"The Muppets" debut at Number 1 in DVD sales

[Avilos]

I am watching OZ now.... Who the heck was the hoped for audience for this train wreck???

 

[Pinkflower7783]

Lol! We have yet to figure that out.

 

[jvcarroll]

I am watching OZ now.... Who the heck was the hoped for audience for this train wreck???

Oz was reportedly the product of a rushed production during the sale of the Muppets to the Walt Disney Company. The director really wanted to make a feature film so many of his aspirations fell flat and didn't get realized or fleshed-out the way they should have. A lot was scrapped and I think we got pieced-together remnants. There are some great moments in it and I liked Piggy's song. It just seemed like all the magic was taking place in the fringes of that movie rather than center stage where it should have been. Also, originally they tried to get Natalie Portman for the lead. That could have been an entirely different sort of picture. Probably a better one.

 

[Avilos]

I knew it be not good or even bad but this is AWFUL! I don't think anything with the Muppets has every been this horrible.

For one, I can't imagine what a young child would think of it. With no knowledge of the Muppet characters it tells you nothing of who they normally are. Sure they have played other roles before but with some sense of their normal personalities. Also it is so removed from the Wizard of OZ, whether the actual book or the famous movie, to confuse them.

 

[Avilos]

Thanks for the info jvcaroll!

A missed opportunity has occurred to me. There are thematic connections between the real Wizard of Oz and The Muppet Movie. Both are road films about a new groups of friends who meet each other while seeking their dreams. Plus the two most famous songs about Rainbows! There could have been potential here.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

I personally just don't like when they play other characters...but yeah I do remember seeing them in the Wizard of Oz I wasn't impressed at all.

 

[jvcarroll]

I personally just don't like when they play other characters...but yeah I do remember seeing them in the Wizard of Oz I wasn't impressed at all.

The better version.​

 

[Avilos]

Too get this back on the actual topic of this thread, I can't help but wonder how much OZ left a bad taste with general audiences towards the Muppets. For all the critical acclaim the new film got I wonder if some people where dubious about it due to what came before.

Make no mistake the new film was ultimately a success but it could have made more. Beyond other factors , a general downturn in overall box office numbers, recent missteps like OZ must of made some people cautious about seeing a new movie with the Muppets. With a fear it could follow the same pattern.

I bet there will be many people discovering it on DVD thinking "I should have seen this in the theater!"

 

[Phillip]

Too get this back on the actual topic of this thread, I can't help but wonder how much OZ left a bad taste with general audiences towards the Muppets. For all the critical acclaim the new film got I wonder if some people where dubious about it due to what came before.

Oz didn't hurt perception nearly as much as "Muppets From Space". Remember Oz was just a one-shot TV special. "Muppets From Space" was a theatrical release. People naturally expect more from a theatrical film than a TV special.

From a fan perspective though, Oz was no question the bottom of the barrel from a production standpoint in the post-Henson era. Oz also caused Disney to put Muppet TV projects on-hold for a number of years while they developed a strategy for what to do with the characters and their future. Releasing the first three seasons of The Muppet Show and launching a series of classic Muppet viral videos got the ball rolling in the right direction.

 

[Avilos]

I agree, like I said it was a series of missteps I only focused on OZ because it was most recent. But it was the latest following others. Of course hardly anyone saw Muppets in Space in theaters, the box office numbers prove it. Its hard to know what its reputation is beyond fans.

Coming from me a life long fan I saw neither at first. I guess I was at point of wrongly thinking the Muppets were in my past. Plus a general disinterest in MFS and MWOZ. It did take the Muppet Show DVDs and new viral videos to rekindled my interest.

I been thinking of mentioning this on this forum. I was in a very serious bicycle last fall. I almost died. I am ok now. But having the new movie come out shortly after being in a hospital for a month really lightened my spirits. One of my therapists was a big Muppets fan and we talked about it all the time! I can not express how much this gave me hope...

In December I had followup surgery and afterwards in my hospital room their was a scene on TV of Kermit singing a Christmas song with Robert De Niro. I started singing along.

I am not sure if anyone involved on making the movie come here but I just want to say THANK YOU. Its pretty amazing I survived at all. It helped that I was in good health, I had never had been in a hospital since I was born. But I will always feel that on some level that the desire to see this movie kept me alive!