HAPPY HALLOWEEN from "TDDF" & Don't forget the Muppets are on WWE tonight!

And don't forget to catch the Muppets big appearance on WWE Raw tonight on USA Network! It starts at 9:00pm EST.

"TDDF" Halloween Weekend part 2: A look back at Hocus Pocus

As we dust off our broomsticks and put the final touches on our costumes for All Hallows’ Eve, We take a look back at Walt Disney Studios’ Halloween-themed cult classic Hocus Pocus. Helmed by Kenny Ortega, more recently known for directing and choreographing the super-successful High School Musical trilogy, this fantasy film set in Salem, Massachusetts, stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy as three sister witches who are brought back to life on Halloween 300 years after being hanged for witchcraft. In this behind-the-scenes photo taken during filming in 1993, well-known director, producer, and general jack-o’-all-trades Garry Marshall plays dress up for his cameo in the film. Equally versatile and talented sister Penny Marshall also makes a brief appearance. Full of laughs and special effects, Hocus Pocus continues to cast its spell on audiences each spooky season during ABC Family’s 13 Nights of Halloween.

In this behind-the-scenes photo taken during filming in 1993, well-known director, producer, and general jack-o'-all-trades Garry Marshall plays dress up for his cameo in the film.

"TDDF" Halloween Weekend: 1977 television special Disney's Halloween Hall O’ Fame

With a little help from a makeup artist, comedian and actor Jonathan Winters, pictured here, literally got into character for his role as Jack O. Lantern in the 1977 television special Halloween Hall O’ Fame. In the All Hallows’ Eve-themed program, which premiered on October 30, 1977 as part of the weekly The Wonderful World of Disney series, Jonathan also portrays a night watchman at The Walt Disney Studios who stumbles upon a prop room—the perfect place for the stand-up comic to treat viewers to his signature improv style. Jonathan is at once a doctor scolding his patient—a prop skeleton—for not heeding his advice about proper diet and nutrition and then, without missing a beat, an Indian snake charmer who struggles to tame his subject. While working the room, he uncovers his pumpkin head alter ego hid­ing from Halloween in a crystal ball and together they go on to show some classic Disney cartoons, including Trick or Treat, Lonesome Ghosts, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Jonathan, always the jokester, toldTime magazine in an inter­view before the show debuted that he felt comfortable in his new role. “I was secure with my head,” he said. “I knew I was a pumpkin mentally. There are a lot of seeds up there—some gone. ”

(Watch the rest on YouTube!) 

First look at Disney & Tim Burton's Frankenweenie!

The first images from Tim Burton's highly anticipated return to stop motion animation Frankenweeniehave been posted online with a special behind-the-scenes article over at EW.com. The movie--a remake of a live-action short film that Burton made which ironicly got him fired from Disney due to its dark concept--tells the story of a boy who brings his beloved dog back from the dead after a tragic accident claims its life.  Disney, of course, found success with Burton later on with the releases of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Alice in Wonderland, which is something the studio hopes to find when Frankenweenie comes to theaters next year, in glorious black and white 3-D.

Halloween Light Show 2011(video) - This Is Halloween, How many Muppets can we Cram into one movie? & Muppets FINAL parody of Parodys trailer!

This is oh so cool! This house has been making quite a buzz around the net and this time its up and "singing" to The Nightmare Before Christmas song "This is Halloween". 

This NEW add for the Muppets movie has been airing on Disney channel, ABC Family and other channels and is asking "How many many Muppets can we cram into one Movie?" Well click it and find out! 

And finally is a brand new final parody trailer for The Muppets! Its a Parody of parody's! VERY funny, okay as Pepe the king Praw would say! 

'Muppets' Mania: New Film Worries Some Fans and Insiders

Seems the last few weeks the "TDDF" site has been a Muppet fansite (but HEY! thats ok) but here's another Muppet article...

Not everyone is jumping for joy over the upcoming feature film The Muppets.

The Muppets' anticipated collective return to the big screen this Thanksgiving has been touted as triumphant, historic, a long-awaited chance to re-reintroduce the iconic puppets to the masses. There have been teaser trailers, magazine spreads and more.

