"The Muppets" isn't the Muppets

[CensoredAlso]

But I also think it's time for the Muppets to part ways and move on from the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and find some new talent. She's too controversial and alienates half the fan base with her wacky political diatribes on The View.

Well that would be a little difficult because the majority of show biz people do tend to be pretty vocally liberal, hehe.

 

[RedPiggy]

I think people may have trouble with an unknown character like Walter pushing tried and true classic characters like Gonzo out of the picture, making people think, "What am I watching? This isn't the Muppets!"

I can see that. I also think that people who think that were missing the point of the movie. I don't care what the title says. The movie is about our relationship with the Muppets.

He would have moved on to bigger and better things, staying active, maybe working behind the camera or working on other projects, not becoming a recluse or a museum piece.

What evidence? In MTM, he had to get knocked on the head to get a decent paying job, forgetting who he was. In VMX, he wishes he had never been born than face his problems. In TMM, he mopes in self-pity when he thinks he's responsible for everyone missing the auditions. I think this movie fits Kermit perfectly: he can only drive the group forward if THEY are there to back HIM up. When left to his own devices, he folds like a paper sack.
You want stubborn will to survive, you go with Piggy, not Kermit.

But I also think it's time for the Muppets to part ways and move on from the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and find some new talent. She's too controversial and alienates half the fan base with her wacky political diatribes on The View. Keep politics out of the Muppets!

I'm sure they do that when they fire Sam for his political views.

 

[jvcarroll]

I enjoyed The Muppets as a lifelong fan and admirer. I can see how some people can have some issues with the movie. Honestly speaking, the voice and mannerisms of Piggy didn't gel well for me. I think there is much room for improvement to bring her back to the Piggy we all know and love. Fozzie was inconsistent, sometimes sounding great and sometimes sounding not so great.

I think people may have trouble with an unknown character like Walter pushing tried and true classic characters like Gonzo out of the picture, making people think, "What am I watching? This isn't the Muppets!" I was also a little bothered at where Kermit lived and what he had become. He would have moved on to bigger and better things, staying active, maybe working behind the camera or working on other projects, not becoming a recluse or a museum piece. It was sad and I didn't want to accept the fact that the Muppets would break up and dissolve due to becoming irrelevant.

I will tell you though, I almost cried when they replicated the opening to The Muppet Show. I had goosebumps running up my arms. It was so amazing to watch. They REALLY did a great job with that part. But I also think it's time for the Muppets to part ways and move on from the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and find some new talent. She's too controversial and alienates half the fan base with her wacky political diatribes on The View. Keep politics out of the Muppets! The Muppets also needs to be Jason Segel's last muppet movie. I really don't want to see the Muppets become all about Jason Segel.

The movie was so intriguing being written from a muppet maniac rabid fan point of view that most of us can relate to, not to mention the freaky muppet dreams of them coming alive and meeting them all. That's where I really related to the movie. I can't tell you how many dreams I've had of meeting Jim Henson and getting to work with him and it feeling so real! So while not classic Muppet material through and through, it was still really enjoyable and where it falls a little short can be forgiven.

You know what, I agree with you about "The Muppets" use of Kermit. Even if he quit the entertainment world, he would have been doing something somewhere to help people. The world of the movie doesn't really stand up to much scrutiny, but neither do GMC and MTM if we start picking them apart. I still feel they should have mentioned some sort of charity work for Kermit. I can see him building houses in New Orleans or something.

 

[Drtooth]

But I also think it's time for the Muppets to part ways and move on from the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and find some new talent. She's too controversial and alienates half the fan base with her wacky political diatribes on The View. Keep politics out of the Muppets!

Bull. Someone says something stupid on some show. They shouldn't abandon a longtime partnership with a friend of the characters for that. She's done AMAZING work for Sesame Street, and we shouldn't completely forget that because someone doesn't agree with her politics.

Yah think I want Pixar to dump John Ratzenberger because I don't agree with his political views? No way.

I was also a little bothered at where Kermit lived and what he had become. He would have moved on to bigger and better things, staying active, maybe working behind the camera or working on other projects, not becoming a recluse or a museum piece. It was sad and I didn't want to accept the fact that the Muppets would break up and dissolve due to becoming irrelevant.

I'm sorry... but you completely missed the point of the movie. Happy peppy Kermit moving on to something else WASN'T what the film was about. That's not how depression works.

The point of the film wasn't that Kermit was able to deal with being alone and movie on. That wouldn't have given the film the sense of urgency it needed. The point of the film was that Kermit hit a low we'd never expect him to hit, and he was the only one of his friends that wasn't able to get over the break up and move on with his life. if he did, would the movie even matter? Heck... if he was that happy, he'd track everyone down and call them on the phone every so often. That's not film material.

The film NEEDED a depressed, hopeless Kermit. it needed to show that some people can't get over things without someone else's help. It's not just a film, it's a greater reality of depression. You doubt yourself, things get darker, you lose who you once were. You NEED to be social to get it back.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

As Piggy said in an interview when promoting the film "you couldn't really have all of us starting at the top because that means things in the film would've only gotten worse you have to start at the bottom so that things start to get better and work our way back to the top." I know hard to believe Piggy said such things but she did.

 

[Drtooth]

Yeah. The one thing that wasn't established in the movie was the happiness of the characters who really made it big, other than Gonzo and Piggy. They were both happy, yet unfulfilled.

Fozzie and Kermit got the worst of the group. Fozzie because he didn't have confidence and was looking for something he lost in the wrong places. But Scooter, Sam, and Bunsen and Beaker seemed happy working at their respective places.

But like I said, the point is, Kermit lost his confidence HARD. Everyone moved on but him. Heck, Jason Segal made movies sort of like that, only with the main character being the only one that moved on (Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall... that movie was about completely getting over a relationship that went sour).

 

[Pinkflower7783]

Well Kermit has even said this was probably his most dramatic role ever. And yes Kermit did hit rock bottom pretty badly but it just goes to show Kermit is at his best when he's with everyone as opposed to being alone.

 

[Borples]

Well Kermit has even said this was probably his most dramatic role ever. And yes Kermit did hit rock bottom pretty badly but it just goes to show Kermit is at his best when he's with everyone as opposed to being alone.

I've always wondered about Kermit's comments about having to learn "40 different ways to act sad" or whatever. Is he just being funny or is Steve subtly complaining about Kermit's gloomy role? The world may never know....

 

[Pinkflower7783]

On that note I think that was Kermit just being silly. Lol!

 

[Beauregard]

The Muppets are incredibly self-aware. Kermit (and Steve) will have almost immediately picked up on the fan-comments that Kermit was sad in the movie, and immediately found fun ways to play with that self-awareness.