Favorite Minor Muppet?

[LouisTheOtter]

It all depends on how you define "minor Muppet" (is the Swedish Chef minor? Is Rizzo? Sam Eagle?) but I like some of the choices I've seen here.

I'm loving that Sweetums and Lew Zealand have had more to do in recent Muppet films and productions - they're surprisingly versatile and Sweetums in particular just puts a smile on my face whenever he shows up.

It's amazing to consider that Lew Zealand, the one-joke boomerang-fish-thrower, has had one truly great deconstructing-the-Muppets line in each of the last two films, not to mention solo lines in two MMW songs.

Intrigued by the "Sweetums needs his own movie" comment. Maybe he does. I've previously posted on this forum that I think the next Muppet movie, whether it's a direct-to-video or theatrical release, should only concentrate on one or two characters as opposed to trying to cram as many Muppets as possible into the mix. Maybe a few other characters could play supporting roles but I'd like to give one or two of these guys a chance to take centre stage and have a movie with different pacing and writing, especially characters that don't often show up for longer than 10-15 seconds.

As I've said before, Pepe or Rowlf would be my top choices for a film like this (I practically have Pepe's backstory written in my head) but maybe Sweetums has the depth to pull this off too, particularly with the enthusiasm Vogel is giving him these days.

 

[Eyeball]

It all depends on how you define "minor Muppet" (is the Swedish Chef minor? Is Rizzo? Sam Eagle?) but I like some of the choices I've seen here.

I'm loving that Sweetums and Lew Zealand have had more to do in recent Muppet films and productions - they're surprisingly versatile and Sweetums in particular just puts a smile on my face whenever he shows up.

It's amazing to consider that Lew Zealand, the one-joke boomerang-fish-thrower, has had one truly great deconstructing-the-Muppets line in each of the last two films, not to mention solo lines in two MMW songs.

Intrigued by the "Sweetums needs his own movie" comment. Maybe he does. I've previously posted on this forum that I think the next Muppet movie, whether it's a direct-to-video or theatrical release, should only concentrate on one or two characters as opposed to trying to cram as many Muppets as possible into the mix. Maybe a few other characters could play supporting roles but I'd like to give one or two of these guys a chance to take centre stage and have a movie with different pacing and writing, especially characters that don't often show up for longer than 10-15 seconds.

As I've said before, Pepe or Rowlf would be my top choices for a film like this (I practically have Pepe's backstory written in my head) but maybe Sweetums has the depth to pull this off too, particularly with the enthusiasm Vogel is giving him these days.

sweetums with his own film?, interesting though does he have the appeal to other potential first time watchers or casual fans as kermit or miss piggy? that would be my only concern.

 

[SpookyMania]

Lew Zealand. What a strange character, you just gotta love him.

 

[Eyeball]

Lew Zealand. What a strange character, you just gotta love him.

nah not for me, i never really found him that funny, each to their own but he was just irritating to me.

 

[LouisTheOtter]

sweetums with his own film?, interesting though does he have the appeal to other potential first time watchers or casual fans as kermit or miss piggy? that would be my only concern.

While I certainly don't want future Muppet productions to abandon Kermit or Piggy completely (inconceivable!), I think it may be time to give some of the lesser-known characters some breathing room to see if they can win over some new fans and help the franchise grow.

Think of it - the most popular Muppet in the '60s wasn't Kermit, it was Rowlf. Kermit was a supporting player who didn't really start taking a toehold until he "evolved" into his froggy self in the late '60s, and even then his character was still being defined until he became the TMS host and the anchor of that crazy cast.

It could be argued that Big Bird was actually the most popular Muppet of the '70s. But in the late '70s and into the '80s, Piggy was unquestionably the Muppets' star. Then came Elmo in the '90s. These things always go in cycles, especially when you have such a large cast of strong characters.

Look at how Puss In Boots got his own movie after three Shrek sequels. I could easily see the same thing happening with Rowlf or Pepe, and perhaps even Sweetums (although Sweetums might need a bit of character growth for him to carry a full movie).

