Is Gonzo Being phased out?

[Drtooth]

I don't remember Gonzo being that incredibly depressed in "A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa". Yes, he was fairly depressed though, mainly because he felt responsible for diverting some of the children's letters to Santa Claus and thus, he felt like he had ruined Christmas for them. (Not to mention feeling guilty about abandoning Claire.) And for one who's struggled with abandonment issues, I'm sure Gonzo would be particularly sensitive to such things.

But that's not Gonzo. Not to me. Any deeply rooted depression would stem from not being understood as an artist or even being alone. Any other time, Gonzo would try to strap a rocket to himself to deliver the letter, and if the thing blew up, he'd actually be happy that happened and give a hearty "let's go again!"

Instead we got like 1 Gonzo-y joke and then he turned into Eeyore. Gonzo may have lost his optimism in that episode of TMS where he was misunderstood when his stunts didn't go over well, but he bounced back next episode. I mean, I like LTS, but it feels like a collection of missed opportunities to shove more commercials into the NBC broadcast. But Gonzo really suffered in that special. I don't get how that's the writers who get him, and TM (mentioning his original job from the first movie) and MMW (performing a dangerous stunt Kermit wouldn't allow him to do that turned into a disaster he shrugged off) didn't because he wasn't mugging the camera and narrating the events.

Heck, I stand by my hate of MWO, but it seems it took them that long to actually get Gonzo.

They should get Steve Whitmire and Dave Goelz aiding with the writting of muppet productions, because the characters beside the new ones and kermit and piggy need to be written better.

Really?

Like they don't? I fail to see how the characters are off, or more off than they were the last several projects. Fozzie was much more of an idiot in MFS, Kermit had no personality in the same movie. They got Gonzo, Rizzo, and the new characters right, sure... but most of the classic ones were reduced to caricature in that film, if they even showed up.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

But that's not Gonzo. Not to me. Any deeply rooted depression would stem from not being understood as an artist or even being alone. Any other time, Gonzo would try to strap a rocket to himself to deliver the letter, and if the thing blew up, he'd actually be happy that happened and give a hearty "let's go again!"

Instead we got like 1 Gonzo-y joke and then he turned into Eeyore. Gonzo may have lost his optimism in that episode of TMS where he was misunderstood when his stunts didn't go over well, but he bounced back next episode. I mean, I like LTS, but it feels like a collection of missed opportunities to shove more commercials into the NBC broadcast. But Gonzo really suffered in that special. I don't get how that's the writers who get him, and TM (mentioning his original job from the first movie) and MMW (performing a dangerous stunt Kermit wouldn't allow him to do that turned into a disaster he shrugged off) didn't because he wasn't mugging the camera and narrating the events.

Heck, I stand by my hate of MWO, but it seems it took them that long to actually get Gonzo.

I don't like everything about The Muppets' Wizard of Oz TV-movie either, but there are a number of things I do love about it- the music, for one. And I think there were some good character moments there, as you said for Gonzo particularly. Personally, I feel that Gonzo was in great form in "Letters to Santa", "The Muppets" and "Muppets Most Wanted". Gonzo definitely has had his morose moments- to me, it's okay for him to sometimes not feel like strapping himself to a rocket to hand deliver a Christmas letter. I like that zany aspect of Gonzo but for me personally, I like to see characters have moments where- even if it does feel a little out of character- they have a chance to be fleshed out more. That way we can see that Gonzo is more than just a daredevil artist- he also is deeply concerned about others' feelings and their need for happiness and belonging, particularly since he himself struggles with that so much.
But, of course, I also like to look for the good in everything and so I pretty much just find something to enjoy in every Muppet production. (Some of my favorite Bible verses guide my approach in that- "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid all appearance of evil." 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
So yeah- I generally just like everything.
But that's perfectly cool if others feel differently on Gonzo's representations in different projects and other things- we obviously don't and won't agree on everything- but we can still get along like Kermit sang about on Sesame Street.

 

[Drtooth]

Meanwhile, I'd like to ad that we've had a rise of Scooter, Rowlf, the Electric Mayhem... and the unthinkable... Link Hogthrob.

Seriously. If you told me if there was going to be Link Hogthrob in a Muppet Movie and he had lines, I'd think you were a liar and a jerk for trying to get me to believe something that outlandish. then came MMW. Multiple scenes and lines of Link Hogthrob. He didn't even have lines or much of a screen presence when Jim was performing him.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Meanwhile, I'd like to ad that we've had a rise of Scooter, Rowlf, the Electric Mayhem... and the unthinkable... Link Hogthrob.

Seriously. If you told me if there was going to be Link Hogthrob in a Muppet Movie and he had lines, I'd think you were a liar and a jerk for trying to get me to believe something that outlandish. then came MMW. Multiple scenes and lines of Link Hogthrob. He didn't even have lines or much of a screen presence when Jim was performing him.

I was ecstatic to see Link Hogthrob getting some screen time and actual lines! Yay for Link! And definitely- great to see Scooter, Rowlf and The Electric Mayhem getting more of a presence- they are mainstays and should always be there as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Muppet Master]

ON MMW​

Alice Barnousky :
What, did everyone get burnt out on Gonzo after the ’90s? Where IS he?
David Lu:
I dislike how little we’ve seen of Dave Goelz’s characters in the last two movies. Gonzo and Bunsen had bits cut from the last one, and now “Zongo” doesn’t even get to help rescue Kermit from the Gulag.

 

[dwayne1115]

ON MMW​

Alice Barnousky :
What, did everyone get burnt out on Gonzo after the ’90s? Where IS he?
David Lu:
I dislike how little we’ve seen of Dave Goelz’s characters in the last two movies. Gonzo and Bunsen had bits cut from the last one, and now “Zongo” doesn’t even get to help rescue Kermit from the Gulag.

What is this from, and why did they get Gonzo's name wrong calling him Zongo?

 

[Slackbot]

Constantine misremembered it the first time he addressed Gonzo.

 

[Muppet Master]

What is this from

This is from the toughpigs article "Two Things about MMW Part 2".

 

[Muppet Master]

Anyways after watching the view with the muppets, I fail to see how Gonzo isn't being phased out. Also, it's NOT because of Dave Goelz, because Bunsen had quite a beefy role, but Gonzo did next to nothing, no let me change that, he did NOTHING! He had like a 2 second long speaking cameo, and that's all!

 

[antsamthompson9]

These should be proof that Gonzo isn't going anywhere:

,

,

. I hope ToughPigs interviews Dave so we can hear from the man himself that Gonzo's not going anywhere.