The Muppets Celebrate John Denver

[animalrescuer]

In this story, the Muppets from The Muppet Show (including the newest member of the gang, Walter), Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock travel from their homes to The Rockies in Colorado, which holds a special place in the hearts of all Muppets because their good friend, John Denver, loved going there. Every year since his death in 1997, they've traveled to Colorado to celebrate the life of their friend with his music and his love of nature. This year, they will show Walter why this place was so special to them as it was to John.

Chapter 1:
Wembley: Wow! Look at those mountains!
Uncle Matt: Oh, yes! They're quite lovely!
Big Bird: Ah, nature.
The Count: One tree, two trees, three trees...ah, ah, ahhhh!
Miss Piggy: How beautiful!
Walter: This is great!
Kermit: Okay, gang. Here we are!
(Music starts)
Hey, old pal! How've you been doin'?
I'm really not foolin', I'm so glad to see you.
Fozzie: Hey, old pal! My life's been kind of crazy.
I'm ready to be lazy hanging around with you.
Kermit: Well, even in the very, very worst of times,
there's one thing I know,
the way to guarantee a little peace of mind is a walk in the woods, a friend by your side and here we go!
Scooter: Hey, old pal! It's great to be here with you, the thing I'd like to give you is a real good time.
Robin: Hey, old pal! I really can't believe it, but now that we can see it, it looks just fine.
All four: What a chance to play and sing and have some fun, the day should never end.
Kermit: This will be a Rocky Mountain holiday
Fozzie: with you and me
Scooter: and all we can see
All four: and all of our friends.
All Muppets: Hey, old pal! We must be daydreamin', at least the things we're seein' are a dream come true.
Kermit: Hey there, gang. It's great to be together, it just keeps getting better, I can promise you.
First four singers: This is going to be the very best of times,
All: we will make it so.
No more hustle and bustle
Fozzie: and no more telephone lines.
All: And now that we're here, let's grab all our gear and off we go!
Grover: Yes, this makes a lovely campsite!
Kermit: Actually, this isn't the campsite, this is just the parking lot.
Red: So where is the campsite?
Kermit: About seven miles that way.
(Muppets groan)
Scooter: Come on, everyone. Let's unload the bus!
(Muppets talking as they gather their stuff for camping)
Announcer: This is "The Muppets Celebrate John Denver" on location at Aspen, Colorado with all your favorite John Denver songs and stories.

 

[Collgoff]

Wow that's a good beginning!

 

[Twisted Tails]

Hey vettech28! No loing time to wait, eh? This story put a smile to my face. I cannot wait for 2013 after the sadnes of Jerry passing.. okay I don't want to be so... I'll say that this is great.

 

[animalrescuer]

Chapter 2:
The Muppet gang keep marching along towards the campsite all the while thinking about the special place they would show Walter later as a surprise.
Walter: So did John Denver really love coming here?
Scooter: Of course, he grew up knowing this place and coming here to get peace of mind or get inspiration for his music.
Gonzo: I miss the good old days with John. Remember the camping trip we had years ago and we sang that song, "Going Camping"?
Robin: Oh, yeah. In fact, who could forget it?
(Flashback scene to the Rocky Mountain Holiday special during the song "Going Camping")
Kermit: Yep. Those were the good times. Anyway we're getting closer to the campsite. Why not make the trip faster with another song?
Fozzie: Sounds good to me.
(Music starts)
Kermit: Almost heaven, West Virginia.
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shanendoah River.
Robin: Life was old there, older than the trees,
younger than the mountains, growing like a breeze.
(Chorus)
All: Country roads, take me home to the place I belong.
West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads.
Gobo: All my memories gather 'round her,
miners lady, stranger to blue water.
Wembley: Dark and dusty painted on the skies,
misty taste of moonshine, teardrops in my eyes.
(Chorus repeats)
Ernie: I hear her voice in the morning hour she calls me,
the radio reminds me of my home far away.
Scooter: Driving down the road, I get the feeling that I should have been home yesterday
All: yesterday
(Chorus repeats twice)
Kermit: Take me home down county roads

 

[MissMusical12]

Wow this is really good! It would be awesome if you added in "Gone Fishin." Don't care where just please add it in!

 

[animalrescuer]

