Is there an overrated/underrated Muppet production?

[TML]

I think that VMMC is extremely underrated. It is the best Muppet production since MTI. Kermit is the center for the first time in ages, they're back in the theater, Scooter is in it. The gift of the magi running joke at the beginning is classic Muppets. I love seeing how the Muppets turn out without Kermit too.

I have always thought Muppets Take Manhattan was overrated. I'd rather watch MTI. Even as a kid I got bored watching it. Nothing will ever top TGMC. Best gags and songs by far.

 

[Gelfling Girl]

I think that VMMC is extremely underrated. It is the best Muppet production since MTI. Kermit is the center for the first time in ages, they're back in the theater, Scooter is in it. The gift of the magi running joke at the beginning is classic Muppets. I love seeing how the Muppets turn out without Kermit too.

Yes, it's not the best Muppet movie, but it's certainly one of my top picks of the post-Henson films.

I have always thought Muppets Take Manhattan was overrated. I'd rather watch MTI. Even as a kid I got bored watching it. Nothing will ever top TGMC. Best gags and songs by far.

I'm not sure I would call it overrated, but I certainly preferred the other two of the first three classic Muppets films.

 

[beatnikchick300]

I think you're being overly sensitive. He said nothing about picking on Miley due to her age. We all have different tastes and yours happen to differ from his. Let's leave it at that. For some reason it seems you might be the member who created this same argument here, at ToughPigs and over at the Newsflash under different names. Forgive me if I'm wrong about that, but it appears there's a pre existing chip on your shoulder pertaining to criticism of these sorts of stars. I can assure you that nobody is being a bully here.

Not to nitpick, but I'm a girl. BeatnikCHICK, get it?

Unless you weren't referring to me, in which case, disregard this message.

 

[minor muppetz]

I think we're talking only about The Muppet Show type productions, but I feel Faffner must be completely underrated due in major part to the fact it's impossible to find anywhere and was only available on premium cable. Unlike Fraggle Rock, it didn't last too long either, so it was never broadcast anywhere else, nor was it available on home video 9at least to my knowledge).

I'm DYING to see Faffner myself.

While I was talking about Muppet Show-related productions, I can't help but feel like Follow That Bird is underrated. Most of us here seem to like it, but it's rarely brought up in interviews with the cast or performers, and it's rarely acknowledged much in biographies and documentaries relating to Henson and Sesame Street. In Jim Henson: The Works it's only mentioned in the timeline section. In Caroll Spinney's book it's briefly mentioned twice. It's not mentioned at all in Sesame Street Unpaved or Street Gang. At least the 40th anniversary book gives it a good amount of coverage (even if it doesn't include any interesting facts about the production).

 

[frogboy4]

Not to nitpick, but I'm a girl. BeatnikCHICK, get it?

Unless you weren't referring to me, in which case, disregard this message.

If you're asking about who wrote the post he was citing that I was citing...well there were several people making the same point. I just picked one that happened to be male. Nothing personal there, I assure you. And Johnny Fiama is a fantastic avatar to have no matter what your gender.

I understand fan's problems with the Muppets being represented by tween stars, but we must accept that the Muppets are for everybody and that includes Miley Cyrus. She's not my first choice, but the kids seem to like her and that's what the SDC spots were all about.

Not every guest on the Muppet Show was my favorite. There was one star in particular that I later saw in concert in one of the worst productions of Anything Goes I have ever seen. Because of that, I don't enjoy her TMS episode as much as I used to. But hey. Someone's tastes were represented there, the Muppets did a fantastic job and even Big Bird showed up for that episode. There's always a bright side!

 

[Drtooth]

While I was talking about Muppet Show-related productions, I can't help but feel like Follow That Bird is underrated. Most of us here seem to like it, but it's rarely brought up in interviews with the cast or performers, and it's rarely acknowledged much in biographies and documentaries relating to Henson and Sesame Street. In Jim Henson: The Works it's only mentioned in the timeline section. In Caroll Spinney's book it's briefly mentioned twice. It's not mentioned at all in Sesame Street Unpaved or Street Gang. At least the 40th anniversary book gives it a good amount of coverage (even if it doesn't include any interesting facts about the production).

Well, FTB is something that had a better life on VHS than it did in the theaters... a LOT of movies were like that. Hence why a lot of flop movies become cult favorites. I;m sure Jim would have been happy to know while Dark Crystal and Labyrinth didn't do exactly as well initially as he thought they would that generations of fans have been watching it on DVD and VHS. That's the way movies go.

Heck, UHF... that was not only a commercial flop, but critics were downright nasty to it. For years, fans were paying through the nose for used VHS copies (before it came to DVD that is). It happens.

 

[seradarkness]

I know that quite a few people will probably disagree with me here but I personally find the Steve Martin episode of the Muppet Show to be completely overrated and it is actually the only episode of the Muppet Show that I have watched so far and actively disliked. I think that the set up completely jarred me but mostly I just didn't find Steve Martin funny in it, instead I found it rather embarassing to watch. However obviously that is my opinion and I have loved him in other things. (His appearance on the Little Shop of Horrors was the highlight for me )

On the other hand, apart from the ending I do actually really love Muppets from Space and have lost count of how many times I have watched the opening number. It's not the best of the bunch but I think it perhaps deserves more credit than it got, especially in regards to the later 'Muppet Wizard of Oz,' which wasn't completely awful but meh, glad it wasn't the first Muppet thing I ever saw.

My bf on the otherhand thinks that Bohemian Rhapsody is incredibly overrated and one of the worst of the virals. I of course seriously disagree as that was what got me back into the Muppets in the first place

Each to their own I suppose.

 

[Skekayuk]

I know that quite a few people will probably disagree with me here but I personally find the Steve Martin episode of the Muppet Show to be completely overrated and it is actually the only episode of the Muppet Show that I have watched so far and actively disliked. I think that the set up completely jarred me but mostly I just didn't find Steve Martin funny in it, instead I found it rather embarassing to watch.

I'm neutral about the Guest Star in that episode. However, I think in a way the set up was good for a one-off. It produced a space to include some interesting ideas. Some of which were terrible, and some of which would get developed further subsequently, for example having a "girl" singer to rival Miss Piggy. The performers' talents were tried and tested and stretched by working in a differnt set up. It's also the first appearance of the best TMS Jugband. Oh yes, and what about the tomato.

 

[minor muppetz]

Well, FTB is something that had a better life on VHS than it did in the theaters... a LOT of movies were like that. Hence why a lot of flop movies become cult favorites.

Speaking of that, could that be the case for most Henson movies? As far as box office performance goes, The Dark Crystal has the second highest-grossing box office success of any Henson movie, after The Muppet Movie. Since TDC was consdiered a flop, does that mean that all Muppet movies besides TMM weren't as successful as they seem, or just that The Dark Crystal was a flop in the sense that it was so expensive to make that it didn't make enough box office reciepts to cover production costs?

 

[Sgt Floyd]

Time to make people mad

I think The Great Muppet Caper is overrated. I just cannot watch that movie all the way through. Theres just something about it that I did not like. I cant really say what. I thought the Happiness Hotel song/scene was the only good thing in that movie. Maybe I thought the plot was just to cliched or something. I dunno.

And I also like Muppets From Space

And actually, I think the Dark Crystal is overrated (though, overrated may be a subjective term here) too. Tat movie is just too long and boring. The characters all move really slow and nothing seems to happen. However,its a great movie in the sense that it showcasesthe possibilities of what puppetry can acomplish. Just as a movie for enjoyment...blah