Disney is on the verge of green lighting a Muppets movie and is anxious to get things right. In this regard, they are going the same way they went with the upcoming release of “Tron Legacy” and have enlisted the help of Pixar.
Pixar has an exemplary record when comes to movie releases. Every single movie has been nothing short of financial success. Even rarely, every movie has been found favorable by all critics. Add to this the fact that Pixar keeps winning Oscars and you can see why Disney is so intent on keeping its subsidiary involved in important projects.
In the case of “Muppets“, Disney called on part of Pixar’s “Brain Trust”. Pixar president Ed Catmull and filmmakers Michael Arndt, Brad Bird, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Bob Peterson and John Lasseter made themselves available for the consultation. Muppets director James Bobin, producers Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman and the movie’s lead star Jason Segel participated from Disney’s side.
The reach out to Pixar may be viewed as a sign of desperation or brilliance, but whichever it is it happens to be the right one. Recently, Disney movies have had a rough time at cinemas with “Prince of Persia” and the nesest release “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” not delivering to expectations. Both those movies and two others (“When in Rome,” “The Last Song“) were projects that were begun by the previous administration. Therefore the new administration, it appears, wants to prove a point.
So far Pixar and Disney have not commented on the outcome of the meeting.