What went wrong with Muppets from Space?

[BobThePizzaBoy]

Drtooth just wrote in 5 minutes something so much better than the writers behind MFS did in multiple months worth of work.

 

[muppetlover123]

yeah that was a better story then the last half of MFS lol

 

[mupcollector1]

I remember reading a simular forum. Not sure if this is the same one or not. But I don't mind talking about it again. Talking about Muppets is one of favorite things to do. lol
I think what happened with Muppets From Space is Jerry Juhl wrote a script and Kirk Thatcher write a script. Kirk's was called Muppets in Space and I think it had something to do with Koosebane or something like that. Jerry's was about Gonzo worrying about who he is and where he came from. And the original Jerry Juhl script was really really funny and he even said he liked Kirk's script a lot but Jerry's got picked and Jerry mentioned that Kirk's would make a good film in the future. But there was a director who came in and walked off the project and then Tim Hill went to direct it and he made changes and perhaps executives did too to make it more hip to the new generation basicly why it fell apart. Originally it was going be a bunch of parodies of X-files and ET, but got replaced with toilet themed scat humor. (I ownly found Animal dunking his head into the toilet to be funny because it was really close to Animals primitive character.) Junk like Fozzie picking his nose and Miss Piggy running up the stairs saying that she's got to pee. Even Frank Oz said in an interview that he didn't like the final product, no one did, they all said it could have been better. I think that's when Frank decided to slowly quit The Muppets and pay more attention to directing.
I've even heard Frank Oz didn't like the new Muppet movie draft script, didn't know if he seen the final movie. Personally I loved the new Muppet Movie, totally kicked the socks out of Muppets From Space.
I'm sort of glad that Muppet Studios supervising everything before it's made now a days.
It's strange no one stood up and said, No Muppets don't do toilet humor durring the pre-production of Muppets From Space.

 

[Drtooth]

Drtooth just wrote in 5 minutes something so much better than the writers behind MFS did in multiple months worth of work.

Alternatively, there could be a scene in which they were caught.

Singer pulls everyone into his office, asking them to explain themselves. Fozzie (or Gonzo) explains that they need to meet the alien mother ship, but Kermit stops them from saying the exact location. Singer thinks for a second and lets them go, saying it was all a big mistake. The second they leave, Singer calls Bob and says "Let's follow them."

Something like that anyway.

 

[minor muppetz]

It's strange no one stood up and said, No Muppets don't do toilet humor durring the pre-production of Muppets From Space.

I've read a rumor (which I wouldn't be surprised if it was true) that Jerry Juhl quit writing the movie because of the bathroom humor. The closest confirmation I can find to it being true is a Muppet Central news article which announced that Jerry Juhl left production of the film due to disagreements with The Jim Henson Company, though it said that he would continue to write for the company again in the future (and of course he retired shortly after the movie came out... It's a shame he didn't hold off on retiring until The Muppet Show Live in 2001, THAT would have been a great final writing assignment).

 

[Walter]

I wouldn't say that, as time went on he became fairly close with Kermit and Fozzie and does have a close friendship with Rizzo that definitely is one of the reedeeming aspects of Muppets from Space.

True.. I suppose you're right.. Even though Rizzo isn't the most dependable Muppet in the world(he fell asleep when Gonzo was in need of moral support in the first scene..), I suppose it's the thought that counts..

 

[Pinkflower7783]

The most remarkable thing that few people mention is the outright estrangement of Kermit and Miss Piggy. I know the film wasn't about them, but they appeared as if they couldn't care less about each other.

That was the biggest issue I had with MFS was Kermit and Piggy's relationship. Yeah it wasn't suppose to be the main focus but still it was like they were strangers. I had other issues with this film but that was the no. 1 issue I had. I thought were is the dynamic that they always have?? There was NONE was just very disappointing.


I should note I don't even think Kermit himself very much liked this film. Because I saw an interview he did on this German radio show back in Jan-Feb when he was promoting The Muppets film. And the interviewer said the last film they did was MFS and he asked Kermit why a new movie now? And Kermit's reply was "With all due respect to MFS you don't want that to be the last film you ever do, you want to do a better one" And it was a pretty serious answer so I don't even think Steve liked MFS much

 

[Drtooth]

That was the biggest issue I had with MFS was Kermit and Piggy's relationship. Yeah it wasn't suppose to be the main focus but still it was like they were strangers. I had other issues with this film but that was the no. 1 issue I had. I thought were is the dynamic that they always have?? There was NONE was just very disappointing.

On the one hand it was a Gonzo focused movie, but on the other hand Kermit and Piggy were present but not there. I like the concept of Piggy working at a news station, but other than that, she seemed completely out of the film EVEN though she was in that break out sequence. All she did there was make her trade mark "Kissy Kissies" and mock the door in a jar. Like I said, she would have been better suited waiting at the beach for everyone else.

Kermit was worse. There could have been some more tender moments between Kermit and Gonzo, but he seemed almost disinterested in Gonzo's deep depression. I don't get the complaints about how Kermit was in the last movie... about how depressed he was. he was at least emoting in that film. He was stuck in permanent Mr. Happy mode the entire time in MFS. I blame the script, not the performance... but there was something missing with Kermit in that movie. And it was there in MCC and MTI (at least closer to the end with that one).

And Like I said, there was NO sequence of Kermit telling people that htye had to support Piggy and watch her show when a bunch of Muppets were fighting over the TV. That small sequence could have spoke volumes. Kermit might as well have said "Hey guys! Raiders of the Lost Arc is on, but Piggy's thing is on first. Let's sit through that to kill time."

And knowing Tim Hill, the rest of the movie would be Kermit and the rest of them watching the movie, BUT they'd just cut it up to show the fun mundane stuff they do in between commercial breaks.

Seriously... HOW THE HECK bad was the director they fired that house painting and mail checking was more worthy of screen time than anything fun?

 

[Pinkflower7783]

I rest my case with Kermit's words about MFS. LOL! "With all due respect to MFS you don't want that to be the last film you ever do, you want to do a better one"

 

[Hayley B]

That was the biggest issue I had with MFS was Kermit and Piggy's relationship. Yeah it wasn't suppose to be the main focus but still it was like they were strangers. I had other issues with this film but that was the no. 1 issue I had. I thought were is the dynamic that they always have?? There was NONE was just very disappointing.


I should note I don't even think Kermit himself very much liked this film. Because I saw an interview he did on this German radio show back in Jan-Feb when he was promoting The Muppets film. And the interviewer said the last film they did was MFS and he asked Kermit why a new movie now? And Kermit's reply was "With all due respect to MFS you don't want that to be the last film you ever do, you want to do a better one" And it was a pretty serious answer so I don't even think Steve liked MFS much

I'll have to pay attention to "Kermit and Piggy's relationship" again. But the reply from Kermit is too funny. The Muppets was indeed an awesome comeback

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To everyone, I just watched it for the first time today. I thought it was pretty funny and well worth $5.00. I kept thinking the Muppets Wizard of OZ was much worst, honestly.