Spotting the Difference Between Kermit & Constatine

It's hard to believe Muppets Most Wanted is only 165 days away. This movie might even be better than the last one! The human cast look hilarious, as usual. I'm sure Ty Burrel, Ricky Gervais & Tina Fey will bring great extra comedy to the film as the film's villains.  

Speaking of villains  today's post will be about the Muppet's brand new villain Constatine.  Notice this Kermit has a weirdly pointed collar? That's Kermit's evil doppelganger  "Constatine" who works alongside the film's other villain  Dominic (played by Ricky Gervais). 


One of the differences Constatine has compared to Kermit are his larger eyes and shorter collar. He also has a Russian accent. 






Let's compare to the original Kermit:                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                               Constatine
Kermit:

See what I mean? Another thing worth noting is the fact that Constatine also has a mole on his left cheek. 

What he's doing alongside Natasha (Tina Fey) is unknown, as well as which puppeteer performs Constatine. But all these questions will be answered in 165 more days when Muppets Most Wanted hits theaters. 

Muppets Most Wanted hits theaters March 21st 2014. 

Happy Halloween!

From everyone at It Starts When We're Kids-A Muppet Fan Blog, we wish you a very spooky Halloween! In honor of Halloween, we include some of our favorite classic spooky Muppet moments below. 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI0g6im44nQ


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz0lXNNkqac


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsBIjhBBPx8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H10Km7xpub8



Happy Halloween, Muppet fans!

Muppet News Flash!

Of course, we're a little late to the party, but it was announced earlier this week that popular pop singer Lady Gaga will be teaming up with the Muppets in "Lady Gaga & The Muppets Holiday Spectacular" which will be taking over TV screens on November 28th on ABC.
Other celebrity cameos include Elton John, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kristen Bell, and RuPaul.

It is also worth noting that Lady Gaga is scheduled to make a cameo in Muppets Most Wanted as well.
Aaaand, Disney released three photos from the special.

Looks fun, promising, and very Muppety. Be sure to tune in on November 28th on ABC! 

Author Brian Jay Jones, author of the recent (and incredible) Jim Henson: The Biography appeared on the Today Show with Frank Oz to talk about Jim Henson and his brand new book. Was an incredible tribute to Jim and is a must-see for all Henson fanatics. 

George Orwitz, known for creating greatly detailed plush of classic characters announced he would be creating a plush based on Red Fraggle, for only $1,200. What a deal! 

We're being sarcastic. While the plush looks incredibly detailed and set, it most probably is not worth $1200. 

In sadder news this week, according to recent reports, The Jim Henson Company's latest TV series, That Puppet Game Show has been cancelled from it's home on BBC. 

That's all for now! Be sure to follow us on Twitter for more up-to the minute Muppet news! 

Thoughts on Jim Henson: The Biography

by Mitchell Stein

I made sure to grab a copy of the truly fantastic Jim Henson: The Biography on the release date, September 24th, which of course, would have also been Jim's 77th birthday this year.

The book is definetley the biggest book about Jim Henson to ever be written, with over 600 pages, Brian Jay Jones goes into incredible detail of every place Jim's ever been or anyone who Jim's ever met or worked with before. Any Muppet expert will be flabbergasted by the amount of brand-new Muppet info that is shared in this book.
Did you know that Rowlf was named after the Purina Dog Chow owner who had the name Ralph? This of course puts to rest a debate that's been going on within the Muppet fan world for over ten years.

Surprisingly, there aren't a lot of photos in this book, but of the handful of ones that were featured are mostly brand new, never before seen photos recently uncovered by the Henson Archives. (Haven't you ever wondered what Pierre the French Rat looked like?) Many of the photos referenced can be found in Jim Henson: The Works, written by Christopher Finch.

Mr. Jones also provides us with a great index and source for each and every page, so if you don't believe it, just flip to thew back of the book and see for yourself.

I've always envisioned Jim Henson as a saint or a god, but known that was unrealistic. He always seemed like a flawless person in most previous biographies.
Mr. Jones takes the brilliant life of Jim Henson and shows it in a different life. Yes, Jim was a creative and brilliant artist, futurist, and all around great guy, but jut like everyone else on this earth, he had his flaws as well.