And at first glance, the elements seem to have coalesced for the beloved troupe. Although the first official trailer included a "These are the Muppets" text announcement (as if they needed introduction), the rest of it dutifully incorporated the franchise's signature blend of slapstick, parody and heartfelt mutual adoration.

But these clips and other elements of the film have given insiders (former puppeteers, writers, die-hard fans) fear that the newest film, the first to hit theaters since 1999's Muppets from Space, doesn't stay true to what the Muppets are all about.

The newest film was written by Jason Segel, a self-proclaimed Muppets fanatic.  Segel and Amy Adams are the human stars of the film, a small-town couple that travels to Hollywood to reunite the now-acrimonious Muppets.

That plot point concerns some Muppet aficionados. For instance, the Muppets, depicted in the script as jealous of Kermit's wealth, would not have bitterly broken up. The script "creates a false history that the characters were forced to act out for the sake of this movie," an old Muppets hand told The Hollywood Reporter.

A passing-gass scene also sounds authenticity alarms.  "We wouldn't do that; it's too cheap," added another Muppets veteran. "It may not seem like much in this world of [Judd] Apatow humor, but the characters don't go to that place."

Regardless of Apatow and a Segel's multiple collaborations, it's probably good that he dusted some mothballs off of the franchise.  Unfortunately, in a post-Shrek era, a movie that wants to embrace both children and adults in the way that the original Muppet Show did has to stoop a little lower at times.

Even before Jim Henson's death from pneumonia in 1990 at just 53, the Muppet name was fading from recognition.  A visionary of similar proportions to Steve Jobs, it was up to his loyal staff to keep his unique vision as vibrant as possible—it was seen through somewhat unevenly, but it certainly (and clearly) did not curb Muppet enthusiasm. And that's why so much pressure lies on the newest film and reason for insiders to fear for its future.

But even those who are most concerned hold out hope. Looking at the latest trailer, a Muppets veteran told The Hollywood Reporter: "There are scenes where my heart is touched. Despite everything, the truth of these characters comes out. If we have to get through fart jokes to get there, so be it."

Disney Universe game and WINNIE the POOH Blu ray/DVD Released Today & The Muppets do commercials for Alamo Rent-a-Car

Disney today announced that Disney Universe, a fast-paced multiplayer action adventure game developed for Wii, Xbox 360, PC and PS3, is now available in North America. In Disney Universe, players will experience non-stop action through a mix-up of worlds inspired by both animated and live action films from Disney, including titles from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. Players will suit-up as iconic Disney and Disney•Pixar characters and embark on adventures to power up their hero, battle powerful adversaries and master challenging puzzles to save the universe. Disney Universe will be launched in Europe on October 28th, 2011.

The lovable Pooh is back this week and you can save $5 on the Blu-ray combo pack!

Right on schedule, Disney has released another coupon offer this time to save $5 on 'Winnie the Pooh' Blu-ray available this week!

Inspired by the beloved stories from A.A. Milne’s books and crafted in Disney’s classic style, 'Winnie the Pooh,' is the most critically-acclaimed animated film of 2011 (Rotten Tomatoes). It is narrated by the voice of John Cleese and features the vocal talents of legendary voice actor Jim Cummings (over 350 voices including 'Gnomeo & Juliet') and a host of other distinctive actors including Craig Ferguson (TV’s ‘The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson’), Tom Kenny (TV’s ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’), Bud Luckey ('Toy Story 3') and musical performances by Zooey Deschanel (indie folk band “She & Him”).

The all-new 'Winnie the Pooh' brings back to life the timeless charm, wit and whimsy of the original featurettes and characters. Sure to become a family favorite for every household, it is directed by Stephen Anderson ('Meet The Robinsons') and Don Hall ('The Princess and The Frog') and Executive Produced by John Lasseter.

Simply visit this page to print out your coupon from the Disney Movie Rewards website.

This coupon is valid in the United States and Canada only and the offer expires November 1.

And we have 2 NEW Muppet adds staring Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy & Rowlf (with his tong!) The commercial's are for Alamo Rent-a-Car.

Miss Piggy's InStyle interview, The Muppets hit Disney stores & Singing Muppets at Walgreen's!

