This weekend was the biennial D23 Expo, which had a lot of great news and reveals if you’re a fan of Disney remakes and Pixar sequels. If you’re a fan of the Muppets like us, well…the pickins were slim. But, there’s still some Muppet stuff to talk about from the expo, with exclusive merch, an entire Miss Piggy-themed event, and a tribute to Frank Oz. Unfortunately, none of the Tough Pigs staff were in attendance, but thanks to kind people sharing their experiences on social media, we need no longer feel any FOMO. At least social media is good for something!
Let’s take a look at what Muppety things happened this weekend!
A Great Big Beautiful Car Show
This showcase presented all sorts of vehicles from the Walt Disney Archives collection, including some Muppet ones! These included the Electric Mayhem’s van from the 2015 series and The Muppets Mayhem (they must have stolen it back from the Beliebers), Jean Napoleon’s “Le Maximum” from Muppets Most Wanted, and most surprisingly Beauregard’s taxi, which had been used in the 1980 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and was later on display at WDW Hollywood Studios until 2014, and this appears to be the first time it’s been seen since then. I hope they didn’t leave any gas in the tanks all this time!
The Muppets 70: A Glamorous Miss Piggy Retrospective
That’s right, the Muppets are about to turn 70 years old! And D23 decided to kick off their anniversary with an event all about the biggest star the Muppets have to offer – Droop! Lol, just kidding! It was Miss Piggy, of course!
The event was hosted by noted Muppet stan and limo driver Yvette Nicole Brown, who was joined by Becky Cline from the Walt Disney Archives and Dani Iglesias from the Muppets Studio. While no Muppets were live in the room, Miss Piggy herself did record a video greeting for the crowd, grumbling about how someone with a made up name like “Frank Oz” is being awarded that weekend instead of her.
The live humans who were in the room presented various Miss Piggy-related items from the Disney Archives collection, including:
- Her Bogen County Beauty Pageant sash from The Muppet Movie
- The newly-refurbished bicycle she rode during “Couldn’t We Ride” in The Great Muppet Caper
- Benjamina Gunn’s costume from Muppet Treasure Island
- The original Foo-Foo puppet, which until very recently had been the same one in use since the 1970s(!) Her lifeless husk remained on the table for the rest of the panel, a sad sight indeed.
- The engagement ring/bomb Constantine gives Piggy in Muppets Most Wanted
- Piggy’s Halloween costume of Kermit from Muppets Haunted Mansion
They also addressed the fact that Kermit’s original banjo from The Muppet Movie is in the process of being replicated. Besty Cline joked that this replica can be used in an upcoming live-action remake of The Muppet Movie. Perish the thought! After a brief Q&A with the crowd, the event closed with Ariel herself Jodi Benson coming out to perform the classic, “Never Before, Never Again.”
The Costuming Artistry Behind Disney Experiences
Miss Piggy was also briefly spotlighted at this panel, showcasing the costumes from various Disney parks, live shows, and the like. Yonit Olshan showed off some concept art of Piggy’s outfits for Walt Disney World’s Jollywood Nights show. She looked pretty good!
The Making of Clue: The Muppets Board Game
Dani Iglesias returned with Nina West to give a quick preview of the upcoming game, which has an official release date of October 8. There were proper visuals of all the roles the Muppets are playing:
- Miss Piggy as Miss Scarlett
- Kermit as Mr. Green
- Gonzo as Professor Plumb
- The Swedish Chef as Chef White
- Sam the Eagle as Solicitor Peacock
- Fozzie Bear as Colonel Mustard
- Uncle Deadly as the victim; he has invited the Muppets to the theater to play the murder mystery and deliberately casts himself as the victim
- Animal is a “wild card,” who can cause general mayhem if his card is played
We also got a full roster of the weapons that will be used:
- Pigs in Space Zapper from The Muppet Show
- Marley & Marley Chains from The Muppet Christmas Carol
- Skillet With Singing Food from The Muppet Show
- Kermit’s Sword from Muppet Treasure Island
- Gonzo’s Plumbing Artiste Statue from The Muppet Movie
- Floating Candelabra from Muppets Haunted Mansion
In addition to the board game, it was revealed that there will be a social media campaign beginning August 23 to celebrate the Muppets’ 70th anniversary. Every Friday, the Muppets’ various social media accounts will spotlight a different Muppet, well-known and obscure, and this will go on for 70 weeks! You’ll be able to follow along with the hashtag “#TheMuppets70.” And keep an eye on this very website, for we’ll be celebrating along in our own special way! *wink!*
Frank Oz, Disney Legend
The final main event was the Disney Legends ceremony, honoring various and sundry individuals with significant contributions to the Disney oeuvre. And our favorite guy Frank Oz was among those being honored, no doubt for his contributions to the world as Marvin Suggs.
Pixar’s Pete Docter took to the stage to share some nice words on how Frank’s work has influenced him and working directly with him on films like Monsters, Inc. and Inside Out. This was followed by a brief retrospective showing clips of Frank on set performing Yoda, directing, and other Muppet highlights interspersed with talking head clips from Mark Hamill, Robert DiNero, and Steve Martin.
After that, Frank got the chance to take the stage. He made sure to remind everyone that he would not be where he is without the contributions and teamwork from his fellow Muppet performers, workshop team, and various other film crew-type peoples. He continued to thank his friends (like Docter), his children, his wife Victoria Labalme, and detailed the very important role Disneyland had in his youth. He concluded his remarks by addressing his long-term troubles with self-esteem and earnestly told the crowd, “Don’t hide who you are.”
The full program is currently available to stream on Disney+, so if you want to see Frank’s segment for yourself, you can find it approximately one hour and for minutes into the show.
Merchandise
Of course, Disney couldn’t have a huge event like this without making sure you wallets were empty. Among the various bits of merch were some exclusive Muppet items:
First off, a whole bunch of socks featuring the more popular Muppet characters, including Stitch, my most favoritest Muppet of all time!
There were several products boasting some new artwork designed by Dani Iglesias, clearly the Muppet MVP of the weekend. Much of it celebrated the 45th anniversary of The Muppet Movie with this new piece by Iglesias, which was made into prints, T-shirts, and totebags!
The other Muppet Movie related item was this magnet featuring Gonzo and his balloons. I’m sure they were flying off the shelves! Ha! Get it?! FLYING! LIKE BALLOONS DO!
In non-Muppet Movie-themed stuff, there were these mugs depicting assorted Muppet favorites in the arches from The Muppet Show. Even Lips made the cut! These new drawings were not only used for these mugs, but…
…a new series of enamel standees! The set is boasted as Series One, featuring Kermit, Piggy, Gonzo, Scooter, and Sam, and shows both their front and backs. Since this is labeled “Series One,” we’re hoping there will be more of these to follow. Especially because there’s only 400 of each, it seems.
And there you have it! That’s about everything there was to know about the Muppets at D23, but you were too afraid to ask. I look forward to the next expo in 2026, where I’m certain the only Muppet representation will be one photo of Beaker somewhere.
Click here to stuff Miss Piggy’s dog on the Tough Pigs Discord!
By Shane Keating
