'IT'S A VERY MERRY MUPPET CHRISTMAS MOVIE Pictures!

[Rocky the Rat]

I just hope they have good musical numbers. That is one thing I really missed from MFS was the music. However, these pictures look fantastic, and I have the 29th marked on my calender.

 

[the_great_gonzo]

also to go along with Luke's comment. this further proves my theory that they change Gonzo's outfit every decade. Think about it.

70's-the maroon suit
80's-the sweater vest with white shirt underneath (my personal favorite)
90's-the wacky colorful shirt with weird ties and overalls
and now
00's-a plain gray sports coat with wacky ties. (probably going to be my second favorite.

 

[Chilly Down]

Originally posted by murgatoad

Look, people fell in love with Piggy because she ISN'T like a pig. Jim Henson himself once said the key to her popularity is the idea of a beautiful pig. It's an incongruity (look it up), and people love incongruity (see: Cowardly Lion). She's not Babe in a dress, 'kay? Once people see her as merely an absurdity, then that's the end of that character. Hope this explanation helps. Happy to be of service.

Yes, I'm quite aware of what "incongruity" means, thanks. But the Cowardly Lion was ALSO supposed to be comical, in that this big ferocious lion was such a, well, scaredy cat. The Cowardly Lion and Miss Piggy *are* both incongruities. And if Miss Piggy were slimmed down and sexy, she would no longer be an incongruity.

I'm not saying we're not supposed to like Piggy. We certainly are. But it's with an affectionate laugh, recognizing our own foibles and our own desires to be something other than we are.

I have no desire to see Piggy become a complete laughingstock with no sympathy directed toward her. But I also have no desire to see her become a fashion model without a personality (and if she no longer had to struggle to be glamorous, what personality would she have left?).

Just my $180 million (enough to buy Henson! Woo-hoo!)

 

[BlueFrackle]

Guys,

No one seems to notice that somewhere along the line they have forgot how to make Gonzo's eyelids properly.

The right one overlaps the left one, They dont meet in the middle no more.

This really makes him look weird.

And whats the deal with the pink bottom lip, He aint like Grover...

See ya

 

[Chilly Down]

You're right about his eyelids, Warrick -- I've noticed that before. Maybe that's all part of making him look "weird"? I dunno. I agree with the others that I like Gonzo's new outfit, though!

Kermit and Gonzo appear to be sitting in the seats of the Muppet Theater in that last shot. Gives me chills. But who's that guy behind them? Doesn't look like Arquette.

 

[murgatoad]

Originally posted by Chilly Down
Yes, I'm quite aware of what "incongruity" means, thanks. But the Cowardly Lion was ALSO supposed to be comical, in that this big ferocious lion was such a, well, scaredy cat. The Cowardly Lion and Miss Piggy *are* both incongruities. And if Miss Piggy were slimmed down and sexy, she would no longer be an incongruity.

I'm not saying we're not supposed to like Piggy. We certainly are. But it's with an affectionate laugh, recognizing our own foibles and our own desires to be something other than we are.

I have no desire to see Piggy become a complete laughingstock with no sympathy directed toward her. But I also have no desire to see her become a fashion model without a personality (and if she no longer had to struggle to be glamorous, what personality would she have left?).

Just my $180 million (enough to buy Henson! Woo-hoo!)

Now, you should know better - didn't the Germans teach you anything about overpaying for a faded commodity?

I think you ought to take my advice and look up the term "incongruity". There is nothing incongruous about a fat pig. Dig? Like, there's nothing incongruous about a brave lion. Now do you get it? If Piggy is *trying* to be beautiful but isn't - because after all she's a PIG - well, now isn't THAT a new idea (look up "sarcasm"). I've seen that type of old joke a million times. From Olive Oyl to the pig in that old Mort Walker strip "Boner's Ark", an unattractive female who thinks she's beautiful is a gag with whiskers on it. Piggy was different. At least that's what the fans that helped make "The Muppet Show" a huge hit thought about her. When she became the same old joke - thanks in part to that awful comic strip - those fans disappeared.

But then some people prefer stereotypes. It's reassuring, I suppose. Try thinking outside of the box. Like Jim Henson did - in his better days...

 

[the_great_gonzo]

I believe the person behind Kermit and Gonzo in the pic is Matthew Lillard (Scooby-Doo,Scream). Looks like a weird role he's got. and to respond to Warrick's post. I've noticed Gonzo's eyelid thing too. I've always just judged it as a sign of his somewhat off-balance self.

 

[Chilly Down]

No, there's nothing incongrous about a fat pig. There *is* something incongrous about a fat pig who thinks she's a fashion model. And the fact that you can point to precedents in comedy before Miss Piggy only emphasizes my point. She was an archetype along the lines of those other characters, but Juhl and company affectionately added depth to her characterization, which is why she's above and beyond them.

By the way, there's really no need to keep insulting me by telling me to look up words. You seem to have taken what I said personally, and if I offended you, I apologize. Please understand that I hate stereotypes -- I've been the victim of too many myself. All I've been trying to say that I love Piggy for her flaws (which I sympathize with) as much as her strengths (which anyone would aspire to).

 

[murgatoad]

Originally posted by Chilly Down
No, there's nothing incongrous about a fat pig. There *is* something incongrous about a fat pig who thinks she's a fashion model. And the fact that you can point to precedents in comedy before Miss Piggy only emphasizes my point. She was an archetype along the lines of those other characters, but Juhl and company affectionately added depth to her characterization, which is why she's above and beyond them.

So you're saying that when Jim Henson said the reason for Piggy's popularity is that people love going along with the idea of a beautiful pig (note that he said "beautiful pig", not "a pig who thinks she's beautiful"), that he was dead wrong? That what people fell in love with, and what caused an enormous fad that helped a great deal in making The Muppet Show a hit, was a hoary old joke everyone's seen a million times before?

 

[GWGumby]

I'm not Chilly Down, so I can't actually answer for him, but yes, I think that's exactly what Jim Henson was saying.

Really old jokes survive because there's something to the humor that stands the test of time. Bringing together two clashing ideas is what comedy is made of. "Beauty" and "pig" are two such clashing ideas and that's where the comedy comes from.

Miss Piggy certainly wasn't beautiful. Look at her diva-ish personality and her penchant for applying violence to get her way. Look at her lying, deceiving, and manipulating she uses to also get her way. That's not beauty. Yet somehow, in "The Great Muppet Caper" for example, *everyone* seems to be in love with her. That's the comedy my friend. That's the incongruity. That's the hoary old joke.