Music Video: "All I Need is Love" with CeeLo Green and The Muppets

Mister Muppet

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The tune to this song has been used to advertise christmas programming on the BBC
 

Ruahnna

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I don't think I actually watched this video before today, although I had heard the music. It was very charming in many ways, and I am grateful to TPTB for giving us a little muppety-video something for the holiday.

My apologies--this is long overdue. For those of you who can't get the video or can't see the video, here is a breakdown of what's happening in the video. I can't describe everything, but I did my best to give a faithful shot-by-shot.
DESCRIPTION OF ALL I NEED IS LOVE VIDEO
A rolls Royce convertible pulls up in front of a house. (I have no idea whose house—it is not Kermit’s house. It is a one-story brick ranch with Christmas decorations out front--mostly light-up reindeer and other lights.) Ceelo knocks on the door and Kermit answers it. (If you don’t know Ceelo, he’s a tall, rather large Black singer with a no-hair hairdo on his head, but a mustache and beard. He has a nice voice and an unusual fashion sense.) There’s a Christmas wreath on the door, and Ceelo looks like he is wearing a red patent-leather long coat with puffy sleeves and a belt. It is an interesting fashion choice, but flamboyant and in keeping with the kind of thing Ceelo wears. Kermit says he is “here for Christmas with all the guys” and Ceelo tells Kermit that he was looking for a holiday party in Atlanta and got lost. Kermit says “Hotlanta” (which I find hilarious) and says, “You’re never going to make it in this weather.” He invites him in. Piggy shows up at the door, looks out and ogles the car.
Then you see the gathered muppets (left to right: Animal, Fozzie Piggy, Rowlf, and Gonzo. Kermit is in front, between Fozzie and Piggy [where he belongs] and finally, Walter), Walter (who probably spent HOURS deviding what to wear) is obviously taping everything on this iPhone. Kermit and Piggy introduces Ceelo—Piggy is the high voice who says Ceeeeeeeellooooooo! Kermit says “Green,” which was kind of cute. Ceelo springs up in the middle of them, wearing a short-sleeves shirt that also looks a lot like red patent-leather and some ENORMOUS gold chains, and begins, “All I need is love.” When he does that, the Snowths pop up over his shoulders and sing with him. Piggy is wearing the red sweetheart-neckline dress that she wore for all The Muppets publicity shots, and Fozzie wearing his “dress tie,” which is white with larger pink shiny polka dots. Animal seems to be wearing a leather jacket. Walter is wearing a plaid shirt with his suit. Off to the left is a brightly lit green Christmas tree with colored bulbs on it. Behind the muppets and Ceelo, there is a mantle that has LOTS of Nutcracker figurines standing on it. Some of them look about as big as Kermit.

