Muppets sequel plot and promotional photo in Entertainment Weekly

[Hubert]

Woah. Woah. Sweetums's mother will be making an appearance in the movie?! That's awesome!

 

[Twisted Tails]

Woah. Woah. Sweetums's mother will be making an appearance in the movie?! That's awesome!

(gasps) Sweetums has a mom. No kiddin' right?

 

[Skekayuk]

Oh Wow! - I've just read the news in Empire magazine. - I've not taken much interest in The Muppet films for a while. I like the original stuff, and tend to feel that the new stuff isn't really them same.
Personally I think it's good if the old characters take a bit of a back seat and allow new character to develop, this is mainly because I feel that the newer puppeteers should be given the chance to develop their own characters (a bit like Star trek Next Gen..,.), and that the old characters though famous are of their time. However I am hugely excited about the recent news that Annie Sue may be returning, but, and this is what makes it so great, in the capable hands of her original puppeteer.

 

[Hubert]

As for my thoughts on new characters, though it would be nice to see the present Muppeteers develop them, I feel like the franchise can't afford too much of that right now. We're still trying to get the Muppets back in the public eye more, and I feel like we need to introduce the old characters to new audiences first before we begin adding new ones. Otherwise, we'll end up with fans who know who Mr. Fitzgerald is but think that the Newsman is nothing more than a nameless background character.

 

[jvcarroll]

New characters are essential to the Muppets. What would have happened if Beaker had never joined Bunsen in season two of the Muppet Show? What would have happened if Beauregard hadn't stepped in to assist George the Janitor? Who would have had to sport the freaky Muppet-fro if not for Lips' addition to the Mayhem? And let's not forget the much needed humor that Digit and Leon added to the Henson Hour and Pepe and Bobo added to Muppets Tonight!

The problem occurs when classic characters are demoted to supporting cast or disappear altogether! I understand why Rowlf and Scooter were initially retired, but I completely disagreed with it. They've earned their inclusion even if they don't need to be in the spotlight as much as before. They've been a big part of the "something missing" from the Muppets since the 90's.

There can and should be a blending of both old and new characters. Here are my thoughts:

Kermit should be the star of every Muppet movie and television program.
Fozzie is Kermit's best friend and should remain his second-banana.
Gonzo is also an important A-lister.
Miss Piggy is the resident Muppet Diva and should remain so. That said, too often she and the Kermit-Piggy dynamic eclipses the rest of the Muppets. I prefer how the Muppet Show and Muppet Movie handled this best. She is center-stage without dominating the production.
Pepe has grown to be an A-lister, but less his more of the King Prawn. He's one of my favorite Muppets, but is inclusion in recent projects has reached mismanaged Piggy proportions.
Scooter & Rowlf should have a role equal-to or greater than Pepe.
Walter, it seems, has risen to the ranks of A lister and I'm okay with that. The same holds true for him as Pepe, Scooter and Rowlf.
Bunsen & Beaker, Statler & Waldorf, Sam, Sweetums, the Swedish Chef, the Electric Mayhem, Animal, Robin and even Rizzo are best utilized as featured supporting players Smaller bursts of humor work best with them.
The rest of the ensemble is important, but they don't always need featured lines.
New Muppets, well we take them as they come...

 

[Drtooth]

The problem occurs when classic characters are demoted to supporting cast or disappear altogether! I understand why Rowlf and Scooter were initially retired, but I completely disagreed with it. They've earned their inclusion even if they don't need to be in the spotlight as much as before. They've been a big part of the "something missing" from the Muppets since the 90's.

I still don't see why it took so long to recast a Richard Hunt role with someone who's been recast for Richard time and time again (even before Richard passed on... he was Sweetums in a scene in the Cosby Show). Was it an availability issue, as David was primarily a Sesame Street puppeteer? I don't know if Scooter was full fledged retirement. Seems like they just didn't know who could carry on the role and what they could do with him. I still feel they should've got a recast for the character in MCC to cast him as Fred.

Anyway, there's also this unless it was posted earlier.

 

[jvcarroll]

I still don't see why it took so long to recast a Richard Hunt role with someone who's been recast for Richard time and time again (even before Richard passed on... he was Sweetums in a scene in the Cosby Show). Was it an availability issue, as David was primarily a Sesame Street puppeteer? I don't know if Scooter was full fledged retirement. Seems like they just didn't know who could carry on the role and what they could do with him. I still feel they should've got a recast for the character in MCC to cast him as Fred.

Anyway, there's also this unless it was posted earlier.

I don't think the other performers really wanted to touch Hunt's characters like Janice and Scooter. Completely removing Scooter from sight was a horrible decision. I think they needed to quietly phase him back in. This is why I'm glad Disney owns the characters. They'll make those sorts of creative decisions for the team and keep the Muppet characters active. The fact that they've brought back Lips, Scooter, Janice, Strangepork, Droop, Thog, Annie Sue and countless others just confirms this direction. They're using all of the metaphorical Muppet buffalo.

 

[MrBloogarFoobly]

New characters are essential to the Muppets. What would have happened if Beaker had never joined Bunsen in season two of the Muppet Show? What would have happened if Beauregard hadn't stepped in to assist George the Janitor? Who would have had to sport the freaky Muppet-fro if not for Lips' addition to the Mayhem? And let's not forget the much needed humor that Digit and Leon added to the Henson Hour and Pepe and Bobo added to Muppets Tonight!

The problem occurs when classic characters are demoted to supporting cast or disappear altogether! I understand why Rowlf and Scooter were initially retired, but I completely disagreed with it. They've earned their inclusion even if they don't need to be in the spotlight as much as before. They've been a big part of the "something missing" from the Muppets since the 90's.

