Aerosmith and the Muppets

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Aerosmith and the Muppets

 

It's hard to imagine two franchises that are more different than Aerosmith and the Muppets. But both were in related news this week. The Wrap reported that the Muppet*Vision 3D attraction would be closing to make room for a future Monsters Inc. roller coaster (1). They also reported the Rock 'n' Roller coaster attraction would be re-themed as a Muppets ride.

So let's break this down into three distinct pieces of news, with a media marketing chaser. First, back in September I wrote about all the announcements at D23. It turns out, Disney almost announced that Monsters Inc. would force the closure of the Muppets show at D23, but changed their minds last minute (2). They were worried that the announcement would get booed! So instead they showed artwork that didn't really specify where the new Monsters Inc. ride would go.

Second, why are fans so upset about a show closing? Gizmodo reports how it was one of the very last projects the Jim Henson worked on before his passing (3). Soon after, the Jim Henson Company released an official statement talking about how the show is "a one-of-a-kind Jim Henson experience, and an unforgettable capstone to Jim’s magnificent career" (4). Having enjoyed the show numerous times, I will be one of the many fans to miss the one-of-a-kind experience.

Third, why re-theme Rock 'n' Roller coaster? There are several reasons. The first dates back several years. When the ride was first launched in 1999, Disney had a multi-year licensing agreement with the band Aerosmith (5). That licensing agreement ended recently, and while the ride still has the pre-show segment with the band and the music during the ride, the gift shop no longer sells any Aerosmith merchandising because Disney has not renewed the agreement with Universal Music Group (unrelated to NBCUniversal). Second, Aerosmith is not as popular as it once was, and they are retiring since their lead singer Steven Tyler has a vocal cord injury (6). The third reason is that Tyler has also been named in multiple lawsuits alleging assault and battery. Disney has a long history of disassociating itself with celebrities in legal trouble. So re-theming the ride to Muppets makes a lot of sense, since Disney owns the rights to Muppets.

Lastly, I found Disney's marketing strategy on this news, um, interesting. As Mike at blogmickey.com reported (7), Disney almost always posts news about park changes to its social media channels. But in this case, they did not; their accounts on Facebook, X, Threads, Instagram, and TikTok were all silent on the matter. I would be really interested to get a behind-the-scenes look at their social media rulebook - when do they choose to "go dark" about particular news? Was the only reason to go quiet on this one is because they knew some loyal Muppets fans would be really upset? Or was there more to the story?

Topics: Leveraging Intellectual Property, Multi-Channel Media Marketing

References

1. https://www.thewrap.com/muppet-vision-3d-closing-rock-n-rollercoaster-muppet-retheme/ (also source of cover image)

2. https://www.thewrap.com/muppet-vision-3d-closing-walt-disney-world-details/ 

3. https://gizmodo.com/muppet-vision-3d-disney-world-closing-monsters-inc-land-2000528421

4. https://gizmodo.com/the-jim-henson-company-responds-to-the-muppets-ride-closing-at-disney-world-2000529899 

5. https://insidethemagic.net/2021/09/universal-rock-n-roller-coaster-disney-contract-ad1/

6. https://www.disneytouristblog.com/rock-roller-coaster-aerosmith-removed-reimagining/ 

7. https://blogmickey.com/2024/11/disney-avoids-posting-about-muppetvision-3d-rock-n-roller-coaster-changes-on-social-media/ 

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