Mahna Mahna Misery

Yesterday we went to see the new Muppets movie, which we all loved. 

I've been a Muppets fan since I was a little girl and I had a much-loved Muppets flask for school. I introduced my children to the Muppets at Christmas, I mean who can resist the Muppets version of the A Christmas Carol? Naturally, my children have become instant fans and as a reward, earlier this week I had promised to take them to Build-a-Bear to stuff their own Muppets, having spotted them last week when we were at a birthday party. I resisted going earlier in the week as we wanted to see the film first and take Daddy into town to join in the fun.

We all marched off this morning, my son wanting a Kermit and clearly, the little lady had her eye on a Miss Piggy.  Of course, as with most highly-anticipated events, we were left feeling flat as there wasn't a Muppet to be seen in Build-a-Bear. I asked the young lady behind the till who said they had sold their last Miss Piggy yesterday and they didn't know when they would they would be getting anymore in, if at all, as the demand has been so high.  Deflated, but not defeated we decided to hot foot it to the Disney store where last weekend we'd seen their own versions of the Muppets. Okay, so not Build-a-Bear but they'd do.

But wait, oh yes, of course. SOLD OUT. The cast member behind the till told me that they were like gold-dust and again, they didn't know when they'd get anymore.  We left The Disney Store with heavy hearts and a 6 year old and 4 year old with very sad, disappointed faces. Epic fail.

Now clearly the moral of this story is to buy things when you see them but really, the film has only been out a week. One week. Am I wrong in expecting stores like Build-a-Bear and Disney to anticipate the popularity of such characters and stock up accordingly? I'd really expect film merchandise to be readily available a week after film release but I have learned a hard lesson here! I suspect it being half-term and the cinema being situated in the shopping centre has a fair bit to do with shops being bare.

I pacified my children eventually with some Moshi Monsters from The Entertainer with a promise that I WILL get them a Kermit and Miss Piggy when I can. They perked up but I still couldn't help feel disappointed that what was meant to be a reward for good behaviour turned out to be a complete fail.  Clearly there are far more important things in life to be worried about but I don't like breaking promises to my children and seeing their little crushed faces!

I'll keep you updated on the Great Muppet Hunt of 2012.