If you are as much a Jim Henson fan as you are a Disney fan, then you are in one of two scenarios this weekend. Either you're waiting in line to see the new The Muppets movie premiering this weekend, or you've just seen The Muppets movie and wish you could enjoy more of all things Muppets. A great place to enjoy Henson's amazing contribution to Hollywood is right at Disney's Hollywood Studios. This article celebrates that legacy and all things that are Muppet-like.
Henson and Kermit making their mark at the Chinese Theater. Photo by J. Jeff Kober.
I won't detail the history of the Muppets here, nor the roller coaster experience of bringing the Muppets on board to the Walt Disney Company. But I will say that when this first came about, Michael Eisner noted: “Just about every newspaper in the country featured our joining with the Muppets as if it were a merger of GM and Ford Motor Company.”
And that was fine with Jim Henson. In the same August 1990 Disney News, Henson stated: “'I've loved Disney, the whole Disney image, for years…I grew up on the Disney movies. Every new animated feature was a major event in my upbringing. And the Parks have always been among my favorite places. The idea of designing for them is a wonderful thing to me.”
So if you step back to 1989, consider that on May 1, the Disney-MGM Studios opened to the world. It was a small park, but the crowds were enormous. And within a short time, Eisner was trying to figure out how to make the park much, much bigger. The name of the park suggested Disney's own sense of not having a strong enough stable of films that would draw people in. The Magic Kingdom had capitalized on all that Walt Disney had created, and remember that The Little Mermaid didn't even premiere until Christmas of that same year, ushering in a new Golden Age of Disney Animation. So it wasn't surprising that the park was being created with a focus on films like The Wizard of Oz and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Thus, in October 1989, the Walt Disney Company signed an agreement with Henson Associates Inc. to build attractions at Disney-MGM Studios, as well as other production ventures. As one reporter put it, the “deal [was] so natural it's more like a marriage than a merger.”
With that understanding, things got underway fairly quickly. I remember when I first came to the Disney-MGM Studios in January 1990. The most obvious construction going on was just behind what was then the final stop of the Post-Production tour (now The Little Mermaid theater) and what was then the original entrance to the Backstage Tour (now the newer entrance to The Magic of Disney Animation). It was the theater that now plays Walt Disney: One Man's Dream. But it was being created as the new theater for showing previews of movies to come at the end of the Post-Production Tour. The intent was to use the current theater to create a new show, which premiered on May 25, 1990. It was called Here Come the Muppets.
Here Come the Muppets was not a puppet-style show. Rather, the Muppet characters were in walk-around costumes, much as we see the Disney characters on stage. You can get a glimpse of that show here, the highlight of which included a monorail bursting on stage carrying many of the Muppets. At around this same time, Muppet characters began walking around the park, as well. While larger-than-life, walk-around style Muppets seemed like a departure from doing a puppet-style show, remember that Jim Henson had been helping make the Sesame Street Live shows happen since 1980. They already were familiar with creating this style of show. In fact, long before Mickey was physically moving his mouth in Dream-Along with Mickey, you'll see that all of the Muppet characters moved their mouths.
That show only lasted a little more than a year, when it closed in September 2, 1991, to be replaced by Voyage of the Little Mermaid. You can read a great article by Jim Korkis that chronicles the use of puppets from Jim Henson's Workshop to be used in a little-remembered Disney Channel show called The Little Mermaid's Island. It's ironic that Voyage of the Little Mermaid, which is largely a puppeted experience, is in a theater originally built for the Muppets.
Some say that this was not the first attraction using the Muppets. Some give that credit to Hollywood's Pretty Woman stage show, which was at the first Theater of the Stars, located adjacent to Starring Rolls on what is now the entrance to Sunset Boulevard. This show featured tributes to Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers and even Madonna. But the show's surprise ending featured Kermit and Miss Piggy appearing in a walk-around costume.
It's unlikely that this show came out before Here Come the Muppets, probably because only two months after that show premiered, Dick Tracy Starring in Diamond Double Cross premiered on that stage in advance of the Dick Tracy premiere. Plus Pretty Woman, which was ended up as a surprise hit for Disney—far surpassing Dick Tracy's success, came out about the same time. As successful as the film version of Pretty Woman might have been, the show didn't last very long at the Studios, as it was moved out to make room for Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage, all in time for the film's premiere in December of that same year.
What we do know is that, in the middle of all this on May 16, 1990, only a little more than a year after the Studios opened, the world was shocked to hear that Jim Henson suddenly died at the age of 53. This was only a few days after the Muppets at Walt Disney World premiered on The Magical World of Disney. You can forward just a little to see the very young Raven-Symone singing the Rainbow Connection with Kermit in the shadows of Cinderella Castle. There's also a great little gag reel of Muppet outtakes from that show.
By the time Jim Henson died, principal photography had been completed on Muppet Vision 3-D.
Jim Henson's Muppet Vision broke all the rules about 3D. Photo by J. Jeff Kober.
This is what most people think of when they think of seeing the Muppets at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and arguably so, since the attraction has outlasted everything else. But next time you're there, take a moment to appreciate the attraction's theming. Most people talk about the key under the mat, and the “Net-Full-Of Jello,” but stop to look at the fountain outside. And if there's enough time before the next show, walk the extended queue to the right of the theater, where you'll find an array of creative and funny signage and props.
