With the World Cup wrapped, you might think a guy with a background in soccer might have some postmortem pontifications. You’d be wrong. Instead, I’m going to talk about how the Muppets stole the halftime show at the final and rekindled my long-held belief that these beloved creatures made of felt and ping-pong balls might be the most under-utilized large IP in entertainment.
Note: I’ve written about The Muppets previously in late 2024.
I read quite a lot of social commentary about their World Cup appearance, seemingly overshadowing other performing artists like Madonna and Shakira. These threads were also filled with calls-to-action for more Muppets. So, I’m very clearly not the only one who thinks we don’t see enough Electric Mayhem or Bunsen and Beaker.
I also saw a post somewhere claiming the Muppets are the “sprit animals of GenX”; I think that’s an on-point assessment.
Which Muppet is your spirit animal?
Anyway, after the WC Final, I posted this:
One of my biggest entertainment frustrations is how Disney has absolutely failed The Muppets, despite the absolute joy they bring the world every time they show up somewhere — like the FIFA World Cup halftime show.
The fact it’s not treated as a first class brand along with Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars boggles the mind.
Think about this for a minute. Disney has owned The Muppets since 2004. This is a company who between now and then has made 29 Pixar movies, 38 Marvel movies (since 2008), and 6 Star Wars movies (since 2012).
The number of theatrical Muppet films in that same amount of time?
Two.
“The Muppets” in 2011, and “Muppets Most Wanted” in 2014.
One could argue that television is a better home for these characters. There have been a few attempts at a series and a few specials including the well-received “The Muppet Show” with Sabrina Carpenter acting as a back-door pilot this year. They also just rethemed the Disney’s Hollywood Studios “Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster” to the Muppets.
So, it’s not like Disney is doing zero with the brand. It’s just not doing enough for it to reach its potential — in my humble opinion. The Mouse House seems content to keep them just on the edge of relevance and attention.
I’m sure there are champions for The Muppets within Disney fighting whatever executive forces and office politics are keeping them from investing in rebuilding a Muppetverse to sit next to the MCU and Star Wars. If I was made the Kevin Feige or Dave Filoni of Muppets tomorrow however, here’s a few things I’d do:
Sit down and talk with every performer and writer I could. Learn what still works, what’s holding The Muppets back, and what the next Muppet renaissance should look like.
The Muppets aren’t just a television or movie brand: They’re an everywhere brand and the media landscape has never been more suited for a Muppet invasion: Calling sporting events livestreams. Bringing back video shorts like the Swedish Chef cooking clips. Learn piano with Rowlf. Micro-dramas, TikToks, clips from long-form content: All of this leans into the other thing which makes Muppets great: Small bits, skits, and gags. Everything the troupe does is a meme.
I’d give Point Grey a full-season order of “The Muppet Show.” Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg absolutely know what they are doing with ANY franchise; that special with Sabrina Carpenter proved they know the right mix of modern and nostalgia to bring to the Muppet theater.
Muppets in all the roles except one human becomes the norm. Exceptions can be made, but Michael Caine in the “The Muppet Christmas Carol” (1992) set a gold standard.
Get a slate of specials and movies in development (both original and adapted): “The Bear” featuring Swedish Chef and Fozzie. “The Rookie” with Sam the Eagle. “Daredevil” with Miss Piggy. Even IP Disney doesn’t own: “Pluribus,” “The Last of Us,” and one of my favorite online pitches: A “Knives Out” mystery with Daniel Craig and an all Muppet supporting cast. Look at the success of Lego versions of stories and how well these kinds of non-canonical reimaginings work — and work well.
Sign comedian / actor / writer and fellow Muppet fan Brett Goldstein to a multi-year deal to cherry-pick whatever projects he wants to do.
Sesame Street is a great example to learn from.
Celebrities guesting for segments which are watched by all ages. I can’t tell you how many clips I’ve watched of the “Shrinking” cast talking with Elmo and friends.
The strong social game of Elmo, Cookie Monster, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, The Count.
The public appearances. Cookie Monster doing interviews at the “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” premiere is gold!
Alas, I’m not the one in charge of the spirit animals of GenX (and other generations). I do hope they get more of an opportunity to inspire new ones, the same way it did me and mine. In the meantime, what I can do is use that influence and my reverence for Jim Henson’s creations to build my own stories, characters, and worlds.
I leave you with this 2021 quote from Brett Goldstein:
“The secret of the Muppets is they’re not very good at what they do. Like Kermit’s not a great host, Fozzie is not a good comedian, Miss Piggy is not a great… None of them are actually good at it, but they fucking love it…
And they’re like a family and they like putting on a show and they have joy and because of the joy, it doesn’t matter that they’re not good at it.
And that’s like what we should all be. Muppets.”
Screen: “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” (Marvel). The series remains strong and the franchise is in good hands.
Music: “Groooovy” (I Don’t Like Mondays). It’s the theme to a new anime I’ve been watching with my son called “Black Torch.” Catchy.
Purchase: Oats Overnight (Oats Overnight Website) - Somehow this overnight oats trend got into my feeds, so I thought I’d try it. Keeping weird hours, but not wanting to eat tons of junk, this seems like a good “grab and go” for the AM.
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