When will toys tieing in to The Muppets be released?

[Drtooth]

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.

No one has the money to buy stuff anymore. Prices are outrageous. And if people actually have money, they buy high end techno-crap. I hate going to stores picking something up and wishing I had it, and putting it back down.

 

[frogboy4]

No one has the money to buy stuff anymore. Prices are outrageous. And if people actually have money, they buy high end techno-crap. I hate going to stores picking something up and wishing I had it, and putting it back down.

You're so right. That's exactly where we are right now. Toy sales are fickle. Sticker books, clothes, iphone apps, puppets and music downloads are really the safest bets until box office receipts reflect a clear demand from the general public. It's better than seeing an overflow of Muppet merch in a clearance bin. That gives the beloved characters a bad reputation in sales. This is smart. I want more stuff too, but i can wait. Right now the movie's the thing.

 

[Drtooth]

Now that I think about it, I'm seeing less and less animated movie based merchandise, and even when there is, it's always TRU exclusives. And I'm not just talking klunkers that shouldn't even waste the plastic because they lack appeal on every level (Planet 51)... There wasn't any Shrek 4 merchandise outside of TRU. Shrek! That's a powerhouse franchise. Rango deserved at least a low key figure line, didn't get anything but a meh BK promotion. Even then, half of them were toys... the other 3 things were card games and crap like light up badges.

Action movie merchandise seems to be the only thing they bother putting out in every store before the release date. At least The Marvel and Transformer movies.

The Smurfs movie stuff came out just after the movie hit, and once it did, it disappeared off shelves. Target had endcaps depleted in a matter of weeks. No one thought that movie would do as well as it did. And with that Chipmunks film, it took the second movie to do so much as plush toys. That's how little faith they had in it that was shockingly rewarded. Yet, I see Yogi Bear's very thin amount of stuff cleared out and no one touching it. And that movie shockingly and appallingly did alright too.

 

[Drtooth]

Only posting this to annoy everyone. TRU has all this Happy Feet 2 stuff a month away from the film's release.

 

[robodog]

You are correct sir. That information does indeed annoy me greatly. Your new avatar however pleases me. Right now I am feeling a mixture of annoyance and pleasure.

 

[beaker]

Well James is right, those Muppet puppets are pretty cool. It's just Disney is the king of merch saturation so it's weird we aren't seeing anything yet. I have a feeling most the merch will be exclusive to Disney parks, and that's a shame. Anyone know when the Star Wars spoof figures come out?

Btw, does anyone recall...was there a lot of merch for other Disney Nov tentpoles like Frog or Tangled?

 

[muppetlover123]

same

 

[Walter]

I hope the movie does more than extremely well.. that way Disney will be like "Oh.. well, darn.. we shoulda thought ahead, we will never underestimate the Muppets again!"

 

[frogboy4]

Well James is right, those Muppet puppets are pretty cool. It's just Disney is the king of merch saturation so it's weird we aren't seeing anything yet. I have a feeling most the merch will be exclusive to Disney parks, and that's a shame. Anyone know when the Star Wars spoof figures come out?

Btw, does anyone recall...was there a lot of merch for other Disney Nov tentpoles like Frog or Tangled?

There really wasn't much merchandise for either of those films either, but they didn't do very well. I suspect that "The Muppets" are going to perform solidly at the box office and that will lead to merch.

 

[theprawncracker]

I've heard from a few places that some merchandise will be coming when the movie comes out--either the week of, day of, whatever. I'm not sure how much or what, but this is what I've heard.