Muppets legend Frank Oz says Disney "don't get it"

From Digital Spy

The Muppets legend Frank Oz has criticised Disney for not getting "the true rebellion" running through the franchise.

The puppeteer, who propped up the Muppets from 1963 until 2004 when Disney bought the rights to them, has revealed his disapproval of the conglomerate's handling of the brand.

As well as citing a failure to "ask performers how to do it", Oz said Disney simply "don't get" the Muppets.

Which is pretty unfortunate, because they have a whole lot of Muppets-themed material currently in the works, such as a Disney Life series and the return of Muppet Babies on Disney XD later this year.

Related: The Muppets are getting another TV revival on Disney's streaming service

"As much as Disney loves the Muppets and wants the best for the Muppets – and they truly believe they can do it – they don't get it," Oz told The Hollywood Reporter.

"They don't get the true rebellion and true affection underneath those characters."

Oz did add that he thought Disney meant well, but went on to suggest that they've made a mistake by not consulting the experts.

"By the way, I don't mean to knock Disney, they really want to do a good job," he said. "They've never asked me, and they have not asked the performers how to do it.

"If they just did that – the performers are so brilliant – instead of an outside person, let the performers lead. Then it would be a whole different deal. The audience would appreciate the purity of that."

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