"The Muppets" isn't the Muppets

[dwmckim]

We'd still have good ol' Mildred!

(frogfan76 likes this.)

It's the writing. I really didn't find Kermit that bland except for (again) MFS, where the movie was all about Gonzo anyway... just... Kermit was there for marketing reasons... but for my taste, Kermit really became the Kermit we know and love in VMX, when he had multiple breakdowns and yelled at everyone, and blew a fuse numerous times. Something Kermit's been doing since forever. The Wonderful World of T-Shirts, The Muppet Show... how about that TMS skit where he tells everyone to "knock it off," then "knock it off with the knocking it off," and finally... "KNOCK IT OF!!!"

I think i would cry tears of joy if i ever heard Steve's Kermit finally yell "WILL YOU GET OUT OF HERE??!!"

As for the poll question: "Do you think "The Muppets" was The Muppets? I vote no. I think they were Bananarama.

 

[Beauregard]

I think i would cry tears of joy if i ever heard Steve's Kermit finally yell "WILL YOU GET OUT OF HERE??!!"

YES. YES. YES.

Although there would no doubt be an immediate Fox-news backlash. "Kermit the Frog shouts at his Co-Workers, encourages Bullying."

 

[Drtooth]

I'm glad that was true for others. For me, I had Kermit nightmares after seeing VMX. And not because the movie was deeper or darker or anything, it was just disturbing. Not in an artistic way, just in a disturbing way, lol.

Yeah, but at least he emoted. Instead of MFS, where he stood their like a Happy face bobblehead going "Get down with your bad selves."

 

[Borples]

I think i would cry tears of joy if i ever heard Steve's Kermit finally yell "WILL YOU GET OUT OF HERE??!!"

One of my favorite parts of TM was Kermit arguing with the others about kidnapping Jack Black. That was pretty close to old-school yellin'-at-the-crazies, there. Could have used a good scene of him being driven to distraction by a potential act in the telethon, though. I know...Gonzo could have wanted to do something even more dangerous and ridiculous...head bowling could have been the compromise.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

Just sayin'

 

[Borples]

Hahaha, I'd never seen that before! It's terrific. Steve is so doggone good at playing that side of Kermit, when he gets the chance. It's funny, I seem to remember that back in the 90s (I think?) people complained that Kermit flew off the handle too much/quickly. And now we seem to be complaining about the opposite problem. Can't make nobody happy nohow.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

Yeah, but at least he emoted. Instead of MFS, where he stood their like a Happy face bobblehead going "Get down with your bad selves."

Can't argue with this! DrTooth knows my stance on MFS. "Oh Piggy do I know you?"

 

[Pinkflower7783]

Hahaha, I'd never seen that before! It's terrific. Steve is so doggone good at playing that side of Kermit, when he gets the chance. It's funny, I seem to remember that back in the 90s (I think?) people complained that Kermit flew off the handle too much/quickly. And now we seem to be complaining about the opposite problem. Can't make nobody happy nohow.

Yeah what I liked about that clip was it reminded me of TMS days. And you don't get to see Steve's Kermit blow his top that much. Although with all due respect to Steve he'll never be able to have that appeal that Jim gave to Kermit when he got mad.

 

[LouisTheOtter]

Wow - what a discussion we've got going here! Thanks for sharing, everyone. Sometimes it's just nice to come here and see I'm not the only one who cares about these characters and how they're portrayed and positioned in the modern era.

On the original point of poor audience reaction: The comments I've gotten on The Muppets, from moviegoers ranging in age from 6 to 42 (including a surprising number of teenagers), is that they loved the movie. In the days following its North American release, I was over the moon at the frequency with which my FB friends had friends of theirs (with or without kids) commenting on their status lines to the effect of "We saw it the other night and it was AWESOME!"

Now, that being said, this wasn't universal. I've mentioned on this forum that two college friends of mine took their daughters (age 4 and 6) to see it and almost felt sheepish about it afterwards, with the husband suggesting they might have been better off to stay home and watch TMS episodes on DVD and that he was sad that "my kids won't get to enjoy the Muppets the same way I did." Well, no, of course they won't, just like we can't enjoy Looney Tunes or The Flintstones the same way as our grandparents did, or we can't enjoy Sesame Street or the Charlie Brown TV specials the same way our parents did. Life goes on and so do we.

(Footnote to that: His wife later came on FB and said "we seem to be the only people around here who felt that way.")

But, echoing the sentiments of others here, the concept that The Muppets isn't "THE MUPPETS" is absolute nonsense. This movie took the huge risk of trying to recapture the TMS and first-three-movies spirit while giving respect to the new performers and characters that have come on deck since Jim Henson's death, AND creating something fresh and new that would stand on its own. I shudder at the thought of trying to do any of those things, let alone balance the three of them in one movie - and yet, it worked.

And it's still working: I had an animated conversation five nights ago at a local music festival with a friend of mine in his '40s who gushed about the movie to me as if we had just seen it for the first time minutes earlier. (And HE brought it up, not me!)

Finally - I'm not worried about Kermit. He'll be fine. He had his morose sequences in The Muppets (given the break-up of the cast, why wouldn't he?) but as Borples mentioned, he had that great reaction to the Jack Black kidnapping and also had some of his finest moments (inspirational speech at the end) and at least one or two good laughs ("Children?" "Ice cream?" "Laughter?"; to Tex Richman, "Well, you could have just SAID 'No'"). I trust Steve Whitmire with this beloved character and I trust the Muppet brain trust (including Stoller, Bobin and Disney) to give him some attitude when needed.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

I did read somewhere a while back it was probably back in April when Nicholas Stoller was JUST releasing little details about the next movie was you'll see Kermit back to his usual cheerful self. He won't be sad and moping around like he was in the last movie.