The Muppets film, "Muppets from Space", released by Columbia Pictures in 1999. In 2000, Henson was sold to EM.TV & Merchandising AG for $680 million. However, EM.TV was plagued with financial problems and the Henson family re-acquired the company in 2003, with the exception of the rights to the "Sesame Street" characters, which had been sold by EM.TV to Sesame Workshop. Fourteen years after initial negotiations began, Disney acquired the Muppets intellectual property from the Jim Henson Company for $75 million on February 17, 2004. The acquisition consisted of the Muppets and "Bear in the Big Blue House" properties, as well as
The Muppets Kermit appeared on "Hollywood Squares" and as one of the celebrity commentators on VH1's "I Love" documentary series. Kermit and the Muppets (and also Bear from "Bear in the Big Blue House") have also made many appearances on "The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon". On July 25, 2007, the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta announced the opening of a new Jim Henson Wing, which would house anywhere from 500 to 700 retired Muppets. The new wing, first set to open in 2012 with films, sketches, and other materials from the Jim Henson Company archives, eventually opened as a