Chapter 3:
Kermit: Okay, everybody. Here it is!
(Muppets exclaim in wonder)
Scooter: Just the way we remembered it years ago.
Big Bird: It's beautiful!
Mokey: This is wonderful!
Walter: Wow! This is terrific! Is this the campsite you've been going to for all these years?
Floyd: Sure is.
Janice: It's, like, still groovy after all this time.
Kermit: Well, since we're here let's get things set up for tonight. Everybody unpack your tents and we'll set up camp, Scooter, Robin and Boober will hang up the clothesline and Floyd, can take Walter for fishing.
Floyd: Right on.
Fozzie: All right, let's get started.
Animal: Pitch tent! Pitch tent!
(Water splashes and tent sinks)
Fozzie: Animal, you do that every single year!
Dr. Teeth: Well, he always gets excited when he's camping out.
Animal: Tent go bye-bye. (Laughs meekly)
(Music starts)
Floyd: Gone fihin', there's a sign upon your door.
Walter: I'm gone fishin', I ain't workin' anymore.
Floyd: There's a hoe out in the sun where you left a row half done.
Walter: I say hoein' ain't no fun,
Floyd: you ain't got no ambition.
Walter: Gone fishin' in a shady wady pool.
Floyd: Gone fishin', man, you really play it cool.
Both: We don't wish to be annoyed,
Floyd: Mr. Walter,
Walter: Mr. Floyd,
Both: We're fishin' instead of just a wishin'.
We're fishin' instead of just a wishin'.
Floyd: Oh, yeah.
Walter: Well, looks like we have enough for everybody.
Floyd: Yep. Let's head back to the camp.
Walter: Okay.

 

[Hubert]

This is a pretty interesting idea to create a special of sorts in memory of John. Though I'm not too keen on fics in script format because they don't flow quite as well, I think you're doing a nice job putting this together.

However, could you possibly sprinkle in some more descriptions within the story? I know it's hard to add them in a script, but adding small things in brackets of pieces of description would help the readers to see the story better, something like:

[Red Fraggle walks over by the gang, wearing a speckled vest and a brown cap]

or

[Kermit scrunches his face]

Rather than imagining everything other than dialogue, I think it would be neat if we could see some other semi-important stuff that makes the story more three dimensional for us. That way, you can be the creative force that helps us along by painting the main picture, while we add in some smaller, unimportant details.

 

[animalrescuer]

Chapter 4:
As the gang get ready for the night, he next thing everyone wanted to do was to take a hike in the nearby woods, so they all packed their backpacks with the essentials and were soon on their way.
Kermit: Okay, is everyone ready to go?
All: Ready!
Robin: Then let's not waste time, let's go!
Red: Okay, we're coming!
Boober: You know, I think it would be best if we all stay in groups just in case any of us get lost.
Scooter: Boober, none of us will get lost, we've been here lots of times and no one ever got lost.
Bert: Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea.
Uncle Matt: My sentiments exactly. I think staying in groups is a wonderful idea!
Gonzo: Okay, so we'll all stay in the groups that with the people that we want to stay with.
So, the groups were organized like this: Kermit's group has Robin, Miss Piggy, Walter and Scooter; Fozzie's group has Gonzo, Rowlf, Camilla and Rizzo; Big Bird's group has Ernie, Bert and Cookie Monster; Dr. Teeth's group has the rest of the Electric Mayhem band; Herry Monster's group has Count von Count and Grover and Gobo's group has his Uncle Matt, Red, Wembley, Mokey and Boober.
Kermit: Okay. Now that we're all in groups, let's go hiking!
As all the groups leave the campsite, they sing another song as they go along.
(Music begins)
Kermit: On the road of experience, I'm tryng to find my own way.
Sometimes I wish I could fly away.
Scooter: When I think that I'm moving, suddenly things stand still.
I'm afraid 'cause I think they always will.
(chorus):
Both: And I'm looking for space and to find out who I am
and I'm looking to know and understand.
It's a sweet, sweet dream, sometimes I'm almost there.
Sometimes I fly like an eagle, sometimes I'm deep in despair.
Uncle Matt: All alone in the universe, sometimes that's how it seems.
I get lost in the sadness and the screams.
Gobo: Then I look in the center, suddenly everything's clear.
I find myself in the sunshine and my dreams.
(Chorus repeats)
Walter: On the road of experience, join in the living day.
If there's an answer, it's just that it's just that way.
When you're looking for space and to find out who you are
When you're looking to try and reach the stars.
It's a sweet. sweet dream, sometimes I'm almost there.
Sometimes, I fly like an eagle, sometimes I'm deep in despair.
As the sang and hiked, to them, the woods seemed so peaceful, it's as if John's spirit is with them, they just don't realize it yet.

 

[animalrescuer]

