Kermit the Frog Reports on Rapunzel

Tomorrow I'll be posting my review of Kate Forsyth's novel "Bitter Greens," so today here's a fun take on the Rapunzel story brought to you by Sesame Street!

Muppet Musicians of Bremen

Just discovered that the Muppets did a version of The Musicians of Bremen, and I recently shared photos from the German town of Bremen, and I love the Muppets, so here we go-

"Adapted from the classic Grimm fairy tale, The Muppet Musicians of Bremen was the third and final television special filmed for the Tales From Muppetland series. In this version of the story, four barn animals fled their evil masters and became a traveling Dixieland band. Kermit, formerly an abstract character but now firmly identified as a frog, narrated the story. While by this time Kermit had a clear animal identity and “look” to him, many of the other classic Muppet characters had been designed as more abstracted versions of real animals, or did not necessarily resemble any particular animals at all. The designs of the puppets featured in The Muppet Musicians of Bremen – Leroy the Donkey, Rover Joe the Hound Dog, T.R. the Rooster and Catgut the Cat, along with additional animal characters – set the design standard for future Muppets that would more closely resemble realistic animals"
More on how this short film influenced the history of the Muppets here-I also just discovered henson.com and I'm pretty sure it will change my life.
For more fairy tale-related Muppetry on Tales of Faerie, click here

Jim Henson at Museum of Science and Industry

Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry currently has a special Jim Henson exibit through Jan. 23. The exibit itself was great-it showed his early career, lots of storyboards and original puppets, but then ended abruptly after Dark Crystal. I was disappointed I wouldn't get to learn more about the Muppet movies or my beloved Labyrinth.
The Muppets are no strangers to fairy tales. Jim had done an early commercial with a Hansel and Gretel theme, where the children survive the horrors of the furnace because of some fabric product they were promoting.


The characters also did Frog Prince and Hey, Cinderella:




And I've already shared Muppet Theatre Classic Fairytales, and Surlalune has featured many Muppet News Flash Fairy Tales.

The Museum of Science and Industry is also home to Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle. Pictures from the website; read about it there or in my archives.

Youtube treasures: Disneyland (and World)

Part 1 of Muppets in Disney World. A 1990 film not available unless you taped it off tv.

From the comments:

printthelegends
6 months ago
"It was basically made to promote Disney's impending acquisition of the Muppets, which is why Mickey says "welcome to the family," but the deal fell through after Henson's death. "

Responding to a discussion about Disney's "Wish Upon a Star" vs. the Muppets' "Rainbow Connection:"

alttakes
6 months ago 4
"Obviously they're joking about the "philosophy" line [this comes in part 6], but I've always thought that Rainbow Connection was a really profound philosophical song! And much more beautiful than When You Wish Upon a Star, which it even gently criticizes in its lyrics ("Who said that every wish would be heard and answered when wished on the morning star? Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it: and look what it's done so far...")."

I have to admit, as an unabashed Disney fan as I am, I do NOT like the lyrics to Wish Upon a Star, or the fact that that has become the Disney theme song. "Fate is kind/She gives to those who love/The sweet fulfillment of/Their secret longings"...this would be very nice, if it were at all true, but I believe in never lying to children. Sometimes wishes come true, sometimes they don't.

Disneyland Fun Sing-along Songs

Now, this will be of no interest for anyone unless you grew up watching it, or have young kids to show it to...but my siblings and I LOVED this and I totally still watch it before any time I go to Disneyland, and I may or may not work out to it...only 47 more days till I go!!!

1990 must have been a great year for Disney theme parks promotions, because both these movies came out then...

Muppet Theatre Classic Fairytales

Two of my favorite things: Fairy tales and muppets.