Let’s review, shall we?
In the wake of the less-than-stellar ratings that “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” pulled down earlier this month, Mouse House PR flaks are now aggressively trying to spin this story in a more positive direction. Insisting that ABC officials were still supposedly pleased with “Oz” ‘s solid performance, which is why the Alphabet network is reportedly already getting ready to greenlight a follow-up project … Which means that Mickey’s plans to turn the Muppets into a brand that will (by 2009) be making $300 million annually for the Walt Disney Company are still right on track. More importantly, there’s no need for anyone to question Disney’s efforts (to date) to relaunch Miss Piggy & pals as a viable franchise.
Which is all well & good. Except that … Well … This isn’t what my sources inside the Mouse House have been saying.
The stories that I’ve heard coming out of Burbank these past 10 days paint a far different picture. That ABC officials — particularly given that “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” had received six months of promotion prior to its primetime premiere on May 20th — had expected this TV movie to at least win its time slot. And when “Oz” came in second — a rather lackluster second at that (particularly during the crucial May sweeps period) … Well, that was a huge disappointment for network execs.
Which is why these ABC guys are now understandably reluctant to move forward with Phase II of Disney’s Muppet revival plan. Which supposedly involves the Alphabet network airing at least six episodes of a new reality series called “America’s Next Muppet.”
Said one unnamed exec:
“We promoted the hell out of ‘Oz,’ only to have half the audience that we expected show up to watch that TV movie. Now Disney wants to further jeopardize ABC’s comeback by forcing us to air this ‘America’s Next Muppet’ thing. A show that the network has zero confidence in. A series that Disney’s own surveys say has little or no appeal to viewers. What’s the sense in doing something like that?”
Then add to this the fact that the Muppets’ biggest booster — Disney CEO Michael Eisner — will be exiting the company on September 30th … And is it any wonder that the folks in the Muppets Holding Company LLC offices (I.E. The division of the Disney corporation that decides what gets done next with Kermit & Co.) are feeling kind of nervous right now?
According to what I’ve been hearing, these folks are desperately casting about for a bold new idea. Looking for something — anything — that will make the Muppets once again seem like a hot property before October gets here. Otherwise … Well, their main concern is that Disney’s CEO-to-be Bob Iger may not share Eisner’s enthusiasm for Jim Henson’s creations. Which may result in the Muppet Holding Company getting its budget cut. More importantly, that its impressive slate of pending Muppet-related projects may get significantly scaled back.
Which means no new Muppet theatrical release in 2007. No “Muppet Show Live” for Broadway. No “Muppet Studios” expansion project for Disney-MGM.
Clearly, the guys in the Muppets Holding Company LLC office need some help right about now. Which is why I’m hoping that they’ll listen to Ken Plume.
“Who’s Ken Plume?,” you ask. Well — besides being a pal of mine — Ken is a longtime writer/interviewer for IGN FilmForce. He is also a veritable font of info when it comes to the Muppets.
Thanks to his ties to many of the movers and shakers in the Jim Henson organization over the years, Plume has been able to interview nearly every key member of the Muppeteering team, including spending nearly a month as a fly on the wall on the set of “Muppets from Space.” Even more important, though, is that Ken loves the Muppet franchise with a passion. And — for that very reason — he’s been exceptionally critical of the characters’ mishandling under Brian Henson as well as Disney’s unfocused effort to relaunch this franchise.
So what’s the first thing that Ken says that the Walt Disney Company should do in in order to ensure the future success of the Muppet franchise? Embrace the failure of “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz.”
Say what?
“The people at Disney seem to have forgotten that the public once thought of the Muppet characters as this lovable bunch of losers, these misfits who could barely manage to produce a weekly television series out of their old rundown theater,” Plume explained. “And that’s the place where these characters need to get back to emotionally. The point where the audience can once again empathize with the Muppets, where they can feel some sort of emotional connection with these characters, where they can once again root for them to succeed.”
Which is why Plume is suggesting that Disney immediately send Kermit and the gang out to do another round of talkshow appearances. Where the Muppets can then basically apologize to the viewing audience for foisting “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” on them.
“In acknowledging to the public that ‘The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz’ was a bit of a botch,” Ken continues, “It gives the Muppet Holding Company this great opportunity to reposition the characters and create this distinct place in Disney’s corporate empire that the Muppets can then occupy.”
