Wrong-sounding Muppets

I’m not a fan of Waldo, the Spirit of 3D. But this little clip from Family Guy comes to mind every time I think of how glad I am they’re only remastering Muppet Vision 3D, and not creating a new film.

RIP, Jim Henson.

Not for the Disney Purist: Alice in Wonderland, Muppets Remixes

Both created by waambat, hat tip to BoingBoing.

Piglet in a Surgical Mask?

According to Unconfirmed Sources (satire):

(Anaheim-CA) Disneyland continues having a difficult time living up to its “Happiest Place on Earth” promise. Only two weeks after Disney employees took over the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride, the character of Piglet has officially been banned due to swine flu concerns. And once again a Disney employee is protesting.

David Lemster, who has played the part of Piglet for five years, took his case to local news on KCAL, gaining media attention by chaining himself to the “Swiss Family Treehouse”. “To ban Piglet because of this swine flu outbreak is ridiculous. It sends the wrong message to kids.” Lemster believes Disney missed an important teaching opportunity. “I’m not saying that Piglet can’t be fearful of the swine flu. As a method actor, I understand that. Why do you think I suggested that Piglet should wear a surgical mask? I even mentioned a possible merchandising opportunity, putting other “Winnie the Pooh” characters on the mask. They would hear none of it, Small World Fascists!”

And yeah, the story gets weirder from there. Something about Kermit and Miss Piggy’s sadomasochistic relationship, but I just couldn’t follow it.

We can only hope that Piglet’s surgical mask would be anywhere near as stylish as those featured today on Pink Tentacle.

Rizzo Rat, Midnight Cowboy

CNN’s got a great piece today on the origins of some well-loved Muppets. My personal favorite story?

18. Rizzo the Rat might sound familiar to you, especially if you’ve seen “Midnight Cowboy” — he is named for Dustin Hoffman’s character, Ratso Rizzo. He was created after puppeteer Steve Whitmire was inspired by rat puppets made from bottles. He first showed up on “The Muppet Show” as one of a group of rats following Christopher Reeve around — he’s easy to spot because he hams it up more than any of the other rats. He occasionally performs with Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.

Hat tip: Mr Broke Hoedown’s Twitter feed.

Mythbusters: The Early Years

“We invited top scientists from around the world.

Unfortunately, none of them showed up.”

Swedish Chef and Beaker Performing Bizet

Hat tip: Muppet Newsflash. (Site seems to be down as I type this…but I hope it comes back soon!)

Happy USA Independence Day!

And hey, even if you’re not from the United States (or not much of a patriot), you might still enjoy this little taste of Muppets!

Hat tip: The Muppet Newsflash.

Disney and Star Wars Tchotke Round-Up

• New Disney and Muppets Star Wars mash-up toys can be seen at Endor Express. (Hat tip: The Disney Blog.)
• Incredible hand-made bronze cast Bobba Fett Pez dispenser on Flickr. Special bonus points for re-purposing the carcass from a Lion King dispenser! (Hat tip: BoingBoing.)
• Super-cute Star Wars Amigurumi dolls at Geek Central Station! And a great interview with the crafty chick who made them at the Star Wars blog. (Hat tip: BoingBoing, again. And I gotta go on a tangent . . . the Star Wars blog had a banner ad saying: “Chewbacca, the original wingman.” How awesome is that?)
• And, well, it’s kinda too big to call it a tchotke, but I found a picture of this awesome Darth Vader hot air balloon on Flickr, taken at the Albuquerque balloon fiesta, which I must say is a fine place to spend a morning if you ever get the chance.

And on top of everything else, I have been made aware that Donald Duck will be dressing as a stormtrooper this year for Star Wars Weekends! So, is it time to start packing for my trip yet? Pleeeeeeze?!???

Muppet Newsflash: Law and Order SVU

I don’t know why I don’t run Muppet news that often . . . I guess I kinda missed the whole Fraggle Rock era, and a bunch of other missing pieces from my misspent 20s and 30s. But this piece earlier this week from Muppet Newsflash is just too good not to re-blog:

Universal Home Entertainment is planning the DVD release of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – The 6th Year“. The box set of the New York City crime drama will be released on April 1, 2008 and aside from the 23 episodes the set will include a fun Muppety extra. The set is said to include the 4-minute Sesame Street sketch “Law and Order: Special Letters Unit” as a bonus feature.

Produced for Sesame Street’s 37th season, the sketch features an alphabet parody staring a group of Muppets. Detectives Meloni, Mariska, and Munch search for a missing letter “M.” As they investigate, they find many things that start with the letter “M” (such as a cow named Murray that makes Moo sounds, a mallard, and much more).

A salute to all Muppets, but mostly Sesame Street.

It’s especially funny/ironic because of course SVU often focuses on crimes against children, so really it’s the Law and Order variant I’d be least likely to let my kid watch.

More Entertainment Options Coming to HK Disneyland

From The HKDL Source:

Today Bill Ernest, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Hong Kong Disneyland, announced four new entertainment initiatives for 2008 – Muppet Mobile Lab, High School Musical Celebration, Nemo Submarine “Turtle Talk” and The Art of Animation.

“As part of our continuing strategy to enhance our Guests’ experience, we are excited to add new attractions and entertainment offerings in 2008 that truly showcase the magic of Disney’s cutting-edge technology, its timeless stories and beloved characters, who will appeal to Guests of all ages,” said Ernest. “After entertaining millions of Guests in our first two years of operation, Hong Kong Disneyland will continue to find new, immersive ways to delight families from Hong Kong and all over Asia for many years to come.”

Starting in spring 2008, these four new entertainment offerings will be unveiled to Guests at Hong Kong Disneyland. These experiences are in addition to the already-announced classic Disney attraction it’s a small world – which will include entertainment features unique to Hong Kong Disneyland.

I’m sure none of these really do much for park capacity, but they might give Guests a little more bang for their buck, and perhaps keep morale high on those unusual peak days when lines are long.