Muppet Fandom by Nicholas Napoli

It is so wonderful having Nicholas back writing for MuppetsHenson again. He is an amazing writer and his articles were a real favourite of yours.  

Here is his view on Muppet Fandom.


Muppet Fandom 
by Nicholas Napoli 

The other day my friend and I were having a discussion, who has a bigger fanbase The Muppets or Marvel? I knew this was going to be a hard debate to win and unfortunately as much as I tried I lost, I lost badly and I was surprised how easy it was for him to win. My friend made lots of valuable arguments for his side but his dumbest argument was that Superheroes were cooler than Puppets which I find completely ridiculous but to each their own. I might be biased that is why I am unsure but he was certain that this was a fact. 

This got me thinking about Muppet Fans are we not large enough in numbers or are we just not loud enough about our passion? In my opinion The Muppets have a huge fanbase just not passionate enough to buy the toys, the hard to come across figures (depending what part of the world you’re in) or the multiple re-releases of the same movies but the fans they are there. I have this opinion and I don’t know if it’s valid or not but the amount of people (of all ages) that I see wearing Muppet/Sesame Street T-shirts is incredible. This of course was not an argument I used during our discussion but it is very safe to say that the amount of people who are aware of Marvel are also aware of The Muppets (am I pushing it if I say even more people are aware of The Muppets?). These quiet fans do exist but unlike us they won’t be reading this, they’ll get excited for the next movie and a year or two later for the next production but for these fans to become fans like us they need constant Muppet entertainment, they won’t wait around like we have, they’ll move on. 

To be a true Muppet Fan you have to have patience that is why Muppets still have die-hard fans, the patient ones. I hope the last two movies didn’t just create a new younger generation of Muppet fans but I hope most of them are patient because that’s the only way they will truly appreciate The Muppets. I remember how boring it was when it came to my Muppet fandom when this new millennium began, for around ten years coming across new Muppet material was a rare occurrence. Muppet Fans were privileged to It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002), Muppets Wizard of Oz (2005) and Muppets Letters To Santa (2008). One could argue that this was plenty but after being treated to various movies and to a point TV Shows every other ten years before this really made those ten years seem very dull. I think that’s when the Muppet Fandom slowed down, people got bored of waiting, luckily most of those people came back along with a newer generation of fans at the start of the next ten years thanks to The Muppets (2011). If only those Muppet Fans who purchased the Palisade Action Figures attended the screenings there was no way The Muppets (2011) would have been the success that it was. They might not have purchased the figures but lots and lots of Muppet fans made it to the movies for their big return. Three years later most of those fans came back for Muppets Most Wanted and now I hope they join us patiently waiting for the next production. Muppet Fans have had to be less patient during this new ten year stage, we’re already half way and we’ve already had two movies! The Muppets have a large fanbase but to become a diehard fan you have to be patient and in this day and age with so many different brands if you want a big fan base you have to constantly keep them excited about something. At this point us Muppet fans aren’t really excited for anything in particular, we’re just waiting, jealous at those eagerly awaiting The Avengers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 etc… 

Everywhere I look online, on TV or even in real life I have Marvel being thrown in my face, to the point where two weeks ago I watched The Avengers for the first time and now I am officially hooked on this crazy superhero fad along with most of the world. Recently The Muppets appeared in a short series titled Disney’s Drive On With The Muppets and me being the fan that I am waited patiently for their arrival on YouTube seeing as I could not join the official website they were airing on due to my location. Sadly the last two episodes never went up on YouTube so I have yet not seen them and I am the kind of Muppet fan who searches for these kind of things so those who don’t search will surely not see them, if you want new Muppet fans you have to make it easy for them to find Muppets. The Muppets will soon be airing short clips on Disney Junior, finally kids will have Muppets in their living rooms. They don’t have to ask their parents to take them to the movies, buy them the DVD or even download the movie they just get to watch Muppets as they eat their cereal without having to ask anyone for help in viewing Muppets… this makes me very happy. 

Muppets Fans need to become louder, we have to show our passion, voice our opinions, our desires, our needs just like this guy… 

 


I feel inspired, Disney I want a Sam the Eagle Plush.