Next Muppet Replicas: Gonzo, Animal

[a_Mickey_Muppet]

It's almost unbelieveable how MR has not made any announcement regarding our favorite little blue wierdo (and their complete disregard for our questions). I mean, we're practically begging to spend money on their products, but we get nothing!

Yes, I realize that they've got a lot on their minds what with all the Star Wars hubbub (and yeah, I'm a HUGE SW fan too, and that deal fallout totally blows), but they haven't given us anything for long before that announcement. How hard could it be to take a simple picture or two, load 'em up to a pic site, and then say, 'oh yeah, here's the dates', or, 'well, the factory isn't done yet, we'll find out more on such-and-such date'.

This is getting more and more frustrating by the day, and I'm not feelin' the love from them like before with Kermit. I for one think the line might be in trouble (of course, not to mention the whole company since they're basically just a Star Wars brand company), and it would be nice to hear something official, either way.

As always; hopefully we'll hear something soon!

yeah well sayed KermieBaby! I feel ya!

 

[muppetperson]

When Kermit was in process, we had Kevin, Amy and Travis giving us regular updates, so if one was busy, we always had an update.This time, only Travis gave a prototype pic 8 months ago and everything has gone silent.No progress pics, no information-NOTHING!(Apart from a tease of a Animal pic which is not coming).

 

[MuppetCaper]

I know how you feel. I am just loosing the whole excitement on getting these guys, cause when I hear one thing, it is different another time around. I am usually a patient person, but this is too much. I was just wondering today why everything has to be pre-ordered in the beginning of the year and we get it all at the end. Why don't they know how to spread things out a bit more so I can save for other things. After we pre-order, we won't be getting them till December or later cause they have to get all of there SW stuuf made and out by the end of the year or they lose what they had planned on making for there fans. I think they should think of ALL there customers and not to SW. We do have some part in keeping other lines going. Also, I would love to see more Muppet stuff come out than one or two items out a year. Heck, even Pirates gets more out other than SW. Even poor Trek has a bad rap for getting new items out. We will just have to wait and see what happens next year and hope for the best or BETTER!

 

[BigDumbWookiee]

As someone who has been collecting MR products since they launched, I definitely know how you guys feel. I've seen a lot of really cool lines come and go because MR's attention seemed so heavily focused on Star Wars. Granted, SW is a high percentage of their revenue, but given the end of the licensing agreement, they need to start supporting their other licenses right now, to get them out in the public eye. The MIB license came and went, with only a Neuralyzer. Alien(s) came and went, only a Motion Tracker. Same with Predator, only a Predator 2 Spear. Aliens vs Predator, an Alien Hybrid. Lord of the Rings: Sauron's Ring, Sting FX. Those were all licenses that seemed to have a ton of potential, but were cancelled. But even as an avid collector and fan of MR, who followed them closely, I rarely heard ANYTHING about those lines. Just like I rarely hear anything about the Muppet line, except from Star Wars collectors (not all of them) insisting the Muppet line was a stupid idea. The Pirates line gets a lot of "press", but that's also a hot commodity right now, especially with World's End coming out Thursday night.

Lack of preview pictures, lack of news, lack of progress info, this has been a problem that has plagued Star Wars products from the start. But with Star Wars, you're nearly guaranteed it will sell itself, so you can get away with it. Look at the Collector's Society; it's a very Star Wars oriented program, something I've always complained about.

MR's defense is they try to hold off until they have more solid facts; sale dates, price, etc. But stuff gets out, maybe a MR person says "I -think- such and such might be coming out on such and such date", which evolves into a "fact" in the message boards, only resulting in confusion and disappointment you see here.

I have an email out to MR, asking for more information (or maybe just a visit from a rep). Naturally, Ill post anything I get back. I wouldn't advise trying to figure anything out via the Customer Service email, as most of the CS reps typically aren't fully up to date and aware of up and coming products. The only thing I can suggest is just try to be patient with MR since they're going to be incredibly busy this week.

For those worried about MR stopping the Muppet line, all I can suggest is to support the line and buy the replicas when they come out. Kermit was a successful product, hopefully Gonzo and Animal will be too. I expect as more items come out, you'll see the line grow in popularity. It has a whole lot of potential, hopefully it gets its due support. I cant tell you how long I've waited for products like these, and I'm just as fired up as you all.

