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The Muppet*Vision 3D attraction at Walt Disney World took its final curtain call on 7 June after a 34 year run. As fans gathered to say one last goodbye to Jim Henson’s final project, the moment felt uncannily familiar, like a scene we had already watched play out. Enter: The Muppets (2011).
Life Imitating Art
In the 2011 film The Muppets, Walter, a lifelong Muppets superfan (and Muppet), travels to Los Angeles with his (human) brother Gary, only to find the old Muppet Studios abandoned and on the verge of demolition. With a greedy oil tycoon eager to bulldoze the theatre, the brothers help reunite the long-dispersed Muppets for one last show to raise money to save their theatre (which may or may not involve kidnapping Jack Black).
Over in Hollywood Studios, life echoed fiction. For the attraction’s final performance, special guests including Jim Henson’s daughter, Heather Henson, were in attendance. Outside the theatre, fans and performers gathered in the courtyard to sing ‘Rainbow Connection’, the beloved ballad featured in both The Muppet Movie (1979) and The Muppets (2011). This time, though, the theatre’s final bow was truly its last.
Pictures in My Head
Rewatching the film now feels incredibly bittersweet. The Muppets offered a polished, heartfelt revival of a world already deeply loved by those who grew up on grainy VHS tapes of The Muppet Show–like me–but also helped to create a whole new generation of Muppets fans. And let’s be honest, ‘Man or Muppet’ remains one of the greatest musical numbers ever written. It earned widespread acclaim for its humour, music and joyful revival of beloved characters. It grossed over $171 million worldwide on a $45 million budget and even won the Academy Award for Best Original Song with, of course, ‘Man or Muppet.’ It was not just a comeback but a love letter to what made the Muppets matter in the first place.
The film quickly became a comfort watch for many, the kind of movie played on repeat until every lyric was second nature. Songs like ‘Mah Na Mah Na’ even spilled into everyday life, appearing so often on BBC Radio 2 that they became part of the background noise of growing up.
Life’s a Happy Song
What elevates The Muppets beyond its surface nostalgia is its emotional core. It is a story about belonging, self-belief and finding purpose when you feel out of place. Walter’s journey isn’t just about saving a building but about discovering where he fits in. He may not be sure whether he’s a man or a Muppet (cue the song), but he knows he wants to be part of something that matters.
That same feeling runs through every Muppet character. They’re not polished or pristine, they are messy, chaotic and compassionate. Every character gets to be the star of their own story, not pushed into the background because of their quirks but celebrated because of them. That is the beauty of the Muppets: they don’t ask anyone to be normal, only to be themselves. The film reminds us that there’s value in caring deeply about things others might label uncool. After all, everyone’s a little weird and it is authenticity that truly brings people together.
The Muppets Today
Watching Walter try to rally a group of characters who’ve long been dismissed or forgotten and convince them they are still loved feels especially relevant now. The crowds of people dressed in Muppet attire, clutching plushies of their favourite characters to say goodbye to the attraction, prove that the love never really went away.
The emotional farewell wasn’t confined to the parks. Online, fans have taken to social media to grieve and reflect. A TikTok by @beccalloydpoetry, which has 115,000 likes, captures a collective feeling of loss:
“This is all basically the plot of The Muppets movie but this time no one is going to save them, because everyone’s growing up and not enough people care about the Muppets anymore.”
Most who grew up with the Muppets, even the 2011 iteration, are now adults, and while life moves on, that doesn’t mean love for these characters fades. Sometimes, it simply means there’s less time to revisit old favorites.
For me, that feeling is rings especially true. The last time I visited Disney in Orlando, I was 10 years old, excited to see the Muppet*Vision 3D theatre. Now, at 20, saying goodbye to it feels like closing the door to a piece of my childhood. I was lucky enough to see the theatre one last time—a chance many others did not get.
Revisiting The Muppets (2011) today is not just a comfort watch but a bittersweet reminder of the passage of time.
The Show Must Go On
At its heart, The Muppets acknowledges that growing up can be difficult, and it’s okay to grieve what changes or fades. Yet it also celebrates the weird, wonderful things that shape us.
The film and the attraction’s closure highlight the ache that comes from caring deeply about something the world insists is past its prime. But Muppet history has always been one of unlikely comebacks, chaotic plans and relentless hope. While the theatre has closed and Statler and Waldorf are permanently bolted to their balcony seats (as they remind us at the end of the show), Jim Henson’s legacy endures.
Disney has announced that the Muppets will return with a fresh twist in a rebrand of Orlando’s Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, expected to open by 2026. So this isn’t a goodbye—just a new act.
Words by Libby Jennings
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