Sesame Street was sold off by a German company that owned the Jim Henson Company back in 2001. The sale of Sesame Street had nothing to do with the Disney sale in 2004.

However, I believe Sesame Street was the hold up back in 1990 when Disney was going to buy the Jim Henson Company out right. That sale never happened though.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the show. Its not as random as one might think. Many companies are getting in on Sesame Street this year. I am surprised its a replica and not an action figure line.

That's weird, I've read in several official biographies that Jim himself kept having to tell Disney no on getting the Sesame Street gang...

It's the disappointment from people who were hoping/expecting another Star Wars toy, or something from Transformers or GI Joe, since all three of those properties make more sense and have huge collector bases that are willing to spend crazy money on something Haslab might offer. And also the concern that this is such an odd choice that it might fail to meet its goal and therefore kill the Haslab concept completely.

I wasn't one of the people expecting Star Wars again, but I certainly wasn't expecting an oddball choice like this. So now we'll have to wait and see how this pans out, and then wait another 12-18 months to see if a 3rd Haslab item is offered.

It seems the whole point of Haslab is to do off the wall stuff that you normally wouldn't see in stores. Transformers, Star Wars, Marvel, these properties have decades worth of stuff for fans. We have never seen anything like this, which makes it perfect for a Haslab type system, which is specifically meant to fund things that may not appeal to the mass market. Would people rather another Optimus Prime?

so i personally think its pretty cool but i get the disappointment as far as it not being what most people wanted however as people seem to keep asking why this and not something else id just like to point out its the 50th anniversary of sesame street so it actually make perfect sense as to why this.

I was not expecting this. I wanted UNicron

Yes... because we've never gotten a Unicron figure....

We've gotten plenty of plush Cookie monsters dolls though. I see many on ebay right now in varying sizes, including a 17 inch one for just $10 and a 21 inch one for $15. But $300 for a 38 inch one from Hasbro? Sure, why not. :)

Yes, but prior to the Henson' company's sale, CTW did co-own the Sesame Muppets. Now they're full owners.

it's cute.

not sure it's $300 cute though.

That’s not even the same thing and you know it. That’s like saying Hasbro shouldn’t have bothered with the Sail Barge because LEGO made a $100 one and it’s close enough.

It’s a 1:1 scale replica of the muppet. It has his google eyes, accurate muppet fur and an internal skeleton for articulation. The fingers articulate. He comes with 2 prints and a bonus accessory. This isn’t just a “plush” toy. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean other people won’t. It’s not taking the place of anything. If people don’t like it, they won’t back it and it won’t get made. It’s better that than making it a mass release, having it go to retail and tank and be on massive clearance like pretty much all of the new Vintage Collection Star Wars Toys.

There are lots of high end option for Marvel, Star Wars and Transformers. We’re getting a 2 foot tall Omega Supreme and the ultimate G1 Prime this year. Let the muppet guys have their Cookie Monster.

^^

I was being a bit snarky there, but it was in response to the very generalized statement "Like we never got a unicron before." Per your own argument, that's like saying Haslab shouldn't do a massive 40 inch ultimate Unicron just because other Unicron figures have already been made in smaller sizes and styles before.

derpy....

Well, yeah, that's what Whovian said. Disney no doubt wanted the Sesame characters, too, and Jim (who was co-owner of them) said no.

... is that Aaron Archer? I thought he left Hasbro.
And I'd rather spend $450 on Optimus Prime.

Yep, but the sale of Sesame Street had nothing to do with Disney.

Many people are under the impression that Disney has owned the Muppets since 1990. This is mostly due to the fact that Disney helped the Jim Henson Company produce some stuff in the 90's. They made Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, air Muppets Tonight on ABC and the Disney Channel, and aired Dinosaurs on ABC. They also helped produce a short lived TGIF show called Aliens in the Family which was a Jim Henson Company show. The deal never actually went through, but Disney was basically courting the Jim Henson Company for a decade before they finally got part of what they wanted, the branding for The Muppets.

Now, the Jim Henson Company is a splintered shell of its former self. Sesame Street lives on as its own thing, with puppets still being made by the Jim Henson Creature Shop. Fraggle Rock and other Muppet properties that did not have Fozzie, Piggy, Kermit, etc, stayed with the Jim Henson Company. Disney took The Muppets, the branding for characters that originated from The Muppet Show, all the Muppet movies, The Jim Henson Hour Muppet TV segments, Muppets Tonight, and other productions that featured characters from The Muppet Show.

I totally get why the general public, and even many fans, have trouble with this weird splintering of the company. When Happy Time Murders was released, so many people thought it was Disney doing it.

Me want cookie! I used to love pretending to be Cookie Monster when my nephews and niece were super little. LOL. As cool as Cookie Monster is though I wish it were Joe related instead.

There's nothing to that concern other than those fans perpetuating their own paranoia.

Haslab only exists so that Hasbro can find out if there is real money down interest in these big expensive items before they invest resources into making them. These are already considered risky projects for retail, so they are certainly aware that not every item is going to reach its goal. But all that means is that if it fails then they won't make this particular item (although knowing the prop replica crowd and this being only $300 Cookie will likely make his goal), and not that a single failure means they will never try again with something else in the future.

Really it's just a case of irrational fear that some collectors get when they're not specifically catered to: That they could somehow be deprived of something special for their collections, despite the fact they don't actually know what that item is, or even if Hasbro has any more plans on the backburner for another sail barge type project for HasLab in the first place.

The only thing that will be affected by the failure of this product is any future products that are similar. If Cookie Monster fails, then we will likely not see any adult collector Sesame Street product from Hasbro and possibly other companies. This product is not in any way taking away from another product. It's existence does not mean they won't also try crowd funding a Unicron or something.

What bugs me is that there is SO MUCH adult collector product out there for Marvel, GI Joe, Star Wars, Transformers, etc. Why is there so much hate for this product when there is hardly anything for adult collectors of high end Sesame Street merch like this?

You and GizmoTron make great points! It's not like Hasbro already made these and has to make up for production costs! I really hope this succeeds and someone looks into revitalizing the canceled Palisades Sesame Street toyline!

I mean, there are probably people who want it, but still...This is a really weird second project.

I think this is a great idea! I've always liked Cookie as a character and it's interesting to see something a little different from time to time. If I had the money I'd snap it up immediately!

Australia release ?
 

Was not expecting this but it is kool, Anyone hear of any news about a Australian release ?