Your Thoughts: Muppets Letters to Santa

[Redsonga]

I thought their singing was just fine and the story was the best they've made in a long time...at least it was a Muppet story, they didn't borrow anything, and it was happy story to that reminded me of 'my' muppets when I was little (mid-80's to mid-90's)..I never judge muppet movies or shows next to other movies or shows, they are in a class all their own to me , and because they are such a part of who I am now I've never lost interest...I see good things are starting to happen :3

 

[petrieboy]

You have a point about not comparing Muppets to things outside of their realm. I guess I meant that I'd rather invest my time in more worthwhile endeavors than keep waiting around for the old magic to return. When I saw that this took place in Manhattan (I used to live down the street from that post office in Brooklyn Heights,) I smiled. I had higher hope for it.

You say you liked the story. Could you tell me what the story actually was, and why it took 50 minutes to tell it? We were introduced to the little girl and her mother as if we should have already known who they were. I learned nothing about them, their acting was poor, and they were apparently essential to the whole "point" of the story.

I say, let's get the Muppets onto subways with real people, let's see them walking across the Brooklyn bridge, and let something go wrong in their own lives. Let's see them sing a song for yesterday. The post office was a good idea, at first. Less fluff, more reality. (But no reality show, please.)

Henson made a big mistake when they returned an 18 year old's art portfolio back in 1995, claiming that if they stole any ideas from me, there could be a lawsuit. I had greater ambition and dreams for their Muppets than they've had all these years.

 

[Redsonga]

It was a simple story, but I saw the old heart there, for the first time in a long time..I didn't really pay much mind to the little girl or her mom since it felt more like Kermit and everyone were carrying the letter in the name of everyone who has ever written to Santa, not just her .

Anyway, I have ambitions and dreams for the muppets and fraggles to..it's a big reason why I write..but I dunno, I try not to have the fact that most official works may never be as good as many fanfics make me bitter...I guess sometimes the passion for the characters themselves, for how they make you feel, has to be its own reward if nothing else...To create and write and draw just because we love them..and then, the magic never dies ...

 

[pupcake79]

I thought this special was better than most of the recent specials. Not to offend anyone, but I'm not a fan of Pepe. I wish they had dropped him and had alot more Rowlf. He is sorely missed. I feel the same way about the Oz special. Its like he's on the very outskirts of the Muppets society now, and that is NOT how it should be. I didn't like how Bunsen looked , but his bit was good anyway. I missed the very ending because I'm potty training my son, and he had to go right at the end! Overall, the special was an improvement, but its still missing the Jim Henson magic.

 

[AAO]

Isn't weird too that during the scene while they were hanging on the wing of the plane that Gonzo didn't make any remarks about how he enjoyed it? Gonzo seemed too sappy in this special... WHICH IS FINE! But, there was that one part missing where he went to "weirdo" to a sort of "Boober" like character. Dave Goelz does an amazing job but with the part of them hanging on the wing of the plane I would have liked to hear Gonzo make remarks like, "Whooopie! This is fantastic!" just wacky things that he kinda gets his kicks from... It just seemed like he was actually scared just as Kermit and the others

 

[beaker]

I say, let's get the Muppets onto subways with real people, let's see them walking across the Brooklyn bridge, and let something go wrong in their own lives. Let's see them sing a song for yesterday. The post office was a good idea, at first. Less fluff, more reality. (But no reality show, please.)

Henson made a big mistake when they returned an 18 year old's art portfolio back in 1995, claiming that if they stole any ideas from me, there could be a lawsuit. I had greater ambition and dreams for their Muppets than they've had all these years.

I agree! The Muppets work BEST when they are in real locations, with real people...especially when not everyone in the background is "in" on their being any filming(such as Muppets @WDW, Pepe interviewing people on the street, ect)

As for 1995, well the JHC wasn't doing too well back then, even though it was a good 5 years before the EMTV fiasco.

