The Disney Deal, and the Puppet Heap switch

[Slackbot]

When I watched VMX I was surprised by how much I liked the Gonzo puppet seen in that show. He looked perfect! Nose just the right thickness, pleasing color and curve, eyelids symmetrical and expressive (and BOTH eyes could widen, so he was able to look surprised rather than just sarcastic), mouth that fit together so one side wasn't always a little open, making him look like he'd had a stroke. I miss that Gonzo.

Scooter, on the other hand, could've looked better. That track jacket looked cheap, and he must have been wearing a lampshade to hide his smushed head.

 

[mupcollector1]

When I watched VMX I was surprised by how much I liked the Gonzo puppet seen in that show. He looked perfect! Nose just the right thickness, pleasing color and curve, eyelids symmetrical and expressive (and BOTH eyes could widen, so he was able to look surprised rather than just sarcastic), mouth that fit together so one side wasn't always a little open, making him look like he'd had a stroke. I miss that Gonzo.

Scooter, on the other hand, could've looked better. That track jacket looked cheap, and he must have been wearing a lampshade to hide his smushed head.

Yeah It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie was the last Muppet production involving The Jim Henson Company although I think JHC still build The Muppets for The Muppets Wizard of Oz because they were already in pre-production with that while the Disney Deal was happening I think.

I just took a look in comparison with the Puppet Heap Scooter and it looks very similar to the original Muppet Show version though I think the glasses are slightly small. And it looks like that Scooter gained a more flatter head in the 80s and his glasses had a slightly more grayish color and slightly larger glasses. Though the Scooter from 1990 seemed to be in the middle and had more hair.

I remember that The Jim Henson Muppet Workshop was using foam molds for a lot of their characters during the 1990s which seemed to be working out really well because the characters look stayed the same even though of course there was many puppets used over that time since Muppets do wear out and need to be rebuilt. Though I'm surprised that Puppet Heap didn't get the foam molds.

Also isn't Puppet Heap in New Jersey? Because most Muppet products are now in LA and not much in New York, Toronto and London like in Jim's time and when The Jim Henson Company did things in the 90s. Though wasn't Muppets Tonight filmed in California or Toronto? I notice that on their site that they seem to do a lot of puppet building services but since they have the official duty for The Muppets, do they have a separate workshop for The Muppets? Otherwise the cast would be quite limited to the main characters and not so much the giant cast they've always had. According to the ending credits of the new movie, it seems like there's a new Muppet Workshop.
also in the credits
Partially Filmed at the Jim Henson Company Studios (I'm not sure if that was just the abandon Muppet Studios scenes)
Costumes by Jim Henson's Creature Shop and it seems like Polly Smith still works for JHC. But then it says "Muppet Designers and Bulders: Puppet Heap"

It's a bit confusing because the Creature Shop, Muppet Workshop and Puppet Heap are in three different places in the credits. And just my opinion on this but I loved it best when The Muppets were under the supervision of The Jim Henson Company and they did the building In House. I think Puppet Heap built certain puppets for Jim Henson's Secret Life of Toys in the 90s but it was mostly In House and rarely rely on outside companies for puppet building.

 

[mupcollector1]

It seems to me that Sesame Workshop has a better business relationship with Disney then JHC and Disney because Kermit is seen in the Classic Sesame releases on the Old School DVD sets, 40 years DVD and book as well as the iTunes downloads. Though I heard about the some what recent release of a Sesame DVD where Kermit was on a beanstock on the cover, there was these strict guidelines where Kermit had to be refered as a Guest Star and needed to be called Reporter Kermit and not Kermit the Frog and he had to wear this trench coat and hat so it wouldn't be distracting to Disney's marketing with the new Muppet Movie. In my opinion I feel that's crazy and redicuious because Kermit has been hopping between The Muppet Show Muppets and Sesame for years and even Jim wasn't strict with that and cross overs. It unfortunately kind of shows how hard it'll be to get a re-release of Muppet Family Christmas and The Muppets Celebrate 30 years onto DVD.
But when it comes to Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas and The Christmas Toy, Kermit is edited out. Though Rowlf was kept in Dog City which was good. So it's kind of complicated. Especially how The Jim Henson Company is no longer involved with The Muppets anymore, especially the workshop that got turned down over a raise request (again this is what I've heard so I'm not 100% sure if this was true or not). To me that doesn't seem to be quite fair. But that's just my opinion on what I've noticed.

 

[mupcollector1]

And on top of all of that, acting as if the Muppets are real, and completely ignoring the puppeteers. Future generations need to know who Henson and the Muppeteers are.

That reminds me that the special features on the latest Muppet movie had no special features regarding behind the scenes and even commentary unlike the other releases like The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island.

 

[jvcarroll]

Since the Puppet Heap takeover, some characters like Janice, Sam, Scooter and Rowlf have never looked better. Kermit always looks dapper, of course.

Miss Piggy has been improving. Eye, ear and wig placement is key. Sometimes it's spot-on, other times it's a bit haphazard.

(Above: Good Piggy from The Muppets 2011)​

(Above: Miss Piggy from Bafta Awards)​

Animal just hasn’t looked right to me for a while. There's something about the enlarged bags under his eyes and his fur placement that seems off to me.

(Above - Good Animal from The Muppet Movie)​

(Above: Current puppet)​

Why they ever redesigned Gonzo is a mystery to me. He used to look Great right up to Letters to Santa:

(Above: Good Gonzo from Letters to Santa)​

They then redesigned his head, gave him a puffier nose and made his eyes weirdly smaller.

(Above: Gonzo from The Muppets 2011)​

I remember that MR had difficulty finding enough fur material for Fozzie. Maybe Puppet Heap is having the same problem and that’s why he’s fuzzier. It appears that Disney wants to have spare puppets on hand in a way that the Henson Company never did and that requires bulk materials.

(Above: Classic iconic Fozzie)​

(Above: Current Fozzie from The Muppets 2011)​

​

Ultimately, Jim Henson was most focused on performance over the actual puppet. That said, I remember the behind the scenes footage of Labyrinth where he voiced concern over the color of the Blue Worm's mouth. Details were important. They are important. I'm mostly pleased with the current puppets. Still, I hope some of these guys have been improved a little bit for the new film.​