The Status of Muppet*Vision 3D

Magenta Panther

Well-Known Member
I will pit my knowledge of and interest in American history against yours anytime, anyplace. But my interest in that history doesn’t blind me to the fact that Presidents isn’t a great show (unlike American Adventure) and isn’t a particularly key part of Disney history (unlike DLs Great Moments). What’s more, Presidents is going to get more and more contentious in the coming years. Frankly, Disney could do a much, MUCH better show centered on US history.

And you really might want to reexamine your feelings about the Muppets. I have really strong opinions on a LOT of pop culture, and I can’t think of anything I hate with the intensity you direct at Muppets.

How much merch do you wager TRON and Dinosaur sell?

The Hall of Presidents is an original Disney creation, and it's outstanding. Pity you're unable to appreciate it. And even more pitiful that you need hand puppets to instruct you on Presidential history. Tsk.

And maybe YOU ought to examine your feelings about why you're so attached to hoary old hand puppets. Muppet cultists are damn weird. Say a word against their puppet gods and you're a soulless infidel. And the thing is, the puppets have made like 8 movies or something, each one a lesser effort, but that's just not enough for you. You gotta have more! I feel sorry for you dudes. And frankly a bit sorry for the objects of your obsession. Jim Henson is dead. Frank Oz is retired. The Muppet fad is long over. And yet you pester Disney to keep trying to resurrect those old corpses. Today's kids don't care about them. Maybe it's time you kinda, you know, let it go?

As for TRON and Dinosaur (and I can't believe I keep having to point this out) they are original Disney creations and by that pedigree alone they belong in the parks, merch sales or no merch sales. Get it now?
 

MiddKid

Well-Known Member
The Muppets popularity extends WAY beyond Disney fans. I have friends who are heavy metal rockers who love them so much they actually did a cover of Can You Picture That on one of their albums. Muppets quotes have always been popular between my husband and his friends. If Disney made muppets merch and marketed it towards those of us who grew up with the original Muppet Show and included Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, it would sell.

Interesting examples that are all adults. I'm a Muppet fan...grew up with them...I'd hang with your husband and his friends. But the problem lies with the kids...where the REAL merchandise sales are. I've tried numerous times over the last ten years to get my three Disney-crazy daughters into the Muppets and they simply won't bite. Using our house as a test case, I agree with @Magenta Panther that I can't fault Disney for trying to continually push this only for it to fall on deaf ears. I'm not applying our experience to everyone, just saying it's an example that supports the theory.

I have a whole set of Muppet stuffed animals (including Bean Bunny!) that I bought at MuppetVision back in the late 90s. I put them in my daughters' rooms at various points over their childhoods but guess where they are now? In my home theater. Their rooms are filled with stuffed animals, Funko Pops, and my oldest daughter even has a 22-year-old Test Track Goofy that was purchased from the merch cart the year before TT actually opened. No one wanted the Muppets. :(
 

ImperfectPixie

Well-Known Member
Interesting examples that are all adults. I'm a Muppet fan...grew up with them...I'd hang with your husband and his friends. But the problem lies with the kids...where the REAL merchandise sales are. I've tried numerous times over the last ten years to get my three Disney-crazy daughters into the Muppets and they simply won't bite. Using our house as a test case, I agree with @Magenta Panther that I can't fault Disney for trying to continually push this only for it to fall on deaf ears. I'm not applying our experience to everyone, just saying it's an example that supports the theory.

I have a whole set of Muppet stuffed animals (including Bean Bunny!) that I bought at MuppetVision back in the late 90s. I put them in my daughters' rooms at various points over their childhoods but guess where they are now? In my home theater. Their rooms are filled with stuffed animals, Funko Pops, and my oldest daughter even has a 22-year-old Test Track Goofy that was purchased from the merch cart the year before TT actually opened. No one wanted the Muppets. :(
Yeah, it's a shame so many kiddos missed out on the original Muppet Show. Our youngest loves Animal, but I suspect that has more to do with his speech delay and the way Animal talks than anything.
 

