Concept art by Joe Lanzisero[1]
Great Muppet Movie Ride
The Great Muppet Movie Ride is an abandoned concept for an attraction at (what was then) Disney-MGM Studios in Walt Disney World.
The attraction, which was meant to parody the park's own Great Movie Ride, would have brought guests through a variety of set pieces in which the Muppets attempted to recreate scenes from classic movies, such as Frankenstein, Peter Pan, Indiana Jones[2] and Muppet-original scenes such as Pigs in Space.[3]
Statler and Waldorf would have been seated in a cart alongside the guests and would experience misfortune based on the different scenes.[4] An idea spoofing the snow scene in Dr. Zhivago would have seen Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy in a plastic ball that's turned back and forth, while a Western-themed portion of the ride would feature horses making the sounds of galloping with coconuts tied to their hooves.[5]
Unlike the Great Movie Ride, which features scenes (and behind-the-scenes) loosely based on Hollywood movies, the Muppet version was conceived to explain the way movies are produced, with a typically Muppet spin. Speaking during the ride's development, Jim Henson explained, "It's the flip side of the rest of the Disney-MGM Studio, which tells you how movies are really made. We're doing it in the most stupid way possible, using lots of misinformation."[5]
Plans for the ride, which would have complemented Muppet*Vision 3D in a new Muppet Studios section of the park, were abandoned after the merger between The Walt Disney Company and The Jim Henson Company fell apart.
Sources[]
- ↑ Joe Lanzisero's LinkedIn May 2, 2024
- ↑ Marcelo Vignali's LinkedIn August 10, 2023
- ↑ Marcelo Vignali's LinkedIn August 15, 2023
- ↑ Craig Shemin, The MuppetCast episode #113
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Disney Channel Magazine July/August 1990