Your Thoughts: It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas

[frogboy4]

petrieboy

There's more to a performance than just the performance, Mannerisms, chemistry and spontaneity has much to do with it as well. Dubbing performances may make the voice sound closer, but it takes much of the spark out of a performance. See Fozzie and Piggy's scenes from Muppets Tonight. Just something missing. Puppeteering is not an easy job at all. It takes years of training. You can't just hand a voice actor a puppet and hope he catches on in a month or two.

I still don't understand what you think is wrong with Piggy's voice. I think it's incredible. Entertainment Weekly was even fooled into thinking it was Frank. Fozzie and Piggy were the only characters they pointed out, giving Frank kudos for his return! LOL!

 

[petrieboy]

That has less to do with how accurate Eric is and more to do with how little Entertainment Weekly pays attention to Muppets. I really wouldn't make a deal out of this if I didn't notice something very wrong. But I do have hope because either I am getting used to Steve (I couldn't stand that voice 10 years ago) or he has improved. What I've noticed a bit more in Steve is a maturing, a LITTLE more heart. Jim sure had the heart- he was so gentle and sweet and REAL. Steve started off like a gimmick, and he's calmed down a bit and put a bit more soul into it I think. I'm anxious to see the future of Piggy- and maybe Eric can take singing lessons and improve his voice and clarity as he gets more comfortable.
As for the understanding of me being a parent. I'm actually 25 and very gay, and Christian. Now does that clear up why you all think I'm screwy? Haha.

 

[SNLIM]

various topics

really i agree with so many of you...i think that there was a time when piggy's singing was supposed to be funny but i suppose some people got confused because there were those times when she wasn't that bad. as for her regular voice i think that it sounds pretty good. the only voice that was really dissapointing was janice's. but all things considered, not too bad. does anyone elsefeel bad that janice was there but not floyd?

on music for the next muppet i think zimmer and newman would be good. but i was looking at my "great muppet caper" soundtrack and it says that joe raposo did the music and lyrics so if he's still alive that would be cool. but i also have no idea who did the other movies so ... also on the "music" topic i would love to see another musical. i am a big time fan of musicals and always will be. the original muppet movies were musicals so how could we go wrong with another one?

also i agree with beaker in that i think some of the things that the muppets say and do are being taken a little to seriously. it's (most likely) only there for humor so just take it with a grain of salt if your offended and move on.

 

[frogboy4]

Originally posted by petrieboy
As for the understanding of me being a parent. I'm actually 25 and very gay, and Christian. Now does that clear up why you all think I'm screwy? Haha.

All that says is you have some things in common with several of our members. We are a diverse group here at Muppet Central and we welcome everybody.

As for Eric doing a bad job. Well, I just can't agree with you on that point. LOL! I think he's fantastic and his Fozzie impressed me too. Yes we notice, but it's so close. I actually thought we'd here more criticism, but after seeing the special I know why people seem to support it. Now Sam was just plain bad.

 

[Skeeter Muppet]

Now Sam was just plain bad.

I agree. Hopefully the next time we see them, Sam will have gone back to the no-hair look. I mean, he's a bald eagle, a symbol of the USA! Don't you think he'd be proud of that?


-Kim

 

[frogboy4]

Oh, I meant his voice. I loved the propecia joke. And it was just that - a joke. So, I would bet he won't be having that mop on his head in the future. I laughed so hard I cried when I saw that! And they kept cutting back to him too. It made me nuts!

 

[Cantus Rock]

My Thoughts

OKay, I just saw the film. I know I am very late, but being I was away for its premiere, I have just been able to watch it now. I also have not had the capacity to read this entire thread. So to that effect, if I repeat anything that has already been put in better wording or context, please forgive me.

Point 1 - The Rating: I give the new Muppet film a C. On a 1 to 10 scale, I'd say a 5.

Point 2 - My Opinion As To Why The Magic Is Gone: I feel I have figured it out. The reason is simple; the timelessness isn't there anymore. Originally, cameos in Muppet films were like familiar, friendly faces dropping in to say "Hey!". Now, it seems that the Muppets are virtually just name droppers with the mentality of "how many famous faces can we cram into one movie?". I don't want to see stupid people we see every day interacting with the Muppets!! I want the Muppets to interact with the Muppets!! My point is, we need to have less pop culture drivel and more Muppety Muppet material. That, will bring back the magic in my eyes.

Point 3 - The Story: The name dropping and this are the only real reasons I gave the movie a C. I don't think it was as Muppet Centralized (no pun intended) as it should have been. Honestly, I think humans should really only be very minor parts of a Muppet film. In this movie, there was flat out too many humans, and it brought it down. The plot kind of didn't work for me in certain aspects also. The overall message was a good one, but I personally think it could have been delievered better.

