MuppetVision 3D Issues

[mf1972]

i personally lost it watching the swedish chef & beaker singing karaoke on that show. hysterical.

 

[GhostHost1000]

That was also why I loved the show on ABC as well. It needed some work (they started to figure it out) but I thought it was much more in line with an adult oriented Muppets. But sadly Disney = kiddie everything so of course people whined about it. They're stuck in limbo, basically. Old fans want them mature. New fans want them singing about the yellow brick road. We need to find a common middle ground. Because neither "side" will ever be happy, lol.

I don't see why they can't have both. Muppet Babies cartoons for the kids... Real Muppets for the adults

 

[George]

The last Muppet TV show may have been longer running if they had just copied the format of the old Muppet show. Variety show is the niche that America's Got Talent partially fills, but there is still more room in that crack. At least they didn't have the Muppets update a house and sell it or surprise some family. It seems like that niche is overflowing.

 

[wdwdude1]

I had so much trouble viewing the screen earlier this week, much blurrier than usual. During the show I kept thinking that perhaps I needed to update my eye prescription.

 

[GhostHost1000]

The last Muppet TV show may have been longer running if they had just copied the format of the old Muppet show. Variety show is the niche that America's Got Talent partially fills, but there is still more room in that crack. At least they didn't have the Muppets update a house a house and sell it or surprise some family. It seems like that niche is overflowing.

I agree I kinda wish they had kept the old format.. even had special guests as well at times perform or just join the cast for the show would have been fun

sketch comedy - like SNL but... better

 

[Kman101]

I don't see why they can't have both. Muppet Babies cartoons for the kids... Real Muppets for the adults

I agree. I mean, I grew up watching reruns of The Muppet Show AND Muppet Babies (not sure if reruns or new but I was young).

The new Muppet Babies seems to be doing quite well (EDIT: I don't know if "quite well" is accurate). There's an audience for the Muppets. That was true for the premiere of the canceled ABC show too.

 

[erasure fan1]

I would hate to see a "remake" of MP using current film techniques, language, and pop culture icons (e.g. a cellphone). Just make a new movie if you want that stuff.

This might sound strange, but this is something that has bugged me with modern muppets. Part of the charm was the imperfections. The new muppets are way to clean and bright. Also I don't need special effects to make a muppet fly across the screen. Just take the puppet and throw it across the set like when they get tossed off the bus in muppet caper. Thats funny. For me, it's those type of little things that I think disconnect me from the old to the new. There is a charm to them that Disney hasn't gotten yet.

 

[jimbaker84]

Philharmagic's 3D is in much worse shape, the entire film just looks blurry. I don't know if it's an issue with the glasses or projector maintenance but it needs to be adressed.

I haven't been since August 2017 and had the same issue back then. It could well be an issue with the glasses as i noticed that the lenses on most seemed to be bent out of shape. Absolutely love Philharmagic but it could do with an update to include one or two new characters and resolve the current lacklustre 3D effects.

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

Bad show going on at MuppetVision.

Show effect problems include no Bean Bunny AA appearance, bubbles or water drops.

Anyone else witnessing ongoing issues?

Was there a couple of weeks ago: No bean bunny and Sweetums didn't come out to look for the non-existent Bean. At the end when Sweetums comes out to throw water on the Penguins the CM almost fell because they ran out late and they stumbled. Not good.

 

[muddyrivers]

At least they didn't have the Muppets update a house and sell it or surprise some family. It seems like that niche is overflowing.

Well....

 

[Paper straw fan]

Like the Carousel of Progress is an ode to Walt Disney and should be minimally monkeyed around with, so is MuppetVision to Jim Henson.

I see no reason for a complete redo.

OK, and see I don't disagree with you, BUT...

Couldn't they re-shoot the puppetry in current tech 3D, and just keep the voice work, or if they did want to add some new parts they could splice in some of Henson's voice work from old recordings? (so not a complete redo, but a robust makeover?)

While I'm not holding my breath, it would be nice considering all the effort going into the Toy Story and SW areas to keep the Muppet area nice and current...Or by next year it can be the area you go to relax and catch your breath after being elbow to elbow with people in those parts of the park

 

[Gabe1]

Bad show going on at MuppetVision.

Show effect problems include no Bean Bunny AA appearance, bubbles or water drops.

Anyone else witnessing ongoing issues?

Bean and Bubbles working tonight.

 

[TP2000]

These shows just aren’t impressive anymore with little reason to reride. They all need a complete overhaul. Does Disneyland even have any 3D shows left? Muppets has been gone, bug is going and whatever they had next to space mountain has been gone. Time for something new, yesterday.