Chapter 5:
As they finish the hike, the gang decide what they want to do next.
Robin: That hike was wonderful.
Scooter: It sure was. What do we do next?
Gonzo: Hey, we're not far from the river. Several summers ago, I tried to break a world record.
Wembley: What was the record for?
Gonzo: Standing on the bottom of a lake with a dog on your head.
Kermit: Oh, yeah. John and I had to pull you and Rowlf out of there.
Rowlf: Don't remind me.
Red: Too late.
(Flashback to the Rocky Mountain Holiday special when Rowlf is floating down the river as John sings "Cool, Green and Shady", then Gonzo pops the inner tube causing Rowlf to fall in.)
Rizzo: Oh, yeah. I nearly forgot about that. (Laughs)
Herry: Don't worry about it, Rowlf. You have to admit, you still had a good time.
Rowlf: Yeah, that's true.
Walter: What are we waiting for? Let's head for the river!
Then each group boards a rowboat and then travels down it all the while listening to the sounds of the woods around them.
Mokey: It sure is beautiful here, isn't it?
Grover: It sure is.
Count: Just think of all the things I could count here.
Red: Never mind that, I just love the woods here.
Wembley: Me, too, Red.
Uncle Matt: Yes, when I was traveling in Outer Space, I visited lots of places as wonderful as this, but nothing beats the nature of the Rockies.
Robin: Couldn't have said it better myself, Uncle Matt.
As the wind blows gently, as strange quiet grows over the forest and the river, then suddenly...
John's voice: Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Scooter: Did anybody hear that just now?
Kermit: Hear what?
John: Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry.
Scooter: That singing.
Fozzie: I heard it, too
Gobo: Who's singing?
Ernie: It sounds an awful lot like...
John: Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
All Muppets: John!
John: Sunshine almost always makes me high.
Kermit: Looks like John's watching over us right now.
Scooter: He sure is.
John: If I had a day that I could give you,
I'd give to you a day just like today.
If I had a song that I could sing for you,
I'd sing a song to make you feel this way.
If I had a tale that I could tell you,
I'd tell a tale sure to make you smile.
If I had a wish that I could wish for you,
I'd make a wish for sunshine all the while.
John's voice and the Muppets: Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy,
sunshine in my eyes can make me cry.
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely,
sunshine almost always makes me high.
Sunshine almost all the time makes me high.
Sunshine almost always
Even though John wasn't with them physically, he was with them spiritually...in heaven.

 

[animalrescuer]

Chapter 6:
As the gang reaches the edge of the river, the time came to show Walter the special surprise they planned for him.
Kermit: Okay, everyone. We're here.
Walter: Where?
Fozzie: Remember the surprise we told you about before we came here?
Walter: Yeah.
Scooter: Well, I think it's time we show it to you.
Walter: Really?
Big Bird: Yeah. But first, close your eyes.
Walter: Won't I be bumpng into trees and stuff like that?
Gobo: Don't worry, we'll lead you to it and make sure you won't bump into anything.
Walter: Okay. (Covers his eyes)
The gang slowly but surely leads Walter to the special place they talked about.
Boober: Okay. We're here.
Grover: Okay. On the count of three, Walter, you open your eyes, okay?
Walter: Okay
All: One, two, three!
As Walter opens his eyes, all he sees is the beautiful scenery of nature all around him, the sounds of the wind blowing and the river rushing by and sees a group of stones in a small area.
Walter: What is this place?
Kermit: Believe it or not, this is the John Denver Sanctuary.
Walter: I've never heard of this place before.
Robin: That's because it was made a few years ago.
Miss Piggy: This was made for John in his memory
Gonzo: and his love of Colorado and its nature.
Walter: Wow! It's so beautiful here!
Wembley: That's why we brought you here.
Herry: We knew you would like it.
Walter: What are all these stones for?
Fozzie: They all have John's songs engraved onto them so when people look at them, they're reminded that he may be gone, but his music lives on.
Walter: Wow! I can't believe this place was made in his honor.
Scooter: Yeah. I think he would be happy if he saw this place.
Gonzo: Me, too.
As they think of John, a flashback occurs to John singing "Durango Mountain Cabellero" in the Rocky Mountain Holiday thinking he would be proud of this place.
As the flashback ends, everyone sings John's most famous song, "Rocky Mountain High" in honor of John.
Kermit:He was born in the summer of his twenty-seventh yea coming home to a place he'd never been before.
He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again, you might say he found a key for every door.
Scooter: When he first came to the mountains, his life was fay away, all alone and hanging by a song.
But the strings already broken and he doesnt really care, it keeps changing fast and it don't last for long.
Both: The Colorado Rocky Mountain High, I've seen it raining fire in the sky.
Shadows from the starlight is softer than a lullaby,
Rocky Mountain High
Rocky Mountain High
Gobo: He climbed Cathedral mountains, he saw sliver clouds below, he saw everything as far as you can see.
And they say that he got crazy once and he tried to touch the sun and he lost a friend, but kept his memory.
Wembley: Now he walks in quiet solitude, the forest and the streams seeking grace in every step he takes.
His side has turned inside himself to try and understand the serenity of a clear, blue mountain lake.
All:The Colorado Rocky Mountain High, I've seen it raining fire in the sky, you can talk to God and listen to the casual reply
Rocky Mountain High
Rocky Mountain High
Walter: Now his life was full of wonder, but his heart still knows some fear of a simple thing he cannot comprehend.
Why they try to tear the mountains down and bring in a couple more, more people, more scars upon the land.
All: The Colorado Rocky Mountain High, I've seen it raining fire in the sky.
Though he'd be a poor man if he never saw an eagle fly.
Rocky Mountain High
Rocky Mountain High
Rocky Mountain High
Rocky Mountain High
When the song ends, the focus is put on the biggest stone that says, "I am a song, I live to be sung, I sing with all my heart, John Denver: Composer, Musician, Father, Son, Brother, Friend
December 31 1943-October 12, 1997"

For information on the John Denver sanctuary, you can view this link:
http://johndenver.com/news/360-view-of-the-john-denver-sanctuary-in-aspen-co/