In this months issue of InStyle magazine, Miss Piggy gets a few new pages on her and NEW photos. Youtube has the video...

 Over at Disney Store.com, some new Muppet dolls have popped up!  Most exciting is Pepe the King Prawn as a brand new plush doll, and including a few of your favorite Muppet characters too!

And lastly DanDee has been making Disney holiday (Halloween, Easter, Valentines, 4th of July, Fall and Christmas stuff) the last year or so and they FINALLY made Muppet holiday stufff for Disney. For sale at Walgreen stores for christmas is a singing Kermit & Miss Piggy ($12.95 each) we didnt find them in the offical Walgreens website but did manage to find this on youtube. enJoy!

Frank Oz (original Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear & Animal) Speaks his mind about the NEW Muppets film!

When The Muppets hits theaters the day before Thanksgiving the movie will be missing one of the original “Muppeteers”: Frank Oz.


Before becoming a director with films as diverse as the 1986 musical remake of Little Shop of Horrors and the DeNiro/Brando/Norton crime drama The Score to his credit, Oz provided the voices and movements for several of the most iconic Muppet characters including Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and Animal as well as Grover and Cookie Monster on Sesame Street. He also did the voice and puppeteering for Yoda in the original Star Warstrilogy (for the prequels Oz only did the voice, as Yoda was now a CGI character).

Oz, whose parents were both puppeteers (and also Holocaust survivors who fought the Nazis with the Dutch Brigades), continues to work in the field occasionally to this day but is mostly retired.
But according to a recent interview with the British website Metro, the 67-year-old Oz revealed that he was invited to be part of the new Muppets movie being directed by James Bobin (Flight of the Conchords) and starring Jason Segel (who also co-wrote) and Amy Adams, but that he rejected the offer.

“I wasn’t happy with the script”, Oz explained. “I don’t think they respected the characters. But I don’t want to go on about it like a sourpuss and hurt the movie.”

Back in 2006 Oz was approached by Dick Cook, then the chairman of the Walt Disney Company, to possibly write and direct a new Muppets movie. While Oz was developing the script along with the studio’s special effects department Disney executives were buying another pitch for a Muppets movie from Segel, whose career was then just starting to kick into gear thanks to his involvement in the hit movies Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (the latter directed by Nicholas Stoller, Segel’s writing partner on The Muppets). The decision to go with Segel and Stoller’s script over Oz’s rankled the Muppet faithful, leading one veteran to wonder if “this is a case of Disney wanting to get into the Jason Segel business” instead of making a movie true to the characters and Henson’s vision.


Oz isn’t the only former Muppets cast member expressing his doubts about The Muppets; THR posted an article recently in which several unnamed veterans of the Muppets troupe, including a few who worked on the movie, voiced their disapproval of the direction the beloved characters seem to be going in under the guidance of Segel and Bobin. The decision to have The Muppets open with Henson’s creations having gone through a bitter breakup and the presence of some lowbrow gags, including Fozzie’s “fart shoes” (shown in the trailers), are just two bones of contention with the old school players. “They’re looking at the script on a joke-by-joke basis, rather than as a construction of character and story,” said one unnamed source. Those same Muppet performers at one point considered removing their names from the credits but ultimately decided against it because their efforts would have had little-to-no effect on the corporate mindset at Disney. One performer was quoted as saying, “It doesn’t send any message. Disney wouldn’t care.”


Bonnie Erickson, executive director of the Jim Henson Legacy (the organization dedicated to keeping the late Henson’s work in the public eye) as well as the designer of the original Miss Piggy, is ambivalent about how the new movie will be received by the public but she remains optimistic as well: “I’m hoping the standard of excellence that Jim set is maintained.”
The Muppets opens on November 23, 2011.

Movie Surfers: Disney's "The Muppets"

The Disney channel's Movie Surfers get a sneak peek at Disney's "The Muppets", and with a few NEW clips too!

enJoy!

The Muppets coming to "Desperate Housewives" and Muppets dance too!

So, ABC posted a picture with Kermit & Miss Piggy today on their Facebook page saying...

