Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

[C'irdan]

film

DO NOT LOOK DOWN IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE SPOILED!
PLUS IT IS REALLY REALLY LONG.





























I really thought this was a very good effort, but I would have liked it a lot more if it was called a tv special because it just didn't have the adventurous scale of a muppet movie. This was, however a great step in the right direction and it was filled with witty, left wing jokes!!! I didn't find the rave scene disturbing at all because they were dissing that kind of environment so much. I felt so sorry for Miss Piggy and I thought that she was spot on in voice and character as well as fozzie. I didn't like Sam's hair thing though...that was a great joke but it looked wierd. Scooter's voice was pretty good and the best part of the entire thing was when he said, " Hey girls come back! My uncle used to own the theatre!" as well as Beaker working as a bouncer with the huge arms saying in a deep voice " MEEP. MEEEP MEEP." And the spoofs were great as well. Here's what they were from the beginning: Joe Snow (those child-oriented claymation films from the eighties like year without a santa claus- there is a narrator JUST like him in one of those I know!) Gift of the Magi -present giving and sacrificing stuff...then the great part when Jonny Fiama doesn't get Sal anything!!! , then (i'm going out of order here) A christmas story (the triple frog dare), The Grinch, The Crocodile Hunter, Miss Cleo, Fear Factor, Corporate Sinergy, It's a Wonderful Life, Moulin Scrooge (that was a little disturbing if you find the translation of what she said in french-while it was funny it was a bit disturbing that the chickens were singing that as well) And to continue my rambling, The Kung Fu movie parody was cool with the purposefully awful voice overing (except statler was talking in sync with the puppet! (I HOPE THAT WASN'T AN ACCIDENT) Janice was cool but it was just bizzare with that little whatsitcalled flopping around in her throat and Brian's voice was cracking a lot...and she only got one very short joke!!! She needed to say something out of place and self revealing.It was cool that Rowlf at least got to mumble and Dr. Teeth could have just as easily talked...but O' Ye Celtic Mayhem was awesome!!! Lew Zealand was nice to see and the gay pig was really funny too. There are so many characters like that on muppets tonight you know? Dr. Phil Van Neuter and the pig guy-very cool and funny. I truly felt sorry for piggy it was a horrible nightmare of a situation...she was a cat lady!!! She had no friends and was obsessed with cats to hide her depression through insanity. Her voice was incredible until she started crying. Frank would have made her pout and Eric made her scream...personally I think Frank's works better but all the same, this is an incredible progress over Peter Linz's voice in MFS. Fozzie was awesome and I loved the grinch part. Fozzie was so lovable as he always is. I didn't really like the scene with pepe and Joan...it was too dirty and not quite funny enough. But "Does it come with Action figures?" Was a very welcome line. Kermit said "The Muppets" in a childish way too many times and he never has in the past really...he just refers to them as people and I think it really does work better that way...The songs were a bit weak and I wish they had put more effort into them...I loved it when Fozzie quoted The Great Muppet Caper in his "We don't want the BAD GUYS to WIN!" speech, Kermit in his muppet movie references such as the memorial saying Thankyou kermit, for the lovers, the dreamers, and you. And The Doc Hoppers restaurant. Destroying The Environment One Mall at a time was a cool sight to see as well. I LOVED THE YODA BIT TOO! do you think that was Frank?? Beaker was great with his hands getting smashed and growing a second head! Very funny. Whoopie was awesome and William H. Macy is ALWAYS good in whatever he's in. David Arquette wasn't all that awful, and he wasn't all that great either. I loved the way whoopie was on a big fluffy couch in a meadow where she watches Spongebob Squarepants. That must have been the best line in the film. Bean Bunny got squished and Pops was there and had two mumbly lines! Crazy Harry popped up in the back, Sweetums hung around with Robin, but Sweety didn't get any lines. Beaureguard came back too! He was in a couple shots. And we got to tape both versions of the mastercard commercial! YAY! What a great evening. It must feel great to be honored as the target of a joke in a muppet movie! Congrats to both Dannys Phillip and Cindy as well as others less known. I think I covered pretty much every joke in the entire film...so there! HA! Try and beat me! OH ok...I left out a few.

Sorry to ramble so much, but it helps me write a review later.






ummm...does this mean we get muppet action figures from this film? Here are the ones I'd like:

Bunsen as guest list guy

Beaker as bouncer

Moulin Scrooge Piggy

New Dr. Teeth ( He's got a black feather, a silver hat and he looks AWESOME! - Make him come with The Electric Mayhem Bus because he WAS the driver in The Muppet Movie.

Anyways that would be it'sy a-y very merry muppety christmasy action figure line.

 

[Misfit Toy]

...I can't believe what I just saw (Muppet Christmas Special)

They took out Snoop Dog, but they had Scooter dancing in a cage, some gay pig commenting on Kermit's tooshie, Miss Piggy doing a "Live Link" 18 years or older business..........................wha?!?!

BUT I did like seeing Scooter (EXCEPT IN THAT CAGE!! WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!?!?!?!), Rowlf, Janice (and all the EM), Swedish Chef, etc...I appreciate the gesture they took to put classic characters in there, but.........................................OH! And the part with Joan Cusack and Piggy being dubbed while fighting like CTHD Chinese characters...and....and........Oh heck Jim's rolling in his grave. BUT there were good parts, don't get me wrong. It's just...just...aw man what was that?!?!

