlights, some albums that make into my must-listen list every year.

    • The Muppet Christmas Carol (Soundtrack)
    • Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (Soundtrack)
    • John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together
    • Merry Christmas from Sesame Street
    • A Green and Red Christmas
    • Letters to Santa (Soundtrack)
    • Keep Christmas With You (Featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir)
    • Bob! From Sesame Street: Christmas Sing Along
    • Elmo Saves Christmas: Holiday Favorites

    You Must Listen To: Almost all of them.

    John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together is just about the most heartwarming Muppet Christmas collection you’ll ever hear. It includes “The 12 Days of Christmas” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”, both of which usually make it onto radio holiday playlists.

    Merry Christmas from Sesame Street will feed the nostalgic kid in you. Must like Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (which also has an excellent soundtrack), you’ll love hearing your Sesame pals sing the Christmas hits as only they can.

    A Green and Red Christmas isn’t necessarily at the top of every Muppet fan’s list, but it’s a Grammy Award-winning album and features much of the modern-day Muppet cast of performers voicing the characters. Fans of all ages can appreciate the humor and music in this collection.

    – Listen to John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together on Apple Music, Spotify, Google Music, and Amazon Music, or purchase the album on Amazon or iTunes.
    – Listen to Merry Christmas from Sesame Street on Apple Music, Spotify, Google Music, and Amazon Music, or purchase the album on Amazon or iTunes.
    – Listen to A Green and Red Christmas on Apple Music, Spotify, and Google Music, or purchase the album on Amazon or iTunes.
    – Honorable Mention: Listen to The Muppet Christmas Carol Soundtrack on Apple Music, Spotify, and Google Music, or purchase the album on Amazon or iTunes.

    You Can Skip: Elmo Saves Christmas. Seriously…you need more Elmo in your life?

    You can see from this somewhat long yet incomplete list, the Muppets have made a lot of holiday mirth over the years. To many fans, the Muppets shine brightest at Christmastime.

    MuppetCast Podcast Christmas Episodes

    Show #292: Stupid Turkey (12/19/2016) Muppet Christmas specials galore!
    Show #234: December 24, 2012 (12/24/2012) Christmas special show, featuring The Bells of Fraggle Rock
    Show #185: December 5, 2010 (12/6/2010) Special guest, Sesame artist Louis Henry Mitchell
    Show #140: December 13, 2009 (12/14/2009) Special guests, Michael Davis & Hervon McNeil
    Show #89: December 21, 2008 (12/22/2008) Special guest, Paul Williams
    Show #34: December 2, 2007 (12/2/2007) Special guest, Muppet performer Dave Goelz

    – Subscribe to The MuppetCast podcast in iTunes and hear hundreds of hours of Muppetational goodness!

    What are your favorite Muppet holiday productions? Did you see your favorites on this list? If not, what was left out? Let’s keep the discussion going in the comments.

    Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Weeba Weeba!

  • Backstage Show #12: “Nobody Dies”…with JD Hansel

    Well…maybe eventually they do. But until then, JD Hansel joins me for a riveting episode of The Backstage Podcast. We discuss life, maturity, immaturity, philosophy, Muppets, and of course, Sam Harris.

    JD is the owner of JDHansel.com and MuppetHub.com.

    Thanks for downloading and listening to The Backstage Podcast! It means the world to me that you’re here. For any questions or comments concerning the show, email me@backstagepod.com. Follow the show on Facebook and Twitter, and tell your friends about it too!

    Have Fun!

    -Steve

  • Show #292: Stupid Turkey

    Haul out the holly! It’s our Muppetational Holiday Special!

    This episode is filled with great Muppet Christmas music, and it serves as a tribute to one of the greatest Muppet productions of all time, A Muppet Family Christmas. Enjoy!

    Thanks For Listening!

    As always, you can email me@muppetcast.com with any comments or questions about the Muppets, The MuppetCast, or anything else. Tweet me @muppetcast, and check out The MuppetCast Facebook page. And make sure to subscribe to The MuppetCast in iTunes!

    Have a great week!

    Steve

  • Show #291: MuppetCast Mailbag Monday

    Listener questions guide the content for this episode. Send your questions for the show to me@muppetcast.com.

    Who is/was inside the “costume” of the full-body Muppet characters like Sweetums and Thog?

    How can I become a Muppet performer?

