My Thoughts: Disney's Muppets

[dwayne1115]

Well you can please some people some of the time and cant please everyone all the time!

I really love this site and a lot of the people on here but come on guys quit with all the dowing of Disny. I mean if they do nothing everyone would be mad,and now from the looks of it they are trying to get the Muppets out there, and we still complain. this is just the beginning guys, great things are still to come. The way I see it this Graphic Novel is a great way to Re-lauch the Muppets and bring back some older Muppets we have not seen in some time.

 

[Luke]

The problem seems that they didn't give the Muppets much to do and a complete hour in which not to do it! I know Europeans are more relaxed than Americans, but the scripts could have used more us Yanks' punch to it. I am aware that The Muppet Show was shot in the UK, but I consider the Muppets to be American (of the rare, open-minded, cultural variety).

Disney should have done more with the gang here first.

I consider them more American than British even, although there is the "special relationship" but we're not your poodles .... penguins, maybe.

I think the main reason Henson prefer to shoot most Muppety things in the UK (Or Canada as a second choice) is that we are sooooooooo much better at shooting puppets. Directors, cameramen, lighting people, studios - all so used to working with puppets day to day. I think its done well in America, but they aren't used to it so everything has to be planned and orchestrated like some big movie. If you use less experienced people to do puppets .... you get Muppets TV.

I agree Disney should have built up the Muppets in the English speaking countries first, but its fair to say in the UK and Europe the Muppets are way more popular still, and more well known than in the USA. They guest on a lot more shows and there just seems to be a big appreciation of them like they've never been away anywhere. I think if they would have had the opportunity to do Muppets TV in the USA it would have struggled for any viewers as the Muppets have been out of the spotlight so long and it'd be a format you people aren't used to. In the UK it might have worked, since we like a bit of variety style stuff on a saturday night but i can't see any of the main UK channels taking a risk on it right now as they'd rather make UK versions of your current biggest shows. In France it was a great opportunity for Diz because being in France it wasn't ever going to affect the English speaking worlds view of the mainstream Muppets, and if it did get popular they then had a whole other market for them. They have a lot more of these kooky formats in France, Italy, Spain so it was much more likely to catch on. It didn't actually do too badly, i think it was all more to do with the relationships between all the companies involved - the French one was bought out or changed management i think.

 

[Drtooth]

I really love this site and a lot of the people on here but come on guys quit with all the dowing of Disny. I mean if they do nothing everyone would be mad,and now from the looks of it they are trying to get the Muppets out there, and we still complain. this is just the beginning guys, great things are still to come. The way I see it this Graphic Novel is a great way to Re-lauch the Muppets and bring back some older Muppets we have not seen in some time.

I've said it before, out of all the major Studios, Disney would be the only one that would even try to handle them right. Considering how Sony handled the muppets as kiddy stuff with MFS and KSY, Warners wouldn't really do anything, and lord knows what the other studios would do....

But that's just it. I don't want a studio to own them. I can understand the problems at Henson that caused them to sell (twice), but I think they'd handle their own projects a lot better.

Make no mistake. I do love the DVD's, and I would buy a comic. But other than that, I want to see them on TV outside of a cheasy appearance on a crummy game show or talk show. And even still, different characters besides Kermit and Piggy. I'd love to see Fozzie and Gonzo. or even Bunsen and Beaker. Something like that. Even that would be a bigger step than they're taking.

The only reason why Disney bought them, in case you forget, was that they didn't plan on buying Pixar. The Pixar deal was to have ended with Cars, and none of Disney's solo CGI ventures were working out. Besides, Eisner, as much as we hate him, was the only one their that cared about the Muppets. I'm sure this new guy is pleasing the stock holders, but I don't like how he's handleling things (and not just the Muppets, either).

All we can do is wait until something happens. And I know a lot of us are sick of waiting.

 

[Luke]

The way I see it this Graphic Novel is a great way to Re-lauch the Muppets and bring back some older Muppets we have not seen in some time.

I'm sure better things are to come. I don't have a problem with Diz owning the Muppets, i'd prefer the Hensons but obviously that ships sailed. I like the idea of the graphic novel but i think it'd probably be better for them to have some kind of TV show, TV movie, regular appearances or at least something before they tried to relaunch the Muppets. I don't get the market for a graphic novel - the public interest isn't strong enough to buy into it and there's probably not even enough hardcore fans gonna be interested ... but it's good to see somebody actually wanting to make it. I think one of two things is happening - either Disney has a big launch planned with TV in the future and the few things we're seeing now are just projects they've been approached with on the side, or they truly don't have much of a plan or scheduled relaunch and they're just trying what they can here and there.

 

[dwayne1115]

am i upset that Henson does not own the Muppets now? Not really because they felt that Disney could use them better, and time will tell and i know that the Muppets will be back in the spotlight agin. The fact that they are studio owned is now a good thing if done right. They had to find the right people for the job thats why we have had the wait that we have had.
Now this Grapic Novel could very well lead to a show i think, and besides there are some other Muppet things more then likely going on that we do not even know about yet.

 

[Luke]

Now this Grapic Novel could very well lead to a show i think, and besides there are some other Muppet things more then likely going on that we do not even know about yet.

