UPDATE:  We know that many of you have been patiently waiting for the release of our line of Muppet replicas.  As many of you know, Disney had approved our final prototypes of Reporter Kermit and Rizzo for production.  Since that time we have worked with no less than 4 potential vendors to manufacture Rizzo and Kermit.  Unfortunately, none of the vendors were able to manufacture them at the quality level that we require.  We will not make any concessions on not only the accuracy of the Muppets, but the quality, as well.  We just want to let you know that we are continuing to pursue a vendor that will meet our requirements.  We apologize for the delay, and we are just as disappointed that we have not been able to bring these great characters to you yet.  We will inform you here and in our newsletters on any updates.  Thank you for your continued patience!


We're not sure how an acrophobic rodent deals with the dizzying heights of fame, but since his first appearance in The Muppet Show, Rizzo the Rat has been a star!  For the first release in our new line of Muppet photo puppet replicas we thought we would start by taking "baby steps!"  That's easier, right?  But this streetwise rat, with a New Jersey accent, has proven to be a complicated and challenging character to replicate. To quote a wise old character from one of our other licenses . . . "Size matters not!"  So, don't let his size or deceptively simple looks fool you,  Muppets are crafted with love by their designers and a LOT of love went into our Rizzo.

Our first port o' call was a visit to Disney's wonderful Muppet Studios, where their fine staff opened up the vaults (reference files) to provide us with an incredible amount of reference materials.  Foam patterns, fur patterns, clothing patterns, material samples, drawings with measurements, photos with measurements, you name it, they provided it in the interest of complete accuracy and authenticity.  This classified information was handed over to Mike Moore, a devoted Muppet fan and talented puppet maker, who was tasked with turning all of this into several prototype Rizzo the Rat replicas.

Mike's first priority was to assemble a rough and ready Rizzo to check the patterns worked and everything was as it should be.  While the talented folks who make the actual Muppets use the exact same patterns, changes can be made on the fly to fix things as the characters come together.  These changes can often go undocumented and so checking the patterns this way is essential in making sure we match the character's final look.

This first down and dirty rat helps us to determine the best way we might tackle mass production issues.  We have our own set of unique challenges such as designing the internal skeleton our posers require for their articulation and this first prototype helps us to assess how we need to manufacture the internal armature.  Mike's priority here wasn't to make a beautifully exact replica, no time is spent tracking down exact fur, dyes, feathers etc., his efforts concentrated on the internal structure, shape and the fit of the parts.