Friday, October 23, 2020

On The Air: Muppet Babies (2018)

 Disney knows what to do with Jim Henson's Muppet franchise.

After a primetime sitcom featuring the classic characters ended up cancelled after 1 season on ABC (2015-6), Disney brought back Muppet Babies for Disney Junior two years ago. It's flown under the radar to this point, but that is all about to change.


The new series introduces a new character, Summer Penguin, who may or may not show up with the adult versions of the gang in future projects, we just don't know. Nanny, now known as Ms. Nanny, appears to be younger than in the original 1984-91 series, voiced by Jenny Slate (ex-Saturday Night Live). The CGI animation makes the gang so much more lifelike, and they've added those curmudgeons from The Muppet Show, Statler & Waldorf, much younger, of course, and commentating from the upper levels of their building (of course).

Aside from Jenny Slate, the voice talent also includes toon vets Cree Summer and Eric Bauza, and from what we've seen, the show is on point, already renewed for a 3rd season, which, given how "seasons" are defined differently on cable, means 3 "seasons" in just 2 years.

I chose the image above, rather than run the risk of pulling a video that's likely to be taken down by YouTube, because there's something in the wind that may create some unpleasant tension for the series' future.

You see, veteran writer Jeffrey Scott, who helped develop the original series, among his many toon credits (i.e. Super Friends), is alleging that Disney is using his story bible from the original series for the new show, without his consent, and is filing suit. Expect this to be settled out of court in due course.

Just like the original, the new Muppet Babies gets an A.

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