The Grand Inquisitor

Well-Known Member
Wow I'm shocked with a lot of this Muppet hate on this forum. The Muppets are timeless and they bring a lot of joy to people including myself. As someone who dealt with depression for a long time two things helped me lifting weights and watching the muppets and Disney movies and tv shows. Plus the theme parks and my girlfriend, friends, and family helped me through it as well. Whats the harm of people liking the muppets?
 

Hawg G

Well-Known Member
My daughter loves the new Muppet babies cartoon, and was unhappy they closed the attraction 2 hours before close last week. Since when does Disney do that crap?
 

Donaldfan1934

Well-Known Member
Wow I'm shocked with a lot of this Muppet hate on this forum. The Muppets are timeless and they bring a lot of joy to people including myself. As someone who dealt with depression for a long time two things helped me lifting weights and watching the muppets and Disney movies and tv shows. Plus the theme parks and my girlfriend, friends, and family helped me through it as well. Whats the harm of people liking the muppets?
If you’re surprised by what @Magenta Panther has to say about the Muppets, you haven’t been paying much attention on these forums.
 

The Grand Inquisitor

Well-Known Member
Good for you for staying positive. Just keep in mind that @Magenta Panther’s anti-Muppet bias is strong, so whatever he has to say about them isn’t worth putting much weight on.
Thanks! I mostly try to stay positive in my daily life( it can be hard with how negative the world is now). I feel sad Magenta has a lot of hate and negativity in their heart, I hope they become more positive. I bet they would feel a lot more happy if they were a little bit more positive. :)
 

Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
The Hall of Presidents is an original Disney creation, and it's outstanding. Pity you're unable to appreciate it. And even more pitiful that you need hand puppets to instruct you on Presidential history. Tsk.

And maybe YOU ought to examine your feelings about why you're so attached to hoary old hand puppets. Muppet cultists are damn weird. Say a word against their puppet gods and you're a soulless infidel. And the thing is, the puppets have made like 8 movies or something, each one a lesser effort, but that's just not enough for you. You gotta have more! I feel sorry for you dudes. And frankly a bit sorry for the objects of your obsession. Jim Henson is dead. Frank Oz is retired. The Muppet fad is long over. And yet you pester Disney to keep trying to resurrect those old corpses. Today's kids don't care about them. Maybe it's time you kinda, you know, let it go?

As for TRON and Dinosaur (and I can't believe I keep having to point this out) they are original Disney creations and by that pedigree alone they belong in the parks, merch sales or no merch sales. Get it now?
A great number of people have contributed to my knowledge of presidential history, and hand puppets were never involved. You continue to bark up the wrong tree there.

But let’s talk about your very odd dedication to “original Disney creations.” What sense can we extract from your use of that statement? Well, first, you seem to use Disney to refer to the corporation, not the man, since ol’ Walt had no hand in TRON or Dinosaur. Now, on its face that’s odd - lots of folks have “brand loyalty” to Disney products, but they usually don’t insist on some kind of purist pedigree that dismisses corporate acquisitions.

Now, more then most corporations, Disney’s brand is generally thought to denote certain traits - a family friendliness. So do you consider the stripper-centered film Blaze Disney and thus more fitting for a Disney park then the Muppets? How about Pretty Woman, Cabin Boy, and Con Air? Those are all Touchstone, which Disney created, not acquired. And if those are out, so is Roger Rabbit.

Actually, does only the production company matter? Because as I’m sure you know, the early Disney classics were released through UA and RKO. Does that render them less pure then later films that were both produced and released by Disney? Is Altman’s Popeye, a co-production, “Disney” according to your guidelines?

And wait - as you say, Disney has produced several Muppet films - aren’t those Disney, even if the earlier ones aren’t? And if your rule is that something isn’t “Disney” if it was a preexisting property that Disney adapted, I have real bad news about Snow White, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Pooh, and a whole lot of other characters.

I mean, we need to establish some ground rules to be sure we know what is and isn’t original Disney content. Otherwise it might look like the concept is hopelessly arbitrary and meaningless.

P.S. You must really hate the Tower of Terror.
 
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