Yesterday we were on set with Vanessa Williams from Desperate Housewives. If you like The Muppets, you’re in for a treat if you watch Desperate Housewives on November 13th. Here’s a first look photo from the shoot!

It will air on November 13th on ABC!

And lastly we have this current video of from TheMuppets.com...

Jerry Bruckheimer Breaks His Silence on Disney's $215 Million 'Lone Ranger' budget!

The saga of Disney‘s big screen “The Lone Ranger” movie has been a tortured one indeed – after informally announcing in 2008 that Johnny Depp would star as steadfast sidekick Tonto, the movie was put on pause so that the studio and star (as well as producer Jerry Bruckheimer) could concentrate on the fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” film. After that ‘Pirates’ entry wrapped up, “The Lone Ranger” was officially on again, with original ‘Pirates’ trilogy helmer Gore Verbinski in the director’s chair. But abruptly in August, Disney shut down pre-production, citing an out-of-control budget and uneasiness due to the recent failure of big budget western “Cowboys & Aliens.”

Of course, it was announced recently that the movie was back on, with a significantly trimmed budget and all the creative principles intact (it was theorized that Verbinski, who has a penchant for budgets-be-damned spectacle – “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” went ridiculously over budget—would be the first one to go), including Depp and Armie Hammer, who was set to play the title role. What exactly happened in between the shutdown and the start-up (and what was lost in the process) has remained something of a mystery. Until now. Jerry Bruckheimer sat down with the Hollywood Reporter to talk about the “compromises” the production had to endure and what’s up with the next ‘Pirates’ movie.

The mega-producer made it sound like halting a big time production like “The Lone Ranger” is par for the course (especially during his time at Disney) noting that, “I’ve had so many movies shut down. The first ‘Pirates’ was shut down. ‘Pearl Harbor’ was stopped. So was ‘Armageddon.’ For me, this is normal. This is: ‘Get real. Let’s get the budget where we can make it.’ ”

Bruckheimer then explained the shutdown matter-of-factly as such: “We had a script that we kept working on. It was evolving. You start looking at locations, you look at the menu and say: ‘I like all these desserts. I want ‘em all.’ And you hit a number and they say, ‘We can’t afford that.’ Then you start cutting it back. Disney wanted to stop the spending unless they felt the budget corresponded to the number that the boss [Disney chief Bob Iger] wanted. They had set a deadline [Aug. 12] for us to submit a budget, and we didn’t hit their number. They said, ‘Can you hit it?’ We didn’t have enough time to really vet the budget, and we said we couldn’t hit it right away. And they said, ‘We have to stop the bleeding.’ We understood what they were doing, but we wanted to keep working.”

What Bruckheimer might not have understood was how deeply all facets of the company were into “The Lone Ranger” prep – including preliminary plans for a kind of live show in the stateside Disney theme parks’ Frontierland sections featuring characters from the movie.

Bruckheimer explains what they did in the six weeks of their break as something that sounds like it should have been done in the first place. “We redid the production plan,” he says. “If we had a big crowd scene and then the next day we were shooting just Tonto and the Lone Ranger, we still had the crew ‘on’ because you have them weekly. So we bunched the sequences that were big together, and for the smaller scenes [we] laid off the extras, the effects people, the makeup people. It costs an enormous amount with 150 extras on the set. It’s not the extras, it’s the people that support the extras. You’re still carrying all the wardrobe, makeup and hair people. We bunched together scenes with Tonto and the Lone Ranger, so we had a much smaller crew. We saved about $10 million just by doing that.”

He also says costs were cut by changing locations (moving from New Mexico to Louisiana saved them $8 million and they also dropped some sequences set to be shot in California because “it was another production office that we had to open. Every time you have a new location, you have to use crew time setting it up for you. There are a lot of expenses”). Bruckheimer also answered the question everyone was wondering when the negotiations were going on – would the biggies reduce their fees or take a deferment?

“Disney held back fees, and I put up some of my development money,” Bruckheimer explained. “I’ve done that before. [Director] Gore and myself and Johnny and some vendors and creative people agreed to deferments. They will get paid at a certain point that Disney negotiated with them, as I will. It’s a ‘favored nation’ deal, so we all get paid at the same point when Disney recoups.” So Johnny Depp will still make his promised bah-zillion dollars, it just might take a little longer. Thankfully, the little people cut their fees. “Some below-the-line people gave us reductions,” he said.

