Why do the "New" Muppets look so off?

[Sgt Floyd]

I honestly don't seem much of a difference in Gonzo. Fozzie...eh.

I can see why people don't like the design. His head does look a bit squished, but to me, it seems like they are trying to make him cuter. Like...more teddy bear like. *shrugs*

 

[Reevz1977]

If I close my eyes, I can't really see any differences!!

Joking aside (and its been heavily documented!!), I HATE the new Fozzie...with a passion. He has has some of the biggest inconsistencies in looks over the years out of any of the characters (with the exception of perhaps Piggy), but his current look, to me at least, just isn't Fozzie - its awful!! I suspect it's a Disney decision, based solely down to the BS about the fur and that The Moopet Fozzie looks way more like...well Fozzie. It must be an intentional design thing and I think its probably about making him look more like a stuffed bear and selling merchandise. I am a real Fozzie nut- I absolutely adore the character but unfortunately that can only be applied to "old school Fozzie" both in looks and performance (even MTS and MTI left me cold on him). Don't get me wrong, I love Eric Jacobson and thank him for keeping characters alive and doing a bang-up job on the pig, but there's something waaaaay off with everyone's favourite furry funny man. It could be the writing, it could be the ad-libbing in live appearances, but something really doesn't gel for me as a whole and at times makes me cringe.

That said, and to try and stick with my "try and be more positive" New Years resolution*, for every criticism I have of Disney/Puppet Heap, I can count 10 plus points. Scooter has rarely looked better. They are bringing back to life characters I never thought I'd see again. On occasion (dependant on the Puppet) Miss Piggy looks great. So all in all, I'm trying to take the rough with the smooth. I was never going to happy with everything that happened with the Muppets after Jim's passing and Frank leaving them in the past. I don't like the cleaning up of the Muppets both in appearance and humour, but there's people out there passionate enough to try and keep them relevant and in the public eye and in this CGI saturated world, I cannot thank those people enough!! The last movie was great, MMW looks even better so I feel the future is bright...I just wish they would stop and think before some of the embarrassing appearances on chat shows (though the Jimmy Fallon last show one ROCKED!!!!) and horrendous specials. YAY MUPPETS!!!!!

*It's occasionally working out

 

[D'Snowth]

Keep in mind too, puppet building doesn't involve surgical precision. No two builds of the same puppet are going to look 100% alike.

 

[Reevz1977]

Ugh, I'm getting sick of reading the same tired complaints about the new Fozzie and Gonzo puppets. Yes, Gonzo looks too clunky... but really, this has been coming up almost every other day now.

You really should read thread titles, it would save you some heartache Just kidding!!

 

[Drtooth]

But yes, I agree with the move beyond design perfection in the '80s to overperfection. It could be due to different building techniques, different companies building them, or just overall preference of the builders.

That's something that the Sesame Street puppets also suffer from. Ernie looks too good. Like completely too good that it's artificial. And then there's the Grover Puppet they used a while back where they tried to make him look like he did in the 70's, with much shaggier fur and it just didn't look right. And there are occasions where Cookie Monster looks a little off as well based on certain puppets they use for specific reasons.

And that ugly Zoe that I'm so glad they stopped using. She was only reused to save money. Any comment they made that the children liked it more is bull.

I do however like the current Oscar, even though I prefer the 80's puppet.

 

[mr3urious]

That's something that the Sesame Street puppets also suffer from. Ernie looks too good. Like completely too good that it's artificial. And then there's the Grover Puppet they used a while back where they tried to make him look like he did in the 70's, with much shaggier fur and it just didn't look right. And there are occasions where Cookie Monster looks a little off as well based on certain puppets they use for specific reasons.

Same goes for Hoots. His older look was more like that of an owl with the eyes and messy feathers.

I don't mind Bert looking this perfect, however. He is supposed to be a neat freak, after all.

 

[Drtooth]

Bert doesn't look as flawlessly overperfect as Ernie. There's still a lot more personality in his design.

 

[JonnyBMuppetMan]

You really should read thread titles, it would save you some heartache Just kidding!!

Thanks for the tip, though it's really more headache than heartache for me.

 

[wembleyfraggle]

I HATE the new Fozzie...with a passion. BS about the fur and that The Moopet Fozzie looks way more like...well Fozzie

I am so glad you said that! I noticed it too! The Muppets Fozzie was the ugly stuffed animal version and the Moopet Fozzie looked more like old Fozzie.

 

[D'Snowth]

Foozie could have very well been an old Fozzie puppet recycled. They do that sometimes, whenever they retire an older puppet, they'll recycle it for something that doesn't require a lot of significant/important use, since they're not really in any condition to be used regularly anyway.

CINDERELMO did something similar, the older Elmo puppet from the 90s (with the bigger eyes, smaller head, and smooth, shorter fur) was used for CinderElmo covered in soot and dirt while working for the Evil Stepmother.