Review: 'Muppet Babies' relaunches for a younger generation
Posted Monday, August 13, 2018 at 12:25 PM Central
Last updated Monday, August 13, 2018 at 12:26 PM Central
by John Couture
It's weird, when the original Muppet Babies came out, I was nine and a bit too old for it. When Disney launched a Muppet Babies reboot this Summer, my kids were 4 and 6, right at the upper crust of their demographic.
The original series was a hit for the generation Y kids that ran for an entire eight seasons. Disney is hoping that this new series will pop in much the same way for the young millennials.
The concept behind the series remains the same. The Muppets are babies and have adventures both in their nursery and beyond. Along the way, fan favorites such as Kermit and Miss Piggy learn valuable lessons that, hopefully, will translate onto their young audience as a whole.
The episodes air in pairs over the course of 30 minutes with commercials, so they are quick-hitters that don't linger too long on any single concept. These 12-minute escapades are perfect for the developing attention spans of their target audience.
With episodes that span the developmental stage that they are in, the Muppet Babies learn about bravery, teamwork, friendship, and many other things as they expand their horizons. The goal is for the episodes to not only entertain their audience but hopefully equip them with the basic building blocks of social interaction that they will need later in life.
For the adults watching with their children, the attraction is seeing their beloved Muppets characters in new ways. I'm sure it was a pivotal reason that the first incarnation was so successful and there's no reason to believe that this reboot will be any different.
What is different this time around (aside from the better animation) is the introduction of a new character, Summer Penguin. She is described as being super creative and loves to paint and draw. She hails from Antarctica and inexplicably wears a sweater, which immediately struck me as odd. I mean, she hails from a cold climate, so if anything she would be hot anywhere else and must be super sweaty in that sweater. I'm clearly not the target demo of this show and yes, my mind needs a lot of help.
While the introduction of a new character is expected and helps to cover a new area of expertise without having to alter any of the established characters' backstories, it will be interesting to see where they take her over the series. Will they simply write her off as going back to Antarctica at the end of the series? Or will she inexplicably show up in the next Muppets movie with no explanation? Time will tell.
Their first DVD Muppet Babies: Time to Play! is chock full of content. It comes with six full episodes with 12 total adventures. This represents about half of the episodes that aired currently, but there is plenty of extra goodies on the DVD too. There are ten "Show and Tell" shorts and six music videos that provide over two hours of quality educational programming. As a parent, this is priceless.
Muppet Babies: Time to Play! is now available on DVD.
