More "Play With Me Sesame" Coming to DVD

"Play with Me Sesame" brings viewers on a playdate with some of their favorite Sesame Street characters. Each episode mixes classic Sesame Street footage with newly created games and activities where the Muppets invite viewers to join in. Fans of "Play with Me Sesame" rejoiced this fall as the first two American DVDs of the series - "Playtime with Grover" and "Goodnight Sesame" - were released in October. Sesame Workshop is planning more releases of "Play with Me Sesame", with two more DVDs planned for released in March.

The Sesame Street Muppets show how much fun pretending can be in "Play With Me Sesame: Imagine With Me". Viewers can dance with ballerina Zoe, travel to the moon with Grover, and help Bert scare away the monsters under Ernie’s bed. The 110-minute DVD, which will hit stores on March 11, 2008, will also come with an exclusive bonus CD-ROM full of more than 40-minutes of interactive Sesame Street fun.

"Play with Me Sesame: Let's Play Games" will also hit stores on March 11, 2008. Guy Smiley hosts a series of games on this 110-minute DVD. Viewers will be able to play hide-and-seek with Grover, count along with Count von Count, and "Name That Sound." The DVD also come with an exclusive bonus CD-ROM with even more Sesame Street.

If you're a Sesame fan you want to be sure to pick up these exciting DVDs when they hit stores in March. I'll keep you posted with more news on the future of "Play with Me Sesame", and other Sesame shows, on DVD.

The 2007 Jim Henson Honors

Today The Jim Henson Company announced the recipients of the third annual Jim Henson Honors. The Jim Henson Honors, which was started in 2005 and continued in 2006, acknowledges organizations, individuals or products that reflect the core values and philosophy of Jim Henson and the company he founded.

Honorees were chosen by the artists and staff at The Jim Henson Company, who are asked to nominate recipients who inspire them in their everyday work, maintain similar core values as the company, and of course, reflect Jim Henson's commitment to excellence in creativity and innovation.

In a statment earlier today Lisa Henson said, "Each of this year's recipients embodies creativity in an exciting way: uniting a community, exploring expression in a multitude of media, providing an exciting way to experience entertainment, and providing tools for real change in the world around us. This type of thinking is at the core of the company my father founded and we are thrilled to celebrate these like-minded honorees."

The 2007 Jim Henson Honorees:

• The Jim Henson Celebration Honor: Richard Branson, British Entrepreneur
• The Jim Henson Community Honor: Etsy, Online Marketplace for All Things Handmade
• The Jim Henson Creativity Honor: Neil Gaiman, Writer
• The Jim Henson Technology Honor: REAL D 3D, 3D Experience Provider

More Henson Plushes from ToyVault in '08

Last year ToyVault Inc. acquired licenses to produce plush dolls and collectibles based on two Jim Henson classics - "The Dark Crystal" and "Labyrinth". The first products in each of these lines were released earlier this year – a plush Fizzgig from "The Dark Crystal" and a plush Sir Didymus from "Labyrinth". Since the debut of these two products the fans have been wondering whether or not they can expect more fantasy world collectibles from ToyVault, and when any more products would be rolling out.

I contact ToyVault to find out about the future of these two lines, and was told that they have a slew of new products planned to roll out in 2008. The fine folks at ToyVault provided me with a glimpse at their tentative 2008 release schedule and a list of the Henson-themed items fans can expect to see. The release dates and specifics have not all been locked-in yet and things could always change, but here is a sneak-peak at some of the products ToyVault is currently working on and planning to release in2008.

Dark Crystal:
• Dark Crystal Pillow
• Plush Jen (with rotocast vinyl head)
• Plush Kira (with rotocast vinyal head)
• Plush Augrah
• Plush Mystic
• Plush Landstrider
• Plush Fizzgig Hand Puppet
• Plush Pod People

Labyrinth
• Plush Fiery
• Plush Goblin
• Plush Ludo
• Plush Hoggle
• Plush Didymus with Ambrosius
• Hangable Plush Door Knockers
• Ludo Plush Slippers

Henson's "Unstable Fables" are Coming Your Way

As reported earlier, The Jim Henson Company has teamed up with the Weinstein Company to produce a new series of direct-to-video movies entitled "Unstable Fables".

The video series features irreverent retellings of well-known classic tales by incorporating modern twists on the stories. The first batch of these family-friendly computer-animated feature-length movies began production last year, and the first title in the line is planned for release in March 2008.

