Your Thoughts: It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas

[BoomShaKaLaKa]

There was something missing for much of this movie. It took a second viewing to notice it, and it's not true in every scene, but it's true in many of them -- especially scenes with Kermit.

So what was missing?

VISIBLE ARM RODS. They were there in some scenes, but in MANY scenes where they SHOULD have been visible, they weren't. It was obvious they were still being operated that way, but the arm rods had apparently been removed in post-production. We've heard that the Creature Shop has been delving into the world of CGI, and they were credited on this show. Is it possible this was a chance for them to hone their skills on an in-house project?

OK, so maybe no one else would even care about something like that, but it was neat to me from a puppeteering standpoint.

Also - to those who say the human actors overdid it like in children's shows -- i agree on some of the characters (Matthew Lillard's, for instance), but disagree on the main one -- Joan Cusack. She was exactly in the same tone as the Muppets themselves.

And can I say that for some reason, the scene where Bitterman gives Piggy a double slap to the head is hilarious? Not sure why -- but the way Piggy just takes it ... then the almost deadpan reaction. Good job, Eric.

 

[jeremyactor]

NO!!!!

I MISSED THE MOVIE!!!!! HELP!

I came home from college Wednesday night, and set my TV to record on Thursday by accident. So I thought I'd record it at home. I set it on the wrong channel at home! GOD DOESN'T WANT ME TO SEE THIS MOVIE!

I will trade anyone a tape of Muppets Tonight if they will give me copy of the movie (I will buy it eventually, but I want to see if they release it on DVD before I buy a VHS)

contact me at wilc0088@umn.edu

Jeremy

 

[beaker]

It's great that VMM provided little specialized fan nuggets for everyone. If your a Muppet webmaster/avid poster that fan website comment was too much. I knew Byron would appreciate JAnice big return, as well Jamie with Scooter. And Kevin...MAN! Fozzie WAS the main star of the film(besides Kermit) How cool is that? Luke, all I gotta say is get ready for the most penguins youve seen in a decade plus. And my goodness, my two personal favorites Beaker and Pepe literally stole the show. I knew Pepe would, he always has in the last few years...but Beaker! My goodness, if this doesnt propel his popularity I dont know what will.

What as missing? 4 words: Jerry Nelson and Kevin Clash. Not sure if Clash was listed, but I didnt see *any* of his characters. Heck, I wouldnt even minded seeing Elmo at this point. I absolutely love Clifford and cant begin to figure out why people dont like him. Even Poodlepants was pretty good in his cameo.

Finally...so what if VMM didnt get 'American Idol final episode' ratings? A less than blockbuster nielsen isnt grounds to be ho hum...this is a brave new step in the right direction.

Sadly at the mall I was amazed I wasnt able to find nary a single Muppet item. Hopefully it was because it was all bought up, heh.

Anyways, good to see there was a little something for everyone in it.

 

[frogboy4]

Luke

It wasn't a smash hit as a movie, but it was for the Muppets. My post was a reaction to the strange claim (by another member) that it performed poorly. I pretty much agree with you. I did have competition though. The Brady fan base is sizeable enough to pose some threat, but the Muppets won. Think if Fox just re-ran a Simpsons or Malcolm episode. The special would have done even better.

I think you misunderstood the remark I made about future movies. I meant that such Christmas special are often re-run each year. NBC will probably do the same. Not with this sort of press, promotion or timeslot, but it will likely air next year. They get more mileage out of it that way. This year their expensive production might have just got into the black, but next year it will definitely all be in the green.

Result: Muppet Special = Good Investment
and that's a good thing for the Muppets!

 

[ryhoyarbie]

did anybody catch gonzo telling camila to come on when bobo came to tell everyone to come outside and sing christmas songs? a lot of people have been wondering for a good number of years now where camila has been since she hasn't apeared with gonzo in a good number of years....

and if you can catch it just right, when piggy falls down and hits ugenes tuba, you can hear floyd laugh.......

so if anybody taped the movie you can go back and see what i'm talking about it....

ryan

 

[murgatoad]

Originally posted by AruggeRadio
I would say it was a disappointment if anything would have gotten a Friends type numbers like a 12.5 but nothing did. You also have to look at what NBC usually gets in that same timeslot form week to week, if Dateline only gets a 4.5 or a 5.0 it was a success in that timeslot. Overall I wouldn't complain about being the 3rd highest rated program of the evening and winning NBC the nights ratings.

NBC's regular lineup does far better than the Muppet film did in that same timeslot. FWIW. And what won NBC's the night's ratings was "Law and Order". But if you all think this was a smash hit...again, suit yourselves.

 

[frogboy4]

Everything performed under the norm last night. It was the busiest shopping day of the year. In some time zones (Houston) the special began at 7pm. Most people are shopping, watching sports on cable, traveling and spending time on family outings. Anything else in that timeslot would have underperformed from last week's ratings I think.

Just a thought from the ol' frogboy. Just don't get the constant pessimism, but it is interesting.

 

[ChellisPal]

Murgatoad-

why are you so down on this movie, fine there were small problems but the general feeling was good about this film. almost every post you have is negative about it,
whats the vendetta?

Sorry all, just curious, he was ripping into it b4 he saw it, check my old thread from last week.

 

[Luke]

Re: Luke

Originally posted by frogboy4
It wasn't a smash hit as a movie, but it was for the Muppets. My post was a reaction to the strange claim (by another member) that it performed poorly.

Hey Jamie,

Yeah i didn't misunderstand you - i was also posting specifically about the viewing figures but looking back didn't point that out specifically ! (oops). I haven't seen the entire movie yet to comment on the quality of the movie but yeah my comment on the ratings stand - i think they were above average for the Muppets and nothing to worry about but it wouldn't be totally impossible for them to get a few points more at some point in the future so maybe not smash hit status just yet. It's true they did have some competition with the Brady's but if they were to have had an airdate further into December (although personally i like that as it gives them higher status) on a night the networks were competing for, things could have been trickier - it was probably deliberate they moved them to a fairly slow night to get the kind of ratings they did.

The comment on future movies was just me spinning off at a tangent and wasn't really aimed at you or what you said. I agree with you about it being rerun and a good investment for both the Muppets and NBC - i was just commenting on how this will affect whether any more new Muppet holiday movies will be commisioned by NBC.

I agree with you on the 'strange claim' - i don't know what ratings other people here expected the Muppets to pick up in their first real TV outing in years but i don't think Henson or NBC were expecting anything of 'Friends' or 'Fraiser' proportions - they did just fine ........ i mean i agree with Murgatoad that they could have picked up a few more points on account of the really heavy promotion but it wouldn't have been a drastic increase.

 

[bzahlong]

I taped the movie last night, and just got done with it a few minutes ago.

Seeing the Muppets in the Theater again was really great. As much as I enjoyed Muppets Tonight, it didn't have the same warm and cozy (and nostalgic, now) feeling that the theater set from the Muppet Show had. I felt that the set design people did a great job for the movie.

As far as all the talk about Fozzie and Miss Piggy's voice, I have to admit until I read this thread, I didn't realize it wasn't Frank Oz. An excellent job by the muppeteering cast.

As far as the movie goes, I liked the story, would've loved more songs, and a longer production number. Otherwise I have no complaints, and hope this is a brave new beginning for the the Henson Company and the Muppets.

Matt
bzahlong@aol.com