The Muppets Have Landed…At Wendy's! Fast-Food Giant Partners With Columbia Pictures and Jim Henson Pictures to Promote ``Muppets From Space'' Movie

Business Wire, Feb 16, 1999

CULVER CITY, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Feb. 16, 1999--Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers Restaurants has partnered with Columbia Pictures and Jim Henson Pictures for a national promotion on the family comedy feature film "Muppets From Space," it was announced Tuesday by Wendy's Vice President of Communications Denny Lynch, Columbia Pictures Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing Mark Workman and The Jim Henson Company's Associate Vice President of Marketing Robyn Kerner.

Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and all the Muppet stars of "Muppets From Space" will appear in Wendy's Muppet-themed Kids' Meal promotion. The campaign involves in-store promotional materials, Kids' Meal toys, bags and tray liners in more than 5,000 participating Wendy's restaurants in the United States and Canada. The campaign will run from July 26 through Sept. 5.

"The Muppets have been and always will be a time-honored family tradition, and this partnership is the perfect tie-in for families who enjoy the Wendy's Kids' Meal program," said Lynch.

"It's no surprise that one of the world's leading quick-service restaurants would want to be associated with the Henson characters on their sixth full-length motion picture," said Workman. "This is the first in a series of announcements that will create a significant amount of marketing partner activity in support of this great movie."

"The Wendy's promotion will serve as the perfect launching pad for 'Muppets From Space,'" said Kerner. "The family franchise is a perfect match for this family film."

"Muppets From Space," due in theaters in July, is a hilarious extraterrestrial adventure about the search for Gonzo's past. On a quest with buddy Rizzo to find his real family, Gonzo discovers that his long-lost relatives are actually aliens from a distant planet.

After announcing to the world on Miss Piggy's talk show, "UFOMania," that he is living proof that "we are not alone in the universe," Gonzo becomes the target of paranoid government operative K. Edgar Singer (Jeffrey Tambor).

In the end, Gonzo must not only escape the Singer compound, but decide to either board the mother ship and join the family that he has always wanted, or stay on Earth with the friends that he has always known and loved.

Joining Gonzo, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and Rizzo the Rat in the film will be Fozzie Bear, Animal, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem Band, and many of the other beloved, classic Muppet characters.

Featured in cameo roles are F. Murray Abraham, David Arquette, Josh Charles, Kathy Griffin, Pat Hingle, Hollywood Hogan, Ray Liotta, Andie MacDowell and Rob Schneider.

"Muppets From Space" is directed by Timothy Hill, making his feature film directorial debut from a screenplay by Jerry Juhl and Joseph Mazzarino. The film is produced by Brian Henson and Martin G. Baker and executive produced by Kristine Belson and Stephanie Allain. Co-producers are Timothy M. Bourne and Alex Rockwell.

Wendy's was founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas, who named the chain after one of his daughters. In 1995, Wendy's merged with Tim Horton's, the second-largest quick-service restaurant chain in Canada, which features coffee and fresh-baked goods. There are more than 5,400 Wendy's restaurants worldwide and 1,500 Tim Horton's restaurants in Canada and the United States, with combined sales of more than $6 billion.

Columbia Pictures, part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. Sony Pictures' global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television programming and syndication; home video acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services, and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at www.spe.sony.com.

Jim Henson Pictures was formed in 1995 by The Jim Henson Company and Sony Pictures Entertainment to develop and produce unique feature films for audiences of all ages. The Jim Henson Company, an established leader in family entertainment for more than 40 years, is an independent multimedia production company.

It is one of the top licensors in the industry, a leading publisher of children's books, and home to Jim Henson Television, Jim Henson Interactive and Jim Henson's Creature Shop(TM). The Jim Henson Company has headquarters in Los Angeles with offices and production facilities in New York and London. The Jim Henson Company's Web site is located at www.henson.com.