The Importance Behind "The Muppets."
Courtesy of Disney-ABC Domestic Distributor, Henson Associates, CBS-owned stations
The Muppets have had an impressive, if rocky, history since their inception in the seventies. Created by Jim Henson, the man behind “Sesame Street,” and the original SNL Muppets, this particular franchise was begun by “The Muppet Show” which ran from 1976 to 1981. When The Muppets were at their peak they were everywhere: TV, movies, licensing deals that showed them at awards shows, in commercials, on products like lunch boxes and toys. They became a franchise very quickly, making three beloved films from ’79-’84. When their show ended in 1981, they became less prevalent, though still popular.
During my childhood The Muppets were still everywhere. The TV show “Muppet Babies” ran from 1984-1991, and reruns played on Nickelodeon every day. Three Muppet movies were made in the nineties, the last of which, “Muppets from Space,” was a box office bust and led to a long drought for the franchise. Temporarily there was no home for The Muppets, and the hole that was left with the 1990 death of Jim Henson was felt worse than ever. The Muppets were deemed box office poison, and no TV shows, good movies, or specials were made with the gang for the ungodly period of twelve years.
"Muppets from Space" stopped theatrical Muppet films. Courtesy Jim Henson Pictures and Columbia Pictures.
Though there weren’t any theatrical films being produced during this time there was still some activity from the gang. A straight to video film called “Kermit’s Swamp Years,” was made in 2002 for little money and had little production value. They also made two television films: “It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie ”and“ The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz.” Disney showed interest in the franchise and bought the rights to the Muppets in 2004. They began reintroducing them in 2008 with online shorts, including a rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. It was Jason Segel and director Nicholas Stoller who first came to the company with an idea for a whole new movie, and it was this brainchild that unearthed the Muppets from their societal expulsion.
“The Muppets” was released in 2011 and caused a huge explosion for the franchise, grossing $165 million, making it the second highest grossing theatrical Muppet movie, adjusted for inflation. It led to an Oscar win for Best Song for “Flight of the Conchords’” Bret McKenzie, reinvigorated the franchise, and heaped praise on Segel, Disney, and the Muppets themselves. This film was a huge deal at the time of its release. It meant that the Muppets were out of exile, the franchise was enlivened, and there was hope for the love of Miss Piggy and Kermit. Soon to follow this film was “Muppets Most Wanted,” from 2014, a caper that followed the events of the first film and had the same production team as the first. Missing was a human protagonist (originally played by Segel) who could mollycoddle the film along until the Muppets could hold a film of their own. The second film suffered for it, and only made $80 million against a $50 million budget.
Writers Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller brought back the gang in 2011. Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Mandeville Films.
Critics and audiences alike were afraid that this would be the end of the Muppets again, to be buried in the Disney vault until the unforeseen future. Luckily Disney cares about the lifeblood of the Muppets, and wants to see the franchise live on. On September 22nd the Muppets will return for their first network show since “Muppets Tonight” which ran from 1996-1998. While the original “Muppets Show” fell into the trend of variety show, and included many celebrity cameos and musical numbers, this new show seems to fall more into the genre of mockumentary, dealing in the personal lives of the Muppet crew. While I personally yearn for the variety and spectacular of the original “Muppet Show,” times have changed drastically and these kinds of programs don’t do as well as they did in the seventies. While I am worried about the overall look and feel of this new show, it’s also very exciting to see the gang back in action. The Muppets haven’t graced primetime since I was in kindergarten, and now that they have new fans and are beginning a new run of the franchise, they can only benefit from the exposure of television. It’s not only important that they succeed in this instance, but truly amazing that this is happening at all. I’ll leave you with the original Muppets theme, hopefully for you to memorize before their opening night on September 22nd at 8/7c on ABC.
