In 2004, the Walt Disney Company acquired The Muppets franchise from the Jim Henson Company. This transaction included all Henson-owned Muppet assets, including many Muppet titles from the company's catalog of television series, specials, films, and videos. Henson retained the rights to Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, and other properties. Sesame Street and most specials, spinoffs, and related productions are produced and owned by Sesame Workshop.
The following is a list of Henson projects produced up until 2004, and how they are divided by their current rights holders. Select Sesame Street productions co-produced by The Jim Henson Company are included.
Series[]
Disney | |||
Production | Duration | Episodes | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Muppet Meeting Films | 1975-1993 | 44 | [note 1] |
The Muppet Show | 1976-1981 | 120 | [note 1] This was originally distributed by ITC Entertainment. The Jim Henson Company later purchased the distribution rights, which were subsequently included in the 2004 sale. |
Muppet Babies | 1984-1990 | 107 | [note 1] |
Little Muppet Monsters | 1985 | 3 | [note 1] |
The Jim Henson Hour (Muppet Segments) |
1989 | 9 (30 min.) 1 (15 min.) 1 (60 min.) |
[note 1] Segments include: Outer Space (Louie Anderson), Oceans (Ted Danson), Power (Nylons, Today Show), First Show (Bobby McFerrin), Fitness (Smokey Robinson), Videotape (Buster Poindexter), Garbage (k.d. lang), Miss Piggy Goes to Hollywood, Secrets of the Muppets, Food, Movie Trailer Parody of Classic Muppets |
Muppet Time | 1994 | 40 | [note 1] |
Muppets Tonight | 1996-1998 | 22 | [note 1] |
Bear in the Big Blue House | 1997-2003 | 117 | [note 1] |
Muppetisms | 1999 | 60 | [note 1] |
Henson | |||
Production | Duration | Episodes | Notes |
Fraggle Rock | 1983-1987 | 96 | [note 2] |
Fraggle Rock (animated) | 1987 | 13 | [note 2] |
Mother Goose Stories | 1987-1990 | 39 | [note 2] |
The StoryTeller | 1987-1989 | 9 | [note 2] |
The Jim Henson Hour (Non-Muppet Segments) |
1989 | 10 | [note 2] Segments include: The Heartless Giant, Lighthouse Island, The Soldier and Death, Dog City, Monster Maker, The Song of the Cloud Forest, The True Bride, Sapsorrow, The Three Ravens, Living with Dinosaurs |
The Ghost of Faffner Hall | 1989 | 13 | [note 2] |
The StoryTeller: Greek Myths | 1990 | 4 | [note 2] |
CityKids | 1993-1994 | 13 | [note 2] |
The Secret Life of Toys | 1994 | 13 | [note 2] |
The Animal Show | 1994-1997 | 65 | [note 2] One episode features Sam the Eagle. |
Aliens in the Family | 1996 | 8 | [note 2] |
The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss | 1996-1997 | 40 | [note 2] |
Brats of the Lost Nebula | 1998 | 13 | [note 2] |
Family Rules | 1999 | 6 | [note 2] |
Farscape | 1999-2003 | 88 | [note 2] |
Donna's Day | 1999 | 52 | [note 2] A "restricted retained entertainment property" by the Henson Company. |
Mopatop's Shop | 1999-2003 | 260 | [note 2] |
Construction Site | 1999-2003 | 26 | [note 2] |
The Fearing Mind | 2000-2001 | 13 | [note 2] |
Telling Stories with Tomie dePaola | 2000-2001 | 26 | [note 2] |
The Hoobs | 2001-2002 | 200 | [note 2] |
Bambaloo | 2003-2004 | 105 | [note 2] |
Animal Jam | 2003 | 30 | [note 2] |
Other Properties | |||
Production | Duration | Episodes | Owner/Notes |
Sam and Friends | 1955-1961 | The characters are owned by The Walt Disney Company, but are a "frozen property", so Disney needs approval from The Jim Henson Company to use them.[1] | |
The Jimmy Dean Show | 1963-1966 | The Jimmy Dean Estate/Donna Dean Stevens controls the restoration and TV airings of the series. | |
The Land of Gortch | 1975-1976 | Broadway Video owns the existing Saturday Night Live episodes and appearances. Henson owns the characters and can produce derivative works (including new characters); as part of the 2004 sale of the Muppets to Disney, Henson agrees to not identify any of the SNL puppet characters as "Muppets" in any future works. | |
Dinosaurs | 1991-1993 | 66 | Produced by Michael Jacobs Productions and Jim Henson Productions in association with Walt Disney Television. The series and characters are owned by the Jim Henson Company; Disney has always held distribution rights. |
Dog City | 1992-1995 | 31 | Produced by Nelvana, in association with the Jim Henson Company. Streaming distribution controlled by Nelvana. |
Films and Specials[]
Disney | |||
Production | Year | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
Hey Cinderella! | 1970 | [note 1] | |
The Frog Prince | 1971 | [note 1] | |
The Muppet Musicians of Bremen | 1972 | [note 1] | |
The Muppets Valentine Show | 1974 | [note 1] | |
The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence | 1975 | [note 1] | |
The Muppets Go Hollywood | 1979 | [note 1] This was originally distributed by ITC Entertainment. The Jim Henson Company later purchased the distribution rights, which were subsequently included in the 2004 sale. | |
The Muppet Movie | 1979 | [note 1] This was originally distributed by ITC Entertainment. The Jim Henson Company later purchased the distribution rights, which were subsequently included in the 2004 sale. | |
The Muppets Go to the Movies | 1981 | [note 1] This was originally distributed by ITC Entertainment. The Jim Henson Company later purchased the distribution rights, which were subsequently included in the 2004 sale. | |
The Great Muppet Caper | 1981 | [note 1] This was originally distributed by ITC Entertainment. The Jim Henson Company later purchased the distribution rights, which were subsequently included in the 2004 sale. | |
