"The Muppets" Official US Poster and Standee

[beaker]

@Red Piggy: It's funny...and I know this will make me a pariah on here...as I have never really admitted this. But I'm not the biggest TMS fan. I mean I have all the seasons(the 3 dvds and then the rest torrented on dvdr) It's a genius show, with amazing artistry and true moving moments(Harry Belefonte, the hey stop whats that sound sketch, etc) but I don't know who half the stars are and a lot of it is a bit dated for me. I grew up watching TMS while it was still in its original syndication(ugh, I know Im old)
and became a huge fan fast. I even watched a lot of the reruns later in the 80's and then in the 90's when it was edited on Nickelodeon. But what REALLY made me become a huge Muppet fan was the movies and specials from the 80's. And since vhs tape trading in the 90's from alt muppet groups/message forums, I really began to appreciate the "obscure" stuff...Land of Gorch, Sam and Friends, early tv specials from the 60's and 70's, the two Muppet pilot specials, etc. And I am a huuuuuuge fan of both Jim Henson Hour and Muppets Tonight. I did fall out of Muppet interest a bit from 1991 til 1995, so I see where the "Muppets died with JH" thing came a bit. And truth be told, in recent years I've lost a lot of the Muppety passion I had. But I like to have hope.

 

[Reevz1977]

sorry to pick on you but ive seen you basically say this every time a poster comes up, so my challenge to you is Do it, "Put up or shut up" as they say, you say you can do better than show us all how YOU would make a poster for the new movie and put us in our place

Whilst I appreciate that I may well be being tagged with the "he likes nothing" label which could be annoying, I can help but take slight offence at the way your post was written.

I am genuinely not an antagonistic person...at all. I also wouldn't ever criticise something just for the sake of criticising. I absolutely ADORE the Muppets, Jim-era Muppets, Disney-era Muppets...I'll take them however they come. Does that mean I like everything they do? No, not particularly. The Studio DC specials in particular make me cringe, but they served a purpose. My criticism of these posters is purely from a professional point of view, and a view that I would apply to 98% of all the movie posters of modern day. I have been a commercial Illustrator, Designer and Retoucher for over a decade. I've worked on some of the worlds biggest brands and won numerous industry awards, so HOPEFULLY my professional opinion should hold a little water.

Since the "marketing invasion" of the late 80's/early 90's the art of the movie poster has simply vanished. Artistic images that emit an emotion and sense of adventure, have been pushed aside for "floaty head" posters and badly photoshopped compositions. The cheap to produce, run 0f the mill images do little to entice a movie-goer to see the movie. If you think my opinion on these Muppet posters are harsh, then I would never let my opinion out for the X-Men First Class material .

Thats not saying that there aren't the occasional gems, because there really are. I love virtually all the posters for Pixar movies, love the Indy 4 stuff more than the movie itself, and I thought the Tangled posters were exceptional. My gripe with these Muppet posters is that they have been half-heartedly done by a marketing company with little or no passion for the subject matter. If the intention is to go back to the Muppet movies of yesteryear, have Drew Struzan create one of his beloved master pieces to promote the film. I had an email from Mr Struzan with regards to my Muppet piece and you can feel his love for the Muppets come through every paragraph. He talked at length about how he sees the characters as "creatures with Skeletal structures" and draws them that way. My statement that I could produce a better movie poster for this film is not an ego-driven statement, it is simply a fact. I could bore everyone to pieces with the reasons as to why these are badly comped and ill-concieved but chances are that would ignite further criticism. Could I do better than Drew Struzan? **** no!!! He is the "movie poster guy"!!

I am passionate about the Muppets and really hope for the best with this film. I know the fans are passionate about it. I know the people involved with making it are passionate so I just wish they had someone passionate behind these images. They could be soooooo much better and should be. I promise I will keep my opinions in future to myself as I want to stand besides fellow Muppet fans and would hate to be perceived to be standing against you guys.

Apologies,
Stuart

 

[douggy]

Don'tappologise Stuart, the person who calls himself frog puppeteer was really rude in response to your comment. He says go ahead and do it then, but you don't have the photos that were taken, you weren't on set, etc etc etc. How are you supposed to better the poster with crappy jpegs from the internet.And why would you take time out to do a big movie poster now that it's been done already? to prove a point on here to some people who are too pig-stupid to understand what you're getting at? Hardly worth it.

