Anyone Find The Muppets More Funny Now?

[beaker]

I've been watching the Muppets and Jim Henson related programming for over 30 years now, but is it me or are the Muppets just funnier in the modern era? Maybe it's a mixture of now understanding the subtle and not so subtle adult or deeper humor of the old productions, but I also mean in the post Disney purchase era.

I don't know what it is, I just feel the writing is smarter. Especially when the 2008 Muppets.com shorts began to appear. I always have loved the magic and comradery of them, but now I find them literally laugh out loud funny these days.

Especially the mispronounciation...whenever Pepe says "Kerman and the Muffins" or all of Constantine's mispronounciations(Never laughed so hard at a Muppet production as I did during MMW) That new Toyota Highlander spot on tv where Janice talks about the Electric Mayhem's two fans...there's an innocent, gentle but hilarious meta humor going on. Like when Walter in that interview begs Disney to release Seasons 4 and 5, or Rizzo and Robin stop the dialogue in MMW to make a snide remark of how they weren't in the last one.

 

[LouisTheOtter]

There's a wonderful self-awareness in the modern Muppet productions, combined with the traditional random silliness that has always made them a winner in my books.

To me, one of the most underrated lines in MMW (I'm surprised no one else has yet mentioned it) is the exchange between Fozzie and Walter when they figure out Constantine's identity and modus operandi:

Fozzie: "It looks like he's planning some kind of comic jewel heist!"
Walter (dejectedly): "Yeah, those never work."

In one fell swoop, they manage to deconstruct both MMW and GMC, but in a subtle manner that doesn't break character or require the movie to come to a screeching halt. I'm seeing a lot of that in the modern Muppet productions and I'm enjoying it to the hilt.

The Muppets are arguably in perfect sync with the short-attention-span, Internet-driven cultural landscape we find ourselves in today, because they can land a gag quickly and effectively without a lot of set-up, whether it's scripted or improvised. Think of the Toyota Highlander Super Bowl spot where Gonzo was trying to rig up the GPS to get the game's score and another character asked him to turn on the radio, to which Gonzo replied: "RADIO?! What is this, the Roaring Twenties?!"

It's a joke that comes out of nowhere but works because Dave Goelz commits to it. Sometimes basic commitment to a gag, even a silly throwaway line, can make it a winner.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Respectfully disagree, but you guys already knew that, lol. I've already had my laugh out loud Muppet movies and none of them were called MMW.

 

[Drtooth]

I can't answer this accurately since my weird sense of humor registers odd things over well crafted satire.

I mean, the funniest Muppet Skit to me is "Any Old Iron" because of the Muppet with the missing eye, the funniest Fraggle Rock bit was when the Trashheap said "Oh, a THIRD course! How Civilized!" and Telly and Baby bear imagining having to be at Zoe's Tea Party and having to "go to the wee little bathroom."

And trust me... I'm trying hard not to lose it at that three.

 

[Muppet Master]

I've been watching the Muppets and Jim Henson related programming for over 30 years now, but is it me or are the Muppets just funnier in the modern era? Maybe it's a mixture of now understanding the subtle and not so subtle adult or deeper humor of the old productions, but I also mean in the post Disney purchase era.

I don't know what it is, I just feel the writing is smarter. Especially when the 2008 Muppets.com shorts began to appear. I always have loved the magic and comradery of them, but now I find them literally laugh out loud funny these days.

Especially the mispronounciation...whenever Pepe says "Kerman and the Muffins" or all of Constantine's mispronounciations(Never laughed so hard at a Muppet production as I did during MMW) That new Toyota Highlander spot on tv where Janice talks about the Electric Mayhem's two fans...there's an innocent, gentle but hilarious meta humor going on. Like when Walter in that interview begs Disney to release Seasons 4 and 5, or Rizzo and Robin stop the dialogue in MMW to make a snide remark of how they weren't in the last one.

I mean I've found some funny refrences and stuff, but I think it's because the refrences are of this time. I mean I'm pretty sure I'd laugh-out-loud if I knew some refrences from TMM and MTM. I mean if I was born in 2050 and watched the film then, some of the refrences would'nt be funny.

 

[ToodlesTeam]

The Muppets' flavor of humor has definitely change and evolved a fair amount over the years so, naturally, it stands to reason that your sense of humor could resonate more strongly with their more current stuff. Most of the characters having different performers now than back in the olden days probably makes a difference too, as inflection and comic timing is going to differ depending on the performer. I do feel like the "modern" performers have really hit their stride in the last few years with the characters.

 

[CensoredAlso]

The Muppets' flavor of humor has definitely change and evolved a fair amount over the years so.

I wasn't aware they needed to evolve after The Muppet Movie. No need to evolve after hitting perfection.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I mean I'm pretty sure I'd laugh-out-loud if I knew some refrences from TMM and MTM.

There was a lot I didn't "get" from the Muppet films as a kid. Luckily it's a lot easier nowadays to look things up. Being not of the time is no longer an excuse, hehe.

 

[ToodlesTeam]

I wasn't aware they needed to evolve after The Muppet Movie. No need to evolve after hitting perfection.

Well, it's not so much that it needed to change so much that it can't be helped. When a franchise has been around as long as the Muppets, enough different writers, performers, and so many others are going to leave their mark on them that it couldn't possibly stay the same forever.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I gotcha. I was with you with change, it's the evolved I'm skeptical about sometimes, hehe.