"The Muppets" Teaser Poster

[kymie]

I have to admit Im taking a while to get used to the bottom half of the characters! I think Gonzo and Piggy look fine, I will always think Animal and Kermits legs are too skinny but Im struggling with Fozzy. I cant work out why, but I think that its in my mind he looks too tall. I am so excited though! I really hope some of the merchandise that comes out in the states makes its way over to the UK too. Can anyone tell me the films release date here?

 

[frogboy4]

What's with the wiggin' out?

I'm still a little freaked out by how many people are freaked out about full-bodied Muppets. It's nothing new. I guess this clean-cut white backdrop makes the designs look more clinical, but these are accurate representations we've seen many times before.

Off the top of my head - in the first Muppet Movie here and here, on bikes and parachutes in the Great Muppet Caper, countless times on the Muppet Show and in its promotional materials and quite a few times over the years.

It really must be with the clinical-nature of this promo. I personally like seeing a clean backdrop behind advertisements and I think it works fine here too. Maybe some people are finding it too clean.

Whatever the reason, people are in fact wigging out thinking this will be CG. I guess so many people justifiably jump to that cynical conclusion because of all the garbage that's in theaters now. It just goes to show why we need a Muppet movie now more than ever.

 

[douggy]

As much as I adore the muppets, this poster is way off. They look stuck there, the old photos of the muppets that appeared in the old books/posters etc had so much life to them. They looked real. these don't. There's no heart or fun here whatsoever, such a shame. It looks like Apple have made it. Look back at the old Drew Struzan posters from the early muppet films and this thing is ugly, why are they all looking off camera? there's no imagination here, i can just imagine someone in the office shouting 'make it look slick!'. I wish they'd stick Gonzo back in his old tux too, and what's going on with fozzie's face?
Sorry to rant but it really annoys me when they strip away what really made the muppets great. Alas, I really do hope this film's good though, I'll keep my flippers crossed.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Another reason could be because we never see the Muppets in this pose. They almost always have their hands near their chest and lean at a 45 degrees slant forward.

I did think that as well; the hands look a little too deliberately posed.

i can just imagine someone in the office shouting 'make it look slick!'

Yeah it is kind of an attempt to make them look epic and cool, when keeping it mellow may have worked just as well.

But heck, it's one poster, you can't judge a movie by its promotional material.

 

[douggy]

I have no idea what epic means anymore but this looks neither epic or cool. It looks like something burger king would have as their advert for the happy meal, not the poster for the film. Trying to make the muppets look cool is a bad move. The muppets ARE cool. Wish they'd just concentrate on making it funny, crazy, nuts & most importantly.. charming. That's what it's about, not them posing to the cameras, it's cold & dead. It doesn't make any sense. ugh..

 

[CensoredAlso]

I have no idea what epic means anymore.

Epic: heroic; majestic; impressively great. (dictionary.com).

It's a funny concept really, epic. Often attempted but rarely successful.

But like I said, I've seen many situations where a movie has turned out great, despite some truly frightening promotions, heh. So I wouldn't worry yet.

 

[Beauregard]

The Muppets have always had an aspect of the Parody/Turning something cliqued into something unique... Here, they are using an old clique looking poster (walking towards the camera) but its unique because, hello, they are Puppets and they are Walking! Je t'aime!

It is also worth noting the positioning of Kermit's hand and knee...very clearly (?) a parody of how marionette Puppets (which they are not) often move hand and knee together (see Thunderbirds for an example). Subtle connections to the fact they are puppets...while appearing full-size as living things!

 

[Drtooth]

Whatever the reason, people are in fact wigging out thinking this will be CG. I guess so many people justifiably jump to that cynical conclusion because of all the garbage that's in theaters now. It just goes to show why we need a Muppet movie now more than ever.

It's easy to be cynical, and I blame crappy third and fourth party studios for dumping us with bad kiddy films (not mentioning THAT one again for the hundredth time), and it doesn't do anything but drag the rep of GOOD studios down.

Somehow, the Smurfs movie is going to do a LOT of damage, and I hope the Muppet film doesn't fall into the lump of BAD "live action remake" movies like Yogi Bear, Underdog, Marmaduke (since kids all apparently know about 1970's comic strip characters that weren't even funny in their hey day), and all those other sassy hip jive tawkin' "re-imaginings" (how can things be re-imagined if no imagination is required to rip everyone off?) that just tick off the fan base, and fail to get an audience that's both young and cares who the characters are.

This movie was made by a genuine Muppet fan (one that didn't like the last batch of themed films, no less), and we wouldn't even have a Muppet movie without him. That's a point no one seems to want to come across. Then you look at the Smurfs movie and you get a company that bought the rights to a movie off of a company that no longer wanted to do one (and there's was better anyway), they came up with a lousy script, I'd swear, a week before shooting, and there's so little confidence for the film, they're dumping it sometime in August (might as well go directly to video)... and I swear it already did it's damage with the Fraggle movie, and I think that's one of the reasons it's not happening.

 

[douggy]

agreed

 

[Beauregard]

agreed

I agree with that agreement.