SIZE=1](*being slightly sarcastic and NOT endorsing pot or coccaine--that stuff lead to the death of John Belushi, and can kill you, too[/SIZE]
actually it was more booze and cocaine, please, let's leave marijuana out of this
Back to the subject at hand. I don't know what to think folks. On the one hand I have a company I loathe, who makes millions of dollars off of making crap, simply because they know the public has been conditioned to think that they are still at the top of the animation game, unaware that they simply own characters that others create and write. They also take brilliant classics and use them to pump out ill concieved work which is finally taking a toll on their name and is slowly chipping away at their credibility and stock.
Now that company wants to buy a company that I love, who continues to struggle to get their lost creator's creations out of kiddie fare limbo, in a world where the same public has been conditioned to see them as juvenile because of unwise choices in spinoffs and because of beliefs regarding the loathesome companys production and direction which it forced said smaller company to make it's movies. The small company has also been plagued with mismanagement and is trapped in a continual limbo due to the Hussien like innability to follow deadline of an even more loathable German company who has further hurt the company because they are trying to make up for poor choices that they made with their own finances.
Yet at the same time the smaller company has made dilligent and enormous strides in getting it's product more exposure than it has seen in a very long time due to finally making wise decisions in marketing and merchandising, choosing to go with more classy and popular styles of products and aiming the campaigne where it should have been aimed since it's creators death, at adults and long time fans. We were shown what they can do with modern pop references and some smarter writing leaving fluff and childrens jokes to a minimum. We've been given busts, action figures, panties, lamps, not kiddie fare. They are appearing in hot topic and spencer gifts and possibly to be seen in comics. The targets are fan boys and subculture, the very people who helped boost them to prominence in the first place. People who loved their creator for his individuality and his steadfast manner in which he refused to give in to the life of the big business, choosing instead the handshake, and the honest buck instead of gobbling up his foes with lawyers.
It makes me wish the creator would have succeeded in the early eighties when the tables were turned and it was he and the small company who wanted to purchase the big fish. Imagine the world of imagination then. Maybe the small companies inner american management isn't as bad as we think. Sometimes the best work comes last minute and in a time of crisis. They are finally wising up and listening to thier fans and trying to push the characters into the mainstream. It makes me wonder what they could accomplish with more money and little interference.
If the characters do get swallowed now, it will be because of slow process due to their current owner, for it's greed and not selling them while they are gaining momentum. Their current owner for denying them success because of it's own failures and it's unwillingness to let go of it's mistakes. Whatever happens next lets hope it happens soon, before it's too late, and let's also hope that all the parties looking to buy them, use them shortly their after to keep the momentum going.
Do I want Disney? No I do not. Not because their evil or because of what they produce, though yes it's a small part, but because at the present time all I see them doing is buying another company that gives them competion. So that that companies funds becomes their companies funds. In a time when Disney is starting to slump financially and see a drop in the success of their family line of animation, and their own products, what makes you think that they will throw so much money at making the muppets work again? I certainly don't see why that would happen. A company with so many properties to take care of that they only concentrate on a few at a time, because they really don't have the money to fund new ground, only buy the rights and syndicate what's already there.
Yet we curse Valentine efforts for wanting an entertainment empire of his own. Who cares if he makes direct to video releases. It's the content of those videos that matters and if it's geared to the right place so be it. He has a clear plan and a belief that he is trying to buy a good product, more importantly a product that he feels the public wants to see.
He himself said
"We are committed to continuing the legacy of creativity, humor and humanity that marked everything Jim Henson touched," Valentine said in a statement. "At the same time we feel there is enormous potential for growth, not merely from Kermit and the Muppets, but from the expansion of the Henson brand into all areas of family entertainment."
and
"The characters have really been, at worst, dormant," Mr. Valentine said. If they can once again be aggressively put in front of the TV audience with well- written material, he added, "I really do believe they are on the verge of a significant renaissance."
It makes me wonder what the modified terms were that EM.TV placed on the deal to make it sour. It's sad really, we had the chance to see the company in the hands of someone who would put the company ahead of any other characters, since their are none. Someone who has already done so for the big fish we've been arguing about, and knows how to do it well. It's a shame really.
Again, lets just hope for something to actually happen one of these days, and then let's hope the next crew doesn't screw it up like the current owner.
Sorry so long winded. I'm tired and lost all of my ability to tell when to quit.
later guys. take care.
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