Sorry about complaint

[Fozzie Bear]

I'll have one Mouse-burger with cheese, please.

 

[theprawncracker]

I'll have one Mouse-burger with cheese, please.

Ditto, I'll take the succlent duck as well, and the Stitch sticks for an appetizer.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

...AND the duck--so, Prawnie, you're saying you want

Cheese and quackers?

WOCKA WOCKA!!

 

[Frogster]

All lame jokes aside, I honestly believe that the Muppets have nothing new to offer. We've seen all they could do, and they've milked their talent dry since Jim's passing. Here we are, as forum member, coming to this site, not only to play games, share stories, and get to know each other, but also seeing if there's anything in the Muppet Headlines that shows any light at the end of this embarrassing tunnel. All I think we can hope for is DVD season sets of what was great. There's SO much of what new youngsters haven't seen that was incredible. Subjecting them to Kermit's Swamp Years and MWoO isn't going to make them lifelong fans of the Muppets the way other Muppet film projects have... It's a shame no one, outside of us hardcore fans, can say they saw The Muppets Go To The Movies, Frog Prince, and so forth. Heck, even the Playhouse Videos had more to offer just because, between the sketches and songs, we saw the characters we wanted to love, like Kermit, Fozzie, Rowlf, Scooter, Gonzo, Dr. Teeth... not like Pepe, Johnny Fiamma, and some of these new people, who were introduced like, "Here's our new characters and you're gonna love 'em!" Don't get me wrong, they've had their moments... Simplicity is key, and Henson, whether they're owned by Disney or whoever, is just making it seem like, "Okay, we've been around for years so we KNOW you're gonna love this new movie!"

 

[BEAR]

And it's attitudes like those...

 

[MWoO]

Whats wrong with Pepe and Jonny Fiama? I think they are the best characters to come out of the new era, meaning MT to now. Pepe was not a main character. He was a bit character on MT and then it was realized he was darn funny. Same with Jonny. He wasn't pushed down out throats. It's just how new characters get introduced. Fozzie was a new character once as well and I would say if Jonny and Pepe were forced into the spotlight so was Fozzie, Piggy, Scooter, and Gonzo.

I don't know. I see a lot of good in the post Jim era. Is it theb est work? No, but considering how much the muppets were flopped around for years it not surprising. Heck even MWoO was done in the middle or possibly end of a sale.

I think a main problem is the lack of talent in the entertainment business all around. Singers are now made, for the most part. There are no longer triple threats. There are rarely actors with true comedic timing. I mean really who are the legendary comics these days? Who are the huge stars? Usually they are a bunch of teenagers who step into the lime light for a couple years, maybe a decade. Simply notm uch talent out there for the muppets to mesh with on screen.

I think a muppet production would be much better off limiting their use of human actors. I mean, when your Dorothy can't act, you can't really win with a WoO movie.

 

[dwayne1115]

all moves considering i really think the muppets have done ok. I think they may have made some bad choices a long the way, but hey no one is perfect. We have to realize Jim, Frank Jerry, Ricard, and Jerry are for the most part gone from the muppets. (With the exception of Frank and Jerry N who could come back but highly unlikely.) Now a lot of you think that since the "core" people are gone from the Muppets are gone that they havn't done anything good. That is not true at all they made some wonderfull heartwarming movies and shows that have really done well. You really just have to be paitent Bill Brian and others are trying. If they fail we will help them up. if the do well we will be with them in a time of rejoycing.

 

[CensoredAlso]

There's SO much of what new youngsters haven't seen that was incredible. Subjecting them to Kermit's Swamp Years and MWoO isn't going to make them lifelong fans of the Muppets the way other Muppet film projects have...

I totally agree, the classic material isn't even being given a chance. I don't know why, kids today enjoy plenty of things that were made before their time. The TV Museum once showed "Muppets Go to the Movies" on their big screen. I remember there was a little kid watching. She wasn't complaining that the show was outdated or that it was too adult for her to understand. When her mother asked her if she wanted to leave, she said, "No, I like the Muppets!"

If this stuff had been more available all along, I believe the Muppets would have continued being enormously popular. I don't hear kids talking about the new stuff, and they barely get to see the classic stuff. The attitude today seems to be that we have to erase the classic stuff from existence in order to make room for the new stuff. It's being done over and over again, and it's not working.

I mean, do they still show the various Brady Bunch spin offs over and over again? (Which were all attempts at being "modern.") No, they show the original Brady Bunch program, even to this day, because it was the best and it's what audiences want to see.

It is not being "disloyal" to the Muppets by wanting what is undeniably their best work to be out in front.

I agree about the "just one person" thing. The only way the Muppets may stick around in the public consciousness is by individual people sharing these things with their kids. Especially if the companies and stores won't do it for them.

 

[Frogster]

The "Just One Person" thing can't work if people in higher places aren't listening. Do you really believe that, even if people from Disney and Henson, Associates read the stuff we talk about, they'd even listen? They consider us, more or less, just obsessive fan freaks who got nothing better to do, and think they know exactly what they're doing. Aside from a person getting someone who is of notice in the Henson world to listen, that Henson contact has to be willing to go do something about it. That's why, like Heralde said, we need to unofficially introduce kids into the Muppet stuff that got 'em famous. BTW, I'm not saying Pepe and Johnny Fiamma are bad, but, if you had read more closely, they were introduced in the fashion of, "We're new, we're hip, so like us, because those old characters you loved ain't coming back."

 

[Luke]

I think a muppet production would be much better off limiting their use of human actors. I mean, when your Dorothy can't act, you can't really win with a WoO movie.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there. There is a massive lack of talent around. Not even just in front of the camera, although yeah its all reality TV stars - they aren't true celebrities and aren't very versatile. Behind the camera though there is a lack of writing and production talent - though there are good people but they don't get given the chance to come through because there are so few opportunities the people already "in" (who arent always the best people) monopolise the work and i haven't seen either Henson or Disney doing much to give new people a chance in that area. I think it's the same with puppeteers, although a little better. Henson have been ok about bringing some new people in (especially at the moment) what with Puppet UP! etc but they could be doing a lot more in the way of internships and apprenticeships. I don't neccasarily think there should be multiple performers for each Muppet, i'm thinking more new and background characters. There are some amazingly talented people around here for a start - Warrick, Beau, Kevin etc. You've only gotta look at how long its taken Yerrid and Massey to really get into the core group to see how hard it is to break through.