Kind of, Disneyland only has one 3D theater left, and its the old MuppetVision that closed years ago and is now a rotating preview theater that does 3D previews of the latest movies, with water/wind/projection effects in the theater.

Disneyland's It's Tough To Be A Bug closed six months ago and is under construction for Marvel Land expansion, and Tomorrowland's Magic Eye Theater is being used for a Pixar Shorts Film Festival this summer.

I visited Philharmagic in Tokyo Disneyland twice in the last year, and I can confirm that on both visits the film and all effects were pristine and in perfect working order. But they still maintain things religiously in Tokyo, so you can't expect American parks to live up to that standard.

 

[Br’er Rabbit]

Kind of, Disneyland only has one 3D theater left, and its the old MuppetVision that closed years ago and is now a rotating preview theater that does 3D previews of the latest movies, with water/wind/projection effects in the theater.

Disneyland's It's Tough To Be A Bug closed six months ago and is under construction for Marvel Land expansion, and Tomorrowland's Magic Eye Theater is being used for a Pixar Shorts Film Festival this summer.

I visited Philharmagic in Tokyo Disneyland twice in the last year, and I can confirm that on both visits the film and all effects were pristine and in perfect working order. But they still maintain things religiously in Tokyo, so you can't expect American parks to live up to that standard.

Does Philarmagic in Tokyo run at the same resolution as the MK version? MK desperately needs a 4K upgrade. It’s like having a contact prescription that’s 10 years out of date.

 

[erasure fan1]

But they still maintain things religiously in Tokyo, so you can't expect American parks to live up to that standard

I would ask, why not? Disney in America, was built on that standard, that they created. The only reason my expectations at Disney are so high, is because they set them. Can they make sure everything in a place as busy as wdw can be perfect? No. But it's very common to see things left off or malfunctioning for years at a time. I don't blame Disney for something like the bad design for the yeti. What I blame them for is not re-imagining it to something that is still cool and creative. Not put a strobe on it and call it good enough. So I think it's fair to expect a higher standard from them.

 

[geekza]

Does Philarmagic in Tokyo run at the same resolution as the MK version? MK desperately needs a 4K upgrade. It’s like having a contact prescription that’s 10 years out of date.

Philharmagic was shot on 70mm film and used four 70mm projectors originally. 4K digital projection is sort of kind of equivalent to the resolution of 70mm film. Theoretically, all they would need to do is make a new 4K scan of the negative and install 4K projectors. I wonder if, when they went digital in the MK, they installed 2K projectors. I'm not sure of the timeline, but if they went digital several years ago, 4K projectors were still very expensive. They still are, though not as much as they once were.

 

[Kman101]

This might sound strange, but this is something that has bugged me with modern muppets. Part of the charm was the imperfections. The new muppets are way to clean and bright. Also I don't need special effects to make a muppet fly across the screen. Just take the puppet and throw it across the set like when they get tossed off the bus in muppet caper. Thats funny. For me, it's those type of little things that I think disconnect me from the old to the new. There is a charm to them that Disney hasn't gotten yet.

Well said. "A charm to them that Disney hasn't gotten yet". Nailed it. But they've done better with theme park stuff than movies, overall. I think the Muppet Lab is charming. Same for the Great Moments in History. But I do agree, overall, they haven't captured the same charm. They need someone like Marvel has, like Pixar has, guiding forces who know what works.

 

[Jones14]

FOP

I would argue that FoP fits this requirement. The motion base, lighting, and sensory effects play a big part in the totality of the experience. You could play the film in 2D and not lose all that much.

With that said, Bugs Life and Muppets do a good job of making the 3D a part of, rather than the main component of, their shows, Bugs moreso than the others.

 

[Kram Sacul]

Philharmagic was shot on 70mm film and used four 70mm projectors originally. 4K digital projection is sort of kind of equivalent to the resolution of 70mm film. Theoretically, all they would need to do is make a new 4K scan of the negative and install 4K projectors. I wonder if, when they went digital in the MK, they installed 2K projectors. I'm not sure of the timeline, but if they went digital several years ago, 4K projectors were still very expensive. They still are, though not as much as they once were.

I think you mean it uses 70mm for projection. It was rendered in a computer obviously. There's no film negative to scan. They just have to re-render the original movie in 4k resolution. I think it's more likely we'll see an updated film with new sequences (Tangled, Frozen, Moana).

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

I believe marni1971 stated the other day he believed that Philharmagic had gone digital a few years ago.

Wait, it went digital? It seemed VERY film based to me last saturday. It just looked like film to me, bad digitization maybe?