    What are your thoughts on Ernie’s new performer, Billy Bankhurst?

    Thanks For Listening!

    As always, you can email me@muppetcast.com with any comments or questions about the Muppets, The MuppetCast, or anything else. Tweet me @muppetcast, and check out The MuppetCast Facebook page. And make sure to subscribe to The MuppetCast in iTunes!

    Have a great week!

    Steve

  • Review: “Labyrinth: The Ultimate Visual History” is an Ultimate Must-Own

    Labyrinth Visual Guide Jim HensonBack in 1984, Jim Henson, the brilliant visionary behind The Muppets, joined forces with the visionary George Lucas and the influential David Bowie for one of the decade’s most ambitious fantasy films of the era, Labyrinth. Henson always referred to himself as an “experimental filmmaker” and there’s no better proof of that than Labyrinth, which is so far removed from the projects that Henson built his legacy on. Labyrinth was received as a box office failure upon its arrival in 1986, but its creativity and ambition created a cult classic years after Henson’s death. Today, it’s one of the most influential fantasy films, showcasing Henson’s creativity and spawning an entire fandom devoted to Henson’s experimental project.

    This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the film’s release, and to celebrate, the folks at Insight Editions are bringing the stunning world of Labyrinth to life with the release of their latest guide, Labyrinth: The Ultimate Visual History. Insight has a long history of providing fans with stunning, state of the art and immensely detailed coffee-table books based on films, but their release of Labyrinth takes their reputation to a whole new level of quality publication.

    Labyrinth Visual Guide InsertFor Labyrinth fans, or fans of Jim Henson in general, this guide is an absolute must-own. Its endless amounts of detailed information combined with incredible behind-the-scenes photos, concept art and scripts is probably the most-detailed information on the film possibly ever. My favorite thing about the book is that includes attached items and recreated artifacts from the production of the film. Whether it’s personally handwritten letters by Jim with the Henson Associated header on it, or scribbles on a page of the script to story-boards and character designs, this book spreads a whole bunch of incredibly amazing stuff that will make any Henson fan feel like they’ve touched greatness.

    The authors, Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdman, certainly wasted no time bringing as much research as possible. If this book would only survive on the visual spectacle that it promises, it would be a must-own, but packed along with it are pages and pages of detailed information that’s sure to surprise even the most-well seasoned of Labyrinth fans. The behind-the-scenes photos found, as far as I know, many of which have never before been seen, and truly gives fans the deepest look into the film quite possibly yet.

    Labyrinth Visual Guide LudoFor the millions of fans which Labyrinth has defined their childhood, this book is an absolute must-own. Just as Labyrinth has slowly and surprisingly made its way into the cherished collections of millions across the world, Labyrinth: The Ultimate Visual History will be an addition that will be cherished in your collection for a long time to come.

    Labyrinth: The Ultimate Visual History is now available to purchase online and wherever books are sold.

  • Show #290: Introducing STREET GANG, the Movie!

    The 2008 bestselling book Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis is being made into a new documentary film! This week I’m joined by Executive Producer Trevor Crafts and Director Marilyn Agrelo to talk about what Muppet fans should expect, how the film will expand upon what’s in the book, and how Muppet fans can get involved.

    About the Film

    Street Gang will be directed by Marilyn Agrelo, director of the festival award-winning Mad Hot Ballroom. Agrelo will have access to Sesame Street archives through Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street, and The Jim Henson Company. Using new animated sequences, new character and cast interviews, and exclusive archival materials, Street Gang will tell the origin story of the show and how creator Joan Ganz Cooney, director Jon Stone, and visionary Jim Henson came out of the ideals and the societal unrest of the sixties to make something that changed history.

    One of the film’s Indiegogo campaign (http://bit.ly/2eh6bR0) goals, in addition to creating new animation and new music, is to raise funds to rebuild the Season One Sesame Street set, taking the audience back in time. Additionally, the filmmakers will donate 15% of the net proceeds of the crowd funding campaign to Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational media organization behind Sesame Street, through its Yellow Feather Fund™ which helps the world’s most vulnerable children grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.

    Thanks For Listening!

    As always, you can email me@muppetcast.com with any comments or questions about the Muppets, The MuppetCast, or anything else. Tweet me @muppetcast, and check out The MuppetCast Facebook page. And make sure to subscribe to The MuppetCast in iTunes!

    Have a great week!