Rizzo and team gathering coins from the fountain in front of Muppet Vision 3-D. Photo by J. Jeff Kober.
On the high seas, it's easy turning green. Photo by J. Jeff Kober.
In space, no one can hear you “meep”! Photo by J. Jeff Kober
I think this shows more promise than the original. Photo by J. Jeff Kober.
When you exit the show, be sure to step across to the Stage 1 Company Store.
Inside you'll find not only Muppet merchandise, but a lot of great sets and gags that play to the Muppet genre.
This entrance to Stage 1 makes it very clear muppet merchandise can be found therein. Photo by J. Jeff Kober.
Muppet laundry (and some Disney laundry) found hanging between the first and second floors inside Stage 1, along with a flag from reminiscent of The Great Muppet Caper. Photo by J. Jeff Kober.
Above the rafters, Miss Piggy has been immortalized…and graffitied. Photo by J. Jeff Kober.
With the success of Muppet Vision 3-D, the walk around Muppets reappeared not far from the exit of the film in what would be known as Muppets on Location: The Days of Swine and Roses, which lasted until 1994. A video was created of the show and you will find some unprofessional and candid Disney cast members (they didn't know that something called YouTube would eventually memorialize their remarks) stating that the show “sucked” and that it had “worn out its welcome.”
The truth is that with Disney unable to really create a permanent relationship with Henson, it had moved as far away from the Muppets as possible. In this case, to the Hollywood Tower of Terror on the other end of the park, where this new attraction in 1994 would define the Disney-MGM Studios in a much different way. It would be another 10 years before The Walt Disney Company would acquire the Muppets and other Jim Henson creations in February 2004.
Beyond this however, Jim Henson's touch can be seen in so many places around Disney's Hollywood Studios over the years.
Take for instance The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They started making daily appearances at the Studios starting July 1, 1990. While not a Jim Henson production, the turtles were created by the Jim Henson Creature Shop. Indeed, Brian Henson, Jim's son, was chief puppeteer for the movie. By the way, Jim Henson also did special effects puppetry for Return to Oz, another long-ago Disney connection.
Speaking of the Jim Henson Creature Shop, part of the backstage walking tour was re-imagined with many of Jim Henson's creations being showcased. In its earlier days, this portion of the tour would showcase some of Disney's special effects, the most memorable to me being figures and models from The Black Hole. With the addition of Jim Henson, you could see elaborate character figures from Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. Of course the walking tour is no longer a part of the Studios experience. This location is now known as The Backstage Prop shop, and is used for hosting and catering to events. It does not appear that Henson's props have continued to this present day.
When you're visiting Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, take note that Henson had been approached to create Yoda for The Empire Strikes Back. The Henson shops would play a big role in helping to make that character a reality. And Henson suggested that Frank Oz (Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear) perform the role of Yoda.
Dinosaurs Live rolled down Hollywood Boulevard at the Studios from September 26, 1991, to August 29, 1992. Dinosaurs Live was based on the television series made by Jim Henson Associates which looked at the life of the Sinclairs, a dinosaur family in contemporary clothes. It was part All in the Family/part The Simpsons. At the Studios, this entertainment looked more like a pre-historic Disney Channel Rocks coming through then it did a parade.
At this point, there was something of a gap in terms of involvement with the company Jim Henson had created. It would take a very different experience to bring the art of Henson back to the Studios. From 1999 to 2001 Jim Henson's Bear in the Big Blue House: Live on Stage became an interactive stage show across the Animation Courtyard from where Here Come the Muppets played for so many years. It was later folded into Playhouse Disney: Live on Stage, which then included other shows.
Not long after, Kermit, Miss Piggy and Sweetums appeared in the park's Disney Stars and Motor Cars parade for several years.
Walk around the Studios, and you catch other glimpses of the Muppets today. Here is the fire truck used in the Muppet Vision 3-D movie. It was outside the theater, but has since moved to the Backlot Tram Tour.
Here on the Studio Backlot Tour you see the fire engine from Muppet Vision 3-D. Photo by J. Jeff Kober.
While waiting in line for that tour note the taxi from The Great Muppet Caper driven by Beau.
Now immortalized in the queue for the Studio Backlot Tour. Photo by J. Jeff Kober.
Jim Henson's characters have shown up elsewhere at Walt Disney World. The Muppet Mobile Lab with Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydrew rolled through Epcot for a short time as shown here.
Muppets making an appearance during the press event for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage at Disneyland. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
Last year in connection with the “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” volunteer service program, Kermit and company became the ambassadors of that initiative, headlining the afternoon parade at the Magic Kingdom along with chosen volunteers.
Last year, the Muppets led the parade daily at the Magic Kingdom. Photo by J. Jeff Kober.
There are some attractions that never came to be at the Studios. Jim Korkis notes that the area behind the San Francisco mural, or the Backlot Theater, was once intended to be the location for the Great Muppet Movie Ride. And Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano was originally supposed to be The Great Gonzo's Pizza Pandemonium Parlor. Imagine Rizzo the Rat making appearances the same way Remy shows up in Les Chefs de France. It would be the most popular restaurant at Disney's Hollywood Studios!
Maybe it's not too late. With the resurgence of the Muppets thanks to their new movie, maybe we'll still see an entire section of the park dedicated to the Muppets. What do you think? Would like to see more Muppets at Disney's Hollywood Studios? Let us know. And let Disney know with your wallets at the box office this weekend.