"Unstable Fables: Three Pigs and a Baby", the first title in the "Unstable Fables" series, features the story of "The Three Little Pigs" with a new twist. The three pigs find themselves the target of a team of wolves vying to finally infiltrate the pigs' impenetrable house of bricks. So when the unassuming pigs find a tiny wolf cub on their doorstep they innocently take him in and raise him as their own. However once the wolf grows up he finds himself torn between his wolf ancestors and the pigs that raised him. "Three Pigs and a Baby" features an impressive vocal cast, including such talents as Brad Garrett, Jon Cryer, Steve Zahn and Jesse McCartney.

The movie will be released on DVD on March 11, 2008 through Genius Products and is already available for pre-ordering at many online stores. An "Unstable Fables" take on "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "The Tortoise and the Hare" are also planned for release later this spring with additional "Unstable Fables" releases to follow.

S.U.D.S. is Coming!

As reported earlier, The Jim Henson Company, in cooperation with RealNetworks and Warner Bros.'s Studio 2.0, are preparing to launch the latest Henson Alternative production, an irreverent detective comedy entitled "Simian Undercover Detective Squad" (or "S.U.D.S." for short). The upcoming web series will follow the inept undercover adventures of a grizzled orangutan detective and his rookie simian partner as they try to make it in a human world. Fifteen episodes are currently scheduled to debut at http://www.film.com/suds/ sometime in the first quarter of 2008. In order to promote the upcoming series, Henson has released an online teaser trailer for the series and a new installment of the Henson.com podcast all about "S.U.D.S."

So be sure to surf over to Henson.com to listen the latest installment of the podcast featuring exclusive, behind-the-scenes interviews with the series' producers/directors Perry Sachs and Deb Loftis, as well as performers Paul Rugg and Zand Broumand.

"Simian Underground Detective Squad" is the first of three Henson Alternative titles being produced for Film.com. Additionally, I've been told that Henson is planning to launch ten all-new episodes of "Puppet Up! - Uncensored", the company's live puppet improv show, in 2008. And also in development are 15 episodes of "Alt-Reality", a puppet-based reality-show parody being written and directed by Mike Upchurch.

I'll be sure to keep you updated with more details on "S.U.D.S", and all these other exciting web projects, as things progress.

Meet Sid the Science Kid

A while back it was announced that The Jim Henson Company, along with PBS Kids, was developing a new educational television series under the working title "What's the Big Idea?" The series was said to star an inquisitive digital-puppet named Josh who discovers the answers to interesting scientific questions - such as how birds fly or why people sneeze. Production and development of the series is progressing, and the show is planned to premier on PBS in September; however the show has undergone a name change since those initial reports. Josh is now Sid and the series is has been retitled "Sid the Science Kid".

"Sid the Science Kid" will use short sketches to teach lessons of science and discovery. Forty half-hour episodes of the series have been ordered and are in production. The program is utilizing the Henson Digital Performance Studio, the revolutionary system that allows puppeteers to perform digital characters in real time. Additionally, the Jim Henson Company has teamed up with the Brandolution marketing agency to handle the merchandising of the series, and a large roll out of supporting toys and books is already planned for the 2008 holiday season.

I’ll be sure to keep you updated with the release of this exciting new Henson series as things develop.

Elmo Gets Sirius

If you have Sirius Satellite Radio then you'll want to check out the "Kids Stuff" channel (channel 166) this holiday season for an exciting Muppet guest. Elmo, the loveable red monster from Sesame Street, has been invited to be a guest DJ for a special Christmas-themed program entitled "Elmo's Holiday Favorites".

Elmo will be playing his all-time favorite holiday songs while sharing exclusive sneak previews of the songs from "Elmo's Christmas Countdown" and spreading holiday cheer. The program is said to be full of classic Muppet, Sesame and seasonal fun for the entire family.

"Elmo's Holiday Favorites" will be broadcast on Sirius on December 21st at 9:00 am ET, however if you miss it, or want to catch it again, Sirius is set to rebroadcast it several time throughout the week (see below).

Sirius is currently offering three-day free trail of their programming online, so even if you don’t have Sirius you could still listen to Elmo's exclusive radio gig on their website.

