Anyone Find The Lack Of Muppet Merch Disturbing?

[robodog]

Very much so.

Not a single Muppet toy on the shelves of major retailers like Wal Mart or Target. I really do believe the film will do well merchandise or no merchandise though. The only competition it really has is a couple brain dead films that deserve to flop and flop hard.
The fact that Cars merchandise is still being pumped out yet Muppet merchandise is all but nonexistant annoys me to no end. I hate Cars. I know it's Pixar and among animation fans Pixar can do no wrong, but to me it's a dumb concept. Some things work when they're anthropomorphised but cars just don't. Maybe for some, but for me a world of talking cars is where I draw the line where my suspension of disbelief is concerned. I guess it'd work if you happened to like cars, but for me they're tools used for transportation and that's all. You can give it a face and make it talk but I still can't identify with something like that enough to sit through an entire film based around it. And the only reason the sequel exists is to push more merchandise. It's a cheap cash in. It's no better than all those 30 minute Toy commercials that ran in the 80s.
I'd much rather see Muppet merchandise flood the shelves than Cars crap. The Muppets is a long lived and much beloved franchise that deserves way more respect than it's currently getting merchandise wise. Hopefully Disney will wise up and give these characters the merchandise they deserve.

 

[Drtooth]

Cars merchandise sold solidly when the film first came out, and little boys love it. That's the answer to that. This time they clearly made waaaaaay too much stuff, but they at least felt there was a reason to.

I understand the lack of major action figure type Muppet stuff... but I honestly feel a Smurfs movie level of merchandise couldn't have hurt... several bean bag sized plush, and a small release of figures. That would have been nice. Some little Christmas trinkets like ornaments and cheap stockings... similar to these
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sesame_Street_Christmas_stockings_(Kurt_Adler)

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sesame_Street_Christmas_ornaments_(Kurt_Adler)

 

[muppetlover123]

its lacking with all the merchandise with all the publicity about this movie

 

[Slackbot]

I wouldn't mind seeing Muppets on the shelves. When I go shopping I look for 'em but I don't find 'em. Whazzup widdat?

If that Kermit watch isn't made in real life someone will have dropped the ball big-time. I want one!

 

[ElecMayhem]

I have a much different perspective, actually. I am something of a Muppet completist, meaning, I try to buy EVERYTHING I can with the Muppets on it. (Yes, it's exhausting & expensive...)

And there's more stuff out there right now than I can keep track of. The Disney Store has released 9 plushes, 4 mugs, 5 t-shirts, and a few other items. There's the makeup and the fingernail polish. There's all kinds of PJs (for adults & kids) cropping up at places like Target & Walmart. There are all of the keychains, Kermit and Animal watches, and slippers at Walmart. There are the FAO Schwarz puppets. There are the iHome MP3 docks & headphones. Singing dolls at Walgreens. Ornaments at Urban Outfitters. JC Penneys has some watches. Kohls has some more shirts. There are more and more shirts online. 2 different Snuggies. New Adidas shoes. Etc, etc, etc.

So, there IS quite a bit of stuff out there -- with more coming, I am certain -- even if it's not necessarily the stuff we'd all like to see (i.e. toys, pvcs, etc.)

But it's not as simple as just pointing the fingers at Disney, either. I know for a fact that some of the larger retailers declined the opportunity to carry Muppet plush. There are lots of moving parts. I honestly believe that Disney wants to make more stuff -- and will, I can almost guarantee, if the movie is a success.

 

[Frogpuppeteer]

not to be the guy that starts trouble but if we open our eyes and look Thier is Muppet Merchandise around....dvds are being repackaged with a free ticket to see the movie

in spencer gifts they have NEW Muppet hats, novelty items and full onezie pajamas of Gonzo, Fozzie, Animal, and Kermit

in FYE they Have Animal Plush that come with blankets, and you know there has to be more around

this poster...and poster ive really wanted has been made as a buy alone

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and lets not forget the walgreens stuff and books and items

and di anyone check iXfinity lately...they have an enitre section dedicated to Muppets...yes you have to pay but its there they do that for all major movies
i know we want Muppet toys trust me i feel you guys on that, id love to walk into a store and see shelf to shelf muppet toys , id love for my sister to call me telling me Muppet Vision 3D has brand new stuff every month,but we dont live in that style of merch days anymore....it is mostly about the store exclusive stuff...they all do it,and even if we did how many of us can honestly say we would get each one..I love the Muppets but my room is full of stuff and i doubt my roommates would be happy i kept being stuff to hide away in boxes taking up more space and would probably kick me out..
so what if arthurs christmas has toys r us toys...yes a few will sell, and guess what aside from a few toy collectors they will be played with and discarded or broken but do we honestly belive it will be like these Disney Store Muppet plush we are getting , flying off the shelves ,being sold out online where a group of us keep getting put on hold till new ones are made

but we cant blind ourselves to stuff that is there we just have to open our eyes and come out from behind the veil to see it, lets not become those fans who will never be pleased with the future of our franchise for lack of merchandise

 

[beaker]

Other than the Muppet plushes at Disney store, I still dont see any proof of there being hardly any noteworthy merchandise. All the misc stuff out there is what we'd have in any given year. Rubber bands shaped like Muppets...exciting Im not trying to be a gloomy gus, but its holiday season, huge hyped movie that delivers the goods...nothing at stores. I hope Disney gets the message.