Of Muppets and Men | 1981 | [note 1] This was originally distributed by ITC Entertainment. The Jim Henson Company later purchased the distribution rights, which were subsequently included in the 2004 sale. | |
The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show | 1982 | [note 1] This was originally distributed by ITC Entertainment. The Jim Henson Company later purchased the distribution rights, which were subsequently included in the 2004 sale. | |
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years | 1986 | [note 1] Features Traveling Matt Fraggle and Sprocket, as well as clips from various Henson-retained productions. | |
The Tale of the Bunny Picnic | 1986 | [note 1] | |
A Muppet Family Christmas | 1987 | [note 1] Features characters from Fraggle Rock. | |
The Muppets at Walt Disney World | 1990 | [note 1] Walt Disney Television has always retained the distribution rights to this special. | |
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson | 1990 | [note 1] Walt Disney Television has always retained the distribution rights to this special. | |
Muppet*Vision 3D | 1991 | ||
The Muppet Christmas Carol | 1992 | Walt Disney Pictures has always retained the distribution rights to this film. | |
Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree | 1995 | [note 1] | |
Muppet Treasure Island | 1996 | Walt Disney Pictures has always retained the distribution rights to this film. | |
Henson | |||
Production | Year | Notes | |
Time Piece | 1965 | [note 2] | |
Youth 68 | 1968 | [note 2] | |
The Cube | 1969 | [note 2] | |
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas | 1977 | [note 2] The 2004 deal specifies this as a "restricted retained entertainment property", and that the Henson Company shall "delete the appearances by Kermit the Frog at the beginning of each of The Christmas Toy and Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas." Although this has applied to subsequent video releases, this was retracted for a special TV airing on ABC Family in 2015 and a home video release in 2017. | |
The Dark Crystal | 1982 | [note 2] Produced under ITC Entertainmant, and originally distributed by Universal. The Jim Henson Company purchased theatrical distribution rights around the time it was released. Sony retains home video and streaming distribution. | |
The World of the Dark Crystal | 1983 | [note 2] | |
Henson's Place | 1984 | [note 2] Features appearances by Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, as well as clips from a number of productions later purchased by The Walt Disney Company. | |
Jim Henson Presents The World of Puppetry | 1985 | [note 2] | |
Labyrinth | 1986 | [note 2] Originally distributed by TriStar Pictures, distribution rights still held by Sony. | |
The Christmas Toy | 1986 | [note 2] A "restricted retained entertainment property" by the Henson Company; according to the 2004 deal for the sale of the Muppets to the Walt Disney Company, Henson shall "delete the appearances by Kermit the Frog at the beginning of each of The Christmas Toy and Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas." Although this has applied to subsequent video releases, this was retracted for a home video release in 2019. | |
Inside the Labyrinth | 1987 | [note 2] | |
Down at Fraggle Rock | 1987 | [note 2] | |
Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting | 1989 | [note 2] One of the few Sesame Street productions produced by The Jim Henson Company, and the only Sesame Street production distributed by the Henson Company. | |
Other Properties | |||
Production | Year | Owner/Notes | |
The Muppets on Puppets | 1970 | This project is not listed in the Disney-Henson deal. However, Buena Vista Home Video did release this as a special feature on The Muppet Show: Season Three. | |
The Great Santa Claus Switch | 1970 | ||
Out to Lunch | 1974 | One of the few Sesame Street productions produced by The Jim Henson Company, in association with Sesame Workshop and ABC. | |
John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together | 1979 | The John Denver Estate retains ownership. | |
Here Come the Puppets! | 1980 | ||
Rocky Mountain Holiday | 1983 | The John Denver Estate retains ownership. | |
The Muppets Take Manhattan | 1984 | Sony (originally distributed by TriStar Pictures) | |
The Witches | 1990 | Warner Bros. | |
Buddy | 1997 | Sony (produced by Jim Henson Pictures, distributed by Columbia Pictures) | |
Muppets from Space | 1999 | Sony (originally distributed by Columbia Pictures) | |
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland | 1999 | Sony (originally distributed by Columbia Pictures, produced by Jim Henson Pictures and Sesame Workshop) | |
Kermit's Swamp Years | 2002 | Sony (originally distributed by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment) | |
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie | 2002 | NBC Universal | |
I Love Muppets | 2002 | ||
I Love the Muppets | 2003 |
Direct-to-Video[]
External links[]
Sources[]
- ↑ Shemin, Craig ToughPigs interview with Craig Shemin
- Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 listed as an Identified Entertainment Property in 2004 Disney/Muppets purchase agreement, archived on Kenny's Blog - Disney-Henson: Who Owns What
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.36 2.37 2.38 2.39 2.40 listed as a Retained Entertainment Property in 2004 Disney/Muppets purchase agreement, archived on Kenny's Blog - Disney-Henson: Who Owns What