Kids Recognizing Muppets

[frogboy4]

I guess the Studio DC thing worked. I've been in the store today and I moved around the Muppet merchandise we have (a First Mate Piggy Swinetrek set, two mini MCC sets, two Super Scooters, several Johnny Fiamas, and a Beauregard along with a display Tux Gonzo) together into a new section nearer the door and kids have been loving it. One little fellow shouted "Muppets!" really loud and wouldn't stop mentioning them. Also a little girl was totally fixated on the Gonzo and knew all about him and that's just today. The Pigs in Space set gets a lot of talk, but few actual sales.

A decade ago many kids I came across not only had trouble distinguishing Grover from Gonzo, but some didn't even know who Kermit was! For whatever reason the tide is changing and this is a definite leap forward.

Just thought I'd mention it.

 

[dwayne1115]

Wow that's great wow!

 

[beaker]

I guess the Studio DC thing worked. I've been in the store today and I moved around the Muppet merchandise we have (a First Mate Piggy Swinetrek set, two mini MCC sets, two Super Scooters, several Johnny Fiamas, and a Beauregard along with a display Tux Gonzo) together into a new section nearer the door and kids have been loving it. One little fellow shouted "Muppets!" really loud and wouldn't stop mentioning them. Also a little girl was totally fixated on the Gonzo and knew all about him and that's just today. The Pigs in Space set gets a lot of talk, but few actual sales.

A decade ago many kids I came across not only had trouble distinguishing Grover from Gonzo, but some didn't even know who Kermit was! For whatever reason the tide is changing and this is a definite leap forward.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Well thats good. Given the extremely low, almost obscure visibility of Kermit and the gang since the 1990's, Ive feared
the toddler/child/tween and teen crowd wouldnt really know them by name. I mean look at all the ebay auctions where they list Muppet stuff as "Sesame Street", or Fozzie as "Fonzie"

Growing up in the 80's, in points it felt like total Muppet/Sesame/Fraggle over saturation and I loved it.

So seeing this post makes me smile, as I dunno...Ive been saying this for over 10 years on this forum, but Muppetdom just feels "underground" and its nice to know that the new and upcoming generations still get that magical enthusiasm and awe from The Muppets. My moms worked with autistic children/special needs children(some really severe) and she's always said that The Muppets/Sesame unlike any other children's brand out there really brings them out of their shell.

 

[beaker]

That's such awesome news! This has been occurring a lot more than usual, but the muppets seem to be slipping into everyday conversations at my school (yes, I know I'm a junior, but there are seniors who don't even know who Fozzie or Rowlf are, X_X) at the most random times and it's gotten me pretty psyched. For example, a guy in my chemistry class today said that one of his friends actually called him Waldorf because he was heckling some cheesy video game they had been playing and etc. the day before. He even added in, "You know, the old dudes from the muppets--Statler and Waldorf? That's who he thought I was because of all the ragging I was doing. Some girl thought it was a character out of Star Wars but I told her she was on glue."

Okay, so that's the more milder way of putting what he said in the last part (XP) but still, S and W are pretty obscure when a fourth of my school can't seem to tell the difference between Elmo and Animal. There ish still hope. O_O

Whoah, thats cool someone in your class knew the names of the "two old guys in the balcony", heh.

Ive been VERY surprised when I come across people who *get*
my Mahna Mahna or Fraggle Rock references(coworkers, etc)
Definitely gives me a big smile

 

[pattywack]

That's SO good! Such great news! I was really wondering if those specials would work. I had a bad feeling the youth just wouldn't get it.

Alas, it seems to be working! Soo happy! Thanks for giving us the news! And wow sounds like an awesome store you have!

 

[CensoredAlso]

That's great! Still, I don't think we should underestimate the ability for the original Muppet films to stand the test of time. Parents do still show them to their kids. The fact that the Muppet Show is on DVD now probably didn't hurt either.

But yes, it's great that the kids in the store were so excited, that must have felt good! And I'm sure the DC specials did provide some exposure. Still there's only been two of them, kids wouldn't become that familiar with the Muppets just through that. So perhaps it's been a combination of new and old Muppet projects, which would be a good sign.

 

[Kiki]

Wow! All of these posts... it's just so great to hear! My cousins' kid recognised a couple of Muppets, I think they were Kermit and Grover. I know you're prolly thinking, "so?" but it was still nice to see.
Most people I know who are aware of the muppets in 20-50. I befriended some guy at a multimedia convention who loved Muppets and classic rock. He was really funny about it, he's like, "led Zeppelin and the Muppets! They go, er, hand in hand!"
Even people in my year level know of fraggles and stuff. Just a week or so ago I overheard a girl from my media class talking about how one of the teachers reminds her of a fraggle (!). I found this pretty impressive, since a lot of people in my year level get Cookie and Elmo mixed up. XP

 

[maniacal muppet]

Hmm... Pretty cool. Glad to hear that some younger kids may be coming back into the Muppet Realm.

 

[Drtooth]

And the best news is, I'm not sure it's just Studio DC that did it. I know of a lot of parents that buy the Muppet Movie DVDs and TMS season sets (even the old Time Life DVD's) and watch them with their kids. I usually bemoan this generation of parents, but it seems a good number of these parents know how to make children smile. Of course, I don't like the fact that some parents show their youngest children muppets and say they're Sesame Street... but it's still great to expose their kids to such wonderful entertainment.

Now the REAL hat trick would be if kids knew who the Fraggles were... just wait a little while, and I think they will.

 

[Redsonga]

And the best news is, I'm not sure it's just Studio DC that did it. I know of a lot of parents that buy the Muppet Movie DVDs and TMS season sets (even the old Time Life DVD's) and watch them with their kids. I usually bemoan this generation of parents, but it seems a good number of these parents know how to make children smile. Of course, I don't like the fact that some parents show their youngest children muppets and say they're Sesame Street... but it's still great to expose their kids to such wonderful entertainment.

Now the REAL hat trick would be if kids knew who the Fraggles were... just wait a little while, and I think they will.

Well, some of us of the fraggle generation don't have babies yet (but still share it with everyone that does), give it time :3. I'm sure in about five years fraggles will have a real upswing . I still say one diehard fan that shares a series is worth ten of a 'normal' mixing up muppets parent, if only because they don't see it as a 'just for kids' thingie that no one else would be interested in :3. We share the good fuzzy word !