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Partnership includes Full Line of Merchandise Sure To Please The Residents of Frogtown Hollow and Fans of the Classic Christmas Special!
LOS ANGELES, December 15, 2022 – The Jim Henson Company, established leader in family entertainment, has partnered with Plastic Meatball, authorities in the retro-nostalgic merchandise space, to develop a cross-category line of products based on Jim Henson’s 1977 classic Christmas special, “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas.”
Plastic Meatball’s deal encompasses a wide swath of consumer products categories, including toys, games, apparel, housewares, seasonal décor, limited-edition artwork and more.
Directed by Jim Henson, with original songs by Paul Williams, the special has been praised for both its technical acumen and the enormous amount of heart it conveys through its story and cast of memorable woodland puppet characters. It currently holds a “100% Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and is celebrating its 45th anniversary this holiday season – having originally aired December 4th, 1977 on the CBC. It would debut on HBO a year later, and has continued to grow its fan base every year since.
Based on the children’s book of the same name by Russell and Lillian Hoban, “Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas” tells the story of Emmet Otter and his Ma, who live in Frogtown Hollow just doing their best to get by with the little means they have. As Christmas approaches, they each secretly enter a talent competition in the neighboring town of Waterville in the hopes of winning the grand prize of $50 so they can surprise the other with a fancy store-bought gift.
“I think I saw Emmet during its initial run on HBO in the late 70’s when I was very young, and it really resonated with me,” said Roman Cortez, Creative Director of Plastic Meatball. “It was unlike the other holiday specials at the time – very multi-layered and really focused on folks just doing the best they can for each other during the holiday season. I loved it, and it was always the sort of secret special that not every kid knew about. It’s a dream that we actually get to play with these characters and environments and bring them to life through our products.”
The centerpiece of the anniversary capsule collection is a pre-order for a special 2-pack of 5.5” collectible figures of Emmet and Ma – the first licensed figurines ever produced for the special. The set will be made to order and comes with a variety of accessories including a washtub bass, Pa Otter’s toolbox, various tools and the Christmas Branch. Also available is a limited edition 18” x24” screenprint by popular artist Dave Perillo in a “gig” poster style, advertising the Jug-Band’s nightly performances at the Riverside Rest. Rounding out the collection is a concert t-shirt, also featuring art by Perillo, for the hard-rocking Riverbottom Nightmare Band, the primary competition for Emmet and Ma at the Waterville Christmas talent contest.
“Only a company like Plastic Meatball can give Emmet, Ma and all the other residents of Frogtown Hollow the attention they so richly deserve,” said Melissa Segal, Head of Global Consumer Products at The Jim Henson Company. “Clearly, they are fans of the special and appreciate the unique world Jim and his collaborators built, so they are approaching each project with an attention to detail that makes these products must-have.”
Plastic Meatball’s inaugural batch of Emmet Otter merchandise will launch this December, with a much broader suite coming in 2023. Products will initially be available on the company’s website, www.plasticmeatball.com, with retail distribution expected to follow.
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About Plastic Meatball
At Plastic Meatball, our trade is wish fulfillment. We recognize that the pop culture brands we love don’t always get the merchandise programs they deserve. We identify the properties and characters our customers adored when they were younger and develop cross-category product offerings to help them fall in love all over again. Our goal is to have our products look like they’ve traveled through time from an alternate past, and evoke memories in our customers that are priceless. It all drives our core motto: “Pop-culture products that should have been . . . but never were.” For more information, go to www.plasticmeatball.com
About The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company has remained a leader in family entertainment for over 60 years and is recognized as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics, and digital animation. Henson’s most recent credits include Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio for Netflix, and the Emmy-winning Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, as well as Slumberkins, Harriet the Spy and Fraggle Rock: Rock On!, all for Apple TV+, Duff’s Happy Fun Bake Time for discovery+, Earth to Ned for Disney+ , and the Emmy Award-winning Netflix Original series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. The Company is currently in production on the feature film The Portable Door, starring Christoph Waltz.
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