I still will never understand how plush Kermits have devolved over the years. It's a design they used to get right for years!
I think the last Great Kermit Plush I've seen was the Macy*s thanksgiving promotional plush. Now, that one was amazing on so many levels.
It is a shame that these Carney game Muppets look Awful. I mean, remember the Nanco Muppet carney dolls? I have the giant Fozzie someone bought at a rummage sale 2 years ago (and it still smells like rummage sale. I've been fabreezing it every week). the nose is a little off, and the eye placement could have used work, but it was still pertty amazing. Heck, didn't they even have a Pepe? A Pepe plush is the holy grail of muppet collectibles. I'd say I'm just as surprised they didn't make him, as much as you are with Beaker (since Beaker seems to have made the jump from Cult to mainstream cult, just like Animal did).
But to me, these are even worse looking than the Starbucks puppets, which at least had the excuse of being really really tiny (and tiny plush are very hard things to make look good).
But the other crane game toys, as you mentioned, Simpsons, Disney, Sesame Street (Indeed, I still see a few), and the random mvoie ones. They look pretty decent quality. much better than the standard Carney game plush. Why, as I stated Earlier, Nanco sure has high quality stuff that should actually sell in actual stores so people can actually buy them. (Still bitter at not winning a Heathcliff all those years ago).