Disney Gets Piggy

If you're feeling a sense of gloom and doom, maybe it's because there's a Bear in Disney's (NYSE: DIS) big blue house. It's getting Piggy with it, too! Yes, the deal that always made sense has finally come to pass, as Disney will acquire the Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House from The Jim Henson Company.

The properties will serve Disney well. Actually, they're already serving Disney well. Bear is a popular Disney Channel staple, while Muppetvision 4D is a popular park attraction.

The timing is perfect for content-hungry Disney, which was slapped down when Pixar (Nasdaq: PIXR) broke off contract negotiations to extend a lucrative partnership beyond next year. Between Pooh lawsuits and rumbles in the Miramax camp, at least Disney is acquiring some quality assets to help fill the void.

But, no, there is no truth to the rumor that dissident former board members Roy Disney Jr. and Stanley Gold will assume the roles of the Muppet Show curmudgeons hurling insults from the balcony. The release announcing the acquisition blurs history another way, however. When Henson's daughter calls the deal "the realization of my father's dream," she glosses over the fact that when the late Henson's estate could have sold the properties to Disney it turned to Germany's EM.TV instead.

The Henson heirs eventually bought back the company after EM.TV failed to fully capitalize on the assets. Disney won't waste this canteen in a creative desert. It will launch new shows based on the characters, and that rocks because content matters. Content is why David Gardner made Pixar a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation.

Landing the Muppets is a boost to Disney, yet it won't be enough to keep the company independent if Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) comes back with a sweeter offer. Kermit the Frog may have sung about how hard it is to be green, but it's even harder to turn it down.

What do you think of the Disney asset purchase? Is the acquisition a good fit, or could Disney have overpaid as a desperate buyer? All this and more -- in the Disney discussion board. Only on Fool.com.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz owns both Disney and Pixar. He also thinks that Animal can drum circles around Neil Peart, too.