Kermit and Miss Piggy Officially Split!

[Drtooth]

It's not really even a full conversation. The conversations here are good. I won't call out the specific individuals, but every few posts there is another "I think this is just for the show," or "I hope this is just a publicity stunt." I'm completely thrown by those. I get something like "I hope they're back together soon," or "I hope this doesn't continue for future productions," I'm just at a complete loss on the other comments. I value the opinions of these people, I just truly don't know what they're getting at. I guess it's just distracting.

I feel that there is too much personal ownership over things like this. I can find changes to certain things (ones I listed before) to be obnoxious, disrespectful of the original concept, or destructive to some extent, in the context that it's the fault of the writers, not the characters themselves. And usually if something's bad enough, it's something to just ignore. Like when they had that Simpsons plotline about Skinner not being Skinner, and it's just completely ignored except for one callback. Though, that show's continuity is wildly inconsistent, and they tend to make the mistake of calling back to things instead of ignoring them.

With the Muppet characters, I've noticed that Disney tends to have a virtual celebrity handle on the Muppets. If anyone remembers the TV Guide "Top 5 non-human characters" Piggy and Kermit have no mention of being puppets or Jim Henson, yet ALF's entry on the list has nothing but references to him being a Puppet. I think that's the intent of publicity here. That we know they're fictional characters, but very special fictional characters that sort of exist sort of don't. The whole "celebrities in their own right" thing that you just can't have with Spongebob or Mickey, or any cartoon for that matter. Part of the fun is the illusion and suspension of disbelief while knowing these are puppet characters. That's why so many of us are Muppet fans. The talent to make these things seem real while knowing it isn't. That's what I like about this "announcement." Taking it too seriously, however, drains all the fun out of it.

I'm also a bigger fan of non-Piggy-Kermit-relationship stuff. The extent to which the focus is on the romantic relationship between them, especially in a sense that is sometimes regarded as "serious," "grown-up," or "mature," tends to mirror the extent to which the silly Muppet-y stuff gets diminished. I don't expect them to be kiddy stuff, but I expect a level of immaturity. A squabbling ex-couple opens doors for all kinds of immaturity.

That's what I really liked seeing int The Muppets. That one line Kermit says about how Piggy does and says things that pushes Kermit away. That was a refreshing level of complex maturity in a sea of "Fat Joke/ HI-YAH!!!" that plagued the characters since the 90's. I've said it a hundred times before, but it's jarring that Kermit and Piggy seem so distant in MFS. It's due of course to bad writing and direction, but it comes off...weird. The movies usually give Kermit and Piggy a softer, more gentle relationship because that's how movies work in comparison to TV shows. So I can see where some are turned off by this announcement.

But those repetitive "Pig Joke/HI YAAAAH!!!" TV appearances weren't exactly fan favorites. And they were clearly goading Steve in that direction, even before the Disney sale...especially before that. Remember that Thanksgiving Parade appearance to announce VMX? As long as we never get that sort of thing again out of the two characters, I don't mind the direction.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Piggy and Kermit have no mention of being puppets or Jim Henson

Which I can't say I'm a fan of at all, lol. Jim Henson (and what's more, Walt Disney) did a great service by sharing the behind the scenes wonders with young audiences. That is often a big reason why kids get motivated to want to do these things when they grow up. For many fans, that is the fun.

 

[somethingofafan]

Already addressed this, it's a bit more complicated than headcanon, lol.

Did somebody say "cannon"? *BOOM*

 

[MuppetNostalgia]

First, I find the timing of this to be ironic. There are so many celebrity couples like Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner, and Gwen Stefani & Gavin Rossdale who have recently announced their own splits and/or divorces.
Second, Kermit never seemed to be the jerk in the relationship. Miss Piggy was always the one making advances on Kermit, and he'd always say that he didn't want her. Instead of talking it out with Kermit or looking at things from his perspective, Piggy would selfishly and angrily send Kermit flying across the room.
Third, does anyone else think that this is just a publicity stunt to promote the new series? Ryan from ToughPigs thinks so. And so do I.
http://www.toughpigs.com/breaking-kermit-and-miss-piggy-have-parted-ways/

This could very well be a publicity stunt for the new series.
And I totally agree with you cjd.Miss Piggy was the one forcing her romantic love on Kermit all these years.She could never get it in her head that the feeling is not mutual.It doesn't surprise me a bit to hear of their break up.To me it's the same old story.According to Kermit,they were never married in the first place.
I get a kick out of how while kissing Topher Grace,Miss Piggy would look at Kermit every few minutes,to see if she's making him jealous.Then later on,she literally pushes Denise out of sight.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Yeah. That's sort of what I was thinking. The relationship was never really mutual from the get go. and were actually not established as an official couple until recent years. Heck, even in Kermit's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel or Craig Ferguson or whatever show he was on to promote "Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie," he said his relationship with Piggy was over, so again it's sort of been on and off.

I think the two differences here are (1) this never was a major headline until now and (2) Miss Piggy has always stated that she and Kermit were a couple and Kermit was the one who denied that. Now according to an article I read, I believe it was tvguide.com or something like that, Piggy's stating herself that the relationship is over.

So aside from those differences, I guess this isn't really anything new.

 

[Ladywarrior]

For those talking down to people who find this depressing. People are allowed to not like this piece of news and complain about it, stop lecturing them for feeling that way!

 

[Drtooth]

Which I can't say I'm a fan of at all, lol. Jim Henson (and what's more, Walt Disney) did a great service by sharing the behind the scenes wonders with young audiences. That is often a big reason why kids get motivated to want to do these things when they grow up. For many fans, that is the fun.

Which I don't get, yet sort of do at the same time. Still, the fact that they refused to mention any behind the scenes anything in the TV Guide thing but didn't feel the need to respect the same of ALF was a little...off. And especially all the horror stories I heard about Paul Fusco trying to do the same thing, making him a virtual celebrity, it's a little...off.

And to the poster saying "only we have the right to complain about this." ...Really? So we don't have the right to complain about your complaints. Gotcha.

 

[RealWonderman]

Top Trending topic this week on Twitter.

Headlines! Cover stories! TIME, USA Today, People, US Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, Variety, Glamour, THR TV Guide and (ugh) even FauxNews.

It's genius. And only ONE reporter from ONE small outlet refused to play along.

 

[RealWonderman]

First, I find the timing of this to be ironic. There are so many celebrity couples like Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner, and Gwen Stefani & Gavin Rossdale who have recently announced their own splits and/or divorces.
Second, Kermit never seemed to be the jerk in the relationship. Miss Piggy was always the one making advances on Kermit, and he'd always say that he didn't want her. Instead of talking it out with Kermit or looking at things from his perspective, Piggy would selfishly and angrily send Kermit flying across the room.
Third, does anyone else think that this is just a publicity stunt to promote the new series? Ryan from ToughPigs thinks so. And so do I.
http://www.toughpigs.com/breaking-kermit-and-miss-piggy-have-parted-ways/

Watch some of the S2 S3 episodes. He wasn't just a jerk...he was cruel and said terrible hurtful things sometimes about her weight.

 

[RealWonderman]

Are people seriously complaining that the mainstream media is treating this story as real?? THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF THE MUPPETS. THAT'S HOW THE MEDIA IS SUPPOSED TO TREAT THESE STORIES!
It's AWESOME that they all played along. What surprises me is how many "so called" fans here REFUSE to. COME ON.