Muppet Presentation at Hollywood Studios
As Disney season passholders we got to attend (along with several hundred other passholders) a special presentation today at Hollywood Studios. The main speaker had compiled video clips documenting the history of the Muppets from Jim Henson's earliest TV projects in the 1950's up until the 1990's (shortly after Jim's death.) It was, as expected, very funny, informative and fascinating to see how a group of grown men and women took some Muppets (marionette-puppets) and fashioned a whole entertainment industry out of them.
Part of the presentation was given by David Goelz who is the puppeteer for Gonzo. He has been with the Muppet organization since the 1970's and has a long history with Jim Henson. Included in the audience was Jim's daughter, Heather, who gave a little insight as to what is was like growing up on the Muppets set (which I didn't know was in London.)
After the presentation there was a question and answer period and then a Muppet trivia contest. Some people in the audience were some real die-hard muppet fans asking detailed questions about the Muppets. I don't remember really watching the Muppets (the show started broadcasting on TV in 1976) and didn't even know if they were still around. (They are - not on TV, but in movies and merchandising.)
Through the majority of the trivia contest I sat there never raising my hand. Who knows all this stuff about the Muppets? Things like Gonzo's girlfriend's name, the names of the scientists in the lab, the first time the Muppets were on national TV, but I tell you - this audience knew it all. Then they asked the question, "Which guest actress that appeared on the Muppets had won a Tony and Oscar and an Emmy?" Would you believe I knew that one and nobody else did? Scored myself a limited edition Muppet 50th anniversary pin, which actually means something to me because we have become amateur pin traders since we have been frequenting Disney.
So now my visit was complete. But in true Disney fashion, they had one more surprise. As we left we got to take our picture with Gonzo and David Goelz. If I knew how to post that to our website I would, but I don't, so you'll just have to ask me to see it.