DVDizzy Forum

Lately I've been buying a number of the Muppet movies on DVD and just have a question: Why are some of them released by Disney, some by Sony and some seem to have moved from Sony to Disney?

Right now I have all the theatrical ones, except for the actual Muppets Movie, and have found that both studios have their advantages and disadvantages. The Disney releases all seem to be in similar style releases with matching covers and bonus material (although it lacks a number of bonuses that should easily be there), but the Sony ones have been cheaper and had some better behind the scenes stuff, like interviews and commentaries, but their transfers aren't as nice and Muppets From Space is only Fullscreen!

So, what's the deal with the Muppets on DVD- Sony or Disney. I actually like the Disney releases a bit better (although I would like more bonus material) and have to wonder- could Disney somehow get the rights to the two that Sony still has- Muppets Take Mahattan and Muppets From Space?

It likely has to do with time limits on the contracts involving the original licensing/distribution deals. Sony's contract probably expired with the titles that Disney has now annexed.

Disney now owns the rights to the Muppets, but the deal doesn't include certain Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock characters/products, as well as other incidental properties and characters that are still owned by the Jim Henson Company (like "Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas", for example).

Sony kept the rights to Manhattan & Space the same way Disney kept the rights to Treasure Island & Christmas Carol. Sony funded the making of Manhattan (or Columbia anyway), Space & Swap Years and thus was promised that they'd keep the writes.


The first two Muppet flicks have been bouncing about from whatever studio was releasing the most Muppet stuff at the time as they were independent films (I think.....) and thus had no company to claim the film whatever it may be.

By the way.... older copies of Muppets from Space have Wide AND full screen. You may have to hunt but it's out there.

-Sky

JiminyCrick91 wrote: By the way.... older copies of Muppets from Space have Wide AND full screen. You may have to hunt but it's out there.

-Sky

I hate it when they do that.. I don't mean release a disc with both versions, but when they take one that was originally released with both versions, and then re-release it JUST as a full screen. Often, they don't even change the UPC, so there is no way to order one online.

They did that with Kindergarten Cop, and I was going crazy trying to find a widescreen version, but thankfully they released a widescreen version in the Schwarzenegger Comedy Pack Franchise Collection.

Would you all recommend Muppets From Space? I remember seeing the commercials back when it came out, but I never got a chance to see it. Is it as good as the previous Muppet movies? I have all of the Muppet movies that came out before that one, and I'm just curious!

Actually, Muppets from Space is probably my second favourite of the bunch, with the Muppet Christmas Carol being the only one that's ahead of it.

I liked Muppets From Space -- it's not a "great" film in the classic Muppets tradition, but it's largely entertaining and fun. Other than "Muppets Christmas Carol", it's one of the few Muppet films since Jim's death that at least feels reminiscent of something he would have produced.

It seems like I saw "Muppets From Space" pop up recently in the free movies on Comcast On Demand. If you have that sort of cable service you might want to check on it.

And if you haven't seen "Kermit's Swamp Years" yet, I liked that one too. It's a little on the slow side, but it's charming and fun...especially if you've got kids.

I also have a special fondness for that one because I got to meet the director, producer, and one of the Muppeteers when I was at the San Diego Comic-Con when they were promoting it. I even won the "Best Kermit Impression" contest they hosted, and came home with a $400 electric scooter.

Voiceroy wrote:I liked Muppets From Space -- it's not a "great" film in the classic Muppets tradition, but it's largely entertaining and fun. Other than "Muppets Christmas Carol", it's one of the few Muppet films since Jim's death that at least feels reminiscent of something he would have produced.

That pretty much sums up my feelings about Muppets from Space. I really like it. And I just double checked and, thank goodness, mine is the widescreen/fullscreen release.

And I sure wish I could find a Kermit impression contest, because I know I can do the voice better than the guy who currently performs him, ha. I also do Timon, Goofy, Popeye, and a few Looney Tunes. Possibly some characters I'm forgetting too. I would love to have a career in voice acting, but I'm so far away from L.A., ha. I also would have to get less shy about doing it on demand.

