Muppets Most Wanted Press Reviews

[CensoredAlso]

the Muppets have never needed to carry over non-Muppet performers from their various productions to make them work.

OK you guys motivated me to do some quick research. I checked out People Magazine's 1981 review of The Great Muppet Caper. Interesting, no?

"Here's that rare take-the-kids movie that doesn't leave adults in a stupor. It also improves on the 1979 Muppet Movie, whose director, James Frawley, didn't trust Jim Henson's TV creations to make the move to the big screen without a bolstering army of human guest stars. This time, with Henson himself at the helm, star cameos are kept to a minimum."

I also thought this was amusing. Charles Grodin was quoted by the NYTimes in 1981 regarding Caper:

"Roger Moore believes movies are ''to take people out of themselves, not to give them messages or depress them.'' Charles Grodin couldn't disagree more. Not that Mr. Grodin wants to depress people, but he does want to make them think. He, too, has a movie - ''The Great Muppet Caper,'' opening today (for a review, see page C8) - but he says the lightweight comedies that are the only movies making money these days are ''inhibiting writers of more serious aspirations."

What I love about both these quotes is it shows how little has really changed. We always complain about how movies talk down to kids. And guess what? People complained back then too, lol. And of course the worry that lightweight movies overshadow drama has never gone away. All in all, things don't change as much as we like to think.

 

[Drtooth]

Of course, that film benefited from the presence of Charles Grodin, who played a suave international jewel thief and heaved every line to the back row of the stalls like a champion shot-putter. Here, the human co-star is Ricky Gervais, who by contrast burns through just enough energy to send a biscuit wrapper halfway to the nearest waste paper bin

There's a difference. Grodin can give a genuinely hammy performance, while Gervais in every role he ever had, mind you, drones in a slimy insincere sincerity. That's apples to oranges, especially since there's a level of extreme joy and excitement from Gervais for living his dream of working with them.

Above all, Grodin did a great job in the movie, but come on. Piggy and Kermit are the ones we remember more.

These reviews are really clueless, if you ask me.

 

[LouisTheOtter]

In a similar vein - despite Variety's reviewer claiming that MMW has turned the Muppets into disposable, inoffensive fluff, the magazine is simultaneously trumpeting that the Muppets "have their mojo back" in THIS article (which is worth reading if only for the comments from Gervais, Burrell and Fey):

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/t...nd-their-relationship-with-disney-1201128921/

 

[CensoredAlso]

Above all, Grodin did a great job in the movie, but come on. Piggy and Kermit are the ones we remember more.

After hearing all this fuss about Segal, I'm not so sure, lol.

 

[Drtooth]

There's probably a thin number of those who go to Muppet Movies to see the human actors. Most of us fans aren't them. The human actors are there to interact with the Muppet characters (why I hate MWO so much, they picked a human that couldn't act period, throwing the entire thing off). The fact that 2 of the reviewers are completely out of it, as to pan the movie for them not being in it is the height of ridiculousness. Jason was the main reason TM even got made, even taking that out of the equation, Mary and Gary's part of the story are over.

I guess these guys were expecting a mission pack sequel?

 

[Muppet fan 123]

This is actually one of the reasons I was concerned about this movie being a "sequel" and then going and doing it's own thing. If it's a sequel, people will ask "hey, where's Gary and Mary" and complain that it doesn't really follow the last story, and if you look at it, no family films EVER follow the story of the last movie. The Muppets probably did a great job in living up to the last film.

How could people be negative to the Muppets? Who are these cold-blooded, vicious, sour people? Have you no shame?

 

[CensoredAlso]

How could people be negative to the Muppets? Who are these cold-blooded, vicious, sour people? Have you no shame?

They're critics. If they loved every movie they reviewed, no one would take them seriously, hehe.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

Man I was at the Disney store today and some dude said he didn't like the Muppets I was so close to pulling out a Piggy karate chop!

 

[JimAndFrank]

Man I was at the Disney store today and some dude said he didn't like the Muppets I was so close to pulling out a Piggy karate chop!

You should have!!

Hiiiii-Yah! Take that you unimaginative weirdo!

.....but then again, everybody's entitled to their own opinion.

Still would have been funny though!

 

[Pinkflower7783]

They are but still that's one opinion that's unacceptable to a muppet fan.