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Thanks to both *Granitoons and *Chopfe , I'm now aware of Peppermint Park, an educational series of videos that attempted (unsuccessfully, I assume) to emulate Sesame Street. It would seem that one way in which they endeavored to set themselves apart from "the Street" is by giving their puppets their own distinctive look, i.e. completely hideous and unsettling. In the past, I may have turned up my nose slightly at kids' shows whose puppets resembled Jim Henson creations a little too closely, but now I get why you don't mess with success.

in the YouTube clips I've viewed, some of the comments have described the puppets as looking like kids with Down syndrome or products of inbreeding. To me, they look like mutants that have suffered strokes. Their stiff rubber faces can barely articulate and yet their eyes move around in their heads and the result is just plain disturbing. A big mistake was trying to make their puppets look more human. It's the Uncanny Valley of puppetry. The Muppets don't look "real" and yet they're infinitely more life-like and cute.

Yes, Peppermint Park really did name this character Ernie. Why give your puppet the same name as one of the most famous and beloved puppets of all time? That's just inviting unflattering comparisons. Why not just name him Kermit?

This drawing doesn't do justice to how creepy this thing really is. Check it out for yourself. If you dare:

[link]

Description
Thanks to both *Granitoons and *Chopfe , I'm now aware of Peppermint Park, an educational series of videos that attempted (unsuccessfully, I assume) to emulate Sesame Street. It would seem that one way in which they endeavored to set themselves apart from "the Street" is by giving their puppets their own distinctive look, i.e. completely hideous and unsettling. In the past, I may have turned up my nose slightly at kids' shows whose puppets resembled Jim Henson creations a little too closely, but now I get why you don't mess with success.

in the YouTube clips I've viewed, some of the comments have described the puppets as looking like kids with Down syndrome or products of inbreeding. To me, they look like mutants that have suffered strokes. Their stiff rubber faces can barely articulate and yet their eyes move around in their heads and the result is just plain disturbing. A big mistake was trying to make their puppets look more human. It's the Uncanny Valley of puppetry. The Muppets don't look "real" and yet they're infinitely more life-like and cute.

Yes, Peppermint Park really did name this character Ernie. Why give your puppet the same name as one of the most famous and beloved puppets of all time? That's just inviting unflattering comparisons. Why not just name him Kermit?

This drawing doesn't do justice to how creepy this thing really is. Check it out for yourself. If you dare:

[link]