The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years appreciation thread

[BlueAM]

The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years is my #1 favorite Muppet/Henson special (with A Muppet Family Christmas in second)!

Please post your thoughts about this special and tell me what you like about it!

BlueAM
"Ah, yes, I know it's hard to believe, but the Muppets are 30 years old!"
"Hey, that's okay with me! I love being 30!"
"You old fool! Your pacemaker's older than that!"
-Fozzie Bear, Wldorf, and Statler, The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years

 

[Janice & Mokey's Man]

I just love it. The way it's set up so formal yet Muppety, tables and TABLES overflowin' with Muppets, segue music by the EM, Piggy's hilarious fall down the stairs, the touchin' endin'...

And o' course, Janice and Floyd introducin' the segement on "Muppet Music", and the musical clip-fest endin' with Janice singin' "Rockin' Robin'"!

 

[Crazy Harry]

I really wish I could remember enough about this special to say something relevent.

 

[BlueAM]

Nice appreciations.
Now, if you're out there, Phil Chapman, or Joggy, or Ryan Dillon, what do YOU three have to say about this special?

BlueAM

 

[Phillip]

It was one of the first "compilation" shows on the Classic Muppets I ever saw. It was very original at the time. Having all the Muppets you could think of in one place was a great treat. About 15 minutes in, there is a neat montage of Muppet magazine and record covers, I would watch this over and over in slow motion seeing what other Muppet stuff was out there at the time. I loved seeing the Sam and Friends characters in color at their table. The Kermit tribute is still very touching to this day.

 

[Erine81981]

Does anyone have this on tape I would trade anything of the muppets to get this on tape. If any one does just email me. muppetkyle@msn.com

 

[janicegroupie]

They really need to release this special on dvd since I don't think I've ever seen it or if I did I was really young. It sounds like an awesome special.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

They really need to release this special on dvd since I don't think I've ever seen it or if I did I was really young. It sounds like an awesome special.

You'll see it if you take an art class at Bloomsburg University. That worked for me. Lol.

 

[Lewis_Kazagger]

This is a really well done special--it's exactly what an anniversary show should be. It centers around the more memorable Muppets but they share the spotlight with plenty of lesser known Henson projects. My favorite part might be the vintage clips of commercials done by Jim (i.e. the dragon in the grocery store) as well as Sam & Friends, the Jimmy Dean show, etc.

Also, there's a very short bit w/ the Little Muppet Monsters (they introduce a clip I think). It's fairly rare to see an appearance by them and I doubt they've appeared in many other specials. Even though LMM flopped, I think it says a lot about Jim Henson as a creator/entertainer that he was willing to create new characters and new shows instead of just falling back on the financial success of the classic Muppets.

It's been a while since I've watched it, but I believe there's also a fantastic rectrospective done to the song "Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka. An all-around great show and easily one of my favorite Muppet specials.

 

[BlueAM]

It was one of the first "compilation" shows on the Classic Muppets I ever saw. It was very original at the time. Having all the Muppets you could think of in one place was a great treat. About 15 minutes in, there is a neat montage of Muppet magazine and record covers, I would watch this over and over in slow motion seeing what other Muppet stuff was out there at the time. I loved seeing the Sam and Friends characters in color at their table. The Kermit tribute is still very touching to this day.

Great description, Phil! I remember one of the Muppety record covers was the 1977 TMS album. I lit up at that, remembering that I had the British version (they showed the US version).

How about the monster segment and when the gang sings "Rainbow Connection"? What do you guys think of those? Post more thoughts if you can!

BlueAM