D23 Expo: Muppet news and happenings

[RockSTAR girl]

Hey guys, I think this is gonna be on the cd that they announced at D23. My friend who is in the recording studio right now just told me that the band "Anarbor" is recording a cover of "You Can't Take No For An Answer". I'm trying to find out if this is for the upcoming "Muppets Revisited" album. I'll let you know.

 

[theprawncracker]

LOVE The Pepe Initiative--SO funny! Pepe is awesome.

Glad to hear that we may have more info on another track, RokSTAR girl! Thanks for keeping us updated!

 

[SarahOnBway]

Good for you, DrTooth

Sure there are some things the Muppets have done in the Disney era that hasn't pleased everyone, or that hasn't been up to the standard that we like to see. But people should take a moment and remember the horror of the EMTV years. Did anything happen at that time? Anything at all? The Muppets going to German television was like them going to their graves. The Muppets at Disney are definitely alive, if not always perfect.

 

[theprawncracker]

Tough Pigs has found the third missing Muppet parody poster!

BEAK-E!

 

[Amy]

Negative? that's what I like to call fair weather fandom... *snip*

TESTIFY!
Seriously. It's DISNEY. They do their thing and they do it bloody well - Disney could sell snow to eskimos. Muppet fans are lucky that Disney are giving them this much attention in terms of new material. They could be content to just shove some Kermit tees into Disney Stores and leave it at that.
But no, we're getting Tonner Dolls and DVDs and new holiday specials and a movie and sketch videos and Whatnots and a slew of other stuff for all ages.

The Classic Muppets are not coming back. Some of us working on new content are doing our best to HONOUR that period and respect Jim's legacy. But ours is not the world of retail strategies and franchise synergies and all that Marketing crap. Disney own SO MUCH STUFF and they are choosing to devote a LOT to making new Muppet content and working to endear them to a whole new generation.

 

[Frogpuppeteer]

Amy i gotta say you are an amazing artist and im pretty sure ive faved a few of your things on deviant art

 

[Nekoshema]

hey drtooth,

true to all you said, Oz was the worst, and yes, things are never gonna be like the original, but people will still complain about it. i know, i complain about the new muppeter's voices all the time, it's not there fault, but people seem to love complaining and being negative, it's probably in humanities nature, i don't know.

i find, Oz was like the wake up call for them, since the movies seems to be going uphill from what i've seen, it will never be the same as it was with jim and the original muppet cast, but one day, it might be really REALLY close, and people will stop griping, who know?

 

[Drtooth]

But people should take a moment and remember the horror of the EMTV years. Did anything happen at that time? Anything at all? The Muppets going to German television was like them going to their graves. The Muppets at Disney are definitely alive, if not always perfect.

Palisades Action Figure Line... four of the most important words in Muppet merchandising history. And we did get VMX and stuff too... that resurgence from 2002-2004 was a fan's dream come true. I remember just walking to any store and not being able to punt a football without hitting something.

TESTIFY!
Seriously. It's DISNEY. They do their thing and they do it bloody well - Disney could sell snow to eskimos. Muppet fans are lucky that Disney are giving them this much attention in terms of new material. They could be content to just shove some Kermit tees into Disney Stores and leave it at that.
But no, we're getting Tonner Dolls and DVDs and new holiday specials and a movie and sketch videos and Whatnots and a slew of other stuff for all ages.

The Classic Muppets are not coming back. Some of us working on new content are doing our best to HONOUR that period and respect Jim's legacy. But ours is not the world of retail strategies and franchise synergies and all that Marketing crap. Disney own SO MUCH STUFF and they are choosing to devote a LOT to making new Muppet content and working to endear them to a whole new generation.

I struck a nerve with someone who actually WORKS on Muppet stuff. That's when you know you've said something meaningful.

Really, it was a slow, arduous muddle of unrealized concepts and misfires, but Disney really found that vein they've been looking for since Oz (which I will get into for the third reply). And as much as I hate to say it, Disney seems to be the ONLY entertainment company that knows where it is and what it's doing... look at Warner Bros... they killed off their television animation studios to make up for losses from the hundreds of bad, bombing movies they've been making. If it wasn't for DC heroes being popular, we'd see nothing out of them. And Sony... they didn't even want to put Real Ghostbusters, one of the biggest cartoons of the 1980's on DVD, since they thought it was kiddy stuff... it took Time Life to haggle that one out. Not to mention how Sony keeps redefining "piracy" to an annoying extent (I.e. you can't rip CD's that you BOUGHT and put them on your music player!) to make up for their poor music sales. Really...

i find, Oz was like the wake up call for them, since the movies seems to be going uphill from what i've seen

Oz just had so much wrong with it... and I blame Disney only for the fact that it was rushed so they'd have something to show the stock holders. And possibly stunt casting of Ashanti. But we had a bad concept, a bad script, bad chemistry, bad visuals... Only thing I liked was the Quentin Tarrantino cameo. I almost wish they got HIM to direct it. The problem with that, as opposed to LTS was that it was constantly grasping at focus groups. Jaded Family Guy watching 20 year olds? Tweenagers? The actual fans (to the littlest extent).... LTS, say what you will about it being "Kiddy" or "Juevinile" they knew what the Muppets were about there. The pop Culture jokes were at a minimum... it felt like an old special. That's where they should be.

 

[Was Once Ernie]

...look at Warner Bros... they killed off their television animation studios to make up for losses from the hundreds of bad, bombing movies they've been making. If it wasn't for DC heroes being popular, we'd see nothing out of them.

To quote Monty Python: "I'm not dead!"

This is obviously off-topic, but since you mentioned it here, I'll comment.

I have a new direct-to-DVD movie in the works that ISN'T DC heroes. I can't say much more than that until it's officially announced, but it's a funny animal franchise that the company owns.

Also, they are doing a new Looney Tunes series for TV, as well as another new Scooby series.

So, as you can see, they're not quite dead yet.

 

[theprawncracker]

I have a new direct-to-DVD movie in the works that ISN'T DC heroes. I can't say much more than that until it's officially announced, but it's a funny animal franchise that the company owns.

*eyebrow raise* You have peaked my interest! If it involves two small, white animals you were previously involved with... that is very, VERY exciting!