    Steve

  • Muppet Halloween History (Feat. Kirk Thatcher)

    Hello folks, Joshua Gillespie here. Long time no see. Well I’m back and I brought something special, a 4-part look at the history of Muppet Halloween specials, including a 2-part interview with Mr. Kirk R. Thatcher. Enjoy!

     

  • My Muppet Shirt Obsession

    Muppet Shirt CollageLet’s get this out of the way – I own over 170 t-shirts related to the creations of Jim Henson and the Jim Henson Company. The vast majority feature The Muppet Show family of characters, but they run the gamut from Sesame Street to Fraggle Rock to Labyrinth to The Dark Crystal to even a Dinosaurs and a Bear in the Big Blue House shirt for good measure. Nearly all of them are unique designs except for a couple I own in different colors. I also have three different versions of artist Jamie Carroll’s fantastic “Muppetational Mosaic” design.

    I have been sharing my collection and the story behind it on social media for some time. Steve Swanson suggested I post a blog about it on the MuppetCast website. As a lifelong Muppet fan, my collection started innocently enough with a bunch of shirts I purchased over the years from local retailers or while on vacation at a Disney park.

    In March 2013, just a couple of months before my 40th birthday, I was diagnosed with lymphoma. It was also around this time I first started listening to The MuppetCast. I found the podcast to be entertaining, enlightening, inspirational, and a heckuva lot of fun. This was also during a period when the podcast was on an extended hiatus. However, there was an archive of well over 200 shows to explore! It was an escape from the frightening things that were going on in my life. (Fortunately, Steve decided to return to the podcast in 2015, and I was happy to contribute/assist with MuppetCast.com when the revamped website launched later in the year.)

    The type of lymphoma I had was considered low-grade, and I was required to have a daily radiation treatment for twenty days. I wore a Kermit the Frog shirt to my first treatment. It prompted such positive vibes and comments that I decided to wear Muppet shirts to all of my treatments. I had (and continue to have) a wonderful support system, but taking the Muppets with me everyday was another means to stay optimistic. Choosing which shirt to wear also gave me a fun thing to look forward to each morning. Everything went smoothly and we celebrated completion of my treatments by taking my niece to Heather Henson’s The Muppet Movie sing-along at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta.

    Muppet shirts had kind of become my thing by this point, so I continued adding to my collection. I had a recurrence of lymphoma the following year. I once again wore Muppet t-shirts while taking treatments. I had accumulated so many shirts by this point that I was able to wear Muppet shirts daily from my first radiation appointment until the follow-up appointment with my hematologist several weeks after the treatments had ended. This was a total of 51 shirts! At that point I had 45 The Muppet Show character shirts, 3 Fraggle Rock shirts, 2 Sesame Street shirts, and 1 Labyrinth shirt.

    I have been doing well the past two years, and my prognosis is good. Nonetheless, the t-shirt collection continues to grow. I obtained my 100th shirt in July 2015 as a prize during the MuppetCast’s Great Muppet Haiku Contest. As of this writing, I am at 175 shirts, plus seven more honorable mentions that don’t fit into a Muppet t-shirt category. Those are a Muppet Christmas sweatshirt, Project Puppet’s Puppet Builder’s Cheat Shirt, two shirts featuring Figment from the “Journey into Imagination with Figment” attraction at Epcot (Figment is voiced by Muppet performer Dave Goelz), one with Mister Rogers holding King Friday XIII, an Oscar the Grouch Christmas sweatshirt, and a Yoda t-shirt. It’s getting harder to find a shirt I don’t own or haven’t seen before, but friends and family frequently inform me about new shirts they find. More than one person has told me I need to have enough to wear a different shirt every day for a year. I don’t know about that. Where would I store them? On the other hand, I am nearly halfway there…

    Below are photos of my collection:

    [envira-gallery id=”3640″]

  • Miss Piggy’s Superstar Limo: The Ride Redo That Never Happened

    Kermit and Miss Piggy OscarsOn February 8, 2001, Disneyland Resort opened their second theme park gate when Disney’s California Adventure opened right across from Disneyland. The theme park celebrates California culture, lifestyle and history. You can’t have a theme park about California and not celebrate Hollywood, right? Well, Disney’s California Adventure dedicated an area of the park to this with the Hollywood Pictures Backlot. The area featured dining and shopping as well as a few attractions carried over from Disney’s MGM Studios (now Disney Hollywood Studios), including of course Muppet*Vision 3D. One not-so-liked attraction in particular opened here, known as Superstar Limo.

