Your Thoughts: "The Muppets" Theatrical Film

[Aidk321]

It was in MFC?

 

[Muppet fan 123]

It was in MFC?

What is MFC??

 

[Aidk321]

Muppet family Christmas

 

[GonzoLeaper]

I just saw "The Muppets" movie tonight and I must say I really enjoyed it. All my initial concerns about the movie are still there though, for the most part- thankfully though it all was pretty tasteful and I can't recall any questionable scenes. The whole thing was incredibly tongue-in-cheek and broke the fourth wall all over the place. (which certainly isn't anything new for The Muppets.)
For the most part I enjoyed the cameos, although there are some celebrities I'd just as soon not see associated with The Muppets because I don't care for the majority of their work... but like I said earlier- everything was tasteful and it was fun to see a lot of well known faces make appearances. And it was really neat to see lesser characters like Wayne & Wanda actually get some lines and a funny scene. And there were throwbacks galore to "The Muppet Show" itself of course, along with "The Muppet Movie" and "The Muppets Take Manhattan". (There may have been a reference to "The Great Muppet Caper" and other Muppet movies that I missed but I don't recall any right now.) I'm glad Pepe got a quick scene still and Statler & Waldorf were in there- along with characters like Bobby Benson and his baby band (and they even had some singing lines) and Marvin Suggs and his Muppaphones- and The Mutations and Thog and Uncle Deadly and Bobo and Quongo and Droop and Behemoth and so many others....
Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and Animal all got the significant amount of lines I expected. Dr. Teeth, Janice, Floyd and Zoot were in there too, along with Rowlf, Scooter, Crazy Harry, Swedish Chef, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker, Lew Zealand, Sam the American Eagle, and even Lips. Nigel was in there for a second. So many tons of characters making cool background appearances. It was great.
It was largely an amalgamation in some ways of "The Muppet Movie" and "The Muppets Take Manhattan" thrown in with elements of "It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie" (speaking of which, Whoopi Goldberg had her third appearance in a Muppets production [not counting her Sesame Street appearances here]). And what a range of cameos- from Jack Black to guys like Mickey Rooney. I still think the movie ignored the whole thing of the Muppet Theater being declared a national landmark in IAVMMCM- but then, there's obviously not a strict canon the Muppets adhere to. It was kind of hard imagining the Muppets being apart for so long- but again, they've done this before.
And it all came together well. I think for me and other fans- it may have felt that some of this was unnecessary because I don't see the Muppets as ever having gone away- but for the general public I suppose it was needed to get the Muppets back in their vision. So I can concede some of these things now.
And I really enjoyed the songs- the dude from Flight of the Conchords did a great job with the new music. And it was cool to hear some classic '80s songs in there too- "Cars" by Gary Numan and "We Built This City" by Jefferson Starship- that was great. I'm glad for the ending scene too- wrapping things up on a positive note. And it was certainly great to hear "The Rainbow Connection" in theaters!
At one point, when Walter was having trouble going on- and then when Kermit was rallying the troops to leave the theater with theirs heads held up high- I thought they were about to bust out "Just One Person" for a second there.
Even though I don't agree with everything some of the people involved in the movie do in their careers- I'm glad to see the respect they brought to these characters and to the movie and the good job they did of keeping their audience in mind- both older grown-up fans and younger kids first being introduced to The Muppets. I still think the title is confusing, but in a way it's kinda fitting since this is essentially "The Muppet Movie" for kids growing up now. (Though I still hope kids would also remember Jim Henson's original classics and enjoy those too.) It was great to see Jim Henson's picture in there too.
Everything was inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational- as my nephew said of it, it was "perfect".

 

[gbrobeck]

Well, here's my two cents. I loved the film. Finally, a throwback to the Muppet specials and movies of old! I loved all the cameos (celebrity and classic Muppet), the songs, the characterizations, everything! And I especially loved Walter. I went in expecting to not be able to stand Walter (a "human" who wants to be a Muppet isn't exactly the strongest of plot ideas on paper) but they totally made it work and made it believeable. The only problem I had (and this seems to be a common one) is that it did seem a little rushed and like important parts were edited out, but that's (hopefully) what DVD and Blu-Ray are for.

I have a feeling this movie is going to have some long-range impact. I was in Walmart today and passed by a woman singing "Rainbow Connection" to herself as she was shopping, so I knew she had seen the movie sometime in the last few days. This isn't just a movie that you see and like. It's one that sticks with you for days and you can't stop thinking about. Few movies these days can make that claim.

 

[Aidk321]

I feel together again would have been an appropriate song for when they were cleaning up

 

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

I still think the movie ignored the whole thing of the Muppet Theater being declared a national landmark in IAVMMCM- but then, there's obviously not a strict canon the Muppets adhere to.

But wasn't that the Muppet Theatre. In this I thought it was "Muppet Studios"

At one point, when Walter was having trouble going on- and then when Kermit was rallying the troops to leave the theater with theirs heads held up high- I thought they were about to bust out "Just One Person" for a second there.

I was terrified of that happening too. I didn't want to start crying if they did do that song.

 

[RedPiggy]

(There may have been a reference to "The Great Muppet Caper" and other Muppet movies that I missed but I don't recall any right now.

I think they're more subtle. While Piggy refuses to wear a mask during the kidnapping because her face is too pretty for such things, we must remember that none of Nicky's crew wore masks either -- and I find it strange that Piggy's FIRST thought to solve their problem is crime, LOL. Also, Kermit and Piggy's discussion in Paris is basically the duck pond scene but not played for laughs this time. The only other movie I see referenced is MFS, what with Gonzo's "People of Earth" or whatever line.

I still think the movie ignored the whole thing of the Muppet Theater being declared a national landmark in IAVMMCM- but then, there's obviously not a strict canon the Muppets adhere to.

Except they actually get around it. The LA location seems to be more of an actual studio lot, whereas in VMX, the Theater is ACTUALLY a theater in NY. This movie works harder to throw the "it's only a movie/show" thing out there. So, in the NY context, the Muppet Theater is safe, assuming VMX is more like a part of in-universe movie continuity. However, this movie seems to call everything part of the show, even this movie.

 

[Gonzo's Hobbit]

The only other movie I see referenced is MFS, what with Gonzo's "People of Earth" or whatever line.

I was wondering whether or not to count that as a reference or just Gonzo being gonzo. In the end it's kind of a combination of both in my mind.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Good points, RedPiggy- I did briefly think of "Muppets From Space" but I couldn't recall the scene at the time. And now that I think about, yeah- the ninja masks thing was a great subtle reference to "The Great Muppet Caper".
Good explanation on the Muppet Theater thing too- that makes more sense now. I guess I just tended to think of the Muppet Theater being the same as Muppet Studios, etc. but I can see the difference now.