Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney. Recently, it has been announced that the Muppets will be returning to TV, albeit in a much younger format. Yes, Muppet Babies will be returning to TV as a program on Disney Channel's Disney Junior block.
Now, I recall when this was announced last month, that a lot of people that grew up with the original show were excited about this coming back and understandably as they grew up with and for a lot of people of my age or older, Muppet Babies was our introduction to the world of Jim Henson's wonderful creations. However, there are two things that must be addressed about the reboot. First, is that it's a Disney Junior program.
You can already figure that this show will be geared more towards a preschool crowd than the original. Now yes, the primary audience for the original was in that same age but it could still be enjoyed by people of all ages. I do fear that with this being a Disney Junior program, that it may focus so much on the preschool crowd, that it may alienate the people that grew up with The Muppets and the original cartoon in the first place.
Then again, I felt that The Muppets TV series that aired on ABC went too far in the other direction and focused too much on adult humor. Yes I know, The Muppets were originally meant for adults but over time, they've become family entertainment. So just as the sitcom went too far to one extreme and was the lesser for it, I do not want this new Muppet Babies to stigmatized by going in the other kiddy direction.
However, I do have faith in this program as some of the newer Disney Junior programs such as Elena of Avalor understands how to be a show to appeal to a family audience and not alienating the parents that could be watching with their kids and if Muppet Babies can do that, it'll be fine.
So, I do have a bit of faith in the show knowing Disney Junior's track record so far. Now, the other big thing that needs to be addressed is that unlike the original, which was hand drawn (By Marvel Studios no less), this new reboot will be CGI
I am not against computer animation but I'm getting flashbacks to the first time, we saw Mickey Mouse in CGI from Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas and it was rather uncanny.
When I saw the first image released of the reboot Muppet Babies, I honestly thought, I was looking at baby puppets of the classic Muppet characters. In a way, it makes sense that I would think that as Muppet Babies came from a dream sequence in my favorite Muppet movie, Muppets Take Manhattan. (one of the few Muppet movies that Disney doesn't own the rights too, oddly enough).
I just feel that it'll take some time to adjust these characters in this new medium. I feel that once I see these characters in motion, the animation won't bug me so much.
The last thing that I want to bring up is my admiration for Disney not giving up on The Muppets. We had the 2011 movie, which was great but then Most Wanted was a pretty big flop and I know Muppets fans are mixed on it but I don't think that it was all that great and then there was the sitcom last year that as I mentioned prior seemed to alienate a certain audience. But even with those stumbles, Disney continues to try and find new ways to keep The Muppets relevant as beyond this, there as earlier this year at Magic Kingdom, a new show The Muppets Present... Great Moments in American History debuted and coming this month, at Hollywood Studios is PizeRizzo, a new Pizzeria themed to everyone's favorite Rodent and pal of Gonzo.
So, I applaud Disney for trying to find new way to keep The Muppets in the spotlight. Everything they do with these characters may not work but they won't stop trying and that is great because the newer generation deserves to know these great characters. I have nothing left to add and this feels like the right way to end this....
Peace!
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