What I think happened...

[Drtooth]

..concerning Disney's lack of Muppet attention lately.

I feel that the only reason Disney bought the Muppets was after negotiations with Pixar broke down, and they were purchased on the rebound as a way to glom onto something with some quality to it. You see, Disney's last few animated films weren't a draw (at least the ones after Lilo and Stitch), so Disney either needed to get back with Pixar or get someone else to help them out.

CHicken Little did pretty well, but The Wild was a flop. And I don't care who came up with the idea first, but Madagascar was the superior one. I mean the Wild had Jim Belushi... who were they kidding?

Anyway, when Disney decided to buy Pixar, they felt they could exploit their stuff some more, and they felt they didn't need the Muppets.... which is why all the products seemed to mysteriously vanish after the buy out.

 

[travellingpat]

Hmmm good point

 

[DeadZone]

So I guess the reasoning for getting the Muppets differs from what the deal was to be in 1990 or so?

 

[OverUnderAround]

I do think that the days of computer animated movies being a financial blockbuster is pretty much over since they are becoming a pretty common site in films and TV. (With the exception of some gems like Dreamwork’s continuing series of 'Shrek' films.)

Pixar will always produce quality work, but the financial success Disney hopes will eventually fade, as people get tired of CGI cartoons over the coming years.

...And perhaps then, Disney will finally see the light and develop the Muppets into a financial blockbuster.

 

[Vic Romano]

Interesting theory, but why just ignore the Muppets after they got PIXAR back without even trying to make 'em work? I'd really like to hear Karen Prell's take on all this because she has the ability to see both sides of the coin. Of course a candid conversation may be out of the question.

 

[KermieBaby47]

I do think that the days of computer animated movies being a financial blockbuster is pretty much...as people get tired of CGI cartoons over the coming years.

...And perhaps then, Disney will finally see the light and develop the Muppets into a financial blockbuster.

Let's hope so!! I've had a "wait and see" attitude about the whole thing for a while now. I've been waiting, and I still don't see anything spectacular. Hoping that they're just taking their time to release quality stuff.

As for CGI, I was tired of it almost from the beginning. Not Pixar or Shrek and good stuff like that, but the overkill is KILLING ME!! Especially when Disney got the bright idea to shutdown traditional animation. What a bunch of narrow-minded something-or-others.

 

[MuppetMarc]

Sounds logical.

I PREFER PUPPETS OVER COMPUTER ANIMATION ANY DAY!!!!!!
(not to say I don't like cg, but puppets rock my socks off! )

 

[MWoO]

Makes sense, plus Isner was apprently the guy who wanted the muppets. The new guy hasn't shown much interest at all from the lack of productions.

As for 3d animated movies, there are WAY too many. There use to be like 1 or 2 a year, now there are like 15! It's just crazy. No one else is doing puppets in the movie theaters. Disney should use what it's got and put out a quality muppet movie. One that is not a story remake. One that uses GOOD human actors.

 

[Marky]

Let's hope so!! I've had a "wait and see" attitude about the whole thing for a while now. I've been waiting, and I still don't see anything spectacular. Hoping that they're just taking their time to release quality stuff.

As for CGI, I was tired of it almost from the beginning. Not Pixar or Shrek and good stuff like that, but the overkill is KILLING ME!! Especially when Disney got the bright idea to shutdown traditional animation. What a bunch of narrow-minded something-or-others.

CGI has its place. George Lucas (Lucasfilm pioneered Pixar for those who don't know) saw to that. Movies like Toy Story were quite something at the time. Now they're cranking them out a little too frequently. The last great one was Finding Nemo. It had heart and humor with wide appeal, not unlike the Muppets.

But now Sony's in on it, and Dreamworks has been sub-par for a while. Once I heard they were doing 'Cars' I thought 'who cares'? It's all formula now. And now there's a third ant-based one by as many companies??? Yeesh.

I do praise the level of realism CG effect have taken, even from four years ago. And no one does that better than Lucas!

As for CGI Muppets... er...
Don't give 'em ideas! They'd probably try something that tacky and contradictory. If you're going to rip out the whole art and skill of puppetry out of it, why not do something cheaper, like standard animation? (Right... they did that in the 80's with Muppet Babies. At least that was cute a the time).

 

[KermieBaby47]

I do praise the level of realism CG effect have taken, even from four years ago. And no one does that better than Lucas!

LOL, you're kidding right?

Don'ta getta me wrongo, I LOVE Star Wars. But the CGI in the prequels man, I've seen Saturday Morning "cartoons" with better effects. If they could just perfect the shadows on CGI beings, creatures, and objects, then it'd be, well, perfect.

King Kong is the best I've seen, I think. Pretty tired right now. Oh yeah, War of the Worlds looked 100% real too.

But then again, those were all by ILM right? Maybe not. Like I said, tired.

*Case In Point* Episode III, you can always tell when it's real R2 and CG R2 y'know? A lot of the sets too, and Clones.

P.S. I thought Cars had loads of heart. Very predictable, but still, hearty.