According to the scenario that Plume is now spinning out: In the wake of “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” tanking in the ratings, Kermit & Co. have now become the redheaded stepchildren at the Walt Disney Company. Which means that the characters have been forced to give up their primo spots in Disney’s parking garage. That they’ve been kicked out of their cushy new offices in the Team Disney Burbank building … Which means that the Muppets have now been forced to set up shop in some rundown buildings in a remote corner of the Disney lot. Where — because “Oz” did so poorly in the ratings — production of their big budget follow-up project, “The Muppets’ War & Peace,” has been suddenly shut down.
By setting up this kind of backstory, you can then create the mythology that the Muppets are now second class citizens at the Mouse House. That these characters aren’t considered to be all that valuable by Disney Company managers anymore. Which means that they are always inches away from having their contracts tore up, from being tossed off the lot.
“By backing the Muppets into this sort of corner, you create the opportunity for a lot of comedy,” Plume explains. “By embracing the underdog quality which was evident in the original Muppet canon – be it their attempt to make it to Hollywood in ‘The Muppet Movie’ or just the simple act of putting on a show in the Muppet theater – you bring these characters back to their source. You don’t do that by having your major relaunch be a vehicle where they’re playing other characters as second fiddles to a pop star. In returning them to their roots, you can have the characters constantly chafing under Disney’s corporate control — as they’re being always asked to do all sorts of things that they’re not really comfortable with doing — and play the inherent humor in that.”
This — to Ken’s way of thinking — would then be the ideal way for Disney to promote the “America’s Next Muppet” TV show. To set up the premise that Mouse House managers were forcing the Muppets to freshen up their line-up. To bring in new characters that would be much more appealing to the public or risk having their Disney deal revoked.
“You then get to portray the Muppets as they used to be on the old ‘Muppet Show,’ ” Ken says. “This desperate bunch of characters who are always just an inch or so away from disaster who are still trying to put on a successful show.”
To get additional good will & promotion for the “America’s Next Muppet” project (as well as the upcoming DVD releases of “The Muppet Show: The Complete First Season” & “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz”) Ken suggests that Disney get ahold of the folks who run the San Diego Comic Con ASAP, to see if they’d be willing to allow the Muppets to make an appearance at this year’s con. Better yet, have veteran Muppeteers appear on a panel and talk about upcoming projects … like the new TV series on ABC as well as the DVDs.
“Major entertainment companies know that — if they want to get good buzz going on an upcoming project — that they now have to put in a memorable appearance at the San Diego Comic Con,” Plume explains. “By putting together a killer Muppet panel or by running a Muppet film festival during this year’s con, that would go an awful long way to reenvigorating the fan community, and getting people excited about the idea that the Muppets are back on TV and DVDs are on the way. You have to remember that Comic Con draws attendees from around the world, each of which — after seeing this ‘killer’ Muppet presentation — will be carrying that buzz back home with them.”
Of course, this is what the Walt Disney Company can be doing out front to reposition these characters, to get the public as well as the fan community excited about what the Muppets are up to these days. But behind-the-scenes, equally drastic measures have to be taken.
“Disney has to acknowledge that significant mistakes were made on this last project,” Ken continues. “That the wrong people were calling the shots on ‘The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz.’ Which was why — in spite of all the hip, edgy humor that they tried to shoehorn into the script — that this TV movie fell flat.”
If the Walt Disney Company wants the Muppets to be what they were in their glory days of the 1970s & 1980s (I.E. A set of characters that the public really connected with), then Plume feels that it’s crucial that the Muppet Holding Company bring together as many of the Henson veterans as possible.
“Disney should be reaching out to people like Frank Oz, Jerry Juhl and Craig Shemin. People who got pushed away from the table when Brian Henson was still running the show,” Ken went on. “These are people who understand who the characters really are and how to write for them.”
Were the Walt Disney Company to do something like this, Plume concludes:
“Well, it won’t instantly undo the damage that’s been done over the past 15 years, but it will put the Muppets on the road to recovery. Making it that much easier for Disney to move them back into the mainstream and — because I know that this is important — make money in the process.”
Mind you, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Ken’s ideas as to how the Walt Disney Company can reposition the Muppets. But what do you folks think? Would you like to see the Mouse actually put some of Plume’s proposals into action?