When will toys tieing in to The Muppets be released?

[Drtooth]

Frankly if I'm going to be bombarded by movie merchandise every time I enter the toy aisle I'd much rather it be Kermit than Cars. I love Kermit. Cars is the only Pixar movie I fell asleep halfway through.

Cars stuff always sells solid. Toy Story does too. Those are sure things, and they've never not been in stores. When the first Cars movie came out, the little die cast cars were impossible to find until they reshipped them. Disney has yet to see Muppet stuff sell to that capacity, but then again, they only owned them since 2005, and there hasn't really been much Muppet merchandise (though the Hallmark Keepsakes always manage to sell out before Christmas). That's why things are so slow with Muppet merchandise. They were pretty slow with Phineas and Ferb stuff too, but that stuff seems to be selling well.

 

[frogboy4]

Have to disagree with you there. That is nothing in my book. This is a Disney tentpoll film, it deserves to have the deluge of merch we come to expect: plushes, toys, you name it. It's like oh boy, a few cheap keychains at walmart, vinylmations which have already been out, and some kids books...I will be extremely disappointed in Disney if they don't release a good portion of Muppet merchandise in time for the film. They pulled this crap with Up and other good quality films.

Let's worry about the picture doing well first so that there's an undeniable demand for merch. Disney's doing the Muppets right in just about every other way there is. I'm not surprised they're cautious with merchandise at this point. But heck...THERE'S A FRIGGIN' BEAKER PUPPET!! Come on. That's amazing!

 

[Drtooth]

Let's worry about the picture doing well first so that there's an undeniable demand for merch. Disney's doing the Muppets right in just about every other way there is. I'm not surprised they're cautious with merchandise at this point. But heck...THERE'S A FRIGGIN' BEAKER PUPPET!! Come on. That's amazing!

That said, people just aren't buying toys and movie merchandise the way they used to.

I don't expect to see a 25th anniversary/Palisades boom with the merchandise. Just at least a few bean bag plush. Hopefully it will at least manage to go over the standard Kermit/Piggy/Animal maybe Fozzie and Gonzo stuff.

 

[rowlfy662]

true there i was shocked when into my disney store years ago in the uk and they had muppet plushes when nothing was even on the way and characters like bunsen and statler and waldorf i felt proud that they were there and they did sell well by the looks of things and really pulling for a walter plush to add and a least a figure of him to put with the palisades figs even if hes bad looking i would still put him and maybe disney will at least announce something at the new york conic con

 

[beaker]

That said, people just aren't buying toys and movie merchandise the way they used to.

I don't expect to see a 25th anniversary/Palisades boom with the merchandise. Just at least a few bean bag plush. Hopefully it will at least manage to go over the standard Kermit/Piggy/Animal maybe Fozzie and Gonzo stuff.

Yeah the 2002-2004 period for TMS/Fraggle merch was amazing, just like 1999-2001 for Bear merch.

I don't buy the notion we should be happy with no merchandise. A lot of people probably don't even realize there's even a new Muppet movie coming out. Maybe because I don't have tv, but you go to Disney store its all pixar and princess stuff.
Same with their stuff at TRU. Maybe Disney is doing a last last minute push to release merch. But I mean why go half way?

You know what I heard two summers ago every time I walked into Disney stores? "where's the Up merchandise?" from kids and parents alike. Disney were **** fools with the Up merch. As if Wall E, a crusty silent robot going through some boring existential infomercial about obesity and the environment was going to sell well? Nothing cuddly about him or that boring film(and Im a massive robot fan) But the Muppets...the merch is endless.

Do folks at Disney not get it? Peoples eyes LIGHT UP when they see Muppet stuff.
I feel like Im the only one who sees it. Its pathetic there is no real muppet merch at stores, especially with the film about to drop. Everywhere I go wearing any of my muppet related shirts people have a kind of gasp or smile or come up to me. The rare time there is muppet stuff I see it snatched up. People are probably fatiqued on the same old boring pixar crap.

 

[rowlfy662]

true there i wish disney had a good marketing guy or gal who stands up and says lets get more muppet merch out there one that knows people want figures people like vidoe games stuff like that but there to busy thinking of another thing to slap disney princess onto and i know we won't get those fao puppets when the film comes out in the uk cause there is no shop like fao in the uk

 

[Drtooth]

Honestly, I don't buy the fact Muppet stuff wouldn't sell either. The Vynalmations are always going, The Muppet Pookalooz were selling better than the other ones (those and NBC), T-shirts seem to go alright.

I have no doubt that a couple plush toys at least would do pretty well... I still think they should have slowly introduced Kermit, Animal, Piggy... and then when the movie arrived, Beaker, Pepe, Walter...

