"The Best of Elmo 2" Comes to DVD

This spring, Sesame Workshop and Warner Homer Entertainment bring fans a sequel to Sesame Street's all-time best-selling DVD with the release of "The Best of Elmo 2." The new DVD, which includes some of Elmo's most popular segments, will hit stores on May 4, 2010.

The 27-minute DVD, directed by Kevin Clash, features an all-new story that showcases clips from some of Elmo most popular moments. In the feature, a robot comes to Sesame Street. The robot, a "Memorybot", is losing his power and he needs "memories" to power up again. Elmo gladly shares his memories of special times with friends like Jason Mraz, Adam Sandler, Destiny's Child, David Beckham, India.Arie, The Goo Goo Dolls, Feist and more.

You can pick up the classic 1994 collection "The Best of Elmo"; and then expand your library in May with "The Best of Elmo 2." I will be sure to keep you updated as more information on all the exciting new Sesame Street home video titles become available.

Muppet Fans Present 2010 Muppet Madness Tournament

Do you like Muppets? Do you watch college basketball? If you answered Yes to either of these questions (it would really be helpful if you at least answered Yes to the first question) then Steve Swanson of The MuppetCast podcast, along with Ryan Roe and Joe Hennes of Muppet fan site ToughPigs.com, hope you’ll enjoy the new 2010 Muppet Madness Tournament. The tournament is held online, hosted by The MuppetCast, at http://muppetcast.com/tournament, and they invite Muppet fans everywhere to visit the site and vote for their favorites daily.

“We don’t watch college basketball,” said Steve Swanson, host and producer of The MuppetCast, “So we put our heads together and, between our two websites, came up with what we think is a way to make this time of year really fun and engaging for Muppet fans.” The online tournament is scheduled to run from March 16 to April 4, the same dates as the NCAA’s March Madness Tournament, however website visitors can begin voting as of Monday.

Joe Hennes, co-owner and operator of the Muppet fan blog ToughPigs.com, said “We have always encouraged fan involvement and outreach on ToughPigs.com. With the Muppet Madness Tournament, we’re hoping to increase the participation to both the readers of our site and the listeners of The MuppetCast, bridging a gap between all types of Muppet fans, from the casual fan to the obsessed fanatic to the Jim Henson Company employee.”

ToughPigs co-owner Ryan Roe added, “If there's one thing Muppet fans love, it's taking the Muppets way too seriously, and the tournament will allow folks to do that with the added elements of competition and the suspense of wondering who will win. It will be thrilling to find out, once and for all, whether Sprocket is more popular than Baby Sinclair.”

Designed to emulate the NCAA tournament, the Muppet Madness Tournament is divided into four quadrants: characters from The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and a quadrant for Jim Henson’s other fantasy and children’s characters. Website visitors will be able to vote in matchups in each quadrant until the champion is crowned.

Voting results will be presented every Sunday on new episodes of The MuppetCast podcast (found in iTunes and at muppetcast.com) as well as featured articles on ToughPigs.com, said Swanson. “Joe, Ryan, and I will announce the winners of the previous week’s round of voting, give some commentary on each competition, and present the matches for the next round, starting that same day.”

Fans can also download a printable PDF of the tournament brackets and start tournament pools with other Muppet fans.

“We’re just doing this for fun”, said Swanson, “I have this crazy picture in my mind of the Sesame Street puppeteers going in on an office pool, or of the Muppeteers ribbing each other and talking smack when Gonzo goes up against Big Bird.”

Go to the 2010 Muppet Madness Tournament now!

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Visit Dog City on DVD this June!

Today, Lionsgate Entertainment has informed retailers that a DVD of Jim Henson's Dog City: The Movie will be released on June 8, 2010. Originally appearing as part of "The Jim Henson Hour" in 1989, "Dog City: The Movie" is an Emmy award-winning classic directed by Jim Henson. This parody of the film noir gangster films takes us through the busy but dangerous town of Dog City, teeming with colorful Muppet Dog characters. Rowlf the dog is your guide through the underside of canine life during the 1930s in Dog City.

Our hero, Ace, enters the world of bulldog gangsters and terrier molls when he inherits a saloon, “The Doghouse,” from his late Uncle Harry. Unwilling to pay protection money, Ace finds himself the target of Bugsy, a bulldog bully who owns most of Dog City, and also happens to be one of the foremost proponents of senseless violence. Ace also comes nose to nose with a beautiful runaway collie named Colleen. Colleen and Ace team up to take on Bugsy and his thugs in the tumultuous, dog-eat-dog world of Dog City.

Running 40-minutes, this single disc release will also include original movie concept art, a behind-the-scenes image gallery, and two animated episodes from the subsequent "Dog City" television series.

I will keep you updated as more release information on this exciting Jim Henson title becomes available.

Bert and Ernie Bring 11 Great Adventures to DVD

Best buddies Bert and Ernie journey from Sesame Street to exciting new places in the clay-animated series "Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures". The five-minute episodes feature the classic Muppet duo traveling to faraway lands where fantastical adventures and important lessons in friendship await them. The episodes have been seen in America as inserts on Sesame Street (first appearing during the show's 39th season) and shown independently around the world.

The short-form series will be the focus of an upcoming DVD release from Warner Homer Video and Sesame Workshop - "Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures" - coming to stores on April 6, 2010! Bert and Ernie’s Great Adventures contains a compilation of 11 exciting adventures in a 50-minute compilation for all ages. Join Bert and Ernie as they search for buried treasure as ‘Pirates,’ ride horses in the ‘Wild West’ and swim with the fishes in the ‘Deep Sea.’ The adventures continue as they help out an Arctic friend in ‘Penguins,’ run from dinosaurs in ‘Cavemen’ and cook up a mess in ‘Bakers.’

So be sure to pick up this great collection of animated shorts when it hits stores on April 6th; and I will be sure to keep you updated as more information on all the exciting new Sesame Street home video titles become available.

Stuffed and Unstrung