News Update: July 14, 2011

NEWS UPDATE: July 14, 2011

Earlier this week, we linked to two preview songs from the upcoming Muppets: The Green Album which features Muppet songs covered by some of music's most popular and talented artists. The songs we linked to were "The Muppet Show Theme" by OK Go and "Halfway Down the Stairs" by Amy Lee... both of which have been removed unceremoniously for copyright reasons. Well, fear not, Muppet fans, because Spin.com has an exclusive listen to "Our World" (from Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas) as performed by My  Morning Jacket. I love it--a lot. Give it a listen and judge for yourself!

Speaking of The Green Album, Disney has launched a new website called MuppetsMusic.com (http://www.muppetsmusic.com/) to promote the release of both The Green Album and the soundtrack for The Muppets (which the website reveals is to hit stores on November 22--the day before the film is released in US theaters). On this new site you can purchase one of two exclusive combo packs which include The Green Album, an exclusive poster, and a t-shirt featuring the winning design from the Threadless contest. The combo pack that includes the physical CD of The Green Album costs $40, while the one that includes a digital download of the album is $35.

It's impossible to argue that SesameStreet.org isn't the best of the best when it comes to official websites for Muppet characters. Disney's Muppets.com, for instance, pales in comparison when you see the countless video clips and interactivity options presented to you on Sesame Workshop's crowning achievement. Well, this wonderful site has gotten even better thanks to an updated page on the Sesame Street Muppets. This page features links to numerous "profile pages" for numerous Sesame favorites. This includes classic, hugely popular characters like Big Bird, Elmo, and Cookie Monster but shockingly and wonderfully includes pages for practically unknown or retired such as Little Chrissie, Ovejita, Little Murray Sparkles, Clementine, Fluffy, and Big Jeffy. It's crazy, it's awesome--therefore, crazy awesome--check it out!

The iTunes Store has been erupting with great new--and old--Sesame Street content over the past week. There's a new iPod Touch and iPhone app called, simply "iYip" starring the Yip-Yip Martians as performed by Matt Vogel and David Rudman. The app lets you hear the Martians spout words and phrases such as "You Betcha," "Booya," and, my favorite, "Awesome." You can also set yourself an alarm clock and be woken up by the Martians random words. It's awesome and well worth the $1.99 price tag just for the fun of it.


But the most exciting iTunes release for Sesame Street this week was the incredible Sesame Street Classics, Vol. 1 which, for $17.99 gives you twelve full, hour-long episodes of Sesame Street from Seasons 1 to 20 and, when purchasing the full season, a "Behind the Street" segment and, free to everyone, a Sesame Flashback retrospective. The fact that it is listed as Vol. 1 makes it seem that we'll see even more classic Sesame Street coming to iTunes very soon... so buy it if you can to encourage the release of even more--and because it's absolutely awesome. Trust me.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com

Sesame Street Saturdays: New Facebook Pages and New iPhone Applications

It's a small Sesame Street News Update today! Yesterday was a fun day for Sesame Street, as they unveiled five new character profile pages on Facebook and released two new iPhone applications on iTunes.

There are five new Facebook pages for Murray, Telly, Zoe, Prairie Dawn, and The Amazing Mumford. Truly we are witnessing Mumford's most amazing magic trick--getting himself a Facebook fan page! Seeing such a relatively unknown fan-favorite character receive the Facebook treatment gives hope to seeing other not-as-popular characters as well. Here's hoping for Gladys the Cow!

The new iPhone applications released by Sesame Street yesterday were "Bert's Bag" and "Count TV." The two apps, just like the Sesame Street apps before them, were developed with IDEO Toy Lab and each are available for $2.99 on iTunes. I've played a little bit with both of them and they're both a lot of fun. It's always great to see Bert in any capacity and counting with his bag is great. In his app, the Count introduces classic Sesame Street clips to count along with. Look for a review of both of these apps sometime next week!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppets on Your iPhone: Elmo's Monster Maker

MUPPET ALERT
The Muppets appeared on The Nerdist Podcast yesterday to be interviewed by very big nerd Chris Hardwick. Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Animal, Pepe, Swedish Chef, Bunsen, and Beaker all appeared for the occasion. They discuss "Bohemian Rhapsody," The Webby Awards, what they do in their spare time, and so much more. This is a can't miss Muppet appearance, so click the link and give it a listen for free!

