Disney Buys the Muppets

englishboy · Post by **englishboy** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 4:07 pm

Basically the muppets and the Bear from the blue house will belong to Disney for an undisclosed sum. The Henson kids keep all the other assets--the henson creature factory, fraggile rock, the other Henson movies (Dark Crystal, etc.) and some minor properties.

Son of the Morning · Post by **Son of the Morning** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 4:30 pm

It was a consensual deal:

Lisa Henson said, "In the months before his death in 1990, my father Jim Henson pursued extensive discussions with The Walt Disney Company based on his strong belief that Disney would be a perfect home for the Muppets. As such, the deal we announced today is the realization of my father's dream, and ensures that the Muppet characters will live, flourish and continue to delight audiences everywhere, forever. My brothers and sisters -- Brian, Cheryl, John, Heather -- and I are so proud to have the Muppets living under the same roof as Walt Disney's own timeless characters. We could not possibly be more pleased."

indianajdp · Post by **indianajdp** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 4:31 pm

For those with youngins', Bear in the Big Blue House is fantastic

And believe me when I say that darn bear can shake his groove thang ....

Son of the Morning · Post by **Son of the Morning** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 4:33 pm

I'm a HUGE Muppets fan, myself.

Maerj · Post by **Maerj** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 4:55 pm

I like them there Muppets too, so this is a cool move I think. I don't watch that Bear in the House show as it seems to be for kids, but I saw the Bear on Hollywood Squares and he was pretty funny. Oh, and let Disney buy the rights to Farscape to and continue the series!

jabroni76 · Post by **jabroni76** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 5:11 pm

hey! that is fantastic news!
Yay for muppets and mini-yay for disney!

chrisrose · Post by **chrisrose** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 7:13 pm

Not sure how I feel about this news... I somehow doubt Jim Henson would want to deal with the current Disney company.

So what does this mean in terms of the Muppet Show DVDs? Will Columbia Tristar continue to release the repackaged Time-Life DVDs? Or will Disney put their own compilations together?

Post by **Luke** » Tue Feb 17, 2004 9:01 pm

I'm glad about the potential for future Disney Muppets movies as I really enjoyed the two they did together. At the same time, I fear there will be more Fullscreen-only Muppets DVDs, if they've somehow purchased rights to the past movies. Or it could mean re-releases of all the Muppet movies, which could be good, and could mean widescreen editions of the two Disney-owned ones.

chrisrose · Post by **chrisrose** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 3:26 am

Disney now owns the Muppets TV properties too, right? Or is it just the Muppet movies?

I'm still concerned about how they might treat The Muppet Show...

Season Box Sets would be nice, but unlikely since Disney hasn't been good about releasing TV episodes in order (not in Region 1 anyway).

Well... guess I'm just talking to myself here, so I'll stop now.

2099net · Post by **2099net** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 5:05 am

No. The deal is not retrospective. The bulk of existing Muppet tv and film is owned by Columbia. This deal does not mean any past Muppet properties are going to change hands, nor any non Muppet Henson properties like Farscape or the film Loch Ness.

What's happened is Disney now "own" the Muppet characters for future productions and licencing rights.

chrisrose · Post by **chrisrose** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 8:30 am

Thanks for clearing that up

2099net · Post by **2099net** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 8:49 am

I should add that, presumably, once the current licencing expires, the existing films and TV series will be owned by Disney.

If this is the case, after all Columbia may have heavily co-invested in the Muppet Movie (for example) and may have permement distribution rights as a result.

Either way, the UK has a Muppet Movie boxset coming out in a month or so from Columbia. This shouldn't change anything and the release should go ahead as normal.

PatrickvD · Post by **PatrickvD** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 9:04 am

Im not so happy with this... Muppets are not Disney and this deal doesnt seem right.....especially not with the current Disney company... does this make Miss Piggy a Disney princess now?

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 10:05 am

I think it's awesome. I am a HUGE HUGE Muppets fan, I love them, and as a fan, can't think of a better home for them than Disney! Muppets 3-D fits in so well at WDW, and I always thought they would make a great addition to the Disney family (Muppet Treasure Island and Muppet Christmas Carol were already associated w/ Disney, right?). I'm glad Mr. Henson saw the same thing I do, that Disney and the muppets are a perfect post-Henson fit

.

I'm not sure how the Muppet/Sesame Street connection works out on paper, but does Disney have anything to do w/ Sesame Street now? I wouldn't be as happy about this.

-Aaron

bean:therio · Post by **bean:therio** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 10:11 am

I have always found it a bit of a strange combination: The Muppets and Disney. I always thought of The Muppets as being something that is completely the opposite of Disney: a bit darker and a bit more provocative in their own kind of humour. I am not shure how the Muppet-franchise could be better off in the hands of Disney compared to being independent.

PatrickvD · Post by **PatrickvD** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 10:54 am

awallaceunc wrote:I think it's awesome. I am a HUGE HUGE Muppets fan, I love them, and as a fan, can't think of a better home for them than Disney! Muppets 3-D fits in so well at WDW, and I always thought they would make a great addition to the Disney family (Muppet Treasure Island and Muppet Christmas Carol were already associated w/ Disney, right?). I'm glad Mr. Henson saw the same thing I do, that Disney and the muppets are a perfect post-Henson fit .

I'm not sure how the Muppet/Sesame Street connection works out on paper, but does Disney have anything to do w/ Sesame Street now? I wouldn't be as happy about this.

-Aaron

I dont remember where exactly I read it, but by byuing the muppets Disney has nothing do to with Sesame street. Wich is a good thing I guess.... still getting used t the idea of the muppets being Disney now...

Joe Carioca · Post by **Joe Carioca** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 11:00 am

Disney buying the Muppets is a response to Roy and Comcast. It seems they took adventage of the fact that Jim Henson is full of debts.

meowthew · Post by **meowthew** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 12:16 pm

2099net wrote:No. The deal is not retrospective. The bulk of existing Muppet tv and film is owned by Columbia. This deal does not mean any past Muppet properties are going to change hands,

That's not true. Disney IS buying the rights to the entire library of past Mupppet films and TV shows, including "The Muppet Movie", "The Muppet Show", "Muppet Babies", etc, as stated in the company press release.

2099net · Post by **2099net** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 1:12 pm

OK - they may be buying them, but they're going to have to wait for the current rights to expire. You can't just stop existing distribution contracts.

EarthX · Post by **EarthX** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 4:43 pm

Joe Carioca wrote:Disney buying the Muppets is a response to Roy and Comcast. It seems they took adventage of the fact that Jim Henson is full of debts.

2000: The Hensons sell Jim Henson Company to German EM TV for $680 million
2003: The Hensons buy back company from EM TV for $89 million.
( Sesame Street gang sold to Sesame Workshop for $106 million in 2001 )

No way did they blow $591 million in 3 years.

http://www.toughpigs.com/extrahensonsale02.htm

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Disney Buys the Muppets

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There can't be Henson debt problems