Despite competition from the likes of Prime and Hulu, Netflix met arguably its biggest match yet last November when Disney Plus launched. The Mouse House has been coming for the streaming giant’s crown ever since, amassing more and more content over time. This September 1st, though, Netflix managed to get one up on D+ by snatching away two popular movies that were previously available on the rival service.
The two films are 2011’s The Muppets and 2014’s Muppets Most Wanted, the last two theatrical outings for Jim Henson’s beloved puppet troupe. The duology have been up to stream on Disney Plus for months, but as of this Tuesday, they’re now to be found on Netflix. It’s not unusual for movies to flit between the different streaming services, of course, but so far, D+’s methodology has been to collate as many of Disney’s productions as possible and then keep them there.
Presumably, there are some pre-existing licensing agreements tied up with these Muppets films that meant Disney Plus had to give them up to Netflix. No doubt they’ll end up on D+ again in the future once those contracts expire, but for now, fans in the U.S. will have to hop over to Netflix to watch them. Meanwhile, there’s still an abundance of other Muppets content to catch on D+, including The Muppet Movie, Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, Muppet Babies and Muppets Now.Â
The Muppets served as triumphant return to the big screen for Kermit and the gang, after a gap of 12 years since 1999’s Muppets in Space. It was beloved by critics, did well at the box office and earned itself an Oscar – it won the gong for Best Original Song. Muppets Most Wanted, unfortunately, wasn’t as successful on any front, but it still delivers good, old-fashioned Muppet antics.
Who’s up for a Muppets marathon on Netflix?
