TV Alert: "It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie" on CW Tuesday December 18

[D'Snowth]

I could do without another Christmas special or movie, we've got so many of them already: The Great Santa Claus Switch, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas, A Muppet Family Christmas, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Elmo Saves Christmas, Elmo's World: Happy Holidays, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, Elmo's Christmas Countdown, A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, among others...

I'd much rather see some of the other holidays get some love and attention for a change... IIRC, a Muppet Halloween special was among the many projects that was in the works until Disney shelved it.

 

[muppetlover123]

oh yeah the halloween one or maybe a thanksgiving one

and whats IIRC?

 

[SSLFan]

My first time watching this film in a while; I agree with the majority, The Muppets clearly put this film to shame on so many levels and made me appreciate the recent muppet movie tons more. This film, while a good message, was too dark and depressing for me, espcially dark for a Muppet movie. That being said, anyone get kinda creeped out when Kermit was frozen solid? It almost felt like Kermit died for a few seconds. It's hard for me to look at that scene.

On a lighter note, Kevin Clash made an excellent Sam the Eagle. Almost sounded like Frank's.

 

[DannyRWW]

I understand the cutting of the NBC references, I figured that was why they were cut...but it did ruin pacing a little at points...though the true mistake was including them in the first place...its the problem with dated references...(and yeah tthey did these when Jim was alive too...but the classic muppet timing made those work even if you don't get the joke....have you tried Hari Krischna) I always got a kick out of the scrubs scene though...and that one is a tad integral to the plot (getting Piggy back)... I always liked this movie though I know many didn't...and yeah there are some things I don't like (too many lengthy scenes without muppets with Woopie Goldberg...who interestingly works with no muppets in the movie to name one thing..... I don't like) the main plot and the its a wonderful life story I do like however....joan cusack is a great Muppet villian.... and Pepe seems to e able to get away with things other Muppets can't which is in itself funny (When you can help friends and get revenge on your enemies...isn't that what Christmas is all about)....now yes I do like Muppets 2011 better...but this movie is always on my watch list for Christmas....nowhere near as important as Muppet Family Christmas (which I've watched three times this year)...

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

I always got a kick out of the scrubs scene though...and that one is a tad integral to the plot (getting Piggy back)...

Yeah. I can understand other cuts, like the NBC logo on Kermit's foot, but cutting the "Scrubs" scene takes something away, because you see come back out of nowhere. Looks like I'll still have to watch my DVD to look for that scene. Then they have to have more commercial breaks to fill the time slot.

Strangely, they did leave in the part with Rizzo on "Fear Factor" yet Kermit's line "How can NBC live with themselves?" was cut.

I was thinking that maybe this movie doesn't work on the CW. Maybe they should bring it back to NBC if they still have rights to air Muppet Movies. At least that way we can see it in it's entirety. Sure, CW can air "Letters to Santa" uncut, but that's because there aren't as many cultural references. On this it's not just NBC references, they also edited out the "Crocodile Hunter" part and whatever happened to make Fozzie turn green in the first place. I don't know, I think we're all better off just watching the DVD.

 

[Slackbot]

I watched this last night. I enjoy it a lot; it's got the Muppety chaos that I love, and they're in the theater doing a show. Win!

However, there are bits that bother me. There is some overacting that makes me squirm. Bitterman and the insane Aussie hunter are the worst offenders. Fromage doesn't work my nerves, I guess because he's so over the top he loops back around to being bearable.

I don't mind the World Without Kermit one bit, to be honest. Sam as a X-driven raver? Scooter as a go-go boy? The Mayhem as Celtic dancers? All that was grin fodder. The only two who made me feel a little sad were Gonzo, because I really could believe that if Kermit hadn't been there to give him a break he'd have ended up homeless, and Fozzie, because seeing such a sweet, innocent character become a pickpocket--brr.

Speaking of Fozzie, I really liked his attempt to deliver the money. He gave up his treasured monologue. He went through, er, heck en route to the bank, even running back and forth through a corridor filled with lasers, and if that's not heroic I don't know what is. His failure was not his fault. I was disappointed that Kermit didn't recognize that at all, no "I know you tried." Poor Foz.

I'm glad that, not having anything but broadcast TV, I watched a DVD instead. Seeing the film with those edits would have hurt.

 

[Drtooth]

Sad thing is, it sounds like the film was better without the forced NBC references and that awkward and pointless forced bit about the Crock Hunter (dude died... it wasn't too funny when he was alive, anyway). Too bad I bet it makes the fact Fozzie almost passed out from the tranq dart make no sense.

In hindsight, this movie was pretty good and it showed that the Muppets could be capable of something more Muppety than MCC and on the whole, better completely than MFS. The Muppets does put it to shame because that film isn't mired down in Christmas movie parodies. But here's the thing. When VMX came out, the Scary Movie franchise didn't turn into the ultra garbage of bad MadTv wanna be skits shoved into a 90 minute reference-a-thon. Nonstop pop culture references didn't get stale and annoying quite yet, and they still flew. It makes the humor of the movie very dated, but again... in hindsight.

However, there are some very poignant moments in this film that were the Great Muppet Turn Around. Kermit, who seemed to get more and more lobotomized in every movie since MCC (forgivable, since Tom Cratchit's a freaking doormat, not so forgivable with the barely there Kermit in MFS), FINALLY had scenes of snapping, yelling, and being the same Kermit from the World of T-Shirts/Count operates an Elevator/Piggy brings up marriage at an inappropriate time skits we all know and love. Not to mention that, through all the alternate universe lulz there were, the scene where a Kermit-less Piggy is a broken down wreck was a refreshing bit of heart in the Kermit/Piggy relationship.

But if there's one thing us Muppet fans forget, the ratings for this were HUGE. This special was about the time of the BIG Muppet comeback when the Palisades line popped up, and all that weird merchandise came out of the 25th anniversary of the TV show. Unfortunately, there's also the sore point that this was the special that was going to lead to others, but none of them came into fruition until MWOZ... and we all know what happened after that. Especially since there were better telefilms and specials being tossed around at that time.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Sad thing is, it sounds like the film was better without the forced NBC references and that awkward and pointless forced bit about the Crock Hunter (dude died... it wasn't too funny when he was alive, anyway). Too bad I bet it makes the fact Fozzie almost passed out from the tranq dart make no sense.

Actually, I don't think that really was Steve Irwin. I think that was just an actor impersonating him, but as usual, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Drtooth]

Actually, I don't think that really was Steve Irwin. I think that was just an actor impersonating him, but as usual, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I wasn't saying he was. It's just... considering this was done before the actual Crock Hunter died, it takes a lame pop culture reference and turns it into a ghoulish lame pop culture reference in hindsight. That's why Pop culture references barely fly anymore. Eh, that and the Parody Movie franchise killed whatever humor Pop Culture references still had.

 

[Muppet fan 123]

What was the Scrubs scene? I must have missed that on the DVD, I probably wasn't paying attention.