Up probably has to do with Ratatouille stuff not selling. I WISH I grabbed a bunch of that Rat stuff... all I got are 2 lollipop toppers and a plush of the dead chef. Still, there was NO excuse to not mass produce and sell the figure set.

ANG stuff never really happened because, after all the crap that went down with that movie, they pretended it didn't exist. I'm disappointed they didn't have anything for Emperor's New School or the movie's 10th anniversary.

BUT... with the rerelease Lion King merchandise, they had large plush of the background in the opening number animals... so maybe we'll see something great when the movie finally comes out.

 

[Frogpuppeteer]

true there i wish disney had a good marketing guy or gal who stands up and says lets get more muppet merch out there one that knows people want figures people like vidoe games stuff like that but there to busy thinking of another thing to slap disney princess onto and i know we won't get those fao puppets when the film comes out in the uk cause there is no shop like fao in the uk

the thing with most movie tie in games is that they never come out months before the movie, most of the time they come out the same day or the day before...and on rare occasion a week before if the game is some sort of prequel to the movie( some of the transformers games)

with the princess' as much as i dont like i have to admit they sell, most little girls want to be a princess and disney knows exactly what they are doing pushing princess merch even if no princess movies come out that often

i know muppet stuff will sell as well but i we have had some minor stuff, even if some people dont want to count it , the major stuff will be out around the movie...and you know what maybe i do want them to run out only to have to make more of high demand, that would be a great way for disney to realize that they need more Muppet Merch outside of a random nostalgia thsirt

when it comes to the movie itself and people not knowing i feel like they sorta arnt targeting the kid audience to much because theres always going to be that X% amount of parents who take their kids to the movie just to get them out of the house and think muppets are just for kids

I mean dont get me wrong...its frustrating as Monkies to not see any merch even small candy toys...i want some kind of Muppet item that isnt a book something i can display

 

[frogboy4]

Yeah the 2002-2004 period for TMS/Fraggle merch was amazing, just like 1999-2001 for Bear merch.

I don't buy the notion we should be happy with no merchandise. A lot of people probably don't even realize there's even a new Muppet movie coming out. Maybe because I don't have tv, but you go to Disney store its all pixar and princess stuff.
Same with their stuff at TRU. Maybe Disney is doing a last last minute push to release merch. But I mean why go half way?

You know what I heard two summers ago every time I walked into Disney stores? "where's the Up merchandise?" from kids and parents alike. Disney were **** fools with the Up merch. As if Wall E, a crusty silent robot going through some boring existential infomercial about obesity and the environment was going to sell well? Nothing cuddly about him or that boring film(and Im a massive robot fan) But the Muppets...the merch is endless.

Do folks at Disney not get it? Peoples eyes LIGHT UP when they see Muppet stuff.
I feel like Im the only one who sees it. Its pathetic there is no real muppet merch at stores, especially with the film about to drop. Everywhere I go wearing any of my muppet related shirts people have a kind of gasp or smile or come up to me. The rare time there is muppet stuff I see it snatched up. People are probably fatiqued on the same old boring pixar crap.

I get what you're saying, but stating that there we're "happy with no merchandise" is inaccurate. There IS Muppet merchandise on the market. Puppets, music, books and clothing cover a lot of territory for now. If it sells Disney will make more. I know people's eyes light up when they see merchandise they like in a toy store because I used to run one, but those people have to actually buy it! There's a big difference. Many people just aren't buying like they used to. I hate that, the toy industry hates that and the market place has adjusted for it. Let's hope it changes back.

Disney's not employing a 1990's or 2000's promotion model. They're using a modern one because this film climate has changed. Right now, the media is starting to be saturated with the Muppets. I'm overjoyed with that!

 

[a_Mickey_Muppet]

There IS Muppet merchandise on the market. Puppets, music, books and clothing cover a lot of territory for now. If it sells Disney will make more. I know people's eyes light up when they see merchandise they like in a toy store because I used to run one, but those people have to actually buy it! There's a big difference.
Disney's not employing a 1990's or 2000's promotion model. They're using a modern one because this film climate has changed. Right now, the media is starting to be saturated with the Muppets. I'm overjoyed with that!

I LOVE this! & Jamie is RIGHT 110% people HAVE to actually BUY it! and NOT just have there "eyes light up" and say "Oh sweet look muppets" and than put it back down! Cause theres been times when i've done that, NOT because i didnt want it but either I spent to much money that day or i was short on cash by a few dollars! But lastnight it wasnt NO problem for me spending $40 Plus dollars in Toys R Us for 2 muppet puppets of Fozzie and Beaker ($19.99 each)