I'll be the first (and perhaps only) person to say it, but I'm out. Personally speaking, I don't see what these bring above and beyond what Palisades did, other than more articulation, and are in most other aspects inferior. I was genuinely hoping for something more. These will be good for those who missed out on Palisades and don't want to pay the inflated prices though. The one big positive I will say is the colour of Kermit is way better than Palisades - I really dislike their chosen green!
As a collector I completely understand that sentiment. You collect a whole series and then some company starts all over again. However, Palisades' run ended over a decade ago and this is basically Diamond Select making their version of Muppet toys. There are similarities and differences.
There's greater articulation (Fozzie seems to have 11 points compared to Palisades' 5) but fewer types of plastics and accessories it seems.
I know for a fact the team worked very hard and built these new sculpts from the ground up using photographic materials of the puppets as the primary source. I think it's kind of brave to take on something that had already been done so well. There's also the opportunity to get things right that weren't quite nailed the first time out. For example, Camilla looks a lot more like herself here.
Also, the price point that I heard was an SRP of $24.99. That would include TWO figures packed together and it seems maybe a THIRD in some instances. That's less than $12.50 per figure and well under the final Palisades' SRP's. So the price is actually amazing!
That said, I think these are made for people who missed out on the Palisades and uber collectors who want more Muppet goodness. They will also have a much larger commercial reach than Palisades. No one will ever touch those classic Palisades toys. It was a magical time when smaller companies could make some great things. I just think these are pretty super in their own right. It's clear a lot of love went into these.