I’m not quite sure how to take the news that Disney has swallowed up the Muppets. Back in the 90s, I remember that Disney tried to acquire them. Jim Henson died during that period, and I gather that there was some reason that his family stopped the sale.
Now, with Disney in a place where it seems to have lost its way, I’m afraid that the Muppets will lose both their unique independence and style in favor of the Eisner “wring-out-all-the-cash-then-dump-it” method of business. The deal includes a three-year production deal for movies and tv shows.
Is it just me, or has Disney taken the Microsoft route by acquiring other peoples’ innovations and assets then making money off of them? True, Disney has always operated like that — Walt bought up the rights to books in job lots then developed them into movies. But he always placed great value on his own creative staff. The company no longer does that, and in fact has fired a great deal of that staff in favor of outside partnerships, such as the Pixar deal.
I just don’t see a bright future for Disney if it can’t grow and innovate from within.
And I don’t like the idea of the brilliant Muppets becoming part of that dubious future.
