Why Was Bean Bunny the Star of Muppet*Vision 3D?
As the final curtain falls on Muppet*Vision 3D today, we here at MickeyBlog are celebrating the beloved attraction and sending it off with a bang.
Yesterday, we gave Muppet*Vision a long-winded eulogy, looking back at the attraction’s development, creation, and history. Now, however, I want to turn our attention to something more specific: a question that has been befuddling audiences for generations.
Disney
Why is Bean Bunny so prominently featured in Muppet*Vision 3D?
Who Is Bean Bunny?
To understand why Bean Bunny came to star in Muppet*Vision 3D, we have to go back to when the attraction was in development. In the late 1980s, Bean Bunny was the “it” new Muppet.
Photo: D23
After starring in 1986’s The Tale of the Bunny Picnic, Bean joined the cast of The Jim Henson Hour in 1989.
“We hired Bean to be cute so the rest of us don’t have to,” Kermit cheekily informed audiences.
Photo: Muppet wiki
Designed by Diane Dawson Hearn, built by Rollie Krewson, and peformed by Steve Whitmire, Bean Bunny had all the makings of a Muppet star. Perhaps even more importantly, Jim Henson was his biggest fan.
Here Come the Muppets and Muppet*Vision 3D
When the Muppets made their debut at the Disney-MGM Studios with the debut of Here Come the Muppets in 1990, a walkaround Bean Bunny stood shoulder to shoulder, with Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Fozzie, even as other popular Muppets including Scooter and Rowlf were omitted from the production.
Photo: The Mickey Wiki
Then, came Muppet*Vision 3D.
According to show producer Mark Eades, the idea of having Bean Bunny star in the new attraction evolved from a meeting between Jim Henson and show writer Bill Prady.
Photo: Pinterst
“It was essentially an introduction to Bean Bunny and all the other Muppets had cameos,” Eades recalled to Jim Korkis.
Essentially, Henson wanted to showcase Bean Bunny in Muppet*Vision 3D to try to launch his new Muppet into stardom.
Despite Imagineering’s observation that familiar characters made better Disney Park stars, Henson wanted to develop Bean Bunny and give him the central role in the show. Nevertheless, as production on the show progressed, the role of the more familiar Muppets was increased.
Photo: Disney
Still, when Muppet*Vision 3D opened in 1991, Bean Bunny was clearly the show’s star. Performed by Steve Whitmer, Bean is the driving force behind the extravaganza’s narrative and the character that audiences are supposed to identify with.
Photo: Disney
Unfortunately, his reign was short-lived.
The Fall of Bean Bunny
With Jim Henson’s untimely passing in 1990, Bean Bunny’s most prominent supporter was gone. Additionally, Steve Whitmire was tapped to replace Henson as Kermit in future Muppet productions. These two factors led to Bean Bunny quickly being relegated to the background.
Photo: Muppet Wiki
Despite his appearances in Muppet*Vision 3D, Muppet Babies, and The Muppet Christmas Carol, the Bean failed to catch on in the way that Henson had hoped.
In the director’s commentary for The Muppet Christmas Carol, Brian Henson admitted that “Inside the Muppet Company, we love to hate Bean Bunny.”
Photo: The Globe and Mail
Frank Oz later admitted that the Bean Bunny experiment was a failure.
“Jim [Henson] built a character named Bean Bunny, so people could think he’s cute, and take the onus off of the others […] But, it didn’t work — they still thought the others were cute.”
The Curtain Falls
Despite the relative obscurity to which Bean Bunny was banished as time went on, he was the star of Muppet*Vision 3D for decades.
Steve Whitmore Performing as Bean Bunny in Muppet*Vision 3D
Even if fans didn’t remember him from television, the theme park show ensured his legacy lived on.
With Muppet*Vision 3D now closing at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Bean Bunny’s run has ended.
Photo: Disney
I, for one, will miss him.
