Very Merry Muppet Christmas reairs on NBC December 6th

[Chilly Down]

This film is larded with "current" skit references: the Moulin Rouge/Scrooge scene, crocodile hunter, etc. Ten years from now new people will see this and say WHAT was that, who was THAT supposed to be. This is a deadly practice and you can feel the desperation as you watch it, as if not one original thought crossed any desk anywhere and they knew it.

The pop culture references don't bother me. The original Flintstones cartoon was loaded with pop culture references, and it's still considered a classic. How many times did the Warner Bros. characters make references to WWII (which was going on while those cartoons were being made)? Even the Muppets (Sesame included) have parodied everything from Star Wars to Placido Domingo.

The problem is not, IMHO, that there were pop culture references. The problem is that most of them just weren't all that funny.

 

[Beebers]

Yes, but you don't hang the entire creative hat on such weak references, which was done throughout this movie. WW II was not a weak reference; people still know what it is. The T.V. shows didn't depend for their lives on the pop culture references, they had other things going on as well.

 

[Chilly Down]

WW II was not a weak reference; people still know what it is.

When I was a kid, I had no idea what the references to war rations, etc. were all about. But the cartoons were still funny for me.

Similarly, I don't think it's really necessary to understand what all the references in VMC were specifically about. Even if Scrubs gets canceled and no one remembers it in a few years, the essential story point/gag -- that Piggy's just an extra in a hospital show, but she thinks she's an important guest star -- will make sense.

The Moulin Scrooge gag is much more specific, but I don't think Moulin Rouge is a flash in the pan. I think that's a movie that many people will remember 10+ years from now.

Nothing against you, Beebers. I even agree with your basic assertion that the gags themselves weren't very funny. We're basically just nitpicking the semantics of it at this point -- because that's what Muppet fans do.

 

[AndyWan Kenobi]

We're basically just nitpicking the semantics of it at this point -- because that's what Muppet fans do.

I thought Muppet fans just liked the Muppets...

 

[Gonzo14]

i concur

 

[AndyWan Kenobi]

someone PLEASE tell me where to download MERRY MUPPET CHRISTMAS I'd be extremley grateful

Sorry to say, but I don't think anyone's going to be able to help you with this. Since the movie is available on dvd, and since I'm sure we all want to support the Henson company, I don't think people are going to tell you about bootlegs online. Sorry...

Check your listings for repeat showings, if you're just looking to see it...

 

[jorwick]

I've been out of the loop.. when was this done?

I set the PVR to record this thinking it may be fun to watch with my two year old boy who is the reason I am out of the loop (no I didn't expect he would understand it, but he like to watch the characters)

Maybe I am just a little old fashioned, but the idea of the Muppet theater having a topless dancing license seems a bit inappropriate. Just as Kermit's approval of getting the license is a little too tacit. Maybe Kermit the Frog has a dark underside and he frequents such places, holds dreams of running one, etc, but I don't think that is a side of Kermit my children need to know about. A couple more comments from Pepe was all it took for me to decide I didn't want to see my favorite characters from childhood cheapened and degraded in this way. Its billed as a children's show and its content should be appropriate. I don't really disapprove of the lifestyles, etc portrayed in this film, but the references are from an adults world, and contrary to what seems to be popular belief, children are NOT little adults. There is an appropriate time to introduce such concepts to them, but not in a show billed as a family christmas special.

I certainly hope that this was done on ED TV's watch and none of the Henson kids had anything to do with it. If they did, perhaps they have been living in New York too long and don't know what passes for decent family entertainment in the rest of the country. It seems sad that the Muppets have been hijacked to try and push a political agenda (Whoopi Goldberg as a dispassionate, uncaring God -- In a Christmas special no less!)

Maybe it got better, but I couldn't give it more than the 15 minutes I gave it. Thank god there are still wonderful Muppets things My kids can watch, though unfortunately I am going to have to preview them from now on...

