The Muppets have a table read for the new "Greatest" Muppet movie

[Mupp]

Of course, we don't want them to make anything too jaded, either. After all, MupOz just tried way too hard to get an adult audience the same way VMX was successful with. But since we're referring to an off the cuff statement about how relatable the Muppets are to a mass audience, that's really not much concern.

I felt that MFS was very watered down, and I beg for the day the original Joey Mazzarino screenplay gets leaked online somewhere. I want to see how much damage the director did to the film, and how it could have been.

I agree!

When I first saw Muppets From Space back in 1999, I thought that it kind of fun, but still very lackluster and disappointing in many ways.

Years later, when I read about Joey Mazzarino's script, it made me feel bad that MFS turned out like it did. The really could have been so much better.

Yes, in retrospect it would have been a better idea to leave Gonzo as a "whatever" and not have him really be an alien. Heck, even The Muppets Studio have let that revelation fall by the wayside. I would have also loved to hear Gonzo's new version of "I'm going to go back there Someday".

Also, all of the funk music really bugged me. One thing that Muppets' Oz has over MFS is that Oz actually had some original Muppet songs.

 

[Super Scooter]

And finally, I've seen several Muppet table reads where they did NOT have their puppets with them [the Muppet Show's 'Pillage idiot' clip of Jim breaking up on the line "blundered his plundering", plus some time lapse footage and other shots for It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie], so I think the one they recently shot is likely to be another tongue-in-cheek 'production' which shows us the puppets backstage rather than the performers. Those are well and good, but I'd personally rather see more documentaries of these talented performers honing their craft.

Dearth

According to Hary Belafonte, the Muppets did two table reads on The Muppet Show. One was without the Muppets (which he said was fairly boring), one with the puppet characters, which he said was when the show came to life. It's likely that the Muppet performers still stick to this formula.

 

[frogboy4]

According to Hary Belafonte, the Muppets did two table reads on The Muppet Show. One was without the Muppets (which he said was fairly boring), one with the puppet characters, which he said was when the show came to life. It's likely that the Muppet performers still stick to this formula.

That's what I've always heard too.

 

[beaker]

Aw, this feels like the excitement we had on here back in 1998, when filming was about to commence on MFS. So, I'm guessing some sort of May-August sort of release date?

The only thing that bugs me is the "breaking the fourth wall" idea...its kind of funny/charming in a classic Woody Allen film, but in a Muppet movie? It's always a fart in the room I feel. Elmo In Grouchland, nuff' said.

But yeah, Nick's attitude and enthusiasm rocks, and while some may worry about a perceived lack of deep knowledge of the Muppets(the lack of knowing who Uncle Deadly is) his hearts in the right place.

Just imagine, next summer we'll have a theatrical Muppet film(if all goes to plan), a massive Disney push, and FINALLY a ton of Muppet merchandise/toys(along with goodness knows how many Muppet appearances on tv)

 

[RedPiggy]

IIRC, Muppets have always broken the wall one way or another, either by admitting something is a movie/show or by acknowledging they're puppets (admittedly, this happens more often in behind-the-scenes stuff).

 

[Drtooth]

The only thing that bugs me is the "breaking the fourth wall" idea...its kind of funny/charming in a classic Woody Allen film, but in a Muppet movie? It's always a fart in the room I feel. Elmo In Grouchland, nuff' said.

Well... Elmo in Grouchland was the bi-product of that annoying late 90's push in children's television to make everything pretend interactive... somewhere down the line they clearly wanted it to be a commercial for Elmo's World.

Fourth Wall, if done right (in the cases of the first three movies where they're self aware they're in a movie) could work. I'm not expecting anything further than GMC level of that, considering they keep mentioning that movie specifically.

 

[Mupp]

The only thing that bugs me is the "breaking the fourth wall" idea...its kind of funny/charming in a classic Woody Allen film, but in a Muppet movie?

What about The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper?

 

[frogboy4]

Muppets & the 4th Wall

The Muppet Movie was all about breaking the 4th wall. There were so many asides from beginning to end. Kermit spoke to the camera often in statements like,"...if a frog couldn't hop, I'd be gone with the Schwinn" and whatnot.

The Great Muppet Caper was a showy as it gets in that there almost was no 4th wall. Miss Piggy and Kermit's argument at the duck pond is just one clear example of many.

The Muppets Take Manhattan was a little lighter on speaking to the camera, but it was certainly there; especially when Kermit asked the audience, "What better way could anything end...”

The Muppet Christmas Carol was framed by Gonzo and Rizzo narrating the entire piece.

Muppet Treasure Island was pretty stagey as well. Even characters like the Mayhem and the Swedish Chef that were barely in the film for a minute were in scenes that involved speaking directly to the camera.

Muppets From Space was lighter on breaking the 4th wall, but it was lighter on everything. Still, it has some moments too.

This is just another element with the Muppets that identifies the brand to the audience. It coaxes along the idea that these characters aren't focus-grouped or precious. They are facilitators of humor and silliness and will break the rules to get a laugh.

This proves that the guys now in charge get the root of the Muppet magic.

 

[minor muppetz]

The Muppets Take Manhattan was a little lighter on speaking to the camera, but it was certainly there; especially when Kermit asked the audience, "What better way could anything end...”

I wouldn't count that as "breaking the fourht wall", as I figure he was singing to the live broadway audience (though we don't know how they were able to see the wedding).

Actually, The Muppets Take Manhattan is the only Muppet movie where they never acknowledge being in a movie.

If this read-through is going to be on the DVD, I wonder if it'll be the whole read-through or just parts of it (because if it's the whole one then it'd be hard to fit in other special features, like deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes featurettes, unless it was a two-disc special edition).

At The Muppet Mindset it was said that read-throughs invovle every actor with a speaking role. I wonder if that's really true. Would they bother to get actors with only one line or word to attend the read-through? What about movies where the ending is supposed to feature something so secret that only a few people on staff are aware of it before the release (The Empire Strikes Back is the only movie I know of off-hand that this would apply to)?

 

[frogboy4]

I wouldn't count that as "breaking the fourht wall", as I figure he was singing to the live broadway audience (though we don't know how they were able to see the wedding).

Actually, The Muppets Take Manhattan is the only Muppet movie where they never acknowledge being in a movie.

True, but there was still some camera-mugging here and there throughout the production - like all Muppet shows and movies. I kind of feel the Muppets are among the few characters able to pull it off no matter what the climate of entertainment happens to be at the time. Muppets are all about the breaking of the 4th wall, upstaging one another and making jokes right at the audience.