Fun-4-All may produce Sesame Street Action Figures

[WiGgY]

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?

Yeah. All of them changed a lot. Even Kermit changed in color and a little in construction. Palisades has been able to combine the "best" versioons of each character when making the figures.

As for new characters coming before old ones, I don't think that matters. Why should it matter if Elmo comes before Don Music as long as both are made?

 

[HerryGrail]

I don't think the Sesame Street character redesigns compare with Muppet Show tweaking. The difference between 1969 Ernie and today's Ernie is extreme. Same for Bert, Big Bird, Herry, and so many others. The "human" ones even went from looking cloth-like to very porous and foamy. Because these are such simple designs, every change is very noticeable. There was poke-out nose Bert, then mid-70s flat-nose Bert, then big-forehead lots-of-hair Bert. And that was all only in the first dozen years.

The Muppet Show character design changes have just not been that drastic, except for Fozzie, Piggy, and a very few others after the first year or so. These designs are much more complex so changes are more subtle. I didn't think this would be a point of contention. It would be interesting to see an evolutionary comparison of major character designs from both "worlds." My belief is that deciding what the official Ernie looks like when sculpting his figure is much more difficult than deciding what the official (Muppet Show) Kermit looks like. I followed these changes closely through the first two decades of "Sesame Street" and the original run of "The Muppet Show." The Muppets in last year's Christmas movie were not as obviously different from their "Muppet Show" counterparts as the Sesame characters were from their early versions at the end of the same time span.

 

[Cap Backfire]

I'm afraid I disagree...

Several points to make here..
1: These figures have to have kids in mind FIRST, with collectors in a close second. I (personally, you all are entitled to your own opinions) that Fun for all is trying to find a happy medium. The figures will NOT be of the exact likeness we are used to, and spoiled by, Palisades. The cartoon-ish versions are more appealing to small children, and also allow for a single interpretation of the figures. In this case, "Big-eared Ernie and flat-nosed Herry" don't apply. It's a melding of the whole slew of versions.
2: The newer characters, while perhaps unloved by the adults, are the ones that are gonna sell to the kids (see above). While I might not be crazy abot Elmo or Zoe, I certainly will buy at least one of the figs for myself and another for my nephew, at the very least to promote the entire line, so I can possibly see the Amazing Mumford made somewhere down the line. Elmo might be tortured somewhere along the line and buried in a pit of dog poo, but he will still be purchased (And yes, I would do that to a toy. Don't ever ask me what I did to Luke Skywalker when I was a child. My father still has nightmares). So yeah, it might suck, but it's a necassary evil.
3: Who am I to give advice about attitudes toward a whole line, when I berate the MTI figs for even being produced (although I still find something to love about each of them-Polly Lobster and Sam's book w/ treasure map). We don't have to agree with every move a toy producer makes, but by GOD, if we want to see the lines made that we desire, we should find a way to defend them (at least in the final analysis) in their decisions. At some level, we all understand why they decide what they decide...
This has been my 3.5 cents... Thanks for your time.

Josh

 

[Drtooth]

Anyway, how good are our chances of seeing Little Jerry and/or Little Chrissy?

 

[WiGgY]

It doesn't really make sense to market these figures to te Sesame Street aged kids. They are like 3 years old. They won't be buying these things. Majority of consumers will be collectors. They keep action figure lines alive.

 

[Cap Backfire]

I don't mean to be abrasive...

I'm not trying to be abrasive here, but come one dude... It's the "collectors" here who are constantly debating over which figures they will pick and choose from each series of Muppets, and these people are ALL die-hard muppet fans. If Fun 4 all is smart, and I am assuming they are to pursue this property in the first place, then they will market these things as a two-pronged attack. They can still be marketed to the kiddies and adults at the same time. All you have to do is keep accessories a little larger than Muppets lines, and make thim a little sturdy in the first place.
I do agree that collectors will be a major concern with this line, but come one, it's for the kids first!!! What kinda world are we in that Sesame Street figures should be made with 30-40 year old guys in mind instead of the 3 year old kid??? It's a sad one.
I do appreciate Mr Diresta's openness with this group, since we are certainly a target audience, but I would find it sad indeed to see this line tilted more towards me than my nephews.

 

[guysmiley4ever]

woo hoo!!

WOO HOO! I just noticed on the news page about the Sesame street figures.

*gasp* Super Grover....and...Guy Smiley...*drool*

*sniff* We have to wait for March?? sigh...

I hope Guy Smiley is wearing his suit and has a microphone.

I definatley want Bert and Ernie too!!

 

[The Count]

Yes, and we'll have to wait even longer for Guy Smiley, since he's in S2. At least, if things stay the way they've been projected as for now. Not saying that the Guy Smiley will be automatically scrapped from the S2 lineup, no I hope he's there along with my namesake as well, just using some of the sentiment learned throughout the year and a half of knowledge gained from the Palisades figure line. Can anyone say Beauregard bumped by bearish bobby?
Good, I knew you could boys and girls.
Hope this helps and have a good night.

 

[WiGgY]

I'm not trying to be abrasive here, but come one dude... It's the "collectors" here who are constantly debating over which figures they will pick and choose from each series of Muppets, and these people are ALL die-hard muppet fans. If Fun 4 all is smart, and I am assuming they are to pursue this property in the first place, then they will market these things as a two-pronged attack. They can still be marketed to the kiddies and adults at the same time. All you have to do is keep accessories a little larger than Muppets lines, and make thim a little sturdy in the first place.
I do agree that collectors will be a major concern with this line, but come one, it's for the kids first!!! What kinda world are we in that Sesame Street figures should be made with 30-40 year old guys in mind instead of the 3 year old kid??? It's a sad one.
I do appreciate Mr Diresta's openness with this group, since we are certainly a target audience, but I would find it sad indeed to see this line tilted more towards me than my nephews.

No child with buying power will buy a Sesame Street figure. Once a kid reaches the age of having money, he or she is way past pre-school and into older toys. Say a kid has money at age 7. At that age, kids today are into Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh and all the other anime stuff. They are way past Sesame Street. Besides, look at the list of characters they want to do. No kid watching Sesame Street now has ever heard or seen Guy Smiley, Sherlock Hemlock, Don Music, or any of the other old school characters.

The items should be made safe for kids, just in case a parent buys their 8 year old a figure instead of the Yu-Gi-Oh cards he really wants. However, it is the teen-adult market that buys action figures of any kind these days. And that is why these should have the detail that we have come to expect. There is no reason why it can't be done. There is no need to make these look weird and cartoonish for the sake of kids. I doubt a cartoon looking Bert will sell any better to kids than a realistic looking Bert. So, why cheapen the product needlessly?

And for the record I am no where NEAR 30. When I get around that age I don't think I'll be collecting any kind of action figure brand.

 

[Drtooth]

I feel that they need to have some relevance to kids... and here's why...


Remember Nestle Magic balls? Candies filled with a plastic ball filled with a toy? It was banned because some person didn't read the ages 3+ up thing on the lable...

A but load of Toylines are scrapped like this too. And since Cookie Monster, Ernie, Bert, ect. appeal to the 2-5 age group somehow, some person is going to pick the toy up for their 2-5 year old without reading the lable and then something's gonna happen.

I mean, it's nice to see that they've compromised on cloolecters and 3-5 year old. 7-12 year olds only blindly follow the masses explaining Yugioh and Beyblade (ICK on both).

and personally, if they did make a line of soley Ernie, Elmo, and Big Bird... I'd pretty much be ticked. I mean, I've been waiting for Guy/ Don/ etc. my entire life...