What did the movie lose, content-wise, though? We noted that the original version of the script (written by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio with rewrites by Justin Haythe) was bursting at the seams with complicated supernatural elements, including wolves, coyotes and the mythical Wendigo. Later it was revealed that the movie was supposed to contain “the biggest train sequence in film history.”

While he makes it seem relatively straightforward, Bruckheimer did admit to some cuts that could cut down on the oversized spectacle of the film. “We cut a sequence involving a coyote attack—supernatural coyotes—and a small animated segment. The train [scenes] are intact. We trimmed it a little bit. Gore made some sacrifices creatively, but nothing that would hurt the film.” He seemed defiant that the movie did have to be really big, noting that making it less overwhelming would have made it pale in comparison with some other forthcoming blockbusters. “The competition is fierce. You can’t compete with ‘The Hobbit,’ you can’t compete with ‘Transformers’ if you do that. The audience will stay home.”

He also seems happy with the release date shift – from Christmas 2012 to May 31st, 2013. “It’s a better date. Before, we were up against ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘World War Z.’ Now we’re a week after ‘Fast and Furious’ and a couple weeks before ‘Superman.’ The competition is not as bad. There are a lot of movies jammed in at Christmas. In the summer, you have a longer run. You’re cut off after the first of the year on a Christmas release.”

Oh, and what about the next “Pirates of the Caribbean”? That’s not exactly going swimmingly, either. “We’re in the outline phase. We will lay out a story. We have a script, but we decided we could do better,” Bruckheimer explained. It was revealed that earlier this summer, Terry Rossio (on his first solo outing), had turned in a draft to Bruckheimer and Disney. For those of us who sat through “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” we can attest that bringing in new blood to the franchise might be a good idea. By the fourth time it was starting to feel like the franchise was treading water. Whatever happens, Captain Jack Sparrow won’t be arriving for a while just yet so Depp can try on a new franchise character hopeful in Tonto.

James Cameron visits Disney World on 'Avatar' business

James Cameron and his producing partner Jon Landau took a tour of the Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World on Monday as he continues to develop the "Avatar"-themed park addition with Disney imagineers.

“Getting the chance to roll up my sleeves and explore Disney’s Animal Kingdom from the inside out was a phenomenal experience,” James Cameron said, according to Disney.Cameron joined

Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Tom Staggs recently to announce the "Avatar" experience at Walt Disney World. Construction will begin on the new land by 2013, according to Disney representatives.

Cameron and Landau toured the park along with Staggs, Meg Crofton and Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde.“As I walked through the park, I kept imagining Pandora coming to life all around me and found my mind racing with all the possibilities of what we will be able to create in the years ahead. Disney’s Animal Kingdom is truly a remarkable place and I can’t think of a better home for our first 'Avatar' experience,” Cameron said.Staggs said Cameron's visit was an important step in the creative process.“We do a significant amount of work at the beginning of our projects to ensure that the final experience has the attention to detail, theme and uniqueness for which Disney is known,” Staggs said, according to Disney.

 

 

Filmmaker James Cameron and his Lightstorm Entertainment producing partner Jon Landau explored Disney’s Animal Kingdom Oct. 17 with Tom Staggs, Chairman

 

a few NEW Muppets promo's

First up, we have in a new promo for the Muppets movie with UL, it stars Kermit, Dr. Bunson Honeydew & Beaker..

and ONE more "Muppets Fan A Thon" asking for more "Likes" with Gonzo and Pepe the king prawn..

AVENGERS Meets Disney's PREP & LANDING In Disney/Marvel Crossover comic!

The characters of Prep & Landing are crossing over with superteam The Avengers in a short comic story, marking the first true Disney/Marvel crossover since Disney purchased the comic book publisher in 2009.
First announced this past Saturday at New York Comic Con during Marvel's "Cup O' Joe" panel, the short will run as a back-up feature in November'sAvengers #19, Super-Heroes #20 and Spider-Man #20 (the latter two books are part of Marvel's all-ages line). The story is written by Prep & Landingco-director Kevin Deters and illustrated by animation story artist Joe Maeto, with a plot involving Wayne and Lanny of the elf squad readying Avengers Mansion for Santa's arrival. 

