"Hidden Messages" in The Muppets (2011)

[JustinHoskie]

I do want it to be known that when I say "hidden messages", I don't mean "messages that are meant to corrupt people." I just meant as a hidden joke or reference to something else.

 

[jvcarroll]

That's definitely a hidden fireworks Mickey. I didn't notice the Fozzie Intermission thing. What is it?

Some people are upset that there are environmental and anti-corporate messages in "The Muppets" but I think that most of it is short-sighted, cynical and comes from a place of tactical dishonesty.

I was surprised that green energy or conservation wasn't mentioned because Jim Henson himself produced a lot of environmental advertisements with the Muppets.

Also, the Muppets began as performers in commercials for corporations. Not to mention the idea that Disney would release anti-corporation propaganda is laughable. It's not like they would have missed that! I do agree that the corporate oil tycoon premise was a kind of hackneyed contrivance, but I think that was the point. Use of a familiar device keeps the focus on the Muppets rather than the conflict. I'm not saying that's exactly the way I would have gone. Either way, it worked.

There are critics out there who aren't happy about the product placement of the Red Bull can in the network pitch meeting, the Economist references or the Cars 2 billboards. That really didn't bug me. In fact, I expected more of them. Did I miss some? They were a great deal more thoughtful and restrained than product placements usually are.

I actually wish there were more hidden gems in the movie.

 

[JustinHoskie]

That's definitely a hidden fireworks Mickey. I didn't notice the Fozzie Intermission thing. What is it?

During Intermission Mode on the Blu-Ray, Fozzie comes up to the camera, breaths on it, and wipes it off with a cloth; when he fogs it up with his breath, I saw something written in it. However, I grabbed my remote too late and couldn't go back to see what it was.

Edit: I decided to play Intermission Mode to try and find it and, as luck would have it, it was in the first segment that played! Nothing major; all it says is "Check out the blooper reel!" (For anyone wondering, it's in the segment where the stage-hands keep changing the "Intermission" sign.)

 

[Drtooth]

Also, the Muppets began as performers in commercials for corporations. Not to mention the idea that Disney would release anti-corporation propaganda is laughable. It's not like they would have missed that! I do agree that the corporate oil tycoon premise was a kind of hackneyed contrivance, but I think that was the point. Use of a familiar device keeps the focus on the Muppets rather than the conflict. I'm not saying that's exactly the way I would have gone. Either way, it worked.

Unless they're Pixar. Wall*e kinda was very anti-corporate. But then again, you could say The Incredibles ties into an Ayn Rand style tale about the government suppressing its supermen, so there's always some tiny interpretation of something. Cars 2 introduced a brilliant conspiracy theory about alternative fuels and oil corporations.

But there was no soap box in this movie. I still fail to see why everyone ignores the ending where Richman willfully gives the studio back to them.

 

[minor muppetz]

But there was no soap box in this movie. I still fail to see why everyone ignores the ending where Richman willfully gives the studio back to them.

I feel like it might not be as noticable because it's during the credits, when people in the theater might start getting up and leaving despite there being more (and the sounds of them leaving could distract those trying to watch).

Something has hit me: The new Disney "Intermission" feature makes it hard to pause a scene for too long, and a big icon quickly appears over the screen just before cutting to an intermission. Although you can turn the feature off, I wonder if maybe Disney came up with it to avoid people freeze-framing scenes on the Blu-Ray, where things could look clearer and maybe easier to spot (though some say that Blu-ray doesn't really make a big visual difference on contemporary films, which are made in the better quality before release).

 

[jvcarroll]

I feel like it might not be as noticable because it's during the credits, when people in the theater might start getting up and leaving despite there being more (and the sounds of them leaving could distract those trying to watch).

Something has hit me: The new Disney "Intermission" feature makes it hard to pause a scene for too long, and a big icon quickly appears over the screen just before cutting to an intermission. Although you can turn the feature off, I wonder if maybe Disney came up with it to avoid people freeze-framing scenes on the Blu-Ray, where things could look clearer and maybe easier to spot (though some say that Blu-ray doesn't really make a big visual difference on contemporary films, which are made in the better quality before release).

I noticed this too. There's always a square on the bottom left hand side that shows a large still-frame from the timeline. Many Disney releases do this. One of the great things about Blu-ray is the screen clarity. Kind of defeats the purpose. Does that toggle?

 

[DannyRWW]

You know when I first saw the movie I was a little upset that they hada cars 2 billboard , but I went to the Diseny Store for a kids event with my daughters and they had a trivia game where they pointed out that Disney movies usually have a reference to other movie (most often the one that came out previously) for instance in Alladin the Sultan is stacking toys and one of them is the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Pixar does this all the time too. While I sih it didn't seem like a blatant ad it doesn't bother me quite as much. I think its a neat thing to do. The Muppets of course references their previous works too...though I iwsh they wouldn't have hinted at Together Again so often and then not perform it.

 

[Muppet fan 123]

I agree that its a Mickey reference with the fireworks, but I too wondered if there was some other wording in there...Not sure what though.

Where is that Mickey? I don't see it, can someone point it out to me?

 

[Muppet fan 123]

You know when I first saw the movie I was a little upset that they hada cars 2 billboard , but I went to the Diseny Store for a kids event with my daughters and they had a trivia game where they pointed out that Disney movies usually have a reference to other movie (most often the one that came out previously) for instance in Alladin the Sultan is stacking toys and one of them is the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Pixar does this all the time too. While I sih it didn't seem like a blatant ad it doesn't bother me quite as much. I think its a neat thing to do. The Muppets of course references their previous works too...though I iwsh they wouldn't have hinted at Together Again so often and then not perform it.

Yeah, I was kinda surprised to see that too, but apparently the sign was for Gnomeo and Juliet which FX digitally removed and replaced with Cars 2.
I see Pixar doing that all the time. In Toy Story 3 you can find a Cars toy somewhere in Andy's room. In Boo's room in Monsters Inc, she has a Jessie and Nemo toy in there. And Pixar just hides a lot of stuff in their movies, like their phone number can be found in Monsters Inc. (their number has changed since then). Their adress can be seen in Cars. Plus a Muppet reference, in Presto, the animated short before Wall-E, Statler and Waldorf can be seen in a box in the backaround.

 

[jvcarroll]

Where is that Mickey? I don't see it, can someone point it out to me?