The Muppets Aren't Funny Anymore

[D'Snowth]

so what? Jason Sagel is a fan.

Being a fan does not equate to being able to write for them. This was a point Frank had mentioned on Twitter before: just because Disney may like the Muppets doesn't necessarily mean they know exactly what to do with them.

 

[Blue Frackle]

No, Disney DOES understand them and knows what to do with them. The only things that were truly holding them back were Steve Whitmire, Debbie McClellan and Kyle Laughlin. And thank goodness those 3 are gone!

Don't even try to defend them or believe the many lies they've told!

 

[Grumpo]

i think they're only funny to an extent- they don't really match today's humor and the more disney puts them aside they just increasingly become a nostalgia troupe

Everybody has their own definition of funny, and, believe it or not, everyone sees their own muppets. ("One man's muppetology is another man's belly laugh." Some folks who love muppet movies dislike TMS, and vice versa.)
Myself, i sometimes think that Muppets strength lies in carefully chosen and chiseled archetypes (so "you can say 'I know who that guy is!'" -- Dave Goelz) jazzing over contemporary tropes, which allows them to be both contemporary and timeless, and so on -- but i'd be first to admit that simply liking them works just as well.

However -- and i have a very expert confirmation to that -- there is some basic quality to the Muppets sense of humor that is largely missing from today's "edgy" entertainment, namely --

[33:01 - 33:47]
-- be that nostalgic and outdated or not, that's one thing I'd hate to see them lose.


Would it sell today? From what we saw in another thread, Muppets theatrical release would hardly become a Marvel-sized box office hit -- dedicated cult following is more their thing. Full-size TV series were compromised by generally cold 2015 reception (even if fans liked it). So yeah, I think shorter and more flexible "Muppets Now" is the best thing they can do at this point to gain popularity. Time will tell.

 

[D'Snowth]

But to continually make Muppet content more and more exclusive is going to be more of a hinderance than a help.

 

[Blue Frackle]

Everybody has their own definition of funny, and, believe it or not, everyone sees their own muppets. ("One man's muppetology is another man's belly laugh." Some folks who love muppet movies dislike TMS, and vice versa.)
Myself, i sometimes think that Muppets strength lies in carefully chosen and chiseled archetypes (so "you can say 'I know who that guy is!'" -- Dave Goelz) jazzing over contemporary tropes, which allows them to be both contemporary and timeless, and so on -- but i'd be first to admit that simply liking them works just as well.

However -- and i have a very expert confirmation to that -- there is some basic quality to the Muppets sense of humor that is largely missing from today's "edgy" entertainment, namely --

[33:01 - 33:47]
-- be that nostalgic and outdated or not, that's one thing I'd hate to see them lose.


Would it sell today? From what we saw in another thread, Muppets theatrical release would hardly become a Marvel-sized box office hit -- dedicated cult following is more their thing. Full-size TV series were compromised by generally cold 2015 reception (even if fans liked it). So yeah, I think shorter and more flexible "Muppets Now" is the best thing they can do at this point to gain popularity. Time will tell.

Yes! Thank you for posting that interview clip so much. The first episodes of the 2015 show felt so bitter.

 

[Grumpo]

But to continually make Muppet content more and more exclusive is going to be more of a hinderance than a help.

Totally agree. It would be great if Disney would follow HBO and release the episodes to PBS after a grace period. Anyway, still -- It's better than nothing (gee, this should be a motto).

Yes! Thank you for posting that interview clip so much. The first episodes of the 2015 show felt so bitter.

In my personal opinion -- the best part of the whole series was, in fact, ad-libbed: