Fun-4-All may produce Sesame Street Action Figures

[Gonzo]

That all sounds like good news, Mr. Diresta--thanks for taking the time to post the updates here and letting us know.

Can't wait to see what y'all are doing with them!

 

[ReoRogerz]

I just read about the Sesame Street figures and although I'm more into the Muppet Show than Sesame Street, I'm a Muppets nut and I was thinking of getting them or at least just Cookie Monster, my all-time favorite Muppet. But I'll be honest with you, I looked at the sketches and these things don't look so good. Maybe it's because the Muppet Show figures are awesome and this is a different kind of figure being made, but these figures don't look any different from stuff that's already been made. Hopefully the finished product will look better. But my biggest complaint is WHERE THE **** IS BIG BIRD? He's in Series 2 but he should DEFINITELY be in Series 1. The most famous Sesame Street character ever and he's not in Series 1. I can't agree with that one.

 

[ReoRogerz]

Hey, I just want to apologize for the 4-star word I said in my previous reply. BTW, I just want to say, I was saying the H-word, not the F-word, I would never say that word on this site. Anyway, sorry about that.

 

[The Count]

Well, it's OK then. But just be grateful that you can actually see the pre-production prototype sketches/sculpts. I have to wait until they're already finished, released to the stores, put on the shelves, buy one, and open it to then touch/play with the figure to know if it does indeed at least seem to be a convincing action figure of said SS character. That's due to my bad batty blind eyesight.
Still wondering if during the revision phase they'll strive to have the figures' likenesses be more like the actual characters/puppets instead of these caricaturesque versions.
And does the license include figure versions of the human characters too, or just the Muppet characters?
Well, hope this helps and have a good day.

 

[WiGgY]

Well series 1 is already filled with classic characters. They need to save some for series 2 and beyond. Besides, now they no where to start as far as detail goes. I would think series 2 will start off on the right foot now.

 

[Drtooth]

Well, it's OK then. But just be grateful that you can actually see the pre-production prototype sketches/sculpts. I have to wait until they're already finished, released to the stores, put on the shelves, buy one, and open it to then touch/play with the figure to know if it does indeed at least seem to be a convincing action figure of said SS character. That's due to my bad batty blind eyesight.
Still wondering if during the revision phase they'll strive to have the figures' likenesses be more like the actual characters/puppets instead of these caricaturesque versions.
And does the license include figure versions of the human characters too, or just the Muppet characters?
Well, hope this helps and have a good day.

Well said, good chum... not to mention the oodles of changes Mr. P has given us a scant few posts ago. Bert's head will be totally resculpted, and Cookie's look will change dramatically.

Big Bird will most definately be made, to take a cue from Palisades, they need to save the top pop characters to round out obscurities like Guy Smiley and Biff the construction worker.

 

[WiGgY]

I'm a little surprised that the first wave is full of main characters. I know at least 2 or 3 could have been held for another series. Though, for the first wave, it makes sense to have them all as main characters to fortify the line and then move in fan faves.

BTW, will there be playsets of any kind or is it just figures? If not full sets, what anout mini environments like Big Bird's next or something?

 

[HerryGrail]

I've been away from the Forum for a little while and just read the whole history of these new figures. There seems to be a happy-ending of sorts now that this input meeting has taken place. I tilt slightly toward the classic Sesame Street characters as my favorite Muppets, and much prefer the 70s toys, which were based on the puppets themselves and not caricatured versions of them. This issue of the Muppets' representation in 3D has been a point of interest for some of us older collectors from the first product lines. That's why so many of us like the Wilkins and Wontkins puppets...they're absolutely stripped of any figural design interference. It seems like before the Muppets were popular, people appreciated them as high design without needing to adapt them for translation into dimensional puppets and figures.

The point for me is that these are toys based on...toys, on real puppets. As a collector you want the closest feel to the actual "product" as you can get. The early Sesame Street hand and finger puppets were based on this model, if not consciously. It was up to kids to bring these to life for themselves just as the Muppeteers did for them. Later in the 70s, we started seeing the caricatured Muppets, and that really preserved the 70s as the high point of Sesame Street merchandise.

There are some issues with any new Sesame Street figures that aren't as relevant to the Muppet Show figures. For one, except for Piggy and Fozzie and a very few others, we haven't seen significant redesigns over the past 20 years; all the Muppet Show characters and their later movie and TV cousins exist as a continuous, evolving family. But there has been so much redesign on basic Sesame Street characters over the years that one must ask, "How can 1990s Telly coexist with 1972 Ernie?" Do all the characters have to conform to the way they looked at a single moment in time in which all existed? If that's the case, we get snub-nosed Herry, little-eared Ernie, and others which are presumably less desirable to collectors. What is the standard?

(Maybe that could be solved with two simultaneous lines, a 1976 line and a 2000 line [without crossovers]. That way the doll-like designs of the newer Muppets wouldn't conflict with the classic designs of the older figures, and those of us who don't want the Baby Bears and Zoes wouldn't have to pass up Herrys and Counts who are hardly recognizable. Also, older characters like the Salesman would fit in better.)

The Sesame Street line would seem to need youth appeal, but does it really? Does a six-year-old want Sherlock Hemlock? Generally, is this the type of toy a child wants at all, with all the Sesame Street playsets and plush out there? If the new figure designs are being altered to have youth appeal, is that really necessary? Is there a youth market? I'm sure there has been ample market research done, but based on this thread it sounds like the collectors won't be buying if these are too juvenile. Do they really want to do the later characters? Do any of you really want them? Will they coexist with your visions of the classic characters?

Another point is that there have been many artistic interpretations of the Muppets. If you go with a cartoon look, why not the exquisite illustrations of Michael Frith? When I think of Muppet art, I think Jack Davis, but those would be pretty wild figures. But why settle for the bibs-and-bedsheets versions? Since we are promised redesigns I'll stop there.

So I ask: Aren't Suncoast-style Sesame Street figures really for adults? Aren't they too big and complicated and dangerous for kids? If that's the case, I hope the company takes into account both the likenesses and the characters they present.

 

[ReoRogerz]

You have a very valid point Herry. I, personally, don't want to see the newer characters, or at least I'd like them to be in the later waves. I would much rather have the earlier characters done before the newer ones. I will not be happy if Zoe and that bear, I forget his name, come out before the likes of Forgetful Jones, Don Music, Biff, Sully, Gladys, the Honkers, etc. One good thing though, is it looks like Fun-4-All sees our point, as Guy Smiley, who hasn't been in a new skit since Jim Henson's death over 13 years ago, is scheduled to be in Series 2.

And you bring up another great point: Who is this product marketed for? Kids or collectors? Sales of The Muppet Show figures indicated that more adults bought the figures than kids, whether the Sesame Street figures will have the same result remains to be seen. I think it depends on who they're marketed for. I, personally, would like the figures to be for collectors, because I think kids will want these no matter how they're made, so they might as well make them to appeal to collectors since the kids will probably want them anyway.

All this being said, I still haven't decided whether I will buy these figures. Looking at the sketches, it looks like these figures will be for kids and I just don't see myself finding the 'coolness' that the Muppet figures had. However, the finished product could be different, so I'm open-minded on this subject. I can assure you, however, that Cookie Monster will definitely be bought no matter how it's made. Two of them, one to open and one to keep in the box. Anyway, that's all I have to say, thanks.

 

[frogboy4]

There are some issues with any new Sesame Street figures that aren't as relevant to the Muppet Show figures. For one, except for Piggy and Fozzie and a very few others, we haven't seen significant redesigns over the past 20 years.

Actually Gonzo, Piggy, Zoot, Bunsen, Rizzo, Sam, Waldorf and many others have gone through siginificant changes through the years. The TMS chacters have evolved just as much change through the years. Even modern characters like Pepe and Clifford have gone through changes. The truth is, all Muppets evolve, not just Sesame. Don't know where that came from?