Point 4 - The Human Aspect: I believe that for once in my life I actually thought David Arquette's acting was good. He played his part well. Whoopi Goldberg also did her small bit to my approval (unlike many people, when she isn't going off on a pro-black tangent, I think Whoopi is pretty stomachable). Now, Joan Cusack. What in the name of Pete was she doing?! She is some one I have really liked in the past. In previous roles, I have found her funny, witty, and generally likable. In this, she was more ham-filled than Piggy. And..those..LIPS! LORD!!!!! Redder than Rocky Horror, and a million times more annoying. Yeck.

Point 5 - The Puppet/Performer Aspect: Straight off the bat; anyone who gets up in arms or nit-picks these performers voices should seriously remove whatever seems to be bunching up their innerds so tightly. Yes, these people are not the original performers and no matter what they do, they will never do the character quite like the originators. WE KNOW!!!!! Please, kindly stop your haggling and just enjoy the characters as they are now! They are fresh, they are well manipulated, and they are MUPPETS! So what if they sound a little different?? Think of it like this; When we grow, our voices change. I think a voice change is far given the length of time these characters have been pouring it out for us. I am with you that, yeah, it would be great if Jim, Richard, Frank and Jerry were all together in their prime doing their thing, but I have to accept reality, and reality says that can't happen. In the big Muppet Theater in the sky, we shall see it again, but until then, lets have a thankful heart in regards to what we're given. All the puppets (with the exception of that stupid Triumph Dog..eck, hate that thing) were done extremely well.

Point 6 - Muppety Goodness: I don't know if I've ever laughed harder at a modern Muppet scene than I did seeing Sam as the raver. And Scooter cage dancing to Nine Inch Nails, oh my dear sweet mother of perl, I was about to have a heart attack. Pepe as a bad guy wasn't that bad, I mean he wasn't really ever BAD, he was just...Pepe. It only lasted for a little bit, and then he saved it all, so Yip! I was so thrilled to see and hear Janice again also, tuning her harp so sweetly. I thought Fozzie's journey was very funny also. All in all, minus the perviously stated bad parts, it was a really fun flick.

So, there ya have it folks. As always, feel free to rip it to shreds.

-Matt

 

[beaker]

Re: My Thoughts

Originally posted by Cantus Rock


So, there ya have it folks. As always, feel free to rip it to shreds.

-Matt

On the contray bro...after reading every single word of every single post in this and the other MCM thread...it is in my honest opinion I think yours captures it all. I couldnt agree with you more.

Now yes I watched this from a different perspective than most people. Yes, it was a mess, unbearable to watch in parts...the pacing was bad. But I dont see it as a movie, I see it as one giant fan nugget. Yes, that is the over zealous fan in me, granted.

To sum up the film from a regular perspective: it was like a
rotten sub sandwich with lots of delicious golden awe inspiring croutons sprinkled throughout. But this is not JHC fault. We knew from the law of averages that the humans would be painful to watch...we knew there'd be more cringing name dropping and useless pop references and NBC plugs that ya can shake a rubber chicken at. So you guys might think this is weird, but I give high marks to JHC. I have no idea why they thought a 15 minute slow and boring human only segment 5 minutes in was a good idea, but whats done is done.

But I cannot recall a Muppet production in the post 90's era that really pulled out all the stops to put a smile on all the fan's faces. Yes, the general feeling after watching it is of disbelief...it seemed more distant than ever...but my goodness there was something great that I cant even really find the words for. Ok...here it is...remember when Kermit was addressing the Muppets in the theatre? Well it was almost like he was addressing all of us in a way. It's kind of like things are rough now, but we'll make it through. 1990 through now has beem unforgiving on JHC...and this film proved they are indeed exploring a whole new architecture. Whether every fan is ready isnt known, but what I do know is Im ready to embrace the future.

 

[Janice & Mokey's Man]

Re: My Thoughts

Originally posted by Cantus Rock
Yes, these people are not the original performers and no matter what they do, they will never do the character quite like the originators. WE KNOW!!!!! Please, kindly stop your haggling and just enjoy the characters as they are now!

Oh, believe me Matt, I RRRRRRRULLY enjoyed havin' JANICE back!!

My comments on her voice weren't in complain mode so much as observation mode (at least that's how I meant it). Even though they could probably find a better voice, I'm just so THRILLED to have her back that it doesn't matter that much!

 

[Cantus Rock]

Oh, well that is refreshing! Glad to see you posting again Cory (btw). Also another thing I was thinking in regards to the human aspect; my way of determining whether there are too many humans in a Muppet production (besides sheer observation). The way is: When humans tart making jokes independantly (ie. without Muppets, among other humans, etc.), thats where ya know its sour. I personally think this is the exact same problem we had with KSY. Too many humans, trying to be funny, which left us with strings of glop dotted with Muppety goodness between.

I know you were thrilled Byron, I'd never accuse you of otherwise! Like I said I didn't read the other posts before making mine, so if it looks like I'm yelling at ya (or anyone else for that matter), really I'm not.

-Matt