 

[Telly]

For those worried about MR stopping the Muppet line, all I can suggest is to support the line and buy the replicas when they come out.

I'm not a huge Animal fan. When I told my friends that Gonzo and Animal were coming out, they all said "I'd pass on Animal." My thing is, if I knew how solid of a line this was, I wouldn't get him, but I do want the line to keep going so I plan on getting him if it's going to keep the line from dying before it gets started.

 

[MuppetCaper]

I would not be suprised if we eventually see MR fold up in the future. I don't really see them going either way. Star Trek is like the second biggest thing outside Star Wars and you don't see much going out in that line as well. They need to get a better plan on how to get MR going in a better direction and be more informative to there loyal customers. I also have been a MR from day one and seen themes come and go. But if you look at Sideshow and other companies, they got it going pretty smooth. They know what works. Fans can be more demanding at times I agree. But when you ask for a pre-order date and you get just that, thats what you assume. There was no "I think". Perhaps it is a "I think" and don't announce it like that. All I can say is to hold our breath and wait to see what happens to the Muppets AFTER the Star Wars line comes to a halt. That's all we can do!

 

[Bear Man]

I worry that, given the length of time since Kermit was released and Gonzo was announced, that the line has lost whatever momentum it might have had. It's a shame, but I see this line finishing soon too - in a worst case scenario even before we get Gonzo and/or Animal (after all, we've had no updates on how far the factory has progressed on either of them, things often make it to prototype stage and no further) - either because the momentum created by Kermit has died down so much, or because MR doesn't survive the loss of Star Wars.

I'm a sure sell on Gonzo but, like Telly, plan on passing on Animal. I think there will be a significant number of people who order either one or the other of the two planned replicas (when/if we get to the ordering stage) but not both, either because the're not too keen on the other character, or they see them coming out too close together. I'd love to see this line continue to deliver, say, a Fozzie and a Piggy, but I'm not prepared to spend $200-$300 or more on a character I don't really like just to "show my support".

Of course, we could all be worried for nothing - Kermit might have been a huge seller (does anyone know any real, confirmed, sales numbers?) and Gonzo and Animal might be close to pre-order, if not release. It would just be nice, though, if someone "in the know" gave out some information...the fact we're not hearing anything doesn't inspire confidence.

 

[KermieBaby47]

I've got enough saved for both, I started as soon as Gonzo was announced, then planned on putting more cash aside for Animal when he was announce. I love 'em both, and I plan on purchasing every Muppet that gets made.

I have the money, just sitting here, collecting dust. Waiting to be handed over to Master Replicas. All I need is a pre-order link my MR friends. I want to be your customer again.

Please, somebody from MR, come on already! Give us something!

 

[MuppetCaper]

I am also ordering both. Not to support the line. To have something unique. Jim is probably rolling in his grave since Disney gave the patterns for the Muppets. So if they went through that much trouble to get these made, I think it is well worth it to me. Just imagine what you can do when you pose them in your display. I think this is as close as we will ever be to Jim's work. Guy's, we are all assuming at the moment. Remember that Amy just found out about Star Wars going bye-bye. So lets wait for the air to clear and see what happens next. After all, she did say they had a lot planned for next year for the Muppets (even though she said that today was the pre-order date for Gonzo also hehehe)

 

[BigDumbWookiee]

MR Newsletter just came out!

Next week, prepare for... the invasion of the puppets!

No, we're not talking about a cheesy B-movie concept - it's the launch of two all-new exciting Master Replicas products, both of which happen to be of the puppet ilk.

First up, the world's most famous Marionette makes his MR debut as a full-sized... well, Marionette! As a part of Master Replicas' Disney Showcase Collection - it's Pinocchio!

And then, as our first follow-up to last year's hugely popular Kermit the Frog Photo Puppet Replica, we're pleased to announce that wild drummer Animal will also be available for pre-order next week!

Visit MasterReplicas.com this week for more behind the scenes information on the making of both of these classic puppet products, and be sure to check back the following week to order yours, as well!

Online here:

http://masterreplicas.com/customer/community/newsletters/view.php?id=105