And why is what little muppet merch at Disneystore tucked in the back? Are they afraid of distracting from their cars, princess and other junk? Are these kids truly going to look back fondly on Cars and bad cgi dtv princess stuff in the same reverence we have with the muppets?

This is exactly what's been bothering me about this whole movie promotion deal. They've done an amazing job getting the word out through countless TV appearances and viral videos. But I don't see it being marketed to kids very much. It's great that the Muppets were on SNL and Jimmy Fallon, but do kids actually watch those? What kid watches Chelsea Lately?!

It wouldn't be all that bad if only there were more kid-centric advertising, and really, what that means is merchandising. Where are the cereal promotions? Where are the fast food tie-ins? There is literally nothing in Target, except for a few Men's T-shirts (which have been there for the better part of this year anyway) and some kid's T-shirts. But, frankly, it's as though they were there anyway, regardless of the movie.

Meanwhile, what merchandise there is, is Disney store and park exclusives. Grrr. I am going to have to resort to trying to get stuff online (without paying marked-up prices) since I don't live near a Disney park, and the Disney store left our mall over a year ago.

Disney has one strategy: reel in college kids and adults on the nostalgia factor, and hope they bring their kids along. EVERYTHING has been targeted to older collectors and "hey older people, remember the Muppets? Heres more retro stuff!"

Again, was at a few retailers today...nada. I mean black friday-christmas eve shopping period is upon us...NOONE at Disney or involved with the Muppets is thinking "oh yeah, maybe we should have some cross promotions, food tie ins and toys?" I mean...Underwriter Laboratories, a safety commission is like the only tie in. And Alamo rent a car. Thats it. It boggles my mind.

People on here are confusing older Muppet products that have nothing to do with the film for new merchandise. There literally is not very much new merchandise. Theres the 16" plushes at Disney, a few shirts, mugs. Theres the Kermit headphones at Toys R Us and the FAO puppets. Beyond that, tumbleweeds and crickets.

Yeah the only few cool new Muppet products are going to be park exclusives it looks like. I mean yes, if theres another film in two years, we'll finally see(hopefully) the merchandise...but maybe not for awhile

I think Disney is conflicted. They gave us a lame generic logo, decided to sit out merchandise...but then decided last minute to hype the heck out out of the movie to every website in the universe, tv show, channel, billboard, bus advert, etc.

I'm sorry you feel that way but I'm also a member of the old guard. I do enjoy the modern Muppets just as much as I enjoy the older stuff.

Fragglerockr

Heh, well it was literally exactly 13 years ago this week I joined Muppet Central..and it's funny what has and hasn't panned out. We got a mighty merchandising whallop in 2002-2004 but not a lot of solid Muppet projects. But now, the Muppets have this insanely critically acclaimed so many people are excited about...but hardly anything in stores. Back then many of us hated Disney, and were screaming foul when they bought the Muppets...some even calling JHC sellouts. Well, as we saw, JHC has a hard time seeing anything through so in retrospect this was a good move...its just, it took 7 years for them to do anything with the brand. And if it wasnt for Segel, who knows where we'd be.

Yeah Ive always loved modern Muppets, while exploring the 50's-80's stuff. I grew up with the Muppets in the 80's, but learned to really enjoy them post Jim Henson too.

 

[beaker]

Very much so.

Not a single Muppet toy on the shelves of major retailers like Wal Mart or Target. I really do believe the film will do well merchandise or no merchandise though. The only competition it really has is a couple brain dead films that deserve to flop and flop hard.
The fact that Cars merchandise is still being pumped out yet Muppet merchandise is all but nonexistant annoys me to no end. I hate Cars. I know it's Pixar and among animation fans Pixar can do no wrong, but to me it's a dumb concept. Some things work when they're anthropomorphised but cars just don't. Maybe for some, but for me a world of talking cars is where I draw the line where my suspension of disbelief is concerned. I guess it'd work if you happened to like cars, but for me they're tools used for transportation and that's all. You can give it a face and make it talk but I still can't identify with something like that enough to sit through an entire film based around it. And the only reason the sequel exists is to push more merchandise. It's a cheap cash in. It's no better than all those 30 minute Toy commercials that ran in the 80s.
I'd much rather see Muppet merchandise flood the shelves than Cars crap. The Muppets is a long lived and much beloved franchise that deserves way more respect than it's currently getting merchandise wise. Hopefully Disney will wise up and give these characters the merchandise they deserve.

