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The Muppets go viral as fans share their love for The Muppets
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“Life’s like a movie, write your own ending, keep believing, keep pretending.” Muppet fans have been mourning because on November 22nd, 2024 Disney announced that they would be closing down the Muppet Courtyard in Hollywood Studios as well as Muppet Vision 3D. This change was to accommodate the new Monsters Inc. section of the park. Even though this change has left many Muppet fans sad there is still something to look forward to as The Rockin Roller Coaster in Hollywood Studios will be changing the band that they highlight from Aerosmith to the Muppet band Electric Mayhem!
Senior Katelyn Retzlaff explained how she feels about the new changes, “It’s never fun to see something close in Disney, but I’m excited about the new Monsters Inc ride and I’m glad they’re still keeping the muppets in with the New Rockin’ Roller Coaster.” Even though this is exciting, many fans are still upset about the closure of the Muppet courtyard and have posted to social media their memories of visiting the park which have gone viral.
The Muppet courtyard as it currently stands includes Muppet Vision 3D, The Stage One Company Store that sold Muppet merch, and Pizzarizzo, a restaurant. Muppet Vision 3D is the main attraction of this section of the park. Muppet Vision 3D is a 3D experience that follows The Muppets through trying to make a new movie but running into many obstacles, during this they make an animated creature called Waldo C Graphic, they also lose one of their Muppet Members and go on a search for him the movie is very chaotic as most Muppet productions are as they follow many different plot lines. Still, the experience is not one to miss out on as they even include animatronics, live performers, and real-life effects like bubbles. This movie experience is one that many park guests have come to love which makes its closure even more devastating even though there have been signs of closure evident on the park as they started to take things down as early as 2017.
One of the reasons that Muppet fans are so sad by the closing of Muppet 3D is because Muppet 3D was Jim Henson’s last project and was the last time he ever performed or voiced a Muppet. Jim Henson is known as the creator of the Muppets as well as creating The Dark Crystal series, creating David Bowie’s Labyrinth, Creating Fraggle Rock, as well as being a key member in the creation and production of Sesame Street voicing many famous characters like Ernie.
As you can see Jim Henson loved to explore and create new things which led him to his last project of working with Disney. Disney and The Muppets joined forces in 1989, and with this new friendship, Jim started to develop many ideas for Muppet-themed attractions. Some of these attractions include The Great Muppet Movie Ride which would take you through the Muppets recreating famous movie scenes in their way. Another attraction featured the Swedish Chef as he tried to prepare meals with out-of-control ingredients. Jim even had an idea for a restaurant called Great Gonzos Pizza Pandemonium Parlor where your meal would be served to you by an animatronic rat. Jim also oversaw a live Muppet show called Here Come The Muppets Live which acted as a placeholder until the other Muppet attractions were finished. Unfortunately, though Jim Henson died on May 16th, 1990 with his Attraction ideas besides Muppet 3D dying with him and never seeing the light of day, On May 16th, 1991 Muppet Vision 3D opened on the 1st anniversary of its creator’s death.
While the closure of Muppet Vision 3D made headlines that has not been the only reason they have gone viral. Muppet and Jim Henson Exhibits have popped up in museums at The Riverfront Museum in Peoria Illinois, The Museum of Moving Image in Astoria New York, and The Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, Georgia. There have been many viral videos of fans at these museums taking videos with Muppet songs playing or recreating a famous scene from Ferris Buller’s Day Off to the song Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Dream Academy. Another trend has also popped up which is to share a traumatic experience in text behind a picture of Pepé The King Prawn.
Jim Henson’s work has been appreciated for decades and continues to make connections with younger generations. The Muppets have been a cultural icon for generations. Their first appearance on The Muppet Show lasted for 5 seasons with 120 episodes between 1976-1981. The Muppet Show was one of the most successful TV shows on the planet playing in 120 countries with their average view count being 235 Million.
Several Muppet movies were made. Some of the more famous ones include The Muppet Movie (1979), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), and Muppet Treasure Island (1996). These are classic Muppet movies but there are also more recent movies that were made to introduce a new audience to the Muppets; those movies are, The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted (2014). Senior Avery Gulliford shared her thoughts on Muppet Movies, “I’ve seen a few of them. My favorite has to be The Muppets – 2011, I loved watching it with my sister as a kid.”
It’s needless to say that The Muppets are important to a lot of people but with the closure of Muppet Vision 3D as well as the current cancellation of Sesame Street it is important that new audiences fall in love with these characters as much as other generations have. Someone who touches on this problem is one of our counselors Mrs. Hunt who explained how she feels about the new changes in Disney, “Makes me feel a little sad, but kind of get it… it’s like the Muppets are too old for younger generations to connect with?!?” The Muppets have and could carry on for decades but that is only possible if corporations like Disney understand what they mean to so many people. And I think that they have made a good start by showing up to museums and going back to Muppet Vision 3D just one last time.
It is hard to imagine a world without Kermit the Frog and that shouldn’t be a world that younger generations have to live in so I urge you to “play the music and light the lights” for the people you care about so that The Muppets can continue to be around for generations.