This all new Prep & Landing story, from writer Kevin Deters & artist Joe Mateo will be available exclusively in the following November on-sale comics:

· Avengers #19
· Super-Heroes #20
· Spider-Man #20

“We’re all big fans of Prep & Landing, so bringing them into the Marvel Universe was a no-brainer,” said Axel Alonso, Marvel Editor in Chief. “I just hope that Lanny and Wayne have an easier time at my house this year than they do at the Avengers' Mansion!”

And don’t miss Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice, a full-length special premiering on ABC this Christmas! Wayne and Lanny find themselves up to their pointy ears in trouble, as they race to recover classified North Pole technology… which has fallen into the hands of a computer-hacking Naughty Kid! Now they must turn to a Coal Elf named Noel in order to prevent Christmas from falling into chaos. You can bring home the original Prep & Landing when it releases on DVD this November 22.

This winter, the team of Prep & Landing enter the world of the Avengers—'Nuff said!

AVENGERS #19 (SEP110506)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils & Cover by DANIEL ACUÑA
Rated T …$3.99
FOC—10/24/11, On-Sale—11/16/11

SUPER HEROES #20 (SEP110572)
Written by JEFF PARKER
Penciled by MANUEL GARCIA
All Ages …$2.99
FOC—10/24/11, On-Sale—11/16/11

SPIDER-MAN #20 (SEP110571)
Written by PAUL TOBIN
Penciled by MATTEO LOLLI & ROB DiSALVO
Cover by ALE GARZA
All Ages …$2.99
FOC—10/31/11, On-Sale—11/23/11

To find a comic shop near you, call 1-888-comicboo

 

Oct 16, 1923 Official Start of The Walt Disney Company!

When it comes to important dates in the history of The Walt Disney Company, perhaps none is more important than this day. In honor of this most auspicious occasion, here’s a D23 trivia question: Who was Disney’s first recurring animated character that had a name? (The answer’s below.) In May 1923, film distributor Margaret Winkler became concerned with conflicts she was having with Pat Sullivan, owner of her top property, Felix the Cat. Afraid she might lose Felix, which was the cat’s meow for her company, she was open to new properties when a young man named Walt Disney hoped that she would take interest in his unfinished short film,Alice’s Wonderland, a pilot for a series of short Alice Comedies. The timing couldn’t have been better, and 88 years ago today a contract was signed in which she agreed to distribute Alice’s Wonderland, and 56 short Alice films were produced, inking in the date of October 16th as the company’s official start. Being a female in a male-dominated industry, Margaret Winkler opted to hide her female identity on the films which simply read that the distributor was “M.J. Winkler.” The “J” was not an initial of her middle name, she just thought it sounded nice. Now, do you have an answer to the trivia question? Disney’s first named animated character that appeared in numerous Alice cartoons was a cat named Julius.

from D23.com 

The new ‘Muppets’ trailer info

Based on the second trailer for “The Muppets,” the upcoming Jason Segel/Amy Adams movie that will bring the Jim Henson characters back to the multiplex for the first time in more than a decade, we now know the following about the next feature film featuring Kermit and Co.:

1. It will include Fozzie the Bear making fart jokes.

2. Rico Rodriguez (Manny from “Modern Family”) will appear and apparently confuse Kermit the Frog with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

3. Jack Black will play a game of involuntary head bowling with Gonzo.

4. Camilla and the Chickens will sing a cover of Cee Lo Green’s “Forget You.” (Which in this context, should really be called “Cluck You.” But this is a family film, so that probably won’t be happening.)

(P.S. The latest clip doesn’t give us a glimpse of this, but apparently, as Backpage magazine reports, the Muppets Barbershop Quartet also will cover Nirvana’s “Smell Like Teen Spirit” with an assist from Dave Grohl. Finally, the merger of the comebacks of both grunge and the Muppets is complete.)