While they are singing, you see a whole lot of different things going on—many of them running gags.
You see the chef chopping celery, and the turkey looking over his shoulder, but when Chef turns around, the turkey disappears.
Group shot with the aforementioned muppets, hereafter referred to as “Group shot.”
You see Fozzie opening lots of presents. In the first clip, you don’t see what he has unwrapped.
Group shot.
You see Lew Zealand rubbing two of his fish together (I don’t know which ones ;>3 ) and then throwing one. The camera cuts to Ceelo getting hit in the chin/chest with a fish.
You see Fozzie taking a rubber chicken out of a wrapped box.
You see Ceelo singing in the group shot.
Lew Zealand throws another fish, but it goes over Ceelo.
Group shot.
Fozzie opening another box.
You see Sam the Eagle adding an American flag to a tree with red, white and blue ornaments on it.
You see another clip of the turkey looking over Chef’s other shoulder.
You see Piggy dancing, facing the camera. (She looks marvelous!)
Group shot.
Lew Zealand getting ready to “fire” again.
Ceelo singing and a fish flying over him.
Fozzie opening another box with approximately 5 rubber chickens already before him. He opens another box and then puts his face in on his hand, propping it up with his elbow (classic Fozzie pose).
Lew Zealand throws another fish. This time, it hits PIGGY!! Luckily (?!!), Walter is filming the whole thing on his iPhone. Piggy’s expression is shocked and not happy. Walter is laughing because it’s funny, right? (Um, right, um, Miss Piggy?)
There’s a shot of Ceelo by himself, then he lifts his hands up (like Moses, lol!) and all the Muppets spring up into the shot with him! (Lots of MCers commented about how cool it would be to be able to “summon” the muppets like that!)
You flash back to Walter and Miss Piggy and Miss Piggy gets hit—again—by a flying fish. (Walter is on the far right and Miss Piggy is on the left.) Walter is laughing and goes in for a close-up of Miss Piggy’s NOT HAPPY expression. You see what Walter sees through his phone camera—an extreme close-up of Miss Piggy’s angry face, and then…she Hi-yah’s him onto the floor. (This is obviously in the same room as the group shots because the mantle with the Nutcracker figurines is there, but you can now see that there is another Christmas tree on the far right of the room. This one seems to have white and blue lights on it (the better to match Piggy’s eyes, no doubt). (This is around 2:05 in the video.)
Group shot.
A shot of Walter putting cookies out for Santa and taking a picture or video of it.
Group shot.
You see Walter videoing the fireplace (where Santa will appear) and being excited that soot is falling from the chimney. In this shot, you can see clearly that his iPhone has a Kermit-face cover.
You see Sam the Eagle saluting the flag he has placed under the Christmas tree.
You see Fozzie disinterestedly opening another present, which SPRINGS open. There is a live chicken in it. (I don’t think it’s Camilla—the eyes seem different, but I could be wrong.) Fozzie looks excited by the appearance of the live chicken—or at least surprised.
Group shot.
You see the turkey peek over the Chef’s right shoulder and Chef reaches up and GRABS him by the neck.
You see Ceelo and all the Muppets sitting at a long table. They are all facing the camera. Food is flying. You can now see Beauregard on the far left end of the table (as we see them), then Big Mean Carl, then the monkey (not Sal) then Ceelo, then someone with dark-brown skin (a muppet) then Scooter, then another muppet I don’t know (who might be a monkey), then Sam the Eagle. There is a black-faced sheep in front of the table.
You see Kermit approaching Miss Piggy with a jewelry-type box. He opens it and presents it to her and you can see that it’s a flower-like something. Piggy makes a surprised happy face and reaches for the box. (This is about 2:27)
Group shot, and this is where Kermit sings, “If that can’t by you love, who knows?”
There’s a shot of Ceelo surrounded by Muppets, but not the ones in the group shot. There’s the monkey with a half-eaten banana, Big Mean Carl, Scooter and the other monkey.
Back to Piggy and Kermit. Piggy looks in the box and reaches for what’s inside, which appears to be a sprig of mistletoe.
Group shot, with Gonzo singing “For just a chance to see your face.”
Back to Ceelo and the monkeys, Scooter and Carl. Carl attempts to eat Ceelo head first, his big mouth coming down over Ceelo’s face.
Group shot, with Fozzie singing, “Maybe Rudolf knows the way, I don’t know?”
A quick shot of Walter trying to take a video of the fireplace. You can clearly see his Kermit watch.
Piggy takes the mistletoe and holds it above Kermit’s head.
Group shot, with Piggy singing, “Cause just one kiss is all I need.”
Piggy moves in to kiss him on the cheek, but at the last minute he turns and smooches her on the mouth and then laughs with delight.
Ceelo lures Big Mean Carl away by holding up a big turkey leg. Carl takes his mouth off Ceelo and takes the turkey leg, and Ceelo wipes the back of his smooth head. (Ceelo has a hair-free hairdo.)
Walter watches as a pair of black boots come into view in the fireplace, accompanied by a smattering of soot. Walter coughs and Craig Robinson(a comedian) as Santa steps into the room, commenting, “You’d think one person would clean out their chimney.” He and Walter dialogue. “I knew it! You’re real!”
“Of course I’m real, Walter. You got Santa in your heart, you got Santa in your home.”
“So…Santa is my homie?”
“Yeah. I’m your homie.” He ruffles Walter’s hair.
Group shot.
There’s a clip of Fozzie dancing.
A shot Ceelo at the table with the monkeys, Carl, Scooter, Beauregard and Sam.
There’s a shot of just Ceelo and Kermit, laughing.
A shot of Ceelo with Santa coming up behind him.
There’s a shot of Rowlf dancing, with his ears flopping from side to side.
Group shot with Rowlf in it this time. Walter is video-taping them, with Piggy mugging directly into the iPhone.
Ceelo and Kermit again.
Group shot again.
Then you see the back of a big, black desk chair and it says, Lo-Co on it in pink/red letters. You see a red button—like a panic button—and a hand presses it. The chair spins around and you see a muppet version of Ceelo. It resembles him in many ways—the dark skin color, the no-hair hairdo, the gold side tooth (much like Dr. Teeth) and the red shiny shirt and chains.
Group shot.
Ceelo and Kermit, with Ceelo smoothing his scalp back (like you do when you are checking the lay of your hair).
Then you see the muppet Lo-Co smoothing back his eyebrow in much the same way that Ceelo just smoothed back his scalp.
Then you see Kermit dancing with abandon, head in the air, mouth open, very uninhibited.
You see the outside of the house and the Christmas lights suddenly light up.
Lo-Co does the finger point (likes the Elvi do—shooting you with their finger)
Ceelo points up in the air with his finger as though he’s going to “shoot” back at Lo-Co.
Pepe appears, wearing his black turtleneck with a gold chain that says “Cfood.”
Ceelo and Lo-Co dance together in front of one of the Christmas trees.
Pepe does his rap in front of the decorated house. There are large Christmas-tree-type bulbs lining the driveway and four or five lighted reindeer in the front yard, plus a lot of flashing lights.
Ceelo and Lo-Co dance in front of the Christmas tree.
Pepe raps in front of the house.
You see Santa (Craig Robinson) doing isolation moves (like hip hop) in front of the mantle.
Pepe raps.
Santa grooves.
Pepe raps.
Ceelo and Lo-co mug for the camera, with Ceelo giving Lo-Co “bunny ears” with his fingers behind his head.
Pepe raps.
Very uninhibited group dancing with the group and Ceelo.
Pepe raps.
Ceelo and Santa together, while Ceelo sings, “Santa won’t you come and get me?”
A quick shot of the group, then Piggy steps toward the camera to sing, “I’m ready for my presents!”
Ceelo and Lo-Co again, with Lo-Co finishing the line, “And take me where I’ll find my baby!”
Group shot dancing.
A video shot of Ceelo through Walter’s iPhone.
Santa grooving in front of the mantle.
Group shot with Animal coming at the camera upside-down and from the top of the screen.
Bunsen and Beaker are “doctoring” the punch. Dr. Honeydew drops something in the punch, making it foam.
Santa and Ceelo in front of the mantle.
Beaker scoops some of the punch in a tin cup.
Group shot with dancing and this time Kermit is mugging for Walter’s video.
Lew Zealand throws a fish and Ceelo catches it! (Yay!)
Bunsen and Beaker at the punchbowl, and Beaker has steam coming out of his ears!
Group shot of everyone dancing.
Beaker falls over with is little saddle-oxfords in the air above the table.
Ceelo and Lo-Co grooving.
Group shot with Santa joining them.
Ceelo and Lo-Co dancing.
Group shot with Santa joining them. Walter is busting loose, here.
Chef and the turkey have tin cups like the one Beaker had and they are toasting.
Group shot with Santa and they are dancing.
Ceelo and Santa.
Group shot of the group in the front yard. The front door is open behind them: (back row, left to right) Scooter, Gonzo, Animal, Fozzie, (front row, left to right) Pepe, Piggy and Zoot, (front row) Kermit and Walter. Kermit is waving energetically.
Ceelo, Santa and Lo-Co drive off in the Rolls convertible. Ceelo is driving, Santa’s riding shotgun and Lo-Co is in the back seat. Ceelo gives them a peace sign.
Group shot with Santa in the house.
The Rolls drives away.
Shot of the muppets watching them drive away. They look up into the sky in time to see the Rolls cross in front of the moon (like Santa’s sleigh) and Kermit is startled by Zoot playing a loud note behind him.
Statler and Waldorf are shown. Statler says, “I think the Muppets hit a new lo,” and Waldolf says, “Yes, and his first name is C.” They laugh.

