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lithiumbrain
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Alright...So I went the Comic Con this weekend with my girlfriend. I didn't bee line for the MR booth, I knew I would stumble upon it. That place was huge! It took a few hours, and finally...there they were. Now...I have been a professional sculptor for years, working on everything from toys to film realated pieces and even some Disney bronze work. I have a good eye. My GF also has a good eye. She works in the entertainment industry. She is a Muppet fan. Not a crazed fan like me...but a fan. Before I said anything out loud, she started commenting on all the things wrong with the photo puppets. Basically taking the words out of my mouth. I wanted to wait and see them in person before I made a harsh judgement. Pictures can fool you. We will leave kermit out of the mix. Aside from the pupils and the collar, he is great once you mess with him. We know this. Here is my breakdown of what I saw at the Con and in my opinion, what has to be fixed.
Animal: The best one there.
1. His eyebrows looked too wispy. But, that is how fake fur is when it is new. The texture and feel of the Eyebrows on 1980's Fisher Price Animal puppet is more accurate. I'm sure once you twist the brows up and fuss with them, they will look right.
2. The pupils NEED to be smaller. They are worse in person. I pulled his lids back to give him the crazy look and it helped but they are at least 20% too big.
3. They hair looked fine. It's a little poofy but not bad.
4. I'm not sold on the shiny pleather pants and no collar with chain.
Fozzie: Pretty awesome.
1. The eyes and nose need to be bigger and moved up slightly.
2. His fur color seemed a tad off. Other than that...a very cool piece.
Gonzo: Looked awful. I won't buy this unless they fix the nose problem in a big way.
1. The shape of the nose looked like a squared off pirate hook. It had sharp edges to it. There is a bit more roundness to the top and sides. I know his nose has changed over the years but it was not right.
2. The color of the nose and mouth area need to be airbrused with 3 colors fading into each other. It looked like a piece of purple fabric sewn into the face.
3. The texture of the fabric they used is awful. It completely takes away from the likeness. What about carving a nose and mouth out of reticulated foam, sealing it up and making a mold on it, then casting them up in rubber or a hollow cast resin from that mold. So, we wouldn't be able to squish his nose, from a display stand point it would look great. You would then get all the natural uneven scott foam texture you want. The Gonzo That was at the Comic Con looked nothing like the beautiful Gonzo proto type that Terry built.
4. The puplis are again TOO big. I pulled back the brow like on Animal and it looked better but...please change the pupil size. Not as bad as Animal but still...
5. The color of the fur is off
6. The suit (as we all know) is the wrong color.
I hope all these changes are made. I was also very dissapointed when I found out that the brows were not posable. That is part of the look of each character. This run of muppet replicas could end up being very successful or could come to a screeching hault because sales drop. I would think that super close attention to EVERY small detail will be made to make these muppets look incredible. I hope so. Please MR, they are so close to being amazing. Keep the quality control and contunuity up with China and fix all those fine details. These will end up being legendary, timeless collectables.
Animal: The best one there.
1. His eyebrows looked too wispy. But, that is how fake fur is when it is new. The texture and feel of the Eyebrows on 1980's Fisher Price Animal puppet is more accurate. I'm sure once you twist the brows up and fuss with them, they will look right.
2. The pupils NEED to be smaller. They are worse in person. I pulled his lids back to give him the crazy look and it helped but they are at least 20% too big.
3. They hair looked fine. It's a little poofy but not bad.
4. I'm not sold on the shiny pleather pants and no collar with chain.
Fozzie: Pretty awesome.
1. The eyes and nose need to be bigger and moved up slightly.
2. His fur color seemed a tad off. Other than that...a very cool piece.
Gonzo: Looked awful. I won't buy this unless they fix the nose problem in a big way.
1. The shape of the nose looked like a squared off pirate hook. It had sharp edges to it. There is a bit more roundness to the top and sides. I know his nose has changed over the years but it was not right.
2. The color of the nose and mouth area need to be airbrused with 3 colors fading into each other. It looked like a piece of purple fabric sewn into the face.
3. The texture of the fabric they used is awful. It completely takes away from the likeness. What about carving a nose and mouth out of reticulated foam, sealing it up and making a mold on it, then casting them up in rubber or a hollow cast resin from that mold. So, we wouldn't be able to squish his nose, from a display stand point it would look great. You would then get all the natural uneven scott foam texture you want. The Gonzo That was at the Comic Con looked nothing like the beautiful Gonzo proto type that Terry built.
4. The puplis are again TOO big. I pulled back the brow like on Animal and it looked better but...please change the pupil size. Not as bad as Animal but still...
5. The color of the fur is off
6. The suit (as we all know) is the wrong color.
I hope all these changes are made. I was also very dissapointed when I found out that the brows were not posable. That is part of the look of each character. This run of muppet replicas could end up being very successful or could come to a screeching hault because sales drop. I would think that super close attention to EVERY small detail will be made to make these muppets look incredible. I hope so. Please MR, they are so close to being amazing. Keep the quality control and contunuity up with China and fix all those fine details. These will end up being legendary, timeless collectables.