 

[Eyeball]

While I certainly don't want future Muppet productions to abandon Kermit or Piggy completely (inconceivable!), I think it may be time to give some of the lesser-known characters some breathing room to see if they can win over some new fans and help the franchise grow.

Think of it - the most popular Muppet in the '60s wasn't Kermit, it was Rowlf. Kermit was a supporting player who didn't really start taking a toehold until he "evolved" into his froggy self in the late '60s, and even then his character was still being defined until he became the TMS host and the anchor of that crazy cast.

It could be argued that Big Bird was actually the most popular Muppet of the '70s. But in the late '70s and into the '80s, Piggy was unquestionably the Muppets' star. Then came Elmo in the '90s. These things always go in cycles, especially when you have such a large cast of strong characters.

Look at how Puss In Boots got his own movie after three Shrek sequels. I could easily see the same thing happening with Rowlf or Pepe, and perhaps even Sweetums (although Sweetums might need a bit of character growth for him to carry a full movie).

oh please no!, i would never like to see a film with him as the lead character i can barely tolerate him for 5 minutes let alone 90+, but i do see where you're coming from i would just of prefered as you said someone that can carry a movie for the duration of the film and not someone who the audience will get bored with within 10 minutes.

 

[LipsGF4Life]

Lips is my most favorite. I always wanted to pet his hair.

 

[fozzieisfunny]

I also like Lips!! It's a very good character, even though he hardly speaks!! ( I imagine that there could be like a whole entire Muppet movie where they could try to get him to talk!)

 

[LouisTheOtter]

oh please no!, i would never like to see a film with him as the lead character i can barely tolerate him for 5 minutes let alone 90+, but i do see where you're coming from i would just of prefered as you said someone that can carry a movie for the duration of the film and not someone who the audience will get bored with within 10 minutes.

Pepe is definitely an acquired taste for some (and a never-to-be-acquired taste for others) but I truly think he could play the lead in a future Muppet production.

He's a very unique Muppet in that he's constantly in a crisis of conscience - there's that undercurrent of greed, which often plays itself out to ridiculous proportions, and yet he's got a heart of gold and genuinely doesn't want to hurt anybody.

Pepe can also venture into territory that doesn't always work for the Classic Muppets. It's a tricky balance between the clean, G-rated zone and the raunchier PuppetUp/Henson Alternative material, but Pepe can be saucy without rattling the FCC. That's a tribute to Bill Baretta's handling of the character, especially in live situations like talk shows.

And he can sing! I never cease to be amazed at "Merry Christmas Baby" (on A Green and Red Christmas) or even Pepe's duet with Scooter on "Moves Like Jagger." Baretta has an incredible vocal range and I'd love to see him get a crack at a full movie musical with either Pepe or Rowlf. (Or both!)

 

[Eyeball]

Pepe is definitely an acquired taste for some (and a never-to-be-acquired taste for others) but I truly think he could play the lead in a future Muppet production.

He's a very unique Muppet in that he's constantly in a crisis of conscience - there's that undercurrent of greed, which often plays itself out to ridiculous proportions, and yet he's got a heart of gold and genuinely doesn't want to hurt anybody.

Pepe can also venture into territory that doesn't always work for the Classic Muppets. It's a tricky balance between the clean, G-rated zone and the raunchier PuppetUp/Henson Alternative material, but Pepe can be saucy without rattling the FCC. That's a tribute to Bill Baretta's handling of the character, especially in live situations like talk shows.

And he can sing! I never cease to be amazed at "Merry Christmas Baby" (on A Green and Red Christmas) or even Pepe's duet with Scooter on "Moves Like Jagger." Baretta has an incredible vocal range and I'd love to see him get a crack at a full movie musical with either Pepe or Rowlf. (Or both!)

hmmmmm, i see where you're coming from louis as in pepe can pull off the more mature content without some form of controversy but as you stated he's a marmite character, either you love him or you hate him and this may work against him if he were a lead character. My personal pick would be to give a movie to someone like floyd who lets be honest we still dont know all 'that' much about and hes still a fairly popular and recogniseable muppet so there is the room for a rather secondary character to take center stage like you mentioned you would like a few posts back.