Frank Oz: "New Muppets Too Cute"

[Beauregard]

Interesting interview snippets here. I think he has a good point (of course he does, he's Frank Oz!)

http://www.celebuzz.com/2012-07-29/...-new-muppets-has-never-had-chick-fil-a-video/

One of the main reasons the Muppets originally worked was that they were often playing situations completely straight -- and the comedy comes from the fact that we, the audience, find it outrageous for a Pig and a Frog to be playing a love-scene seriously. Sure, they had plenty of jokes/puns/etc even then, but the main comedy was often the seriousness (the reality) of it, no?

 

[Hubert]

Interesting. He does make some good points there. Some stuff to ponder about when you're trying to fall asleep tonight...

 

[Drtooth]

Do we really care what he thinks? He still seems to have some annoyed angle at it. I don't see the over cuteness at all. That would be MCC.

I think it comes down to the fact he wished it was more experimental. And Experimental would have made that movie BOMB big time. Now, the next film can be as experimental as it wants. Disney wanted to build a brand with it, I think that deep down he has some problem with the Disney ownership, and that's part of his assessment.

But he is free to write the third one if he's got a problem.

 

[Slackbot]

*sigh* Am I a bad Muppet fan for not hanging on Frank Oz's every word? Yes, the man was an amazing puppeteer and he created some of the most vivid, memorable characters in the troupe, but he's moved on. I wish the media would stop asking the man about the Muppets and let him direct movies.

 

[charlietheowl]

I personally disagree with what he says. The Muppets always mixed in cuteness with their explosions and jokes and musical numbers, so to say the Muppets aren't cute is a little bit of wishful thinking. His characters may have not been the ones that brought the cute, but it was still there.

 

[Drtooth]

*sigh* Am I a bad Muppet fan for not hanging on Frank Oz's every word? Yes, the man was an amazing puppeteer and he created some of the most vivid, memorable characters in the troupe, but he's moved on. I wish the media would stop asking the man about the Muppets and let him direct movies.

Here's the question he SHOULD be asked.

Will Fungus return in Monster University?

I personally disagree with what he says. The Muppets always mixed in cuteness with their explosions and jokes and musical numbers, so to say the Muppets aren't cute is a little bit of wishful thinking. His characters may have not been the ones that brought the cute, but it was still there.

There's a general sweetness in the movies that's not always present in the TV show. They were going for that. I didn't see an over abundance of sweetness that was too foreign to the movies, and like I said, MCC and LTS are FAR sweeter and cuter than this film was. I understand that he does have a personal point, working on them for years... so there's clearly an intangible, unimitatable quality that wasn't there on that level. But hey, it's either this movie or Muppet Gimmick Movie with non-stop at the moment pop culture references and C-list celebrities we'd be annoyed by seeing.

 

[Borples]

Innnteresting. I don't quite agree with him. There were a few parts of the movie that I found a little saccharine, but they were parts that dealt with Walter, Gary and Mary, not the Muppets themselves. I never felt like the Muppets were trying to be cute in the movie. They WERE cute, but they always have been, and like even Oz said, that's different.

You know, Beau, I feel like the Kermit/Piggy stuff, specifically, was played straight in this movie more than in any of the past productions. I don't remember them having lengthy Serious Relationship Discussions in the past without some kind of histrionics involved.

 

[Reevz1977]

Does anyone else want Frank Oz to adopt them as his child or is it just me?

 

[AlittleMayhem]

Yeah, I love Frank and I do kinda understand what he means. But I just loved the movie too much, so I disagree with him on this one.

And yes, he has moved on. Leave him be, mainstream media.

 

[D'Snowth]

I don't know, I think Frank may have a point, if only because there's been discussion on this very forum over the past few years or so with people "complaining" (for lack of a better word) about how 'cutesy-wootsy' the Muppets have become lately, about them not having as much of an edge as they used to, about how sugar-coated they seem to have become, about how they seemed to be aimed more at kids exclusively rather than adults but still being acceptable for kids to watch, even specifically about how Kermit is nowhere near as high-strung and prone to occasionally flying off the handle at other's antics and too low-key, mellow, and laid back today.

I mean, that's just what I've noticed over the years here at MC; personally, I don't really care one way or another, as long as the Muppets continue to exist, I'm satisfied and content.

Oh, and I also love how Frank seems to be rather smug regarding Disney's ownership of the Muppets without really coming out and expressing any actual displease or anything.