New Travelling Matt and Junior Gorg Plush/Puppets

[frogboy4]

Liking the doll formats of both but not the puppets. The Gorg puppet has a mouth that is way to big?

I bought the Gobo puppet from this range..............and hate it, that put me off buying any other Manhattan Fraggle toys? I dont like that the puppets have fabric eyes, Fraggles have plastic eyes! Are the dolls eye made of plastic or are the fabric like the puppets?

Anyone want a cheap Gobo puppet! lol

Chris

I agree. These are middling quality and nothing to write home about. I wish someone would bring back the Sababa style beans. Those were cute.

I almost stocked these new ones in my shop, but the cost for retailers is *crazy expensive* and I don't see why. When you buy these from a store, believe me that Manhattan Toys probably makes ridiculously much more than the shop's modest mark-up. Who's going to buy a Mokey Fraggle for $25-30 dollars? The answer is, not enough for most retailers large or small to be interested and that's not good for the Fraggle brand. I don't see why Henson chose this toy company. My feeling is they got a better price from them than they would have for a better quality company. I hope it's not that cynical.

I am glad the Fraggles are getting some new product out there and that Junior Gorg, Mokey and Uncle Traveling Matt are represented, but I'll be skipping these. Let's hope Henson's licensing department finds some better toy companies by the time the movie hits theaters. I feel there's a cycle to Fraggle merchandise falling short of expectations and this is it. We'll see.

 

[Drtooth]

The problem all comes down to scope. Manhatten Toy is a very small blip as far as toy companies go. Even Sababa was pretty large compaired to how small this place is. And I'm pretty sure this is their first license, because when it come to me, I completely ignore generic stuffed kitties and doggies and go straight for familiar toons or Muppets... which is why I've never heard of this company. Turns out they only MAKE kitties and doggies and stuff like that. And they really are no where to be found except for independent little toy stores... the ones that specialize in only educational toys that none of us would frequent unless we loved Playmobils (the biggest brand they carry besides maybe Gund). Even Target managed to carry Sababa Fraggles, while other Sababa goods (Magic 8 Balls to Uno collectors games) managed to get into quite a few other big retailers. Basically, license+less product to move+less places to sell+smaller company= expensive product. Had these been able to get into Wal*Marts, Targets, TRUs and everywhere else, they'd shave a good 5-10 bucks off the retail price.

That said, the only thing I really dislike, and I'm glad I'm not the only one, IS the fabric eyes. I guess it's so it's more suitable for younger kids... plus, I really think they could be capable of making smaller Sababa plush sized versions of these characters in time. These really have to hit the market hard for that. At least small, Sesame Gund sized miniplush. The real thing holding me back is the price, and frankly, Matt's the only one I'd really bother to get.

And I agree... I hope this ope4ns the door to other licensing. I want PVC figures, even if Schlich has to make rereleased versions of ones they made themselves (they still have the molds, right?). The blind boxed figure set is never going to happen, we need a better and cheaper alternative. And I don't care much for prospects of vynals.

 

[frogboy4]

Manhattan Toy also holds the Dr. Seuss plush license and has been in business since the late 70's. I'm not a big fan of Hasbro or Mattel, but they'd do a much better, more relatable plush than Manhattan's strange looking attempts. I am glad that Fraggle merch is out there and that some company took a chance on it. I'm just concerned that this will perpetuate the misconception that people don't want Fraggle toys.

 

[Drtooth]

That brings up another problem. Fraggle Rock itself. Sesame Street has been on TV non-stop since 1969 and the Muppets always manage to pop up somewhere. Unless the Fraggle Film goes forward (which gets less and less likely every passing month) there's about as much chance for national retail Fraggle Rock stuff as seeing Bullwinkle action figures and Inspector Gadget T-shirts on K-Mart's shelves. There's no real call for it, and I'm sure only fans of the show with kids who have the DVDs and shown them to kids would have kids that would buy them. I don't know what kind of muscle Sababa had to get their FR toys into Target, but even if it was a massive failure to them, they still had strong licenses with Family Guy, The Simpsons, and Peanuts (among others) for cheaper games and gizmos. Manhattan has Dr. Seuss, sure... it's pretty strong, but it isn't strong enough as a fall back on line... and I don't even think they make it anymore. Maybe they can only handle one license at a time, I dunno... but even then, I don't think I've seen them anywhere BUT upscale educational toy stores that only exist in gentrified neighborhoods or touristy beach towns.

Plus, we have to realize these are the same retailers that told Sababa "A third series of Fraggle dolls? Are you kidding?" and just went to Hasbro and Mattel for at the moment stuff that cleared out very quickly. The ironic thing is, even if we want to see these at larger chain stores, we'd have to buy them now while they aren't. I'm sure when and if the movie ever gets off the ground we'd see something like Fisher Price and Gund. both have Sesame Street plushes, but FP gets to have theirs in said big stores, and Gund gets the smaller independent company treatment. But again, any and all FR merchandise depends on a movie happening.

 

[Kermieuk]

Can someone please tell me if the plush dolls have plastic or fabric eyes? I know the puppets have fabric eyes, but what about the plush dolls?

Has anyone actually gotten hold of Matt or Jnr to tell us all what they are like in person?

Thanks

Chris

 

[Jelopi]

Hi Chris,

I ordered both Junior Gorg & Traveling Matt for my collection and have to say that I am very impressed with both of them. Not only do they have fabric eyes, but they are extremely soft and plush and a very nice size. They are well made and I definitely would recommend them.

~ Jen

Can someone please tell me if the plush dolls have plastic or fabric eyes? I know the puppets have fabric eyes, but what about the plush dolls?

Has anyone actually gotten hold of Matt or Jnr to tell us all what they are like in person?

Thanks

Chris

 

[Foodie]

Matt puppet
http://shop.henson.com/jimhensondesign/hand-puppet-traveling-matt.html

Matt doll
http://shop.henson.com/fragglerock/new-items/plush-traveling-matt.html

Junior Gorg puppet
http://shop.henson.com/fragglerock/new-items/hand-puppet-jr-gorg.html

Junior Gorg plush
http://shop.henson.com/jimhensondesign/plush-jr-gorg.html

Sweet. Thanks for the links.

 

[Luke]

Great to see new Fraggle stuff, not overly impressed with the likeness or pricing but at least its something and the quality isn't terrible.

 

[beakerfan76]

The main caveat I have with Matt is his skin tone. Normally, it's that light tan/tan look, but here his complexion is slightly pink. Heck, if it wasn't for the mustache and clothing, I'd think this'd be a Mokey rerelease.

Now I love these guys to pieces, don't get me wrong, as they're helping carry on the Fraggle resurgence of sorts, but they could do a better job making the dolls look a bit more like the real puppets. To me, the one who looks the most like her puppet counterpart is Red, but on a sewing standpoint, she shouldn't be that difficult to do. Gobo looks fairly like his puppet self as well. Wembley does to an extent, as does Mokey, just with a few flaws. Boober doesn't have nearly enough hair, but I got way off track.

Junior looks fairly decent, though there's the inevitable size issue, seeing as he dwarfed the Fraggles and could dwarf even the tallest Silly Creature, I mean human. Maybe he was shrunken as punishment for being a dopey king, or maybe I'm over analyzing the situation.

 

[Jelopi]

I do agree that they couldve made the dolls resemble the actual Fraggles/Gorgs a little better, and it is true that they are not cheap...but the quality is definitely there. Honestly, I am just super happy that they are coming out with more new Fraggle stuff!