Theatrical Phineas and Ferb movie confirmed

Following the success of the television film Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension--which scored more than 7 million viewers during its premiere--, Disney is now officially moving forward with plans for a theatrical movie based off of their hit cartoon series. According to ComingSoon.net, the film is set to hit the big screen on July 26th, 2013. The plot is unknown at this point, but it may or may not be a mix of live-action and animation.

BREAKING NEWS: HOT NEW MUPPETS TRAILER from Yahoo.com

MUPPET NEWS FALSH...HOT NEW TRAILER with the MUPPETS from Yahoo.com

Muppets Disney park pin, Toys R Us whatnots, Green & Red Chistams Cd and “Life’s a Happy Song” for The Muppets

"Opening Day" Disney Parks pin for The Muppets will be available November 10th, and only 1500 will be sold.

And it looks like Disney is re-releasing the "Muppets Green and Red Christmas" CD from 2006 and is being reissued with two new bonus tracks for a Novmeber 1 release!

1.'Zat You, Santa Claus? - Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
2.A Red and Green Christmas - Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy
3.The Christmas Party Sing-Along - Rowlf the Dog
4.Merry Christmas Baby - Pepe the King Prawn
5.The Man with the Bag - Floyd Pepper, Animal and Zoot
6.Santa Baby - Miss Piggy
7.It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Gonzo the Great and Rizzo the Rat
8.North Pole Comedy Club - Fozzie Bear and Statler and Waldorf
9.Run, Run Rudolph - Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem
10.Christmas Smorgasbord - The Swedish Chef
11.The Christmas Queen - Miss Piggy
12.Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Kermit the Frog
13.I Wish I Could Be Santa Claus - Gonzo and Fozzie (2011 edition only)
14.Jingle Bells - Andrea Bocelli with the Muppets (2011 edition only)

photo courtesy of WHATNOT NATION

Our Friends at Muppet Central.com and is reporting that MORE Muppet tie-in toys for the movie is in full swing. Toys R Us stores are selling "Mini WhatNot" puppets that are a smaller size of the FAO Schwarts WhatNot puppets! They sell for around $60 and would make a great christmas gift for ANY muppet fan of all ages (Note to girlfriend, i WANT one of these for christmas, the Blue one, hehe!) 

Ryan Seacrest got an exclusive listen to the Muppets new song for the NEW movie and aired it on his radio show. Listen to the new song! The Muppets arrives in theaters November 23rd.

WHY PARAMOUNT AND NOT DISNEY IS CREDITED IN AVENGERS PROMOS

Some people have wondered why it is Paramount Pictures and not Walt Disney Pictures that is credited in the The Avengers promos. After all, last October they announced that they had "reached an agreement under which Paramount will transfer its worldwide marketing and distribution rights to Disney for Marvel Studios' The Avengers and Iron Man 3... Under terms of the new deal, Disney will pay Paramount $115 million for the transfer of the distribution rights to Iron Man 3 and The Avengers to be paid on the theatrical release dates. These monies will serve as a minimum guarantee against the distribution fees. In completing this agreement, Disney will now assume worldwide marketing and distribution of 'The Avengers' and 'Iron Man 3'."
Yet, when you look at both the teaser poster and the new trailer, there is no mention of Disney at all. Variety has a report on this and mentions that some things were left out of the original announcement:

Knowing Disney wanted to turn "The Avengers" into a franchise and bank on the success of "Iron Man" after buying Marvel for $4 billion, Par's brass negotiated a deal in which it continues to collect 8% of the B.O. as part of fees it would have earned for distribbing the pic, as it did with the two "Iron Man" pics, "Thor" and "Captain America." It gets 9% for "Iron Man 3."

At the minimum, it earns $115 million, should they not perform.

At the same time, the deal granted Par placement on the marketing materials for both titles, even though Marvel's films are fully owned by Disney and will be solely distributed and marketed by the Mouse House, Variety learned.
While moviegoers will continue to think Paramount is releasing The Avengers and Iron Man 3 in theaters, it is Disney doing all the work and who we talk to behind the scenes. A strange situation for sure, but we'll get our superhero movies no matter what.