New Muppet Movie to Get a Helping Hand from Pixar

Crew from the upcoming Muppets film were flown to Pixar headquarters on Wednesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter, to get advice on the current state of the project. This wouldn’t be the first time that the Pixar team has lent a hand to a Disney production. In fact, Brad Bird (Ratatouille) and Toy Story 3 screenwriter Michael Arndt were hired to help write reshoots for Disney’s little film called Tron: Legacy last week.

While it is unclear how extensive the help that Pixar gave the crew for The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made, it is obvious that Disney wants to make the most of the Midas touch that Pixar’s crew possess. Even if that means that every single live-action Disney film in the near future gets a look from Pixar, I think we can all agree that it should be an aid and not a hindrance. For more details on who from Pixar was likely involved and the current state of the Muppets film, hit the jump.

While neither Disney nor Pixar would comment on the events that took place on Wednesday, THR points out that it is likely the Muppets director James Bobin and producers David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman were in attendance at the meeting, along with star Jason Segel. On the Pixar side of things, some of the “Pixar Brain Trust”­­­, including John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, Michael Arndt, Bob Peterson and president Ed Catmull were likely giving advice. THR also notes that Docter is a fan of the Muppets property, so his attendance in nearly guaranteed. As of now, not much is certain about the plotline of The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made, though it has a tentative release date of December 25, 2011.