 

[trekkie1701E]

Pretty good film. There were a few weak spots, but overall "very" well done!
(I loved the part with Yoda & the reference to Doc Hopper! Plus, that little duet between Kermit & Gonzo was awesome).
Two questions:
Wasn't Brian Henson just executive producer or something like that?
And Who performs the voice of Robin?
I ask about Henson only because the muppet projects he directed ... I notice a difference in them vs, say, MUPPETS FROM SPACE. THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL and MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND have a certain "Jim Henson," quality to them, if you know what I mean; one that was not as evident in MUPPETS FROM SPACE. I even see this element in that great commercial for Mastercard.

God I hope I'm making sense

 

[dan]

WOW!!!!
I am so happy right now!! I think that was the best thing the Muppets have done since A Muppet Family Christmas!!!!!!! Really great fun stuff. I am SO impressed with Piggy and Fozzie! I just can't beleive how spot on they are!!!!

I didn't know that Jerry was finished doing his characters and that was quite a shock, but hey Scooter was back!!! And Janice!!! And Sal and Johnny were great!!!!!! This is what Muppets Tonight should have been and what hopefully the new show will be!!

I'm glad that they didn't introduce anyone new (except the gay pig which was hilareous!) and I'm glad that Clifford and Andy and Randy pig were nowhere to be seen. The Fozzie stuff was SO GREAT and so true to his character! The same with Piggy! A little slow when the Muppets weren't on the screen, but not too bad. The important thing was that it was funny and FUN! And also had a touch of Muppet heart.

Keep up the great work you guys - if you read this- you are SO on the right track!!

 

[Jack Job]

Hi!

I've been a longtime lurker on the site and until now, haven't felt the need to voice an opinion. I've been a muppet fan for many years, and will always hold the muppets very close to my heart. As Frank Oz once said, "so much of Jim Henson's work had a genuine sweetness to it." This is such a difficult thing to achieve.

Saying that, I wish my first post were more positive. I thought the Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie was the worst thing ever done with the characters. I thought it not only lacked fun (the foremost muppet hallmark), but sadly, also heart. It was smarmy. It was ugly. It was dull.

To my shock, it relied on topical references and cheesy parodies (which has never really been that prominent a feature of their world - thankfully. I thought the Grinch thing went nowhere and had no payoff). It completely lacked the wackiness that has always made the muppets so much fun (Gonzo on a bench with a brick? How about high-diving into a vat of yogurt while playing "Lady of Spain" with castanets?) I felt its target audience was adults (judging from the film's tone) while never achieving a level of writing above that of a typical episode of "Tiny Toons". Yuck.

Sorry to be so negative, but these are characters I've always had a great affection for. After about twenty minutes, I pictured a lot of people like me who were really looking forward to this, reaching into their dvd collection for the Muppet Movie. Anyone else out there feel the same way?

 

[pezbalubah]

Clifford only made a cameo... well not really, in the background of the Muppet Theater backstage is a Clifford glossy photo as well as the Sal and Johnny glossy that was sold at Muppetfest. Maybe that's what Kevin Clash did in the movie... Gee with him not doing Clifford he basically has Elmo and..... Elmo...

 

[trekkie1701E]

<<just...just...aw man what was that?!?!>>

I do agree somewhat. While it was solid and well done, I prefer my 45 minute MUPPET FAMILY CHRISTMAS DVD!

And Fozzie's line during the closing song was cut off by NBC! Did anyone else notice this?

 

[Misfit Toy]

Originally posted by Jack Job
Hi!

I've been a longtime lurker on the site and until now, haven't felt the need to voice an opinion. I've been a muppet fan for many years, and will always hold the muppets very close to my heart. As Frank Oz once said, "so much of Jim Henson's work had a genuine sweetness to it." This is such a difficult thing to achieve.

Saying that, I wish my first post were more positive. I thought the Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie was the worst thing ever done with the characters. I thought it not only lacked fun (the foremost muppet hallmark), but sadly, also heart. It was smarmy. It was ugly. It was dull.

To my shock, it relied on topical references and cheesy parodies (which has never really been that prominent a feature of their world - thankfully. I thought the Grinch thing went nowhere and had no payoff). It completely lacked the wackiness that has always made the muppets so much fun (Gonzo on a bench with a brick? How about high-diving into a vat of yogurt while playing "Lady of Spain" with castanets?) I felt its target audience was adults (judging from the film's tone) while never achieving a level of writing above that of a typical episode of "Tiny Toons". Yuck.

Sorry to be so negative, but these are characters I've always had a great affection for. After about twenty minutes, I pictured a lot of people like me who were really looking forward to this, reaching into their dvd collection for the Muppet Movie. Anyone else out there feel the same way?

Man, you took the words right outta my mouth! *And welcome...I lurk around here as well but I've posted a bit more*

Anyways yes I'm going to go wath The Muppet Movie RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!
and you really couldn't tell it had anything to friggin' DO with Christmas..........................okay fine I hated it. There I said it. Kill me, but I hated it.

 

[trekkie1701E]

<<Anyone else out there feel the same way?>>

After the first 20 minutes? Yes. But the movie did gradually get better.

 

[Jack Job]

I guess I should have mentioned that I did watch the entire movie. It wasn't easy but I stuck with it!