The Muppets head for Oz

[Drtooth]

Aw, man, geez!! Can we say "Hey, let's take a timeless tale and date it forever by adding in super-sorry cameos!" Won't they ever LEARN?! Hollywood, I mean. TMM did the cameos right, you take classic and timeless actors and put them in the film...the worst one in that movie that won't ever be remembered is Kojak.

No... no nono!!! GADS!!! does anyone think this will have an air of AVMMCM? And what's worse, ABC sitcoms aren't even remotely entertaining... except George Lopez. If they have anyone from that disaster "Married to the Kellys" (does anyone actually watch that?) I'll really be up a tree.

I'd rather Kojack in a Muppet movie. At least Kojack was memorable...

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I agree, Kojack was memorable. Who's Telly Savalas??!

 

[Drtooth]

Well... he was popular when he was on TV at the time... I don't even know ANYBODY other than Jim Belushi, Andy Dick, and George Lopez...


These projects are mixed as it sounds. I mean, I'd rather see thme do a theatrically released sketch film (with a single unifying theme) than a Jessica Simpsons special...

If I want the Muppets and the Simpsons together, one of them better be Homer. At least he's smarter than Jessica.... D'OH!

 

[GonzoPimp]

I'm not quite sure why certain people keep asking for original movies. Does anyone remember wasting their life on Kermit the Swamp Years? I guess what I'm saying is original does not equate with quality. Who ever made the comment on Disney and TV movies hit it on the head.
Lets just say I'm excited, but really scared.
As far as the book goes, I agree with whoever said its more of a copyright issue and not a choice of creativity.
Also it will be interesting to see who is in this movie. I have a theory about Brian Henson's characters. Most haven't ever impressed me. Lets see if they fall by the wayside. I hope Pepe has a major role, but I doubt it. Disney doesn’t care about Pepe/quality, they only want to make a quick buck off Kermit and the original gang.

Bottom Line: I have high hope, but low expectations.

 

[ryhoyarbie]

weren't the muppets trying to stray away from doing kid type stuff a few years ago and going beyond what people thought of the muppets?...

either way, this might be a step backwards for the muppets.

actually letting disney buy the muppets was a step in the wrong direction to begin with.

"disney's muppets"....i really hate that name. just call them the muppets. disney didn't create 50 years ago jim henson did........property rights now a days..urgh....

 

[AndyL]

"disney's muppets"....i really hate that name. just call them the muppets. disney didn't create 50 years ago jim henson did........property rights now a days..urgh....

If the quality downturns (and quantity upturns) as much as I think it will over the next few years, it might be a good thing to have Disney's name and not Henson's name associated with any new content.

 

[lowercasegods]

A new sort of Oz in Muppet town

When I first heard of a second Muppet special I was thrilled. The Christmas one from over a year ago was really wonderful, taking the characters back to their roots of brilliance. So another special was a welocmes treat.
Hearing that it would be an interpretation of The Wizard of Oz initially put me on the fence. Obviously I love the Muppets and support anything they do (I rented the not so great Kermit: The Swamp Years, after all), but it seemed to me that they should be sticking to original material.
However, when I discovered they were adapting the original L. Frank Baum book rather than the MGM musical, my spirits lightened. Besides Return to Oz, there's never really been a huge retelling of the original tale, and I feel that the Muppets could do something really special with it and make it their own. Ideally they could film it in real settings (i.e. not in a studio), and give it production values similar to specials like Gulliver's Travels and 1001 Arabian Nights. It also occured to me (and I know this would never happen) that it would be a nice inside joke to have the wizard actually be played by Frank Oz himself. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought of this, but even if it's too silly an idea, I figured I'd mention it. If possible, I think they should go with an unknown girl for Dorothy, and actually make her a little girl, not a teenage Judy Garland type. But beyond that, I'm sure the Muppets will do a good job with this and I look forward to seeing the results.

 

[GonzoPimp]

you have some great ideas, i.e., Frank Oz and an unknown little girl.

lets all hope for the best!

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I didn't think of that! Yes! Frank Oz as the Wizard of Oz is wonderful!

 

[BoyRaisin2]

It'd be a crime if they didn't do it.