I don't think a graphic novel would ever lead to a show, but yes other things are planned. As to whether they get as far as the screen, we'll see. I don't honestly think Henson just sold the Muppets to Disney because they thought they could use them better. Henson had been trying to offload the Muppets to lots of companies, and had sold them to EMTV and bought them back at a massive profit. The truth is probably that Henson didn't make as much money owning the Muppets as they did from selling them - when they owned them they needed to make projects to keep them in the public eye which cost a lot and made little back, and they didn't have the resources to do anything major again with them like theatricals. When they sold to Disney Henson didn't think they were handing them over - they thought they'd get paid by Disney to make stuff with the Muppets for years after, so nothing would really change. So what really happened is that changes at Disney and the projects they did line up not doing well or greenlit meant they shelved the Muppets (aside from a bit of merchandising and appearances) while they worked out what to do next. And thats about where we are now!

The reason i'd prefer the Henson's to own the Muppets is because whatever they were or weren't doing they were Jim's kids and in a sense the Muppets were always "safe" - a partnership with Disney or a studio would have been way better and we would have always got something Muppety coming out, even if it wasn't some big Muppet boom that Disney might hope to create.

 

[Drtooth]

The reason i'd prefer the Henson's to own the Muppets is because whatever they were or weren't doing they were Jim's kids and in a sense the Muppets were always "safe" - a partnership with Disney or a studio would have been way better and we would have always got something Muppety coming out, even if it wasn't some big Muppet boom that Disney might hope to create.

That is a pretty depressing realization. As was feared, the changes at Disney were pretty much a huge step backwards for the Muppets. So, seriously, what kind of good is this new Disney CEO doing? It seems they're still pushing classic characters to the side, and trotting out recent hits. And other than Pixar's films, they won't stay hits for much longer.

Considering that the only way to get Mickey on TV is to put him in a bland kiddy show, is anyone surprised they'd do this to the muppets? And that sad part is, as I said, this is the only way they had a vehicle for Mickey, Goofy, and Donald merchandise. Really pathetic.

I do suppose they tried to mkae good by making a Goofy cartoon before National Treasure 2 (though it was better placed with Enchanted, like they planned on originally). It would be great if Disney could make mini Muppet films to run before a feature film, but I don't think that's even a small possibility.

The graphic novel sounds great, but other than comic nerds who are muppet fans (and vice versa) I don't know what the real market for them is. As it stands there is only markets for 2 kinds of graphic novels, manga (mostly Naruto for younger boys, and really stupid shoujo ones for mid teenage girls), and snotty indie comics people pretend to read to make them think they're cool. And being an Asterix/Lucky Luke fan, of course I know that.

 

[frogboy4]

A graphic novel gets the brand in people's minds in a cost effective way. No, it's not the best way, but it's something. I just hope the style is more handsome than the manga stuff we were seeing before. I liked that, but not for this opportunity. There's never been better access of accurate maquettes with the busts, action figures and now posers available. It's easier to draw the Muppets from head-to-toe than ever before! I hope that isn't lost in an extreme manga style.

I think Disney's coming around with the Muppets. Let's see if they stick to it this time.

 

[Drtooth]

A graphic novel gets the brand in people's minds in a cost effective way. No, it's not the best way, but it's something. I just hope the style is more handsome than the manga stuff we were seeing before. I liked that, but not for this opportunity. There's never been better access of accurate maquettes with the busts, action figures and now posers available. It's easier to draw the Muppets from head-to-toe than ever before! I hope that isn't lost in an extreme manga style.

Well, I doubt it would be anime/manga style for the Muppets. Did they mention any artists planning to work on it? And I wonder if the cartoonist that did the Disney Adventure muppet comics is going to be involved. I do admit, I like his stylization.

Looking at the covers for the Muppets take Manhattan books, I kinda hope Dave Mannak (sp?) doesn't do any of the art. It looks a lot sloppier than his other stuff. And I also hope this is a go, since there was talk of a Muppets comic book a few years back.

 

[frogboy4]

My mislabeling of Manga.

Well, I doubt it would be anime/manga style for the Muppets. Did they mention any artists planning to work on it? And I wonder if the cartoonist that did the Disney Adventure muppet comics is going to be involved. I do admit, I like his stylization.

Looking at the covers for the Muppets take Manhattan books, I kinda hope Dave Mannak (sp?) doesn't do any of the art. It looks a lot sloppier than his other stuff. And I also hope this is a go, since there was talk of a Muppets comic book a few years back.

I agree Manga style I was referring to was that Disney Adventures dude. It's not totally manga in my opinion (then again, how can one truly manga a Muppet) but I've heard it sort of mis-described as such before. I'm not much of an anime or manga fan. My tastes are much more western-influenced.

I agree with you on those old (Marvel?) comics of the 80s. They weren't drawn all that well. I like the Gilchrest ones, but also think it's time for something less stylized. I do like the Disney Adventures cancelled Roger Langridge style, but I think this is an opportunity for Muppets to look their best. To me that means the Muppets should be drawn closer to their Muppety selves rather than some stylistic interloping of an artist trying to make a name for himself by drawing the characters in a funky way.

Here's the Newsflash link of the Pigs In Space image from that dude. And here's his Fozzie Bear. It's cute, but I think they can do better. However, that artist could have been the one to get this project made?