Elmo's Monster Maker

$3.99 on iTunes

Ryan Dosier - Today I sat down and played with Elmo, and I'm not ashamed to say it! (Okay, so I wouldn't do it in public, but I'm not ashamed to say I did it in private!) Yes, today I played Elmo's Monster Maker, an iPhone Application that allows you or your preschooler to design a monster Muppet who then dances and plays with Elmo.

The premise is very simple and the game is very easy to control. You simply touch the monster's face to add or change the eyes, nose, or headgear for your monster. The game doesn't need to be complicated or strategic, it's just a lot of innocent fun. Isn't that what Elmo is all about?

The monsters featured in the game vary in size, shape, and color. After you've selected a monster body, you have to pick a pair of eyes, a nose, and a hat for your monster by touching its face and the top of its head. The options for eyes, noses, and hats change depending on the monster body as well, so there are literally hundreds of combinations that can be made.

After you make your monster there are three different options: dance, play with Elmo, and take a picture. And they are all pretty straight-forward options, so I won't go into too much description of them. It's fun to see your creation play with Elmo for a little bit and dancing Muppets are always fun. When Elmo takes a picture of your monster, the picture is saved to your iPhone or iPod Touch's Photos section where you can view it at any time.

This app really is a lot of fun. Even yours truly, a 19 year old Muppet fan, had fun playing with Elmo and making monsters. However the initial appeal did dissipate fairly quickly for me. There are so many times you can watch a monster dance with Elmo in a day.

However, I'm sure this app is a huge hit with preschoolers and parents of preschoolers. They must get a kick out of seeing something they actually made play with their friend Elmo. I'm sure their parents also get a kick out of checking their Photos on their iPhone and finding 350 new monsters.

So, in conclusion, I can't recommend this app enough to parents of preschoolers who love Elmo (and what preschooler doesn't?). But if you're an older fan, you might want to save your $3.99 for "Grover's Number Special," which is a lot more fun for older fans (and which will be reviewed sometime next week).

And, with that... it's time to BOOGIE!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppets on Your iPhone: Rosita's Jump Count

Ryan Dosier - Today on The Muppet Mindset we start a new series of product reviews called "Muppets on Your iPhone." In this series we'll review all of the new iPhone and iPod Touch applications featruing those lovable furry things. (No, not peaches.)

Rosita's Jump Count

$2.99 on iTunes

 


Rosita's Jump Count stars Rosita (go figure), her jump rope, and you. The premise is extremely simple: You jump and Rosita counts. Rosita will sometimes give you a number count to or sometimes she'll just let you jump however many times you feel like (from 1-100) while she counts. She also counts in both English and Spanish, alternating between the two.

I suppose this application isn't directly aimed at adults--which it shouldn't be, Sesame Street is for kids after all--but beyond the initial appeal of having Rosita actually talk to you and play your exercise coach, there's not much here anyone over the age of 5 or 6 can really appreciate.

I do love Rosita. She's adorable and extremely fun, and thankfully she's  no different here. After you jump a large number in the free jump, she'll laugh and dance and shout "Oh, yeah!" a bunch of times. It's pretty fantastic if I do say so myself.

But if you have kids with copious amounts of energy, this app is perfect for you. I can only assume that they will be instantly charmed by Rosita and be eager to jump along with her and her fuzzy feet. However, if you're an adult with no kids and just looking for some Sesame Street fun on your iPhone, I would look elsewhere. Elmo's Monster Maker, for instance, is charming for all age groups.

But in the end just seeing Rosita in fun new material is a pretty okay thing for me. I don't regret spending the $2.99 one bit! (Although I did knock down a few things in my room while I was jumping.)

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

News Update: March 4, 2010

NEWS UPDATE: March 4, 2010
I've just been informed that "Elmo's Monster Maker," the iPhone application that allows you to create your own Muppet monster (who subsequently sings and dances with Elmo) has been ranked #72 of ALL iPhone applications in the iTunes Store. This is quite the feat... but is anyone surprised that Elmo's the one who achieved it? Cheeky little Muppet...