Oh I hate Cars. I realize the braintrust at Pixar realized they needed to appeal to the Southern Nascar demographic, and that's fine. But it's not my bag, just like Im sure many people didnt "get" Up(I consider Up my favorite Pixar film) And next year they're releasing a sidequel spinoff called Planes...thats about US military war planes. I kid you not. But I had a feeling there'd be no Muppet merchandise...I didnt think itd be this non existent, but I knew Disney wouldnt have any confidence. Has there ever been Disney merch in Disneystores? Vinylmations finally...maybe a few mugs. The large plushes are cool, but its not enough.

Aw, I grew up on the half hour toy commercial cartoons of the 80's, so I got a soft spot for them. But I get what you mean.

Why does Toy Story 3 get a large aisle to itself at TRU and Target, but not a single Muppet item? Its strange. My dream is to walk into a store someday, and see carded 3-4" kid's action figures, smaller plushes, all sorts of books, backpacks, misc items, etc. Im sick of the adult collector stuff, bring on the kid stuff! Meanwhile Im sick of toddler only Sesame merch and lame parody SS shirts.

Btw, you mentioned a love of dogs. Man I hear you. I never got to be around dogs much, but moving to this new neighborhood I see so many people walking their dogs of all kind. Dogs are so kind, happy, excited. They seem to love unconditionally and just want love. I don't get that feeling at all from cats I hate to say. I realize how much Ive always dug dogs in pop culture...Jim Hensons Dog City. Spy Dogs on fox kids. Disneys Bolt. Doug's Porkchop. Rowlf the dog. Dug from Up.

 

[beaker]

And there's more stuff out there right now than I can keep track of. The Disney Store has released 9 plushes, 4 mugs, 5 t-shirts, and a few other items. There's the makeup and the fingernail polish. There's all kinds of PJs (for adults & kids) cropping up at places like Target & Walmart. There are all of the keychains, Kermit and Animal watches, and slippers at Walmart. There are the FAO Schwarz puppets. There are the iHome MP3 docks & headphones. Singing dolls at Walgreens. Ornaments at Urban Outfitters. JC Penneys has some watches. Kohls has some more shirts. There are more and more shirts online. 2 different Snuggies. New Adidas shoes. Etc, etc, etc.

Other than the plushes and FAO puppets, do you really think that stuff is worthy of excitement? I mean, snuggies? I respect the completist thing...but honestly, dont you feel in the early to mid zeroes we got some truly exciting merchandise? I dont have much money, but Id gladly open my wallet for some cool merchandise.

What you listed to me is the same general stuff we've always had, and that we'd have even if there was no movie. In the early to mid to late 90's we got all of this general purpose Muppet stuff. Applause put out some really cool stuff in the mid to latter 90's.

 

[robodog]

Oh I hate Cars. I realize the braintrust at Pixar realized they needed to appeal to the Southern Nascar demographic, and that's fine. But it's not my bag, just like Im sure many people didnt "get" Up(I consider Up my favorite Pixar film) And next year they're releasing a sidequel spinoff called Planes...thats about US military war planes. I kid you not. But I had a feeling there'd be no Muppet merchandise...I didnt think itd be this non existent, but I knew Disney wouldnt have any confidence. Has there ever been Disney merch in Disneystores? Vinylmations finally...maybe a few mugs. The large plushes are cool, but its not enough.

Aw, I grew up on the half hour toy commercial cartoons of the 80's, so I got a soft spot for them. But I get what you mean.

Why does Toy Story 3 get a large aisle to itself at TRU and Target, but not a single Muppet item? Its strange. My dream is to walk into a store someday, and see carded 3-4" kid's action figures, smaller plushes, all sorts of books, backpacks, misc items, etc. Im sick of the adult collector stuff, bring on the kid stuff! Meanwhile Im sick of toddler only Sesame merch and lame parody SS shirts.

Btw, you mentioned a love of dogs. Man I hear you. I never got to be around dogs much, but moving to this new neighborhood I see so many people walking their dogs of all kind. Dogs are so kind, happy, excited. They seem to love unconditionally and just want love. I don't get that feeling at all from cats I hate to say. I realize how much Ive always dug dogs in pop culture...Jim Hensons Dog City. Spy Dogs on fox kids. Disneys Bolt. Doug's Porkchop. Rowlf the dog. Dug from Up.

Don't get me wrong, I grew up on the half hour toy commercials too and I still have a soft spot for some of them myself. Particularly Masters Of The Universe and Pound Puppies.

I'm with you on the adult collector stuff. I prefer kid's toys. I'd kill for a kid's action figure of Rowlf.

I've loved dogs all my life. I'm a huge fan of dogs in popular culture. When I was a kid I loved Spuds Mackenzie, the dog in the old Bud Light ads like some kids loved Transformers or Care Bears. Up is my favorite Pixar movie too, largely because of Dug. Remember what I said about the Rowlf action figure? Ditto for Dug.