Disney Enlists Segel & Stoller for new Muppets movie

[WAYMOND]

I much prefer humans in a Muppet world than Muppets in a human world.

 

[Drtooth]

I agree. The crafted soundstage sets for MTI and MCC are beautiful, but they just don't beat Fozzie Bear talking to a herd of cows. "Of course I've heard of cows!"

That goes to say why MCC is one of my least favorite muppet movies. They were guest stars in their own movie. I feel MTI did a better job, making most of the important pirates Muppets (Clueless Morgan, Polly Lobster, etc.) And I did like the feel of MTI. I felt it had a better balance.

But TMT, MTM, and GMC (as well as MFS and VMX- in a smaller extent) give the movies to the Muppets and one or two humans. The humans are the guests or antagonists or friends, and not the stars.

I mean, I can see a human star of a movie anytime.

 

[Super Scooter]

I guess I'm somewhere in the middle on this. I love the look of Muppet Treasure Island and Muppet Christmas Carol, but seeing Muppets in the real world is very exciting, too. I like it that The Muppet Show dropped humans into a world overrun by Muppets, and then they reversed that in The Muppet Movie by putting Kermit in with just humans, and the occasional Muppet to run into.

Personally, I'd like to see them mix it a bit more. Sort of like with Greg the Bunny. I'd like to see the Muppets in the real world, but both humans and puppets as background characters... I don't know if that would quite work as well with the Muppets outside of the "storybook" setting, though.

 

[beaker]

I agree. The crafted soundstage sets for MTI and MCC are beautiful, but they just don't beat Fozzie Bear talking to a herd of cows. "Of course I've heard of cows!"

Seeing Muppets in the real world mingling with onlookers...be it Pepe and Rizzo interviewing people on the street for "From the Balcony", Uncle Matt on Fraggle Rock, Muppets @ WDW, the test footage for Muppet Movie, etc always is the best.

So...when a Muppet film is mostly filmed on stages, it just lacks that magic. When we seeing the Muppet gang walking through downtown Manhattan in MTM, it feels alive and wonderful.

I have no doubt this magic will be back with Segal and Stoller's vision as well as the Fraggle Rock movie.

I myself absolutely loathe Muppet Oz, Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, Frog Prince, and any of those Muppets as classic literature character specials and films.

 

[froggiegirl18]

New Muppet Movie?

Hey I got a call from a friend the other day and she said she heard there might be a muppet movie in the making and I was wondering if anyone else heard about it. Is it another rumor or is there really a movie in the making?

 

[ngreen522]

This article has stuff I didn't know about Segel. ..Plus, any news is good news!

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2008/08/07/from-the-cutting-room-floor-jason-segel-talks-about-the-new-muppets-movie.aspx

 

[Drtooth]

“You look at even the new Star Wars movies, and I much prefer the old Yoda and Jabba the Hutt," he says as an example. "There’s somebody operatng these things. I got to do it for Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I operated the Dracula puppet. I don’t know, man, you get to act. Versus a computer animator trying to do it for you. You feel that, that’s the only way I know how to describe it, is you feel the the difference. Versus somebody who’s actively playing these parts. I’m excited to bring that back.”

I feel the exact same way. I mean, when you do a hybrid film, you basically talk to a cardboard standee, or a tennis ball. Sure, a puppet may be inanimate and artificial, but with a puppeteer right there, you have something to react to... something that exists in the moment, and not some after thought added in by someone somewhere else.

I especially feel the same way with the recent Star Wars films. Especially since the CGI's had a lot more gravitaional freedom than the actors. They were too realistic, and yet cartoony. Like Jar Jar. he was basically floating and bouncing on screeen.

 

[frogboy4]

Like Jar Jar. he was basically floating and bouncing on screeen.

There's a lot wrong with Jar Jar. He's almost the Clifford of Episode One.

I have no problem with CG easing little bits in a Muppet scene (like the Kermit flip in MTI) but not as a rule. Man, George Lucas just kept throwing more CG at the screen until now replacing everything with computer animation for the Clone Wars. I am seeing that film, but early word on it is that the animation is as wooden as the dialogue! I do like the look of the hand drawn animation this film was based on. Oh, and Frank didn't come back to voice Yoda. I guess he's completely out of the Star Wars biz now.

 

[AndyWan Kenobi]

I think I remember reading somewhere that Frank Oz would portray Yoda if he appeared in the live-action series that's set to debut in a couple of years. Considering that Yoda would be in exile, that probably wouldn't be very often.

But from a certain perspective you could argue that CG creatures raise the bar for the actors--they have to engage their imaginations more fully to do their jobs . . .

 

[Drtooth]

I have no problem with CG easing little bits in a Muppet scene (like the Kermit flip in MTI) but not as a rule. Man, George Lucas just kept throwing more CG at the screen until now replacing everything with computer animation for the Clone Wars. I am seeing that film, but early word on it is that the animation is as wooden as the dialogue! I do like the look of the hand drawn animation this film was based on. Oh, and Frank didn't come back to voice Yoda. I guess he's completely out of the Star Wars biz now.

HAHAHA! You're serious? Clone Wars isn't a "Star Wars" movie, but rather a movie version of a pilot of a TV show they were planning for some time. It's a new version of the cartoon Clone wars using essentially the same character designs, but all CGI. Frank isn't returning to voice Yoda, since Frank never voiced Yoda in the original series of Clone Wars cartoons.