I was very pleasantly surprised. Granted, I feel the Muppets themselves may be a bit rusty, but this was a really good fit for them. A lot of performers don't know how to act around the Muppets, but the Disney kids were a great mix,
especially the cast from Zac and Cody; it felt like an updated TMS. So my verdict? Good job, really good, not great, but I think with some fine tuning, this has phenominal potential.
gonzos speaking voice is much clearer and not so much gonzo.
I agree, this is what I was thinking when I said it needs some polishing, maybe Dave is just getting older, but I thought Gonzo was lacking his usual outrageous behavior.
The special was good. Though in my opinion, not as good as Muppet Tonight or It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.
See, this is where I realize how diverse we fans are. IAVMMCM in particular is my most loathed Muppet production, I absolutely can't stand that movie. MT was okay at best for me. As a fan, I have a really hard time trying to appreciate certain aspects now without Jim. In general though, both our opinions bring up an interesting question: Are we, now in a world without Jim, supposed to be happy with just "okay" productions, simply happy our beloved Muppets are doing anything at all? Or do we have to admit that they'll never be even half as great as they once were?
...By the end I heard a sound. I think it was Jim rolling in his grave.
I know
that feeling, but I honestly didn't get it this time. I've read a lot of posts also flaming the Disney tweens, but I have to be really honest here; in a world where the tween market is usually overrun with sexually explicit minors who swear and reference drugs all the time, the Disney kids are very refreshing, and while they're a bit over the top and corny, they embrace it, they're good kids (well, maybe not Miley), but in this day and age, I think they're good and wholesome, and gel really well with the Muppets, even if I personally feel Animal should have gone a bit crazier and chased Miley screaming "WOMAN! WOMAN!" after her number.
But loved all the Muppet wished Fozzie, Rowlf and The Pengiuns were going to show up at the last moment but it was still pretty cool. Can't wait for more to come.
I got really excited when I saw Rowlf in the title card but was disappointed when he wasn't actually in the special. Bill's been doing great with him. Unfortunately, Bill's Dr. Teeth and Rowlf are a little to similar.
I do have to mention though I was blown away that I couldn't see
any arm rods. How'd they do that? They couldn't have digitally removed them. Am I just blind? Or do they have new tricks?
In a nutshell - I see Disney as laying the groundwork they can so that people better equipped to make actual product will receive an adequate audience of old fans and newcomers. It’s kind of a non-handling-handling of them.
That's how I felt too. Like this is all the start or a way of getting the Muppets out there in a different light for the upcoming movie.
Let me say this, and I've said it before but it really bears repeating. When I first joined MC, I was blasted for saying how disappointed I was with how the Muppets were being handled (this is pre-Disney). God forbid I had an opinion. I couldn't understand why, as fans, we were expected to just adore any piece of crap that had the frog in it, like we were supposed to be so grateful and happy that they were doing
anything at all. Let's face the hard fact, the Muppets will never be what they were with Jim, or Frank, or Richard or Jerry, and who knows how much longer Dave will be in the game. That doesn't
have to mean it's over for the Muppets, but I am so happy now to see that the majority of you will not put up with sub-par productions. My hope though is that we don't over play the blame card. It's easy to say Disney is an evil empire who will do anything to make money, but it's not fair to hold everyone else responsible for a dip in the quality of the Muppets. They're perfectly able to share some of that blame. I think this Studio DC is another step in the right direction. It's a different world from when the Muppets were all the way at the top. Maybe this is one way to get back there here in the 21st century.
It's a shame kids today don't care about the Muppets.
I disagree. My 5 year old nephew, my 9 year old sister and a lot of their classmates really enjoy the Muppets, old school Muppets, not just Elmo. I'm actually really surprised how many kids I meet like the Muppets. I know it seems like kids today don't appreciate the things we did, but chin up; I believe it's the younger kids who will help bring the Muppets closer to their former glory.
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