During the negotiations to sell The Muppets to Disney, Jim Henson took a day out to promote the upcoming collaborations, by appearing in the annual Disney Christmas parade TV special. The whole thing is linked at the bottom, for those of you who want more Alan Thicke in your lives, but I clipped the relevant Kermit sections here, mostly for my own convenience.
This is the opening, with Kermit's name, and a preview of the exciting new things Disney was promoting (the third park in Orlando, The Little Mermaid, and the 35th anniversary of Disneyland).
Regis chats with Kermit, who makes a few loose jokes about Gonzo and Miss Piggy and teases his upcoming big part of the show.
A sleigh ride through the shiny, new Disney-MGM Studios park.
Then, finally, Kermit gets to do his reporter schtick, as he asks a few kids in the crowd what they know about Santa. For a chaotic live thing, this is pretty good, and shows Jim's great rapport with kids and looseness with improv.
Of course, the sale negotiations weren't too friendly, and deteriorated as Eisner drove harder and harder bargains. It's medically unsubstantiated, but possibly fair to say, that the stress of the deal helped weaken Jim. He would be gone five months later.
In brighter news, I'm writing this in 2023. The Muppets finally wound up owned by Disney, and they have produced three very good projects and at least one more that's perfectly adequate. This December, there's a new show planned at that same park (now called Disney's Hollywood Studios) where Kermit and Miss Piggy will host a Christmas stage show.
If you want more nostalgic yuletide parades, almost every year since this is widely available on YouTube, or you can just watch the whole thing from 1989 right here.
Merry Christmas to all, and here's hoping to more frogs and dogs and bears and pigs in the New Year.
