What is Disney even doing with The Muppets now?

In the 21st century, the Walt Disney Company has focused heavily on acquisitions, expanding its portfolio significantly thanks to the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm during the tenure of former CEO Bob Iger. However, long before the era of Buzz Lightyear, Spider-Man, and Luke Skywalker, there existed a group of beloved characters that had found a home within the Magic Kingdom: the Muppets.

Acquired in February 2004, the Muppets became a part of Disney's stable, ensuring future projects featuring Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and Fozzie Bear would carry the Disney label.

The acquisition of the Muppets by Disney was seen as a somewhat perplexing move by some observers, as it left former CEO Michael Eisner holding a seemingly unwanted bag of "felt" after a deal that had initially fallen through nearly 15 years prior. The Muppets, who had been around first, seemed to be left out of the expansion party as Disney poured resources into sequels to Pixar's Toy Story and Cars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the ongoing expansion of the Star Wars universe.

The House of Mouse's management of the Muppets, led by Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, has become a point of contention once again following the success of a recent revival of The Muppet Show, which made waves at this year's Primetime Emmy Awards.

Fans and industry watchers are left wondering what Disney is planning with the Muppets. On the surface, it appears that the company has been quite active with the characters, introducing additions like Muppet*Vision 3D at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Dr. Teeth And The Electric Mayhem headlining the park's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.

In addition, Disney released two separate feature films, The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted, the latter of which garnered the Muppets their first Oscar for Best Original Song. Moreover, from 2015 to 2016, Disney aired a weekly TV series titled The Muppets.

While Disney has kept the Muppets on various screens, the question remains whether these efforts have been creatively successful or effectively tapped into the essence of what made the Muppets beloved in the first place. The 2015-16 Muppets TV series aimed to modernize the characters, but failed to capture the magic of their earlier incarnations, while the behind-the-scenes production issues highlighted that these Muppets were not your grandparents' Muppets.

The subsequent midseason departure of co-creator Bob Kushell and the subsequent retooling did not help the situation, ultimately leading to the show's cancellation after 16 episodes.

Comparing the desire to introduce relationship drama and showbiz toxicity into the Muppet mix to Jason Segel's reverence for the characters, the 2011 film The Muppets may have fallen short of capturing the true spirit of the Muppets. The 2014 sequel, Muppets Most Wanted, attempted to focus on the Muppets as leads, incorporating elements of humor reminiscent of the Jim Henson/Frank Oz era, but ultimately struggled to match the box-office success of its predecessor.

The 2026 special, produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, took a simpler approach by simply airing an episode of The Muppet Show, a move that underwhelmed many fans and industry observers.