Let us have a moment of silence...

Brian and Lisa Henson have sold Disney the rights to Bear in the Big Blue House... and to the Muppets. This includes, apparently, "the Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo and Animal characters, the Muppet film and television library, and all associated copyrights and trademarks". On the plus side, this deal does not include the Creature Shops, the Sesame Street characters, Labyrinth, Fraggle Rock, etc.

In the press release, Lisa Henson refers to the fact that Jim Henson wanted to do something similar before his death. As I understand it, Jim Henson wanted a partnership between Jim Henson Productions and Walt Disney, and wasn't planning to sell them the rights. Just for the record.

I would be more upset about this if Brian and Lisa had given us any indication that they had any aptitude for running Jim Henson Productions well.