I liked the post office scenario. I liked that it took place in Manhattan.

Totally. I think the Muppets work best in the big apple.

I liked that they stole my idea several months ago, posted here on Muppet Central, of putting the characters in an old brownstone building in New York. They left out the subway.

Wait, wouldn't the script and then the set building take more than a few months? Man I'd be tickled pink if Muppet writers got ideas from me or anyone of us.

I liked that there wasn't anything in this that was blasphemy, or anything that would cause embarrassment watching with family. I'd like to like it more than I do.

Blasphemy, and embarassing...like the horrendous Muppets Wizard of Oz?

My interest in Muppets has dwindled. One of their biggest fans of ole, I'm still waiting.

Sorry to hear that. My interest began to dwindle by 1991, though by 1996 I had became as big a Muppet fan as I was in the 1980's. While the 2000's have been kind of frustrating, after reading that New York Time's article this year and hearing the Stoller/Seagal news, I'm convinced there is an nonstop agenda to bring the Muppets back to their glory.

I couldnt stand Oz, and while AVMMCM was a much needed nice Muppet movie, something was amiss. While LTS in retrospect may seem, as a whole...short and forgettable, there was something about it that felt like we're witnessing the rebirth of the Muppets. I couldn't be anymore excited, as we head toward the 55th year anniversary.

I mean my mom was watching the Muppets when she was little(Rowlf the dog on the Jimmy Dean show), and I am excited for my future kids and their kids to be big Muppet fans.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Hey Im with you. I don't believe in religion(I respect people's religion and their right to believe in supreme beings and whatnot)
but if I was to believe in faith...it'd be the love, sillyness, friendship, tolerance, celebration and acceptance that the Muppets

Very well put. Ideally religion should be about faith in love and tolerance and fun. Hopefully both religious and non religious people this Christmas will remember these things.

Btw, I really liked the mom and her daughter, I thought they fit in just fine.

 

[AAO]

This special, I think, will help boost ppl's interest for the Muppets. They did a great job ... of course there's some nit-picky things.. but it was a lot better than the OZ movie...

 

[frogboy4]

Very well put. Ideally religion should be about faith in love and tolerance and fun. Hopefully both religious and non religious people this Christmas will remember these things.

Btw, I really liked the mom and her daughter, I thought they fit in just fine.

I agree about the mom and daughter. There was supposed to be some human interest to this special and that was it. There really should have been a few more on-screen moments of children getting their wishes granted on Christmas day in some sort of brief montage. I also would have liked Robin to be worked into the story a little bit more - like maybe as a particular pal of the girl in the apartment building. The story didn't feel fleshed-out as far as real letters to Santa upon reviewing it the third time on Hulu. Not complaining, just pointing it out.

 

[beaker]

So what did we learn from Letters to Santa?

We learned that we live in an era where noone is going to whisper as to why a child is black but the mom is white. Because, then you'd have to answer to the President.

We learned that we as a nation have moved on to a point, where we can have a bearded muppet blow stuff up in New York City and noone will call the censors.

We learned that all the classic song writing, heart and cheer
is no match for 16 minutes worth of commercials in a one hour time block.

We learned that the daredevil Gonzo has been put to pasture permanently.

We learned that it doesn't matter if you're a chicken, bear, or whatzamacallit...everyone is under suspicion of being a terrorism under Homeland Security.

We learned that Piggy is too much of a diva to be bothered with having much screen time in a Muppets production.

We learned that flight attendants will endanger the lives of customers by putting them in such a dangerous hazard.

We learned that yes, even though some of us aren't Christian,
it's ok to celebrate Christmas...as Christmas is for everyone.

We learned that even a womanizing lust in his heart king prawn
has a little Christmas spirit deep down.

We learned that if you wait a decade or more, you can get once headline A list actors and actresses in to cameo in a Muppet film

And finally, we learned that as a society, we are ok with two perfectly heterosexual muppet guys cutting a rug together