Muppets in Disney World Pre-parade on YouTube

[KermiClown]

Hey Gang!

I was at The Magic Kingdom today and saw the Pre-Parade with Kermit, Piggy and Sweetums. I've posted the video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjY4GTvcekw

Kermit and Piggy looked great! Such a treat to see the Muppets as we know them and not as big head characters. Sweetums looked a little off and somewhat undersized, but it was still fun to see him as well.

It wasn't much of an appearance by the Muppets, but it was still exciting and better than no Muppets at all.

 

[Super Scooter]

Cool! They look like animatronics rather than fill in puppeteers, but I think I like that.

 

[abooch]

Thats awesome! Thanks! Sounds a bit off however but no biggie!

 

[frogboy4]

Cool! They look like animatronics rather than fill in puppeteers, but I think I like that.

There was a discussion on this over at TP a while back. They're live puppeteers and the puppets seem to be slightly larger than the actual Muppets. That's what gives them a slightly stuffed look, but they are handsome puppets intended as durable showpieces. Traditional arm rods can be seen in other clips around the web. It is unclear how well the puppeteers can see and how skilled they are. It has also been reported that the classic Members of the actual Muppeteer gang have trained some of the park employess. I think Miss Piggy's performance is a little bit jerky and hair flippy, but maybe they are told to exaggerate movement for to be seen from far away.

Nonetheless, I really like and support this sort of thing. The investment in the Muppets isn't just about branding - it's the fact that the actual physical Muppets can appear places rather than some oversized costumed walkaround. We'll leave that to the monsters.

 

[Drtooth]

Kermit and Piggy are actually puppets... but the Sweetums clearly is just a walk about. Unless there's some of movement that can be achieved in the mouth with another hand... so that's why he looks slightly off to me.

 

[Mupp]

And to even things out, here is a video of the pre-parade at Disneyland in California;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG5CQebj8T0

I really like the fact that some of the volunteers get to ride on the same float as Kermit and Piggy. There are also some really fun Muppet-related props on the float. Even though they are built slightly differently as noted, I think that Kermit and Piggy look fine. I've seen this in person and everyone gets a kick out of seeing them. So they clearly look normal enough to people.

I think that Sweetums looks okay given the circumstances. In a situation like this, its not necessary to have the more complex Sweetums that is used for television.

 

[WeatherbySwann]

There are also some really fun Muppet-related props on the float.

I noticed this, too. I don't know about the Disneyland float, but the Magic Kingdom car has Kermit and Miss Piggy's luggage, as well as several bags of "Insta-Grow" Plant Food. It must work because coming out of one of the bags is a large beanstalk!

 

[KermieBaby47]

Sigh, that was so cool. We were gonna go to Disneyland in May, but now we're not! * cries *

Oh well, cool to see that people are excited about The Muppets again!

 

[Luke]

The puppetry looks terrible, very shaky. The puppeteers need to be more stable inside - seems like they are being thrown about a bit as the float moves. A huge amount of random "jerking" going on lol.

It's nice people get a chance to see the Muppets themselves at the parks. I'm kinda of the opinion there should only be one Kermit etc and this kinda steps on the line a bit though not as far as when they tried to do it on TV.

 

[Mupp]

The puppetry looks terrible, very shaky. The puppeteers need to be more stable inside - seems like they are being thrown about a bit as the float moves. A huge amount of random "jerking" going on lol.

It's nice people get a chance to see the Muppets themselves at the parks. I'm kinda of the opinion there should only be one Kermit etc and this kinda steps on the line a bit though not as far as when they tried to do it on TV.

Just out of curiosity, have you watched the Disneyland video?

The pupperty in that doesn't seem jerky to me. It looks pretty good.
And it all depends on the specific puppeteer. I'm sure they alternate performers.
Also, the puppeteers probably have limited movement given the fact that they are hiding.

I think its a good thing that they are in the parks. Since the are such a big part of the advertising campaign for "Give a Day Get a Disney Day" it only makes sense that people have the opportunity to see them in the parks.
Being a Disneyland local, it helps me if I just don't think about the fact that they are in WDW as well.

I'm sorry, I just LOVE Disneyland. Its the original after all.
Oh, and the Disneyland float does have the insta-grow plant gag as well.