 

[GREG O REE]

Previewing before the little ones watch is always a good idea. I watched the movie last year and taped it this year. I cut out commercials and any scenes I consider questionable for my kids (our youngest is two). Yes, I hope we can get some more new Muppet productions that don't require this practice - but that is just where we are right now. Post Jim Henson projects have been pretty decent with the exception of this movie and a few Muppets Tonights bits (that I also edited for family viewing - Bay of Pigswatch, for example).

Anyone know why the video/DVD is rated PG and the tv movie is G?

Overall, I enjoyed IVAMMCM. It has some really funny scenes and it was great to see some of the older characters back. Hoping to see more Clifford and Bobo in the future though. The message was appropriate and I will forgive them for Whoopi portraying "the boss."

Peace! Merry Christmas, everyone!

 

[Amazing Mumford]

Just my opinion...

A number of people obviously thought this special had too much adult humor, but Henson can't please everybody. If they make a purely kiddie movie, they'll alienate many adult fans. The classic Muppets are not Sesame Street and the target audience isn't pre-school kids.

Were some of the jokes inappropriate for kids? Sure. But, how many of those jokes went over kids heads? Probably a good share of them.

Also, it's JUST a Muppet movie--it really won't scar children for life. A generation from now, if there's large numbers of young adults becoming cage dancers because they saw Scooter do it on a Muppet movie, then I guess I'm wrong.

I really think they tried to make this movie for the hardcore, longtime Muppet fans--who are overwhelmingly adult. That's why they loaded it with inside jokes (i.e. Doc Hopper's frog legs) and brought back the classic set and characters.

It's extremely difficult to make movies that appeal to both kids and adults. Jim Henson happened to be very good at it. Unfortunately, the people running JHC apparently don't have the same touch. So, they sometimes have to choose between (A) pleasing longtime fans and (B) entertaining the little ones. They chose option A for IAVMMCM.

That being said, I didn't particularly enjoy the movie. Among other things, the tone was too dark and the jokes weren't all that funny. However, I respect them for attempting to make the Muppet enjoyable again for adults as well as children.

Oh, and does Whoopi playing God really have to be a political "agenda'? I think it was just to get a cheap chuckle because she's the opposite of how most people picture God. Nothing more.

 

[Beebers]

I set the PVR to record this thinking it may be fun to watch with my two year old boy who is the reason I am out of the loop (no I didn't expect he would understand it, but he like to watch the characters)

Maybe I am just a little old fashioned, but the idea of the Muppet theater having a topless dancing license seems a bit inappropriate. Just as Kermit's approval of getting the license is a little too tacit. Maybe Kermit the Frog has a dark underside and he frequents such places, holds dreams of running one, etc, but I don't think that is a side of Kermit my children need to know about. A couple more comments from Pepe was all it took for me to decide I didn't want to see my favorite characters from childhood cheapened and degraded in this way. Its billed as a children's show and its content should be appropriate. I don't really disapprove of the lifestyles, etc portrayed in this film, but the references are from an adults world, and contrary to what seems to be popular belief, children are NOT little adults. There is an appropriate time to introduce such concepts to them, but not in a show billed as a family christmas special.

I certainly hope that this was done on ED TV's watch and none of the Henson kids had anything to do with it. If they did, perhaps they have been living in New York too long and don't know what passes for decent family entertainment in the rest of the country. It seems sad that the Muppets have been hijacked to try and push a political agenda (Whoopi Goldberg as a dispassionate, uncaring God -- In a Christmas special no less!)

Maybe it got better, but I couldn't give it more than the 15 minutes I gave it. Thank god there are still wonderful Muppets things My kids can watch, though unfortunately I am going to have to preview them from now on...

Those parts of the movie probably threw a lot of people. They were lifted directly from Frank Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life", in which a suicidal Harry Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) is shown by an angel what his hometown would have become had he never been born. (A den of iniquity.) Kermit decides he should never have been born and is shown how things would have turned out without him, hence all those rather nasty scenes.

It's part of what I was trying to say earlier, that the movie is nothing but a crazy-quilt pastiche of poorly-done borrowing rather than an original script.

Jim Henson wanted to entertain adults, not just kids. This did not entertain any adults I know, and was not appropriate for young kids.