Unofficial Script Review of the New Muppet Movie

[ZeppoAndFriends]

Whenever I see the Muppets doing a movie parody, that just makes me think that the writers couldn't come up with anything original.

Me too! I thought that was the main thing that was wrong with VMX. I mean some of them worked within the context of the story but the rest of them felt like they were shoved in to fill time.

Let us hope that they remove most, if not all, of them in subsequent drafts.

 

[Telly]

Yeah I'm tired of the movie parodies and such. They're MORE than that! They need their OWN story. Enough with the pre-written stories! Bring on originality!

 

[ZeppoAndFriends]

The story IS original enough they just need to ex-nay the arodys-pay.

On a different note, I'm fine with Pepe having a reduced role, provided that means they're bringing Rowlf back to the forefront.

 

[unclematt]

Pepe with a reduced role sounds like a smart choice but upon further consideration I think Pepe is a big part of what has kept the Muppets on the cutting edge. He is a smart @ $ $ with some great one liners. I mean we all say that we want the Muppets to be reconized for more than a children's franchize and I think Pepe is one of the few characters that is doing that on a consistant basis. I would like to hear what other people think. Let me know.

 

[frogboy4]

Pepe with a reduced role sounds like a smart choice but upon further consideration I think Pepe is a big part of what has kept the Muppets on the cutting edge. He is a smart @ $ $ with some great one liners. I mean we all say that we want the Muppets to be reconized for more than a children's franchize and I think Pepe is one of the few characters that is doing that on a consistant basis. I would like to hear what other people think. Let me know.

I think Pepe is the bridge between classic and new viewers. It almost seems like he was always there, but off doing his own thing away from the cameras. His asides in Letters to Santa helped frame the sweetness with audience some much needed perspective - and with just the right amount of bite. It's a mistake to reduce him to a couple of lines.

The main players should always be Kermit, Fozzie and Gonzo. Piggy is so potent that she can easily take over every scene she's in so even though I put her with the main players, they should hold her back just a teensy bit IMHO. It always works best that way.

The main secondary players should be Rowlf, Scooter, Pepe, Rizzo, Bunsen, Beaker and the Mayhem. I hope they give Animal his bunny pal.

Now, of course Sam, Sweetums, Robin, Swedish Chef, Sal, Johnnny, Statler, Waldorf, and the rest of the epic cast should all have a featured part. We need to see the Muppets - all of them. But this is how I see the importance and lineup.

 

[unclematt]

Very well put Frogboy. I agree whole heartedly. I would also like Bean fo have more of a speaking role. I think he has been missed in recent productions.

 

[Vic Romano]

The main players should always be Kermit, Fozzie and Gonzo. Piggy is so potent that she can easily take over every scene she's in so even though I put her with the main players, they should hold her back just a teensy bit IMHO. It always works best that way.

Nowadays at least, but that's because Piggy is the most misunderstood, underwritten and over parodied character. I hate this whole thin and shallow "I'm a diva" persona they insist on giving the pig. Remember when she was the most popular Muppet ever? It wasn't just about being shallow, prissy, spoiled and all frog stupid.

It's hard to say without comparing, but while Mr. Jacobson is one of the most talented new Muppeteers they have, I personally believe he just doesn't completely grasp the character. Now granted, most of that is the writer's fault. It's the same with Steve's Kermit. They look like the originals, they sound like the originals, they even move like the originals, but simply because Jim was Kermit's soul just like Frank is Piggy's; there's just no comparison. Someone once wrote on this forum that Piggy has become a bad parody of herself, and that's really a perfect summarization. Miss Piggy could carry the whole movie, but I agree with Jamie that (now) she's just too much. She's overbearing.

And I don't want to make this a "who's a better performer" discussion, because it really does fall on the shoulders of the writers. I think however, that this Paris Hilton version of Piggy that is around now, is what has become the standard and expected personality.

 

[Drtooth]

It's hard to say without comparing, but while Mr. Jacobson is one of the most talented new Muppeteers they have, I personally believe he just doesn't completely grasp the character. Now granted, most of that is the writer's fault. It's the same with Steve's Kermit. They look like the originals, they sound like the originals, they even move like the originals, but simply because Jim was Kermit's soul just like Frank is Piggy's; there's just no comparison. Someone once wrote on this forum that Piggy has become a bad parody of herself, and that's really a perfect summarization. Miss Piggy could carry the whole movie, but I agree with Jamie that (now) she's just too much. She's overbearing.

I remember hearing what Dave Golez said about how puppeteers actually don't like having to replace anyone else's characters, and I can see why. I think Eric is basically 75% there as far as Piggy goes, and I blame her over-diva-fication on the recent projects. We really had some off Piggy roles since MCC....

MCC: Played Bob Cratchet's wife... in about 2 short scenes.
MTI: Played a character shoehorned into the film, who didn't exist in the original text (at least as a woman)'
MFS: Basically had diva all over her, trying to upstage the other reporter... and I must add, she was basically looped dialogue from Frank a good chunk of the film, if not the whole film, losing all the wonderful improvisation that character thrives on.
VMX: Diva again, treated like she wasn't as good as she thought she was... but we had some sweet moments between her and Kermit.... quite possible her best post-Jim era performance.
OZ: played 4 different characters, and I feel they all had a different piece of her personality... it of course, focused on her Diva-ish counterpart, the Wicked Witch.
LTS: Very, very brief appearance, acting selfish. The film focused on the 5 characters that actually went to the north pole. Really should have been a 2 hour special.

Plus, I really don't think Eric found the same voice he had for Piggy as he did with Grover, Bert, and Fozzie... and in the case of Grover and Bert, SS is continuously on TV... Muppet projects have been one every so often since he took over the role.

 

[unclematt]

I have to agree that this comes down to writing. Eric Jacobson's voice and mannerisms are almost perfect. If Piggy wasn't written as a diva Eric wouldn't perform her as one. It is that simple.

 

[Beauregard]

I agree. And also in the natural changes of Piggy's character. She was trying to be famous, then she was famous, now she thinks she is still as famous as she was before and isn't. It is actually quite true for her.