By Jeremy Fuscaldo
When it was originally announced that Jim Henson would be selling his company to Walt Disney Studios (under the leadership of Michael Eisner) for $150 million, in the Summer of 1989— it took the world by storm. The original agreement entailed that he would sell The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and many other shows and films to the company (Sesame Street would be excluded from this deal). And in exchange— Henson would create Disney theme park attractions based on the Muppets, as well as shows and films. During this time, Henson was in the early stages of developing Muppet-themed rides and attractions for the parks: one of which included the universally beloved Muppet*Vision 3D. Filming for the attraction would be completed in January 1990, as Henson resumed development on several other major concept rides he had for the park.
However, all of that would come to a halt when on May 16, 1990, Henson tragically passed away. When that happened, his deal with Disney fell through and the Muppets copyright reverted to the Henson family until 2004 when they were sold back to Disney. Despite the uncertainty of the Muppets’ future with Disney, it was revealed that Frank Oz had helped save and complete the original plans for Muppet*Vision 3D based on Jim’s original vision for the attraction before he passed away.
The show would open on May 16, 1991, and Muppet*Vision 3D would become a cultural touchstone of not only Disney Imagineering history but also a historical landmark for the history of Jim Henson. He was already remembered as the creator of the Muppets which would be featured in shows and projects such as Sam and Friends, The Jimmy Dean Show, Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and many other shows and projects over the years.
During my summer vacation last week at the Walt Disney World Resort, I had the chance to see Muppet*Vision 3D before it closed its doors for good.
Upon entering, I checked the box office/reception area only to be greeted with a sign that read that the person at the desk would be back in five minutes (and that there was a key under the mat). As I entered the hallways of Muppet*Vision 3D labs, I came across the pre-show area where guests would be greeted by various Muppets which included Fozzie, Sam the Eagle, Rizzo the Rat, Gonzo, penguins, chickens, and Scooter, performed by the late Richard Hunt who had died in January 1992. It was also filled with Easter eggs and memorabilia of various Muppet and Henson productions throughout the decades, including the famous ship from the “Pigs in Space” skits, Kermit’s tuxedo from The Muppets film from 2011, a portrait of a Muppet version of Henson, a bunch of boxes from different characters, and much more.
Guests were then directed to the MuppetVision theater where we would be greeted by Waldorf and Statler near the balcony, who were prepared with their usual brand of heckling. Once we were all seated and are glasses were on: a penguin orchestra rose from beneath the screen and prepared the music. Thus, it was time to play the music, light the lights, and get things started on the MuppetVision 3D show that day.
The show began with Gonzo opening the door, containing the ride logo, and Kermit introducing us to the show’s premise. During this introduction, he is interrupted by Fozzie Bear who shows us some of his cheap 3D tricks including a can of springs, and a flower that sprays water. Ironically, despite being in 3D, Waldorf and Statler still did not find Fozzie funny. Then, Kermit continued his presentation about the wonders of Muppet*Vision 3D labs and the many scientists hard at work with the technology. Sadly, many of them were unavailable, and only Dr. Honeydew and his assistant, Beaker, were available.
During their demonstration, a living 3D character is introduced in the chaos: Waldo C. Graphic. Waldo had originally appeared on The Jim Henson Hour in 1989 on NBC and never appeared in other Muppet projects, except for this show. As Waldo goes AWOL in the theater, Beaker and Honeydew attempt to contain him after he explodes into smaller versions of himself that infest the theater, with one of them managing to escape.
The demonstration resumes with a musical rendition of Miss Piggy singing “Dream a Little Dream of Me” (with the aid of the Penguin orchestra) before being interrupted by Bean Bunny numerous times, including when he blows bubbles that fly through the entire theater and gives her a water ski, pulling her away from the set.
Bean is then dismissed by Sam the Eagle, so he decides to run away. When the Muppets hear that Bean has run away, they pause the demonstration and decide to go search for him. During the search, Sweetums walks into the theater (played by a live actor) and finds Bean up in the upper left-hand balcony, just right across from Statler and Waldorf. The Muppets convince him to stay and not long after, they check in with Sam the Eagle on how the finale is going. Sam reveals the runtime for his musical: a glorious three-hour finale (before Kermit tells him he has a minute and a half).
Then, the finale commences and all goes smoothly until before Waldo causes a few accidents, knocking down one of the patriotic tuba players who then bumps into the other performers. As Waldo then interrupts the Statue of Liberty portion of the finale, Sweetums alerts the Swedish Chef (who is managing the projector behind the audience) to stop the movie as the havoc consumes the theater. He then rushes to the theater to save the penguins only to anger them and cause them to go to war. The penguin orchestra fires their cannon at the projector, disrupting the movie, and the Swedish Chef retaliates by firing a gun at Waldo missing him at every turn. Waldo mocks him before the chef takes out a cannon and fires at the wall, obliterating the projection screen in the theater with a giant explosion. Statler and Waldorf, bolted to their seats, surrender; as Kermit emerges from the damaged blast on a fire truck ladder as he thanks the audience for joining the crew on their demonstration of Muppet*Vision 3D technology and hopes we enjoy our stay at Disney World.
The curtains close after Waldo morphs into Mickey before being removed from the screen. Waldorf, Statler, and Bean try to exit the theater, except Statler and Waldorf can’t because they reveal that they’re bolted to the seats).
The audience then exited the theater and turned in their 3D glasses as we all resumed our vacation at Disney Hollywood Studios. And just like that, the beloved Henson attraction comes to a close. However, if you decided to stay near the attraction for a little longer, you could order some pizza from Pizzerizzo, which includes more additional Muppet-themed easter eggs, including photos of Rizzo.
Despite MuppetVision 3D (and Pizzerizzo) having come to a close, a new Muppet-themed attraction will be introduced to the park next year. It has been announced that a new Muppet-themed roller coaster starring Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem will be replacing the Rock N Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. It is yet to be seen if this new attraction will serve as a suitable replacement for the beloved MuppetVision 3D attraction and garner the same reputation at the park.
While I cannot pretend to know the outcome or if this fits the original spirit of Jim Henson, I have personally experienced that the love for the Muppets is still strong at the park and will continue to live on. And if this new attraction proves anything, it is that the Muppets will continue to live on in some form or fashion, if the audience wishes for them to do so.