This isn't a "The Dark Side of Jim Henson" or anything wacky like that. Brian Jay Jones shines Jim with the the brightest light in depth that has never been read before. Yes, he was an undeniable genius, but, like everyone else, he was capable of missteps. Jones looks at Jim's 'failures' or less popular productions too, so you, the Muppet fan can learn the entire story, and giving some great info that even the folks at Muppet Wiki will be embarrassed they didn't know.
Let's face it, not everything Jim's done in his life has been a complete success. The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth weren't exactly box-office hits and the Jim Henson Hour got cancelled before it's second season. Included in the book are some ideas from Jim that barely even made it to the drawing board.

I cannot recommend this book enough. If there's anything Muppety you should spend your money on this year, make it Jim Henson: The Biography. You won't be sorry.

Remembering Faz Fazakas

It was reported earlier this week that legendary tech-wizard and puppet builder Faz Fazakas has passed away at the age of 95.

Faz joined the Muppet team in 1970 during the filming of Tales from Muppetland specials. In the many years since then, he's been responsible for most of the incredible special effects you've seen on-screen.
Some of his most famous work includes the eye mechanism for Sweetums and Big Bird, and the rod and cable techniques used for the Doozers.

Goodbye to one of the most important men in Muppet history. A true unsung Muppet hero.

Muppet Exhibit coming to The National Museum of American History

This is a Muppet news flash!

In honor of what would have been Jim Henson's 77th birthday, the Smithsonian Museum unexpectedly announced that many of the original Muppets would be joining along Kermit, Oscar the Grouch and the Sam & Friends Gang in the National Museum of American History in Washington D.C.

Elmo & Fozzie in the Smithsonian Conservation Lab

Among the announced Muppets were Fozzie Bear, Elmo, The Swedish Chef, Miss Piggy J.P. Grosse, Boober, Red and Uncle Traveling Matt and an original Grover puppet. 

Earlier this year, the Museum of Moving Image in New York announced they would be creating a brand new permanent exhibit celebrating Jim Henson's life and work. Not to mention the Jim Henson exhibit and puppets at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. 

This is a very exciting time for Western Muppet fans, (sorry Australia!). Smithsonian has yet to announce when all the Muppets will go on display, but they made clear that Miss Piggy will go on display in March 2014 (just in time for Muppets Most Wanted). 

Official Smithsonian announcement: 

http://blog.americanhistory.si.edu/osaycanyousee/2013/09/jim-hensons-puppets-reunited-in-our-conservation-lab.html

WHAT DO THE MUPPETS MEAN TO YOU? 

Those seven words are one of the hardest questions ever asked to me before. 
What do the Muppets mean to me? Where to begin? Let’s start from the beginning, shall we? 

I've never really been a Muppet fan growing up. Of course, I owned “Don’t Eat the Pictures!( Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum)” on VHS, which I watched the life out of. (I still have it sitting on my shelf today.)

Alas, my real Muppet fandom started a long time ago, in a land named “Orlando, Florida”. One guest walked into Muppet-Vision 3D as a tourist, but exited as a Muppet fan.
I remember seeing it, but not knowing anything about the Muppet except that they are hilarious. After leaving Florida, and coming back to my home in Canada, I immediately searched for more Muppet movies, and found The Great Muppet Caper in a local library. I was such a major fan of that movie, as I still am today. The running gags in that movie are just brilliant. It gets better and better every time I watch it.

"One guest walked into Muppet-Vision 3D as a tourist, but exited as a Muppet fan." 

From there on, I discovered that the Muppets had a TV show called The Muppet Show. Can you believe it? TMS, was the most ingenious shows to ever be on TV. Shows have come and gone throughout the years, but The Muppet Show always had a special place in my heart.

So why are the Muppets so important to me? Well, they give me the third-greatest-gift that could ever be given (the one after Ice Cream)...Laughter.

Of course, I would have to thank the legendary Jim Henson for his hard work, and creation of the Muppets. Who would I be if Jim decided to go into some other profession? I would not be anything I am today without Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, or the Muppets, and I definitely would not be sitting here in front of my computer at 12:56 PM typing out this Muppet Fan Testimonial.

Thank you Jim. Thank you to all the Muppeteers, Henson Co, Sesame Workshop, and everyone at the Jim Henson Legacy for keeping Jim’s creation and legacy alive.

-Mitchell Stein