Kermit's Swamp Years is cute, though like you said, kinda slow. It sorta feels like a Henson TV special I would have come across on Nickelodeon as a kid.

Disney owning Muppets.....do they own the rights to "Muppet Babies"? I know that's probably not going to ever come to DVD because of the movie clips in some of the episodes (well, most).

I think I read somewhere that together with the rights to the Muppets and the Muppet Show and thus the characters they also bought the rights to Muppet Babies.
Maybe they'll realease that after they've released the remaining seasons of the Muppet Show (which I hope is going to happen soon, where's that freaking Season 4??)

jediliz wrote:Disney owning Muppets.....do they own the rights to "Muppet Babies"?

They do, according to a press release from 2004 which is archived here:

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Talk:The_W ... #Licensing

The fact that they call it an infant/preschool property suggests that they might at best just treat it like Bear in the Big Blue House or New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh with hour-long compilations. Of course, can a multi-billion dollar corporation be that obtuse when it comes to the demand for "Muppet Babies", especially since "Muppet Show" has sold so well? Probably.

Personally, I never cared for the Muppet Babies that much...

Of course, I grew up with the actual muppets on the Muppet Show, so the Babies seemed pretty dumbed down to me when I saw them.

Just a question on the subject of Muppets from Space. I recently bought it in the fullscreen only version, it's all I could find. But just the other day I found a boxset of the three Muppet movies Sony owns (Manhattan, Space and Kermit's Swamp), and I'm just wondering if anyone else owns it, does it have the widescreen/ fullscreen combo versions or the fullscreen only ones. Nothing on the box says which screen format it is, so it's a mystery. The only thing that hints it might be the one with widescreen is on the Muppets from Space image, it features the smaller white moon, as opposed to the bigger green one that's on my current version.

So, if anyone has this boxset could help me out and let me know what the screen format is on Muppets from Space it'll be greatly appreciated (and I know it's a Sony title, but technically the Muppets are Disney).

DVD Aficionado lists the Muppets From Space that is in the box set as (Full Screen.)

It looks like that may be the case, although there might be some box sets with both versions, depending on what DVDs they used to fill up the box set.

Did you look carefully on all parts of the box including the bottom of it, and the spine of Muppets From Space? You might see a widescreen, widescreen/full screen, or just full screen tag somewhere.

Basically I did a little research, and the difference you can tell in the spine, are it has the older DVD logo (where it has the word Video is a disc shaped blob under DVD) whereas the Fullscreen version has the newer one (with the text DVD, then what looks more like a disc and the word Video underneath) plus, and more noticeably the catalog number is under the Columbia logo at the bottom, and on the Widescreen one its under the picture of Kermit.

So, I'll live with my fullscreen only version. Maybe Sony will do a nice SE soon with anamorphic video. Or Disney will somehow get the rights to this and Muppets Take Mahattan and then release them is SEs to match the other film (although those releases aren't too special). It's kinda sad, considering that Sony is one of the HD leaders that they still are doing Fullscreen only releases like this, and a few I've been aching to buy (notably Air Force One and Last Action Hero).

MrIncredible wrote:Basically I did a little research, and the difference you can tell in the spine, are it has the older DVD logo (where it has the word Video is a disc shaped blob under DVD) whereas the Fullscreen version has the newer one (with the text DVD, then what looks more like a disc and the word Video underneath) plus, and more noticeably the catalog number is under the Columbia logo at the bottom, and on the Widescreen one its under the picture of Kermit.

The covers between the 1999 and 2005 Columbia Tristar DVD releases are vastly different:

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Muppets_from_Space_(video)

The 1999 WS release is the one you should track down.

It's kinda sad, considering that Sony is one of the HD leaders that they still are doing Fullscreen only releases like this, and a few I've been aching to buy (notably Air Force One and Last Action Hero).

It's off-topic, but since you mentioned it there IS a WS version of "Last Action Hero" -- look for the dual-sided Columbia Tristar release from 1997.