Just been looking at your artwork and your stuff here is a billion times better than what the poster looks like, and as you say, being a big fan I'm sure you would have done it for next to nothing.

 

[beaker]

My best friend's friend does a lot of the theatrical 1 sheet posters, a number of them are Disney. He says there's no real love of "art" posters, as everything has to be that overused cold steel background or burned edged photoshop job stuff.

I don't know why the Muppet 2011 promotional stuff is so dodgy...I hope the promo stuff coming up is up to par. I mean, I thought all the Tron Legacy promo stuff was gorgeous. Same with Princess and The Frog, Up, etc.

Also I need to see that new documentary on Drew's career and work, it may be on netflix by now

 

[DH]

I agree with everyone here who says the new Muppet trailer looks wrong.

Why would the film makers, who apparently love the Muppets, promote their work in such an annoying post modern way that basically says: 'yes we know the Muppets are old hat but just give them a chance won't ya?' -- What a horrifyingly weak way to promote your own product. Have some balls won't you Disney? People love these guys. We don't need an excuse to go and see them do we?

Why is there a new human looking muppet in the mix? Why not use one of the older Muppets instead? -- I don't really know the answer to this but I suspect it's an executive decision to try and get a general audience more involved with characters they don't understand (see Rob Schneider in Judge Dread for the best example). The ratio of human's over Muppets in the trailers points in the same direction.

What Disney don't seem to realise is that the Muppets always survived on their inherent charm and good character. They had a home made quality that endeared them towards entire generations of people for three solid decades.
Those decades saw the assassination of a president, the sexual revolution, the moon landing, The vietnam war and still the muppet's stayed put, unchanged.
The Muppets don't need to be referenced in some post modern context. To advertise the new movie as some sort of throwback to the past is missing their basic appeal by a huge margin. The Muppets were never part of the system, they just butted up against it. They've always been anarchists.
It's like Disney are saying "We don't really know what this is but if we can mash in a bit of Family Guy humour I'm sure people will get it". The trailer is just a bunch of lame jokes about how the Muppets are out of touch. It looks desperate.

I'd actually like to know how many watched the trailer and

a) Had some understanding of what the movie was about?
b) Laughed.

Because I got neither.

 

[beaker]

@DH: Sadly have to agree. It's funny, I like Flight of the Conchords but Im not sure cinematography wise Bobbins was the best choice. And that that sacarine sappy vibe Segal and Adams bring, especially Segal. It's only because of him this whole enterprise exists...but goodness, what world does he inhibit? The Muppet Movie and Muppets Take Manhattan existed in the real world, hence why I took issue with MFS. This film doesn't seem grounded in reality at all. "Anytown USA"? Fantasy romance cgi sequences? The beat, pacing and pop is all off with the trailer as well...some of it works, and is what fans will go gaga over, and rightfully so.

Again the fact we're even getting a new film with such fanfare, prestige and a zillion rebuild Muppets is insane...but I can't be the only longtime fan getting a really worrisome vibe as of late from this whole endeavor. Again, waiting for that rumored new trailer to surface to be able to make a more sound judgement.

I love Segal's enthusiasm, but I'm not sure he and Bobbins really "get it". Why couldn't they have gotten Stoller to direct, or heck play a wild card and get Spike Jonze?

 

[DH]

Well, after Wild Things I wouldn't want Jones anywhere near puppets. I usually love Jonz work but that was way up it's self.

I'm perfectly happy to watch the new movie to judge, I just don't like the way this is being sold at the moment. As you said, lets wait for the new trailer. Maybe I'll be able to tell who's voice is who's in that one?

 

[Reevz1977]

OK...I've just done a ROUGH treatment on the sort of retouching needed on this poster. I really don't have the time to go to town, but this is to show what a little more care could have resulted in...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23001839@N02/5987169219/in/photostream

Thoughts?

 

[a_Mickey_Muppet]

plus i THINK WE ALL need a re-cap and read this, please... http://www.muppetcentral.com/forum/threads/i-wont-be-posting-anymore.30026/

 

[Frogpuppeteer]

I did see it and its fantastic! even for a rough edit if it, i feel thats how the fathead wall stickers should look as well as the standee, you really gave Kermit that alive look, id kill( poke harshly) to have that as a standee in my room

this parts unrealted...sorta... but i do understand what people say about kermit as a poser and he is never done right but it makes me wonder if maybe its because of the whole hand is is head in puppet form