Your Thoughts: Muppets Letters to Santa

[thekittybox]

This special was far, far better than those Disney Channel things. I enjoyed seeing Lew Zealand and Crazy Harry. I've always had a soft spot for Harry. And Sweetums! Robin! Lots of the old faces. Miss Piggy's voice was much better this time, she sang pretty well. Other times, Piggy's only been gruff sounding. This time she was only sweet sounding.

Still, I guess I don't get why there's so much focus on Rizzo and Pepe. Gonzo and Rizzo used to be buddies, but now there's so much of Pepe! I'd rather see more of Rowlf, Sweetums, and the Swedish Chef. Even if they don't get the performance right, they'd be trying.

It was definitely the most Muppet-y performance I've seen for a long time. Kermit getting squished. Gonzo falling on his head. Muppet chaos with little touches. The singing numbers were good, music was enjoyable. The problem was the lack of chaos to the dancing. It was too perfect. Muppets always had something weird happen in The Muppet Show. There was some part of it that felt more like Sesame Street.

It was almost there, guys, keep trying.

 

[pattywack]

I'm so excited to see this. I live in Australia and I don't think it's going to air here any time soon ... But I plan to download it once it shows up on a torrent site.

Just a question, how was the Swedish Chef in this guys? I was so dissapointed with him in Studio DC, I thought he was so incredibly off.

 

[thekittybox]

Yeah, I noticed his glasses looked bigger and the chin too...it threw me off at first to be honest.

Was his nose shape a little different too?

I definitely noticed Miss Piggy looking different throughout.

 

[CensoredAlso]

It was definitely the most Muppet-y performance I've seen for a long time. Kermit getting squished. Gonzo falling on his head. Muppet chaos with little touches. The singing numbers were good, music was enjoyable. The problem was the lack of chaos to the dancing. It was too perfect. Muppets always had something weird happen in The Muppet Show. There was some part of it that felt more like Sesame Street.

It was almost there, guys, keep trying.

I think you have it right; sentimentality was there, now they need more chaos. I hope they will keep trying.

 

[MandyFoxMuppet]

Meh...

I'm sorry, but I disagree. It was generic and watered down. It's hard for me to articulate how I took it so here's a list:

Pros: Kermit and the boys on another whirlwind adventure.
A good mix of human guest stars.
Cute, non-offensive plot line.

Cons: Conflicts were too easily overcome
A distinct lack of jokes or witty repartee.
A paper thin premise.

Please don't get me wrong, it had it's endearing qualities, and as a little child's movie it would be fine. But if it was meant to be a little kid's movie then use Elmo and Bert and Ernie.
As I stated earlier, where were the jokes? Pepe mugged for the camera and there was some "physical" comedy. As I said to a friend earlier after this movie "It's pretty bad when Rizzo plays the straight man."

 

[Frogster]

Okay, I'm gonna present a list of good, bad and ugly for you guys... here I go.

Good: I loved the songs. Paul Williams knows how to write music for the Muppets. Also I must say, Eric is gettin better with Fozzie. Also, it was great to hear how well Floyd and Lew sounded. And Crazy Harry's explosion was a fun lil moment. The plot itself wasn't all that bad. The celebrity spots weren't bad either (Jane especially was good with the Muppets). Also, Bobo and Pepe were fantastic. Bill has become the new Frank Oz, with his upstaging, timing and comedic talents.

Bad Gonzo shouldn't be the leader of a Muppet special. Muppet anything really. I thought people had learned that from MFS. He's fourth in line. It should have been Kermit's story. Also, I thought these three writers were supposed to have done a really good job at this. Aside from Bill Baretta's characters, where were the jokes? You can really tell this was just written together in such a hurried fashion; there's nothing here besides what the story absolutely needed. Robin sounded like he's in the worst stage of puberty ever, Rowlf and Sweetums sound identical, Piggy has become one-dimensional with no personality whatsoever, and I thought Scooter was just awful; they should have let Brian stick with him instead. Uma Thurman's acting was laid on very thick. You can't make a convincing Muppet flick if an actor or actress treats their costars (even though they're Muppets) like puppets. You have to make it seem real or else people will know you're not good with them. Also, this special should have been 2 hours long. There's not enough time for story development or character development.

Ugly Piggy's singing. She shouldn't be allowed to sing anymore.

 

[AAO]

Was his nose shape a little different too?

I definitely noticed Miss Piggy looking different throughout.

I said in my post above what's up with Bunsen etc...

 

[CensoredAlso]

It was generic and watered down.

A distinct lack of jokes or witty repartee.

Please don't get me wrong, it had it's endearing qualities, and as a little child's movie it would be fine.

I also agree here; it was watered down as I said earlier. And as the NYTimes critic said, there wasn't much in the way of satire (which I think even kids can appreciate). But it wasn't horrible. Again, I hope they keep trying.

 

[JJandJanice]

Please don't get me wrong, it had it's endearing qualities, and as a little child's movie it would be fine. But if it was meant to be a little kid's movie then use Elmo and Bert and Ernie.
As I stated earlier, where were the jokes? Pepe mugged for the camera and there was some "physical" comedy. As I said to a friend earlier after this movie "It's pretty bad when Rizzo plays the straight man."

Well than it would have to be Sesame Street special, but I hear what you're saying.

 

[Libba Yuki]

Still, I guess I don't get why there's so much focus on Rizzo and Pepe. Gonzo and Rizzo used to be buddies, but now there's so much of Pepe!

It was definitely the most Muppet-y performance I've seen for a long time. Kermit getting squished. Gonzo falling on his head. Muppet chaos with little touches. The singing numbers were good, music was enjoyable. The problem was the lack of chaos to the dancing. It was too perfect. Muppets always had something weird happen in The Muppet Show. There was some part of it that felt more like Sesame Street.

It was almost there, guys, keep trying.

Pepe and Rizzo are partners in crime, but I don't feel that (aside from sarcastic comments and jokes exchanged between the two) they're really all that buddy buddy. Rizzo and Gonzo are best friends...I was kinda sad that we didn't really see any of it shine in this specail.

Kermit getting squished was funny and cute, and I thought it was adorable and funny when Gonzo landed head-first in the snow and Kermit tries to dig him out in a panic.

I didn't really care for the dancing at some points, like the post office scene, but I did like the one in the hallway/taxicab scene.