The Muppets (tentative title) has decided to throw its tiny Muppet hat into the Holiday 2011 season.  Disney has penciled in a release date of December 25, 2011.  As it stands right now, December 2011 is going to be a giant smackdown between some heavy blockbusters.  On December 16th, you have Alvin and the Chipmunks 3D, Mission: Impossible IV, and Sherlock Holmes 2 (my quick theory: one of these films is going to blink and move to a new date).  The following weekend is owned by Steven Spielberg's 3D motion-capture film The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.  However, Tintin doesn't have a built-in American audience like its three competitors from the previous week.  As for the Muppets, they have name recognition, but it's going to need to rekindle interest since there hasn't been a major Muppet movie in some time.

The Muppets is being directed by James Bobin (Flight of the Conchords) and will star Jason Segel who also co-wrote the film. Click here to read Steve's interview with co-writer Nicholas Stoller. [Box Office Mojo]