The next minute of video includes the credits for the video, and include a few bits as follows:
Names are shown in white letter against a black background with snow blowing.
First up is Kermit, who says, “Oh my goodness, what a mess."
And Piggy drifts by and says, "Thanks for picking up, Kermit."
"Piggy! What do you mean, cleaning up? Piggy—that’s ridiculous! There’s feathers everywhere, there’s rat fur… Piggy!
There’s a shot of Ceelo and Lo-Co both rubbing their hands together in gleeful anticipation of something and making eyes at the camera.
There’s Santa drinking a glass of milk and eating a cookie while grooving.
Sam the Eagle says, “Santa—that is, Mr. Claus, they all have been very naughty this year!
You see Walter dancing.
You see Fozzie through Walter’s iPhone behind a stack of rubber chickens, and he says, “Hey! Hey hey Walter—what do you get when you cross a vampire with a snowman? Frostbite!? Ahhhh!” Then Fozzie knocks over some packages and he says, “Uh oh.”
The Swedish Chef and the turkey are “sword fighting.” Chef has a wooden spoon, and the turkey has a stalk of celery. Chef is winning, and the turkey pretends to “die” when Chef “stabs” him with the wooden spoon in the chest.
Scooter and the monkey with the banana are inventorying the damage. Apparently, there are 27 broken dishes and a stain on the carpet. And 42 broken glasses. (No word on whose house this is….)
There’s a group shot with Santa, and during this shot, Piggy hugs Ceelo and gets a kiss on the snout from him.
There’s a shot of Carl and a cute little bunny appears before him. You don’t really need me to tell you what happens next, right?
There’s a shot of Ceelo, Santa and Lo-Co in the car, heads bobbing in time to the music. Lo-Co is sitting in the back seat but his head is in between the other two.
 

Ruahnna

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Okay--here are my COMMENTS so far. (The opinions expressed here are the personal and highly opinionated expression of no one but myself.)



Am I the ONLY ONE who thought it was hilarious to hear Kermit say “Hotlanta.” One of the things that makes Kermit so a-dork-able is that he has moments of coolness. (Infrequently, it's true, but just darling nonetheless.)

Piggy being into the car was good. I always imagines her as a big of a road hog....

I SWEAR that Kermit is actually doing some smooth dancing there—at 1:41 it looks like Kermit is actually grooving WITH Piggy. And Kermit’s reactions to the other characters are good, as always. In my opinion, one of the things Steve does best is that he is really tuned into the other performers, and his support of their characterizations makes ALL of them more real.

Beaker trying the punch and passing out is great. Especially his cute little shoes.

The mistletoe bit just thrilled me--and I found it very in character. It is, in many ways, classic Kermit to offer all of the romantic hope of romance without actually having to commit to anything. Any disappointment over no ring in the box was artfully assuaged by begging for a kiss with pollywog eyes--how irresistible is that? And Piggy was at her demure and charming best--beautiful and inviting without being needy and clingy. Plus, she rocked the outfit and the dancing.

Statler and Waldorf were terrific at the end. Who keeps inviting them to all the parties, anyway?

Was it just me, or did Piggy’s little “Thanks for cleaning up, Kermit” sounded to me like, “Kermit, sweetie, thanks for cleaning up down here. I’ll be soaking in a bubble bath upstairs and then slipping into something more comfortable. Join me when you’re done….”

(I tried to hide my frog/pig shipping artfully between my other comments. How'd I do?)
 

The Count

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:shifty: Does she expect to answer dat?
No Mr. Rizzo, I expect you to die!
:shifty: What?!
Take it easy, it's just a movie quote.
:shifty: Soome movie.
Don't make me tell :eek: to bring out the substitutes for sharks with lasers attached to their heads.

The bit with Beaker falling over and his shoes shooting up makes me think the punch was the Killer Shrews drink recipe from MST3K.
Noone has to "invite" the hecklers, they live either in the same house as all the weirdos (MFS) or as neighbors in the apartment next to the other Muppets (LTS).
No, you don't need to explain what happens with Carl and the bunny. It turns into the vicious man—or monster as the case may be—eating Rabbit of Caerbannog, attacking a surprised Carl... Right? Quick! Someone call :crazy: bring in the Holy Hand Grenade!

*Wonders if the turkey and chicken will resume their affair from the Christmas spent at Grizzly Farms.
*Shudders to think how that stain got on the carpet, and who they'll have to hire to get it out.
UD: Out out, darn spot!

That's all I got, night folks.
 
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