"The Muppets" debut at Number 1 in DVD sales

[Muppet fan 123]

I agree so much, MWoO is by no doubt the WORST Muppet production EVER!
I seriously could not sit through the whole thing. I don't really know what Disney was thinking.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

Yes back on subject...anyone know if DVD's are still flying off shelves in stores in ya'lls area?

 

[KermieBaby47]

Well, at my little Walmart, both the half-stack pallet display AND the standee display have been taken down (and they didn't save the standee for me as promised ). I take that as a good sign!

 

[Drtooth]

Oz didn't hurt perception nearly as much as "Muppets From Space". Remember Oz was just a one-shot TV special. "Muppets From Space" was a theatrical release. People naturally expect more from a theatrical film than a TV special.

From a fan perspective though, Oz was no question the bottom of the barrel from a production standpoint in the post-Henson era. Oz also caused Disney to put Muppet TV projects on-hold for a number of years while they developed a strategy for what to do with the characters and their future. Releasing the first three seasons of The Muppet Show and launching a series of classic Muppet viral videos got the ball rolling in the right direction.

I have a feeling Oz is partially to blame in the huge missteps of the initial year of Disney's ownership. It got lukewarm reviews, the DVD's just didn't sell (compared to the actual Muppet Show DVD's)... the ratings were terrible given the fact they were opposite the prime time Emmy Awards and the fact that Star Wars episode III came out that weekend. It didn't capture the lightning in the bottle VMX captured to become a ratings hit (smashing a crappy Brady Bunch movie on Fox).

Oz was reportedly the product of a rushed production during the sale of the Muppets to the Walt Disney Company. The director really wanted to make a feature film so many of his aspirations fell flat and didn't get realized or fleshed-out the way they should have. A lot was scrapped and I think we got pieced-together remnants. There are some great moments in it and I liked Piggy's song. It just seemed like all the magic was taking place in the fringes of that movie rather than center stage where it should have been. Also, originally they tried to get Natalie Portman for the lead. That could have been an entirely different sort of picture. Probably a better one.

Rushed, and trying too hard to have that early 00's style adult humor that VMX pulled off almost flawlessly. Somehow watching it made me feel a lot more depressed and hopeless than Kermit's alternate time line in VMX... it's a lot drearier too. There are some alright concepts... making Piggy the villain wasn an experiment, but somehow it just didn't work right for me. If it was Muppet Babies, or an all Muppet production, yes... I LOVE what the writers of Muppet Snow White did. But it really seems that it detracted from the essence of the Muppets... other than MFS and Oz, Piggy and Kermit always shared some tender moment. Taking that out of a movie just feels empty. Of course, Oz, I'll forgive conceptually, MFS dropped the dang ball. I mean, epically dropped the dang ball.

 

[Walter]

Not sure where to post this.. but incase anyone cares, the Target exclusive disk contains six episodes:
Florence Henderson
Twiggyfanatic:Uncle Deadly!!)
Peter Sellers
John Cleese
Alice Cooper
Sylvester Stallone

..sorry to sound so random and late, but I noticed nobody has said anything about this yet(that I have seen). Also I thought it was noteworthy that they chose these episodes, especially Twiggy, as it introduces younger audiences to "the forgotten muppet". I know most fans have the complete seasons 1-3 on dvd, but i do reccomend this disc because A. it actually fits in the bluray case(take it out of the sleeve and put it on the left side, those cases can hold four disks..) B. It makes a nice multi season mini marathon. and C. The episodes in here are really good! I love the twiggy episode, but My favorite moment on the disk is when florence sings "Somebody like you" with Lizard and friends.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

I think because people wanted the lunchbox set. Lol!

 

[Drtooth]

So, are the sales steady, or did those little Chiprunts push it off the list?

 

[Pinkflower7783]

So, are the sales steady, or did those little Chiprunts push it off the list?

That literally made me LOL! Chiprunts! haha I'm gonna call them that from now on. XD

 

[Nasubionna]

I been thinking of mentioning this on this forum. I was in a very serious bicycle last fall. I almost died. I am ok now. But having the new movie come out shortly after being in a hospital for a month really lightened my spirits. One of my therapists was a big Muppets fan and we talked about it all the time! I can not express how much this gave me hope......... But I will always feel that on some level that the desire to see this movie kept me alive!

That's an amazing story, and you have my belated sympathy for your accident! But I am glad to hear you are recovering/recovered!

 

[LouisTheOtter]

This chart has The Muppets in third place behind Hop (which has the Easter tie-in going for it) and Alvin 3: Chipwrecked...

http://www.the-numbers.com/dvd/charts/annual/2012.php

But THIS chart has The Muppets at #8 on the list of top home releases of 2012 (after only two weeks' worth of sales!)...

http://www.the-numbers.com/dvd/charts/annual/2012.php

Mind you, that last chart doesn't mention Alvin 3 so it could be a bit dated...but from where I sit, it's good news for The Muppets all-around!