    Superstar Limo was a dark ride, similar to the ones found in Fantasyland like Peter Pan’s Flight or The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Purple “stretch limo” ride vehicles took guests through a cartoony version of Hollywood. Guests came across versions of cartoony renditions of celebrities (animated with moving arms or legs, but not Audio-Animatronics like typical Disney attractions), and a few puppet-forms featured on TV screens in both the attraction’s queue and on a monitor on the ride vehicle itself. Celebrities such as Tim Allen, Regis Philbin, Whoopi Goldberg and Cindy Crawford all made “appearances” as guests took a tour of Hollywood. The ride was written to the rider as Hollywood’s newest celebrity, visiting recognizable locations and situations on the way to their movie premiere, from Rodeo Drive to Bel Air to the Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

    The ride was criticized from the start because of its lack of story and its depiction of celebrities. Over time, many of the “stars” featured in the ride had faded significantly. Rumors circulated that the ride was originally planned as a more exciting “paparazzi chase”, but that was deemed inappropriate after the death of Princess Diana in 1997. The ride’s unpopularity and criticism from guests led to its closure for “rehab” in January 2002, less than a year after it opened. It became the park’s first attraction to permanently close.

    An intial “re-imagining” of the ride came soon after, when Imagineers proposed “Goofy’s Superstar Limo”, in which Goofy would replace the limo driver and the celebrities would be replaced by Disney characters. They hoped this would address guests’ concerns that DCA “has nothing for kids and no characters.” The ride would incorporate 100 Disney character figures taken from Disney stores. You read that right: 100 Disney characters included in a single ride experience. At the time, Disney Store chain was undergoing major re-theming and eliminating the large Disney character figures that appeared inside. The plan was to remove these figures from the stores and put them into Superstar Limo. Then September 11, 2001 occurred, and these plans were dropped.

    Still, the ride needed a major change. In 2003, during the acquisition plans for Disney to purchase the Muppets, Imagineers began planning a new version of the ride featuring the Muppets. The concept was called “Miss Piggy’s Superstar Limo.” In this version, guests would board limos for a trip through a “Muppet-ized” version of Hollywood and conclude at a big premiere of a film starring Miss Piggy. The plan was for the ride system to remain the same as well as the ride vehicles and the track layout. The rest of the attraction would be demolished, including the cartoony sets and the caricature celebrity figures. Imagineers hoped to give this new version a sense of style and humor lacking in the original. The plan was to open this version of the ride and, if it proved popular enough, clone it in both the Florida and Paris parks.

    Disney blogger Jim Hill shared a story of how Imagineers proposed announcing the ride’s “re-imagining” by placing a full page ad in Los Angeles newspapers which read, “Okay. We admit it. Superstar Limo is a really terrible ride. Not to worry, though. We’re going to fix this DCA attraction. In fact, we’ve got two of our best men working it right now.” Below this text would feature a picture of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker. They planned to re-open the original attraction and insert Muppets into the ride one at a time, commenting on how lame the ride is, but sharing they would fix it up in no time. Imagine riding Superstar Limo as normal and coming across Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker in hardhats, measuring the room and sharing about how they are making refurbishments. The slow progression into the new Muppet-themed version of the ride would hopefully spark interest in guests riding the original ride again, hoping to see which Muppets show up this time.

    After years of planning between “Mikey and Sulley and Boo Go Hollywood” or a west coast version of “Rock n Roller Coaster”, the ride re-opened in 2006 as “Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!” This ride utilized the same track layout as Superstar Limo, dressed and repositioned the celebrity figures as CDA agents, and reused and repainted the ride vehicles as taxi cabs.

    So why did “Miss Piggy’s Superstar Limo” not come to fruition? Disney’s negotiating to purchase the Muppets was still a work in progress at the time. Also, Disney executives believed the Muppets were not popular anymore and would not drive attendance to the attraction to justify the millions of dollars needed for the update. Of course, Disney did eventually acquire the Muppets, but just imagine what this ride could have been! Maybe this is the kind of Muppet ride Disney Hollywood Studios needs in their “Muppet Courtyard.”

    What do you think? Would you have ridden “Miss Piggy’s Superstar Limo”? What Disney ride would you re-theme to make into a Muppetized version?