The Muppets and Hollywood Should Be ‘Together Again’

In May 2025, the iconic Muppets will celebrate their 70th anniversary. How will Disney, the owner of the Muppet brand since 2004, celebrate? By permanently closing Muppets Courtyard and Muppet*Vision 3D at Walt Disney World. 

It’s baffling Disney, a company who thrives off nostalgia and brand recognition, is leaving the Muppets to collect dust.

Not only are the 3D film attraction and its themed area the only Muppet-themed attractions at the Disney World theme park, but they were Muppets creator Jim Henson’s final projects before his death in 1990, according to The Jim Henson Company.

The exuberant cast of puppets are prime real estate for Disney’s current obsession of mass-producing live-action remakes, however the studio is oddly hesitant to invest in the Muppets despite their renowned creative reimaginings of existing stories — notably Charles Dickens’ novel “A Christmas Carol”.

Known for their playful, chaotic and endearingly self-aware tone, the Muppets have embraced absurdist comedy since their 1955 debut.

While Disney has attempted to revive the chaotic puppets in the past, the franchise is abandoned whenever it stumbles. Despite their last theatrical release — the 2014 “Muppets Most Wanted” — becoming the third highest-grossing Muppets film, there’s been no mention of a successor.

The studio seems to take away the wrong lesson each time. It’s time for the Muppets’ triumphant return.

After “Muppets From Space” — the final movie before Disney’s acquisition — flopped in 1999, the Muppets vanished from Hollywood for over a decade until Disney revitalized them in 2011.

Their first theatrical release under Disney, “The Muppets,” was a critical box office success — even winning the franchise’s first Oscar. 

Following the Muppets as they reunite to reclaim their former glory, the plot mirrors Disney’s real attempt to reignite interest in the franchise. When its sequel, “Muppets Most Wanted,” failed to capture the same attention as its predecessor, Disney pulled the puppets from the silver screen.

Since then, the Muppets have infested Disney+, shunted into short-lived and half-baked projects instead of seizing the starring role in major motion pictures. 

In 2019, for example, Disney announced “Muppets Live Another Day,” a sequel series to 1984’s “The Muppets Take Manhattan” to be led by Josh Gad. But months later, the project was canceled in favor of “Muppets Now,” an unscripted short-form series that debuted in 2020. With underwhelming reviews and no word of a second season, the series quietly faded into obscurity. 

In 2023, the eccentric Muppet musical group Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem received a spin-off series entitled “The Muppets Mayhem” — which was canceled the same year. 

Amid these missteps, the Muppets received two specials that served as a step in the right direction — though Disney has been too scared to capitalize on them.

In 2021, the Muppets starred in their first long-form project since 2014, “Muppets Haunted Mansion.” While the special felt more like a tie-in promotion for the 2023 remake of 2003’s “Haunted Mansion” film, remixing Disney’s extensive catalog through the Muppets’ signature lens was exactly the kind of creative approach the franchise needed.

Disney similarly missed the same opportunity after the 2005 ABC special, “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz,” which was critically panned by viewers. However, hit movies like “The Muppets Christmas Carol” and “Muppet Treasure Island” prove the formula can be successful.

Disney’s vast inventory of intellectual property offers endless opportunities for the Muppets to set sail across the Caribbean or even soar through galaxies far, far away — and yet they remain sidelined. 

It’s as if Disney has forgotten what made the Muppets a beloved and enduring franchise in the first place. The Muppets thrive when they’re allowed to be irreverent, creative and meta, but Disney seems unwilling to give them the spotlight they deserve. 

Disney has proven time and time again they don’t know how to maintain the Muppets brand for a modern audience, and it’s disappointing to see the characters fade into obscurity. Instead of dropping the puppets for more profitable endeavors, invest in the franchise that was once a worldwide powerhouse.