Rebooting The Muppets

I try to read the NYT to my daughter each weekend. It's extremely important for a child, not matter how old, to be read to and damn if "Goodnight Moon" doesn't get boring the 50th time around.

One article I read today was about how Disney is finally trying to reboot the Muppet franchise and that I say "Its damn about time!" All sorts of things are being done, from having Miss Piggy tape "Desperate Housepig" sketches which will be included on Desperate Housewives DVDs to having Kermit the Frog interview athletes on ESPN. Of course, filming and releasing new skits to YouTube is in the mix - we are living in the 21st Century after all and that is the "low hanging fruit" of any new marketing initiative, right?

While I didn't know if they would be Classic Muppet Show good or Muppets in Space bad, I was pleasantly surprised by them. So was the Muppet Central site which had this to say about the new videos:

"These shorts left me tickled. Not just because I was passingly amused, but because they give me a glimmer of optimism for a franchise I'd given up on years ago. In their ephemeral way, these shorts drill down to the same substance that's on display in all those old Muppet Show clips: musical sketch comedy, well sung and absurdly executed."

Don't believe me? Check out the four new ones below and (hopefully) enjoy. As election day is getting close, I'm especially enamored with the first one. Said Sam to a young Scrooge in "A Muppet Christmas Carol:"

Sam the Eagle: Oh, you will love business. It is the American way.
Gonzo: Uh, Sam?
Sam the Eagle: Oh. It is the British way!

Stars and Stripes Forever:

Ode to Joy:

Habanera:

Classical Chicken:

Meh: