The movie could have been even better (article)

[Frogpuppeteer]

i agree anything can be better than its original run..the movie i was in suffered from a ton of cuts that couldve made the movie better but im happy to learn of a new uncut version

but im getting off track....i hope no one bites my head off and even though i loved it..i feel the toy story short cut into some of the time that ended up being on the cutting room floor, if it hadnt been attached maybe we couldve seen a few more scenes or fleshed out moments

 

[DannyRWW]

Interesting point about the toy story short...I think Disney thought the Muppets needed Toy Story and yet when I asked my students about it they actually thought the Toy story short was their least favorite part (They preffered the Hawain vaction one before Cars 2...which did need Toy story if you ask em). That beeing said I'm fine with the ending because I like the even though they lose they win vibe to it...but the tacked on tex Richman giving them the theater thing gives us closure for those of us who need it (it didn't come too late in the credits in my mind either). I'm not sure I would have liked the Statler and Waldorf idea as the scene where the Muppets walk out defeated only to be greeted by their fans is probably the best moment in the movie. It gave me chills and made me tear up a little both times I saw the movie (went Monday night with 20 people from my schools puppet team...which by the way was perfect as we were the only ones in the theater... beacause nobody goes to a movie at 3:20 on a Monday, not because the movie is doing poorly.... I just wanted it to be my group there and not many other people

 

[Drtooth]

The endings diverge when the big tote board comes up one dollar short. In the released film Fozzie bumps it and we see they're actually millions short. In the original film they're always one dollar short, and when it looks like all hope is lost Waldorf and Statler pipe up from the balcony. "That wasn't so bad after all," they say, and toss down a dollar. The Muppets are victorious.

On the one hand, I kinda expected that... even though it makes a strong ending it kinda... well... that ending has kinda been done already... At the end of the Sesame Street special Stars and Streets Forever, Oscar the grouch confronts the villain who's trying to demolish Sesame Street. That's a very similar ending. A stronger one, maybe... but I kinda like the payoff that Gonzo spent 10 minutes of a movie winding up a bowling ball to throw, only to let go of it, conking Tex in the head. Also, from what I read, one of the alternate takes was to be Tex laughing at Fozzie's Fart shoes. Overall, I think the movie sends a strong message that fans mean a lot more to a franchise than those who own it. To see them come out the door and greeted by hundreds of fans when one guy was trying to take them down, that's what I walked out thinking. Plus, at least it didn't end with something becoming a landmark or someone recording Tex Richaman and playing it to an audience.

However...

See, another deleted sequence involved a flashback to Tex's childhood. We learn that he was entertained at his birthday by the Muppets (remember him saying at the beginning of the film that he's been a fan since he was a kid?), but for some reason Tex can't laugh. He can't receive the third greatest gift the Muppets have to offer. It's traumatizing for him.
That sets up his desire to destroy the Muppet Studios, as well as his 'Maniacal laugh' gag (although the reveal is later in the film, so his initial 'Maniacal laugh' would still work as a non-sequiter). What's more this sets up Richman as the ultimate anti-Walter, a nice touch. At the end of the film Gonzo would still have hit him with the bowling ball, which would knock loose the block that kept Richman from laughing - we actually see him laughing in his hospital bed in the finished film.

That really SHOULD have been kept in the movie ONLY to help make the ending they had work. He did have a very childish vendetta, and it would have made more sense than just "I want the oil." I really hope for an extended edition on DVD. Not just the deleted scenes... adding those sequences back in like they did with that musical number from MCC. I'm sure they took no pleasure from cutting everything, though it seems like they filmed a 3 hour sweeping epic and just cut everything to a certain brisk pace.

Of course... there is one OTHER ending...

in one of the early drafts, there WAS no real Tex Richman. It was really Kermit in a human costume, and the entire stunt was to get the gang back together. While it did speak to Kermit's character, I don't think I would've liked that ending that much.

 

[beaker]

Yeah exactly, all the massive cuts makes Tex super 1 dimensional and a trivial aside plot device.

I LOVE the idea of a "bad ending" that has a positive side. That happened at the end of Reel Steel. I have no issues with that part of the ending. In fact I hate the almost missable newspaper flash of tex richman giving the theater back.

I think its just how the final finale was handled. Tho it was funny when she answers him with "mahna mahna!" So cute. Thats a sign of a really special gal when she can reference mahna mahna.

However, reading about all the other cuts...kind of rubs me the wrong way.

Thing with "Small Fry", it was so amazing to me(I hated Toy Story 3, Hawaiian Vacation was so so to me) I woulda paid $5 just to see that. I dont think it ate into Muppets time at all. Winnie the pooh had no attached shorts and it was only an hour.

 

[Duke Remington]

Thing with "Small Fry", it was so amazing to me(I hated Toy Story 3, Hawaiian Vacation was so so to me) I woulda paid $5 just to see that. I dont think it ate into Muppets time at all. Winnie the pooh had no attached shorts and it was only an hour.

Actually, Winnie the Pooh did have a short attached to it: "The Ballad of Nessie".

 

[Puckrox]

Actually, Winnie the Pooh did have a short attached to it: "The Ballad of Nessie".

I forgot about that short. I really liked it. It was cute.

 

[Drtooth]

Yeah exactly, all the massive cuts makes Tex super 1 dimensional and a trivial aside plot device.

I LOVE the idea of a "bad ending" that has a positive side. That happened at the end of Reel Steel. I have no issues with that part of the ending. In fact I hate the almost missable newspaper flash of tex richman giving the theater back.

I really hope for an extended edition.. not just a bunch of deleted scenes. Just to recut the movie with some of the extra scenes in it. In fact, it makes the fact his Maniacal Laugh sounded so fake and forced work better. I hate when any movie has to slash at bone to make the movie fit in a multiplex enforced time frame. The only single problem I had with the movie is there should have been more of it. Even by just 10 minutes. Sometimes it really feels the studio forces directors to make cuts that SHOULD be in the movie for those reasons.

 

[beaker]

I really hope for an extended edition.. not just a bunch of deleted scenes. Just to recut the movie with some of the extra scenes in it. In fact, it makes the fact his Maniacal Laugh sounded so fake and forced work better. I hate when any movie has to slash at bone to make the movie fit in a multiplex enforced time frame. The only single problem I had with the movie is there should have been more of it. Even by just 10 minutes. Sometimes it really feels the studio forces directors to make cuts that SHOULD be in the movie for those reasons.

For people saying that pg family films have to meet a certain timeframe, Harry Potter's numerous films have often been well over 2 hours. The Muppets isnt all goofy slapstick like most modern family films, as theres many serious/tearjerking elements.
Again I seriously doubt any person would be complaining if it was just 10 minutes longer. And I cant compare it to the original trilogy clocking in at under 2 hours as those are not modern films. And Muppets 2011 is nowhere near the feel of the classic films. Its made for a modern audience, and doesnt have the natural organic flow of the originals. And thats fine, but I think most people woulda been ok with a slightly longer cut. I doubt Small Fry cut into the running time decision at all

 

[Drtooth]

It's not the people wanting a longer cut that's the problem. I'm sure everyone would have loved seeing a few more minutes here and there... it's those multiplex conglomerates who want to shove in as many multiple showings of something as possible that the studios feel they have to cater to. I once heard that someone made them cut 7 seconds out of Nightmare Before Christmas for no dang reason. The Shadow Oogie Boogie thing that was supposed to be in the middle of the song.

My sister told me that there's a huge cut out of Suckerpunch that makes more sense on the blu ray (I HATE that they only put features on those stupid things). I'm not exactly sure what it is.

 

[minor muppetz]

One thing I wonder: With the Muppets needing the money by a certain time, wouldn't they actually need to have all of the money handy by the end of the telethon? If people called and pledged money, wouldn't it take awhile to actually get the money to the theater?

And I wonder what they did with all the money they made when they didn't reach the amount needed. Did the Muppets split it amongst themselves? Did they donate all the money to charity? Did the network keep the money?