The app also features a Free Play Mode where users can rock out with Animal to original music or songs imported from your iTunes music library (3.0 OS or higher required). Users can also score points and create combos to charge their Rock Meter and power their stage presence. You can even use the App to create original music, then hit the record feature and watch Animal replay your jam session.

“We’re excited to bring Animal and The Muppets to a broad mobile audience, and what better way to do that than an innovative, music-based App that taps into Animal’s wild personality and the unique functionality of the iPhone and iPod touch,” stated Stephen Saiz, director of marketing, Disney Interactive Studios.

Of course Animal had this to say: “Louder! Faster! Drum! Drum! Drum!”

For more information, you can visit http://www.itunes.com/waltdisney.

I love it when a piece of my childhood hits Youtube allowing me to revisit and end up in fits of laughter. The Muppets are now on YouTube in full HD goodness.

The Muppets Youtube channel seems to have just launched a few days ago with posts dating back to the 19th of November. There are only fourteen episodes up and they are all hilarious. Instead of doing work on GamingAngels, I went through and watched all of them! I hope we continue to see more.

Here’s a sampling to get you hooked:

Dark Crystal

Many of us watched Dark Crystal as kids, and today we find out that Jim Henson Company is making a sequel.

The movie will be called, The Power of the Dark Crystal.

Here is a little information on what the new film will be about:
Set hundreds of years after the first film, an evil mysterious girl named Thurma made of fire who lives in the blazing center of the planet steals a shard of the crystal in hopes of reigniting the dying sun! There is only one thing powerful enough to heal the star – a shard of the crystal.

It will be awhile until we see the sequel as it’s listed for a 2011 release.

[source mtv]

The multi-year partnership will draw from The Jim Henson Company’s extensive film and television library, including Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Mirrormask, The Storyteller and other titles. The agreement also allows The Jim Henson Company and Archaia to partner with talent in the comic book, television and film industries to create brand-new stories under a co-branded banner, building on the legacy of quality and creativity of The Jim Henson Company brand and strengthening Archaia’s relationships within the entertainment sector.

“Some of the best storytellers in the world are flocking to comic books and graphic novels, making them the foremost platform for innovative and imaginative storytelling,” said Joe LeFavi, Director of Publishing and Development at The Jim Henson Company and who will serve as story editor on all the books. “Archaia has always epitomized artistic integrity, and their passion and support for our brands ensure that fans will receive the very best from the properties they know and love as well as from the new stories we will tell.”

“This is a truly groundbreaking agreement, as it is not just a licensing deal but a partnership in every sense of the word,” said Stephen Christy, Archaia’s Director of Development. “To work with the entire Jim Henson Company and with new talent to create the next generation of Jim Henson Company fan favorites is an unprecedented opportunity, and a dream come true for all of us at Archaia. Creating comics that become a part of the incredibly rich Jim Henson Company legacy is an exciting challenge, and I think fans will share our excitement when they see the talent we’re bringing in to help make these comics a reality.”

Representatives from Archaia and Henson will announce creative teams and a release schedule for the initial slate at San Diego Comic-Con International, with the first title tentatively scheduled for winter 2009.

As a life-long Henson fan myself, this development marks the beginning of more of the things I was enjoying already. It will be interesting to see which direction the stories based on these treasured Henson classics will go. Jim Henson was a revolutionary childhood staple, for many people in my generation. I trust that their work will be treated with good hands. And I must admit… they do have some colorful material to work with.