The Muppets the Muppets film and television library. Exceptions included the "Sesame Street" characters, which were previously sold to Sesame Workshop; the "Fraggle Rock" characters, which were retained by Henson; and the distribution rights to "The Muppets Take Manhattan", "Muppets from Space", and "Kermit's Swamp Years," which were retained by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Following the acquisition, Disney formed The Muppets Holding Company (later known as The Muppets Studio), a wholly owned subsidiary responsible for managing the characters and franchise. As a result, the term "Muppet" became a legal trademark of Disney; under license from Disney, Sesame Workshop continues to use the term
The Muppets taking time, often up to a year, slowly developing their characters and voices. The characters are also "test-driven, passed around from one Henson troupe member to another in the hope of finding the perfect human-Muppet match". When interacting with them, children tended to believe that the Muppets were living creatures, even in the presence of the puppeteers. On September 17, 2002, Rhino Records released "", a compilation album of music from "The Muppet Show" and subsequent film outings. The Muppets also released "", with John Denver in 1979. Under Disney ownership, albums featuring the Muppets have been released by Walt