ABC News Video: Jason Segel, Muppet Savior

[dwmckim]

I'm looking at the delicious Muppety donut while others still choose to look at the hole.



It's a slower journey to getting more Muppets at the marketplace and again - we have lots of stuff coming out (and likely more on the way). We already have plush, puppets, build your own Muppet kits, books, stickers, cut-out Muppet theater, shirts, CDs ... Cabs, benches, buses, billboards, AMC "don't talk in the movies" ads, viral internet ads, television ads, endless TV appearances and interviews, magazine layouts.

Yeah, yeah. All well and good, but what i wanna know is -
Where Are The Muppet Doughnuts?!!

 

[Mupp]

It's really not that simple. Many fans have been burned too many times and it makes perfect sense that they'd been skeptical about another new project. But if the movie is in fact good, I assure you those fans would be pleased.

Oh, sometimes it IS that simple. Some people are just impossible to please.

Sometimes its not about having been burned. sometimes its about the person's expectations being unreasonable. Facts are facts.

This is the Internet for God's sake, anyone with a brain knows that what people tend to do most online, is complain and be negative.

 

[Mupp]

Well you can say other fans are pre-conditioned to love the new movie before they've even seen it and that's not good either.

I do not appreciate that statement.

All signs point to this being a good movie.

Why? WHY is it so horrible to be cautiously optimistic? That is all Duke and I are doing, Why is it necessary to make fun of us?

 

[Mupp]

The only thing I can think of is that Disney isn't concerned with the British market.

You are just jumping to conclusions, there is no fact to that at all.

Its not just "The Muppets" or Disney.

ALL American made movies take longer to hit theaters abroad. And vise-versa.

What can I say? It stinks, but that's how it is.

And see guys? Its just like I said before, some fans are impossible to please, when everyone has their own ideas for what they want, you can NEVER please everybody.

 

[dwmckim]

This is the Internet for God's sake, anyone with a brain knows that what people tend to do most online, is complain and be negative.

Actually i thought that was the thing they do SECOND most often...

 

[beaker]

I wish there was a flickr or page that documented all photos of Muppet billboard, cab and bus signs

Ill be in san francisco this weekend, cant wait to see all the ads. I knew the media marketing saturation would come, didnt realize theyd wait til right before the film

I understand and respect that Frogboy has been more in the trenches and an insider to the toy biz more than anyone on here. At the same time, it's bitter sweet to have every aspect of the 'dream resurgence' we waited desperately for all these years on here...yet have that one aspect(merchandise) be MIA. Terminator Salvation, a film you didnt have to be psychic to know the merchandise for would fail miserably, saturated every corner of every store.

BUT, this may be a trial balloon as word merch wise for now...but word has it a tidal wave of muppet merch is coming.

 

[Drtooth]

It's a slower journey to getting more Muppets at the marketplace and again - we have lots of stuff coming out (and likely more on the way). We already have plush, puppets, build your own Muppet kits, books, stickers, cut-out Muppet theater, shirts, CDs and lots of other stuff! The Muppets are at a risk of being over-saturated in the media at this point. I remember how some complained about when the marketing would begin and how aggressive it will be. Cabs, benches, buses, billboards, AMC "don't talk in the movies" ads, viral internet ads, television ads, endless TV appearances and interviews, magazine layouts. What more does a fan need? EVERYONE knows this movie is coming out. We all need to take a breath and enjoy the Muppety goodness. Nobody's landed until Novemver 23rd. I'm not second-guessing any of this until it's out.

I'll say this. Maybe it's just in my market or something, but I WISH I could see The Muppets every single commercial break in the middle of every show instead of being mentally assaulted by Adam Sandler in drag, my favorite comedian in a HIDEOUS movie that's ugly all over, a glorified Prep and Landing knock off, and even Martin Scorsesse's pretentious fake British looking kid's film. I see like one add every so often... it's time to ramp this this heck up. I hope by the week of the release it gets to Puss in Boots proportions and you see them 2 and 3 times a commercial break. Not a show, but a commercial break.

I've said it a million times, a LOT is riding on the success of this film. More Muppet movies, more DVD releases, more merchandise, the prospects of ever having a TV show again (though I still doubt that). And the competition is decidedly weak, pathetic, loud, obnoxious and lower than the lowest common denominator (though Hugo WILL be the next Waterhorse)... I want to be confident that the Muppets will crush ugly CGI penguins with their own (they did penguins first, BOOOYYYY!). But I fear for the general public and snot eating brats who actually like crap kid's movies.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Why? WHY is it so horrible to be cautiously optimistic? That is all Duke and I are doing, Why is it necessary to make fun of us?

I did no such thing, I just didn't think it was fair that the more skeptical people were getting targeted so much. They have as much right to their opinion as you do.

But I promised another user I'd drop it before the movie comes out, so I am. Hope this clears things up.

 

[Ruahnna]

Here's one of my genuine fears about the merchandise. Like Frogboy, I'm working more than one job now--Hub, too--and things are still tight because of the economy. I am worried that I am not going to be able to participate as much as I want to in purchasing the Muppet merchandise because I am an adult (perhaps I should say responsible adult), and my responsibility is to take care of my kids (and their toys--LOL!) first. I have birthdays AND Christmas for my bunchkins coming up between now and December 25th.

So I am worried that I will not be able to afford all of the cool stuff that IS out and that Disney wil interpret that as lackluster interest on the part of the fans. Making stuff that we WOULD buy but can't afford would send--at best--and ambiguous message about our interest.

So, Disney--if you're listening (or reading)--I'm going to be brown-bagging it and cutting corners and couponing and hope-hope-hoping that Santa will remember my muppet passion! Less over-priced nail polish and more, um, "practical" things like t-shirts, notebooks, ornaments (use every year, or all year!), plushies (longevity and daily use!).

 

[CensoredAlso]

So I am worried that I will not be able to afford all of the cool stuff that IS out and that Disney wil interpret that as lackluster interest on the part of the fans. Making stuff that we WOULD buy but can't afford would send--at best--and ambiguous message about our interest.

I understand what you mean, I've worried about that stuff before. But I think most companies are aware (or at least they should be) that people are changing their spending habits nowadays with the recession.