"Elmo's Holiday Favorites"

• Friday, December 21st @ 9 am ET
• Friday, December 21st @ 3 pm ET
• Saturday, December 22nd @ 12 pm ET
• Saturday, December 22nd @ 6 pm ET
• Sunday, December 23rd @ 10 am ET
• Sunday, December 23rd @ 5 pm ET
• Monday, December 24th @ 7 am ET
• Monday, December 24th @ 2 pm ET
• Tuesday, December 25th @ 6 am ET.
• Tuesday, December 25th @ 11 am ET
• Tuesday, December 25th @ 4 pm ET

"Elmo's Christmas Countdown" Airs on Sunday, December 23rd!

Just a reminder that "Elmo's Christmas Countdown" will air on ABC next week - Sunday, December 23, 2007 at 7:00 pm (Eastern/Pacific).

Hosted by Stiller the Elf and his frosty sidekick, Stan the Snowball, "Elmo's Christmas Countdown" is a one-hour television spectacular starring all of your favorite Sesame Street characters - including Big Bird, Snuffy, Grover, Cookie Monster, Bert, Ernie, The Count, Oscar the Grouch, Prairie Dawn, The Three Bears, Abby Cadabby, Elmo and more.

A host of famous friends also help usher in the spirit of the season. The special features musical performances with Brad Paisley, Alicia Keys, Sheryl Crow, Jennifer Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Ty Pennington and Jamie Foxx. Steve Schirippa and Tony Sirico demonstrate their acting skills portraying everybody's favorite striped-shirt duo, Bert and Ernie. ABC News anchor Charles Gibson voices the reindeer news anchor, Charles Blitzen, Kevin James reveals a side of Santa Claus you've never seen before, and Ben stiller voices Stiller, the Muppet elf.

You won't want to miss this spectacular television event when it airs - so mark your calendar and program those VCRs and DVRs. "Elmo's Christmas Countdown" will air on ABC on Sunday, December 23rd! For more information visit ABC.com.

Muppets' Holiday Album Gets Grammy Nomination

The nominees for the 50th annual Grammy Awards were announced last week by The Recording Academy. This year's awards, recognizing the best albums and recordings released between October 1, 2006 and September 30, 2007, will be presented on February 10, 2008 with the ceremony being televised live on CBS (check local listings for details).

The Muppets' most recent studio album, "A Green and Red Christmas" made the list of nominees for "Best Musical Album For Children"! "A Green and Red Christmas", was released on October 17, 2006 and features 12 outstanding holiday songs sung by everyone's favorite Muppets.

We wish the Muppets the best of luck and congratulate them on this exciting nomination. And if you haven't picked up this wonderful holiday album, be sure to get your hands a copy today!

Sesame Street's Gigantic Video Collection Now Online!

Sesame Workshop has launched a brand-spanking-new archive of hundreds of classic Sesame Street video clips at Video.SesameWorkshop.com. The site features the largest online collections of clips from the show. With segments, sketches and songs spanning the past 38 years, there is enough material here to keep Sesame fans entertained for quite a while.

The video collection is easy to search, full of all your favorite Sesame Street segments and is 100% free. So surf on over to Video.SesameWorkshop.com and enjoy hours upon hours of class Sesame Street fun – there is the "King of 8", tons of Kermit the Frog’s breaking Sesame Street News Flashes, Elmo's tricycle song, the Pinball Number Count, more than 100 Ernie and Bert bits, and so much more. There is something for everyone and tons to enjoy. Check out this exciting, comprehensive and amazing video archive today!

Go to the Videos Now!

Emmet Otter's Podcast Christmas

The Jim Henson Company is recently posted the latest installment of the official Henson.com podcast. In this segment Grant Baciocco shares an in-depth interview with Muppeteer Dave Goelz. Goelz talks about the heartwarming holiday film, Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas, the Jim Henson Company classic that celebrates it's 30th Anniversary this year. You can listen to the entire 15-minute interview in episode #20 of the Henson.com Podcast.

And our pal Steve Swanson over at The MuppetCast paid tribute to Emmet Otter this week with another spectacular episode of The MuppetCast. The latest episode includes music and memories from the classic 1977 special along with exclusive interviews with Matt Surowiec (the musician behind the outstanding Emmet Otter tribute CD) and Steve also has an tremendous interview with Muppeteer Dave Goelz – plus audio from Goelz’s appearance at an Emmet Otter screening in Columbus, Ohio. Steve crams a lot of content into this special installment of the ‘cast, so be sure to check out check out all the Emmet Otter exclusives and fun at MuppetCast.com.