There can and should be a blending of both old and new characters. Here are my thoughts:

Kermit should be the star of every Muppet movie and television program.
Fozzie is Kermit's best friend and should remain his second-banana.
Gonzo is also an important A-lister.
Miss Piggy is the resident Muppet Diva and should remain so. That said, too often she and the Kermit-Piggy dynamic eclipses the rest of the Muppets. I prefer how the Muppet Show and Muppet Movie handled this best. She is center-stage without dominating the production.
Pepe has grown to be an A-lister, but less his more of the King Prawn. He's one of my favorite Muppets, but is inclusion in recent projects has reached mismanaged Piggy proportions.
Scooter & Rowlf should have a role equal-to or greater than Pepe.
Walter, it seems, has risen to the ranks of A lister and I'm okay with that. The same holds true for him as Pepe, Scooter and Rowlf.
Bunsen & Beaker, Statler & Waldorf, Sam, Sweetums, the Swedish Chef, the Electric Mayhem, Animal, Robin and even Rizzo are best utilized as featured supporting players Smaller bursts of humor work best with them.
The rest of the ensemble is important, but they don't always need featured lines.
New Muppets, well we take them as they come...

I disagree. I honestly feel like the only successful post-Henson Muppets are the ones created by Bill Barretta. Other than that, it's like someone introducing new Peanuts now that Charles Schultz is dead, or giving Mickey Mouse a son, or throwing a new Looney Toon in with the classics. It doesn't work very well.

This is just my opinion, anyway. But Walter will never belong as far as I'm concerned. He's just a bit character. There are some great bit characters in the post-Henson Muppets, but they'll never be THE Muppets to me.

 

[jvcarroll]

I disagree. I honestly feel like the only successful post-Henson Muppets are the ones created by Bill Barretta. Other than that, it's like someone introducing new Peanuts now that Charles Schultz is dead, or giving Mickey Mouse a son, or throwing a new Looney Toon in with the classics. It doesn't work very well.

This is just my opinion, anyway. But Walter will never belong as far as I'm concerned. He's just a bit character. There are some great bit characters in the post-Henson Muppets, but they'll never be THE Muppets to me.

I think that's like comparing apples to cannon balls. The Muppets are a different sort of troupe than the Peanuts. Charlie Brown is supposed to be frozen in time. Jim Henson always saw his Muppets as evolving and kept introducing new characters into each season and each episode of the Muppet Show. The Henson Hour was comprised mostly of new Muppets. Kermit hasn't been given a son...well...except for the parts played in MCC. In fact, none of them have. That's a weird comparison.

The issue is that a new character can't be forced upon us. They usually work their way up organically like Miss Piggy did or like Pepe did. Clifford is the perfect example of a newer Muppet forced upon the public. He deserved a place, but not that large of one and not as a replacement for Kermit.

Some people want to hermetically seal the characters in a pre-90's time capsule, but that would leave them to retrace old steps and repeat old dynamics. We already have that on film and it's wonderful. That's the golden time the Muppets that we will likely never have again, yet other valuable adventures are ahead of them.

New characters change things up. They keep things fresh. Performers seem to like them too. I've loved the Muppets for well-over three decades and I instantly connected with Walter. He somehow escaped that hateful fate with me and I adore him. He did a great job in the last film and we'll see what happens with the new one.

My only issue with these decisions is that with Jim gone the Muppets need some sort of coordinator (beyond the Disney brass) to make these sorts of creative decisions for the troupe. I don't see the Muppets as product to be dragged and dropped into a script. I see them as active entities and their projects should he shaped around them. I'm not sure how much of that is incorporated into today's Muppets.

 

[Drtooth]

I think they needed to quietly phase him back in. This is why I'm glad Disney owns the characters. They'll make those sorts of creative decisions for the team and keep the Muppet characters active. The fact that they've brought back Lips, Scooter, Janice, Strangepork, Droop, Thog, Annie Sue and countless others just confirms this direction. They're using all of the metaphorical Muppet buffalo.

I wonder how much of the characters was Disney, how much was Segal et al (James Bobin was integral to Uncle Deadly's inclusion), and how much was the Muppeteers. Scooter did have a small comeback in the last 2 telefilms before the Disney buy out. The fact they were able to get Link Hogthrob, a character noticeably absent from every movie, save for nonspeaking crowd cameos, into a music number in the last film was amazing. He's such an underrated character who needed theatrical screen time. Sigh... I wonder how a theatrical Pigs in Space film would work.

Some people want to hermetically seal the characters in a pre-90's time capsule, but that would leave them to retrace old steps and repeat old dynamics. We already have that on film and it's wonderful. That's the golden time the Muppets that we will likely never have again, yet other valuable adventures are ahead of them.

New characters change things up. They keep things fresh. Performers seem to like them too. I've loved the Muppets for well-over three decades and I instantly connected with Walter. He somehow escaped that hateful fate with me and I adore him. He did a great job in the last film and we'll see what happens with the new one.

It's one of those things certain fans are completely impossible to please about. They want the old characters, complain about recasts and think those puppeteers need their own characters, then complain about new characters. New characters, be it Sesame Street or The Muppets, come and go. Some don't work, some stick, some unfortunately depend on puppeteer availability. The ones that do stick, however, are characters that work. Sherri Netherland was fun, but she has no use outside that experimental corner. David Hasslehog and Spamela Hamderson were barely anything but caricatured parodies and thankfully haven't been used since (unless you count Muppet Snow White). Once the disposable new characters are weeded out, we get staple new characters like Baby Bear or Pepe. New characters are essential to filling cracks left by "retired" or hereto left not recast older characters. It's just that now we're getting older characters recast and we're ironically losing new characters to puppeteer availability (well, mostly Brian Henson characters).