I mean, yeah, they weren't great, but if they were animated a little bit (the MST3K bots are more lifelike) then they could have looked a lot better. Certainly better than a few of the other creature movies that came out in the wake of Gremlins.
Movie still sucks though.
I'm Ford W. Maverick and I'll see you in hell.
http://whistlinginthegraveyard.blogspot.com/
They were adorable!
I liked them regardless that they didn't move much. You could literally see Kevin just throw a stuff animal at one point in the club.
I read an interview with Rick Sloane some time ago about the making of the film. He said the puppeteer was a woman who'd just been released from an asylum.
Not to mock people with mental problems, but maybe they have a few distractions that keep them from being "in the moment" as far as puppet performances go.