A Muppet Christmas - Letters to Santa.

[MJTaylor]

I finally got to see it this morning, and I have to say I quite enjoyed it. I will admit, I found David Rudman's Scooter a bit hard to get used to at first but I really thought the special was great.

 

[Fraggline]

I really liked this special, too --- and, yeah, I was a tiny bit skeptical of Scooter's new voice at first, but now, I think it's really cute for his character.
Two things I really love about it:
1) Some of the original Muppets from the '70s came back: Beauregard, for instance (sweeping the apartment halls), and even the monster from the IBM commercial remake on TMS's second season (in the mail room)!
2) The bloopers are the best! Whenever I'm at an airport, I can't help but remember how Rizzo "hates his coat."

Glad you liked it!

 

[bingboingcutie]

I felt the same way. I just wasn't used to David Rudman's Scooter voice. But if you noticed, Bill Baretta did a really good job at Dr. Teeth!

If I had a choice, I'd recast the role of Scooter and make Brian Henson do it (It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie)--very realistic, and I'm a giant Scooter fan.

 

[Drtooth]

Yeah, but Brian's not with the Disney portion of the Muppets anymore. Plus, let's get real here, he only performed Scooter and Janice that one time... Oz had someone else. David's been doing a solid job since Studio DC. When it all comes down to recasting, sounding like the original performer isn't the first major concern. You have to be able to BE the character... it's a very personal thing... and it's even harder when it's someone else's personal character. Availability, longevity, and being able to make the character a personal thing when it was someone else's comes well before sounding like them. And David has been recast as many Richard Hunt roles over the years, even that one time when he was Sweetums on the Cosby Show and Richard was a sandwich. So it only makes sense that someone who has done his roles prior does his roles now. Though, again, I wonder why it took them that long to actually do it. Maybe because of his role on Sesame Street?

 

[Fraggline]

gee, I had no idea...
...I guess that being able to be the character matters much more than the voice...

<grabs baseball bat and wonks herself on the head>

thanks, Drtooth!

and, bbc, (can I call you bbc, bingboingcutie?) exactly -- Bill Baretta was SUPERB! He's one of my absolute favorite Muppeteers!
Keep up the good work, Bill Baretta!

 

[bingboingcutie]

Drtooth (or , if you don't mind), you are so right. I wanna see more David Rudman Scooter things. He reminds me of 76 Scooter, one of my favorites. Maybe that means there's hope in someday being cast as Wembley...


And Fraggie (if that's okay if I call you that) bbc is great! Call me that anytime you want to (I think Oscar was on the BBC network with the prince once...)!

Wish that Brian Henson were still with Muppets, however...loved that Phil Van Neuter!

 

[Canadian Fan]

I saw Letters To Santa twice this holiday season. I loved the special and I must admit, they've done very well with the recasts of many muppet characters. It's as if the original muppeteers were still voicing some of them. Very talented folks like: Steve Whitmire, Bill Barretta, Eric Jacobson, Matt Vogel, David Rudman, and of course Dave Goelz; they still bring the magic to the Muppets. Did I forget anyone?

 

[Fraggline]

And Fraggie (if that's okay if I call you that) bbc is great! Call me that anytime you want to (I think Oscar was on the BBC network with the prince once...)!

Wish that Brian Henson were still with Muppets, however...loved that Phil Van Neuter!

Yeah, you can call me Fraggie Thanks!
YES, always, Phil Van Neuter was a great character! <"Good ol' Stuff's U!" or is that the college he mentioned in "She Blinded Me with Science"? I can never tell.>

 

[Ruahnna]

Okay--I am FINALLY watching the DVD version of this movie that I only really got to watch when it aired, and by "watch" I mean--it was on, I was in the general vicinity and I was only interrupted about 67 times (during the first 10 minutes). Basically, before today I only really ascertained that everyone looked nice (OK--Piggy looked fabulous) and got the gist of the storyline (which was all right). I actually watched the show today and here are some of my impressions (but probably not all).
1. Piggy looks fabulous. The eyes are amazing. The costumes are to die for.
2. Two of the sexiest muppet performers in the world were in this show--Gonzo and Paul Williams. I can't say enough good things about having Paul involved once again with our fave felt buddies.
3. Loved the snails A very nice use of a running, er, slithering gag.
4. Seeing the Electric Mayhem do anything all together now was superb.
5. Can we every really get enough of David's Gonzo? I love that this storyline was Gonzo-driven--he is soooo the soul of the muppet cast. (Psst: Camilla looked hot, too!)
6. W0w-it's definitely time Beaker got a girlfriend. Good choice, Beaker!
7. The costumes are really good this time. Everything about them is just right--from Kermit's preppy little sweater, to Piggy's tights and plaid skirt, to Pepe's suit, to Fozzie's exuberant Christmas sweater and plaid pants, and--of course--Gonzo's eclectic ensemble. (Sheesh--the little whatever has such panache!)
8. The outtakes are terrifically funny. If you--like me--are a big fan of "grumpy Kermit" then watch the out-takes.
9: I love how Pepe manages to look like he's drooling over Joy. Give the King Prawn a gold star.
10. Aside from being insanely jealous of anyone who gets to perform with the muppets, I have to say that they do a consistently great job of casting human actors.
Okay--that's my quick thoughts. More when I've had a chance to see it a few (dozen) more times.