Explanation of the Muppets/Sesame Street split/merge

Question

I recently saw the Muppets movie - it's the first time I've ever seen anything on Muppets.

Then I saw the Cookie Monster, but that he was not in the Muppets movie. I found out that only the original Muppets were in the Muppets 2011 movie, and that the rights for the Sesame Street characters are not owned by Disney, who could not then use the characters.

I see a list of complete Sesame Street muppets but no list of exactly which ones are/are not in Sesame Street.

So how did this split/merge happen? Did someone else create Sesame Street?

Was there bad blood here?

Answer 1

Nothing so dramatic.

Prior to Sesame Street's creation, Jim Henson (creator of the Muppets) already had a show called The Muppets. The cast of this show are the Muppets of The Muppets franchise (including the movies).

When The Children's Television Workshop started developing Sesame Street they wanted puppets to be part of the program, so they asked Jim Henson to provide these puppets. So Jim Henson developed a separate cast of Muppits for Sesame Street, but also added his signature character from the original Muppets: Kermit the Frog.

That's why the two franchises have different characters, and thus different rights.