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 Take Manhattan revert to The Jim Henson Company in 1998, but did not revert to The Walt Disney Company in 2004. Due to this, it is one of three Muppet films (along with "Muppets from Space" and the direct-to-video feature "Kermit's Swamp Years") whose home video distribution rights are controlled by Sony Pictures, and not the Walt Disney Studios (The film rights are co-owned by TriStar Pictures and The Jim Henson Company). "The Muppets Take Manhattan" was first released on VHS and the now defunct CED Videodisc format by CBS/Fox Video in 1985, which then reissued it in 1991, followed by a