Abby's Flying Fairy School

[MollyArriba]

There's something in me that just wants it to go away! It's like when Bert and Ernie went all stopmotion; I love stopmotion, but it just isn't needed.

That's sort of how I feel about Abby's Flying Fairy School. Lately I haven't seen an episode that doesn't have it. It feels as permanent as Elmo's World. All it really does it make me miss Zoe.

 

[Drtooth]

Any problems I have with Abby's School are the same problems I have with the block format, trying to turn Sesame Street into a programming block, rather than a TV show. Mainly, the fact it has to be on every episode instead of alternating with the Ernie and Bert claymation adventures or something. Plus, they have about 8 episodes to fill out 26 episodes in a season. There's not enough for them to run it daily.

But as for the segment itself, other than the fact it's clearly a show of its own. It at least has an engaging plot, unlike Elmo's World (which we all know was just filler. I mean, "Let's talk to a Baby?" What the heck is that?)

But the one thing that bugs me... Abby is prone to messing up her magic spells on Sesame Street. However, in the cartoon series, she rarely causes any mistakes that set the course of action, usually done by Gonnigan and Blogg. I'd love to see her make huge mistakes, but it seems she can do no wrong and her magic actually works in the fairy dimension. Eh, I guess it's like He-Man... Orko's powers are amazing on Trolla and on Eternia all they can do is mildly annoy Man-At-Arms.

 

[MollyArriba]

Elmo's World actually grew on my after a while. There are still bits of it I can't stand, but for the most part it's okay.

I think my main problem with Abby's Flying Fairy School is that it's computer generated. It doesn't need to be; they could have Abby flying around in live action, but they decided not to. CG is an art and I respect it, but part of my agrees with you that AFFS could be a show all on it's own, and I think it should be.

And is it just me, or has Abby become more prominent than Zoe?

 

[Drtooth]

I see no difference between CGI Abby and Cel animated Muppet Babies. All and all, it's just an animated version of Muppets that doesn't take away from the originals. If Sesame Workshop were to replace ALL the Muppets with CGI animation, then I'd agree. But I know that they'd think that was a travesty to Jim.

Besides... Abby was promoted as coming from a different world than the rest of Sesame Street. Who's to say that it isn't CGI in her dimension?

Though I will say this. It would be MUCH better if it was in another Sesame Street related half hour programming block, separate from the main show. Too bad we'd never get one.

 

[Convincing John]

You know...I've been wondering about something. Even though the segment is in its own little world, I can't help but think that someday we might see Blogg and Gonnigan in Muppet form. They are obviously Muppets, given their design (Niblet not so much...Mrs. Sparklenose, sorta), but I could see them winding up on the street in 3D form. They would make beautiful puppets. Maybe they would take a field trip to Sesame Street or something. I dunno. It would be fun to see Blogg hanging out with Oscar (they'd get along, given Blogg's interest in things that stink), or Telly with Gonnigan.

We won't see Mumford for a while...but with the misfired magic in those CGI Abby segments, it would be easy for Maria to wind up talking like a duck. It would be a nice, "hidden gem" and a tribute to Jerry if it happened again.

 

[Drtooth]

You know...I've been wondering about something. Even though the segment is in its own little world, I can't help but think that someday we might see Blogg and Gonnigan in Muppet form. They are obviously Muppets, given their design (Niblet not so much...Mrs. Sparklenose, sorta), but I could see them winding up on the street in 3D form. They would make beautiful puppets. Maybe they would take a field trip to Sesame Street or something. I dunno. It would be fun to see Blogg hanging out with Oscar (they'd get along, given Blogg's interest in things that stink), or Telly with Gonnigan.

I really want to see them make Muppet versions of those characters and have them interact with the Sesame Street bunch. I love their designs, and they'd look just amazing in Muppet form. Plus, it makes the segment a lot less disconnected to the show if they can freely interact with the rest of the cast.

 

[DannyRWW]

I've been thinking for awhile it would be nivce to see them as Muppets. Its a shame because they are excellent muppet designs and I think really strong unique characters. They wouldn't have to show up all the time but it would be fun to see Abby introduce her fairy friends to sesame street.

 

[MollyArriba]

I agree with all three of you. They looks like Muppets, so let them be Muppets!

 

[Oscarfan]

That'll probably never happen anytime soon; they'd be quite pricey to make.

 

[PoisonBadNews]

Initially I really liked Abby, the fact that she was very emphatically a fairy and not just a humanoid little girl or monster was a bit odd, but Rosita started out as a bat and Telly was a homeless television addict, so I assumed it was just "early character development weirdness" and that once her personality and voice were more established they'd cut it out with her wand cellphone and "poofing".

The wand-phone bit in particular irked me, as I felt it would make three year olds start demanding their own smartphones even moreso than they would already, and it consistently depicted Abby as getting into a mess of trouble through pure carelessness on her part, and then calling her mother who would instantly bail her out. This is obviously not bad advice for Sesame Street's target demographic, but remember that these lessons stick with kids long past the years when they view the shoe religiously.

As for the Flying Fairy School bits, I very much agree with much of the sentiment expressed ITT. I'd have much, much rather seen it as a standalone Muppets sketch akin to Bert and Ernie or Grover vs Mr Johnson, and I don't like the idea of taking an existing puppet character and rendering it as CGI. Especially when it's in such a way that it's meant to look like an animated version of its felt, fur, and fleece counterpart, rather than conceiving it as an animated reimagining of the character ala Muppet Babies. It makes me worried that in twenty years they'll have completely replaced the SS Muppets with CGI. Even if they're visually indistinguishable, look at the Star Wars prequels if you want evidence that a human voice actor can't act convincingly against a CG character they can't see in a blank green room.

Lastly, I don't like that the concept seems to be trying to cash in on both the revolting Disney Princess craze and (an extremely dumbed down version of) Harry Potter. The female Muppet characters on SS and elsewhere were always borderline revolutionary in how unconventional they were. Miss Piggy, Red Fraggle, Janice, Prairie Dawn, etc were all bold and independent, without being stereotypically tomboyish. Having a sparkly pink fairy princess who solves problems by calling mommy just feels like it belongs in a different universe.