I have also been informed that the new upcoming Sesame Street iPhone application is called "Bert's Bag." It stars Harvey Kneeslapper as he fights through legions of Snuffleupaguses (Snuffleupagi?) in order to--Oh, shoot. That's the wrong description. But seriously, the official description of "Bert's Bag" from The Ideo Toy Lab states, "And just to whet your appetite for more, here's a *Sneak Peak* screen shot of our next Sesame Street app, titled 'Bert's Bag' which is set to be released in early April, so stay tuned. This still image is from more original Sesame Street video, which was created for the game!  Yup, Bert is still around sharing his collections of silly stuff with a new generation of kids." So Sesame Street fans definitely have something big to look forward to come April! I'll keep you posted as more information surfaces.

Hey, remember Jerry Nelson? Well then you'll also remember that he released an album, "Truro Daydreams," a few months ago. I'm thrilled to announce that Jerry's CD is available for actual physical CD purchasing through CDBaby.com for on $14. There are also some wonderful quotes on that page from Paul Williams and Frank Oz (no relation to L. Frank Baum). If you haven't already, be sure to order this CD or at least purchase the downloadable copy. It is beyond wonderful and if Jerry gets enough support he'll record another one, so what more of a push do you need?

Our good friends over at ToughPigs have started taking entries for this year's Ugly Toy Contest! This is always my favorite article series ToughPigs does and I'd love to see you, my wonderful readers, contribute! So if you have Muppet, Sesame Street, or Fraggle merchandise that should never be taken out in daylight, snap a picture of it and email it to Ryan@TougPigs.com and you're done! Maybe your ugly little friend will win (or lose). Then you'll always have an item in your home you can tell your friends was the ugliest Muppet toy of 2010--won't they be jealous?!

Finally, be sure to check back here tomorrow for a special announcement from yours truly regarding what to expect on The Muppet Mindset all next week! Trust me... you won't want to miss it.















The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

News Update: February 5, 2010

NEWS UPDATE: February 5, 2010

Big news this week as ToughPigs announced that a brand new, old Sesame Street music set will be released on March 23, 2010. The set is being dubbed "Old School, Vol. 1" much like the two DVD sets released a few years ago highlighting the first ten years of the show. This 3-CD set includes three classic Sesame Street albums, "Sesame Street Original Cast Recording," "Big Bird Sings," and "Bert & Ernie Sing-Along." ToughPigs has the track listings for each album. I'll be sure to keep you up to date on any new information as it comes!

Do you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch? Do you long to fondle Elmo? If so, please seek psychiatric help. However, if you're interested in an exciting new Sesame Street application, then keep reading! "Elmo's Monster Maker" is now available on iTunes for only $3.99. In it you can design your very own Muppet monster then watch him or her interact with Elmo right on your iPod! Don't take my word for it, check out this celebrity spokes-monster!

In other news, yours truly, Ryan Dosier, will be appearing briefly on this week's episode of The MuppetCast. I recorded a piece for the show that showcased all of the different things on The Muppet Mindset this week. You may not recognize my voice immediately, but that's part of the fun, isn't it? Be sure to check it out!










The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

News Update: December 15, 2009

NEWS UPDATE: DECEMBER 15, 2009
The first iPhone Application from The Muppets Studio is now available! "Animal Drummer" lets you drum along with Angus McGonagle as you--wait, sorry, you drum along with Animal on your iPhone. I don't really know what else you do beyond that, but it looks pretty darn cool!

According to Muppets Studio's Twitter feed, Miss Piggy will be appearing on The Wendy Williams Show which airs in syndication and on BET. If you can't find it on your local listings, it appears that the episode will be online afterwards. Be sure to keep an eye out for Miss Piggy in this exciting appearance!

For some reason, it appears that Muppet Bohemian Rhapsody has been removed from YouTube due to "copyright violations" from a record company in Scandanavia. This may be one of the oddest things that has ever happened, so hopefully Disney and Muppets Studio can amend this problem and bring us our Muppets back!

Speaking off Bohemian Rhapsody, the song and video are now available for download almost everywhere. It was released internationally on Sunday on iTunes and Amazon.com and is quickly climbing the charts. It was released in the US yesterday for $0.99 on Amazon and it should be available on iTunes sometime today. As always, we'll keep you updated.

Make sure to buy your copy of Bohemian Rhapsody to support this great Muppet undertaking! If you are in the UK, help propel it to Christmas #1!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier.