Your Thoughts: "Muppets Most Wanted" Theatrical Film

[rexcrk]

Seriously! lol but fortunately these days movies seem to be coming out on Blu-ray / DVD pretty quickly. I'm betting / hoping we'll see it some time over the summer (a nice extended edition with extra footage would be more than welcome, too )

 

[Pinkflower7783]

I'm gonna say June 17.

 

[davidandora]

I'm a great big Muppet fan. I absolutely loved the last movie, and I wanted to love MMW. The trailers made me leery of the writing quality on this film, so I went in with no expectations hoping that I would be pleasantly surprised, but I wasn't. Opening with a number "We're Doing a Sequel", a tongue-in-cheek song about the stereotypical pitfalls of doing a sequel works better when you don't fall prey to the diagnosis. The usually very funny Ty Burrell, Tina Fey and Ricky Gervais are doing their best with mostly uninspired material. For me, there were only a few brief moments that were genuinely on track. Celion Dion's surprise cameo couldn't have been much funnier. 95% of the movie never broke past mildly amusing for me. The capable production team can do so much more, along with very funny writers found in other Disney owned productions, I don't know what fell apart here. Have they retargeted exclusively to a much younger audience? I really liked the previous film. If they get the chance to make another, I hope they are able to better deliver on all the hype they gave this one. It was nice to spend some time with old friends, but I don't have any interest in seeing it again, and won't find myself singing along to any of it's songs this go around.

 

[Ruahnna]

I have to say something about the interviews. I avoided most of the pre-movie publicity because I had not liked some of the things that I had heard/seen, but--thanks to the wonder of the internet--I have been able to catch up with the interviews. I mentioned above that Steve and Eric have got their patter down very, very well. They are playing off each other in the spirit of Jim and Frank, but with their own style, and I feel like I'm finally looking at the Kermit and Piggy I came to know and love.

What's been fun about watching them interact is that they keep reinventing the relationship in so many different ways. In some of the interviews, Piggy was completely self-absorbed, unable to talk about the movie beyond her role in it. In others, she talked about Kermit's role in the gulag scenes, and about her human co-stars knowledgably. (I particularly like it when Kermit explained that it was so cold where they filmed the gulag scenes that they had to bring Piggy in to warm him up!) In some of the interviews, Kermit teases her about not being able to tell him and Constantine apart--in others, she comments about how Constantine's mole is "kind of hot," much to Kermit's annoyance. Not matter what they say or which way they 'play it, the relationship between these two familiar characters rings true--even when you don't believe what they're saying. This is adlibbing at its best. One of my favorite example of their inspired ad-libbing was in an interview when, asked about their relationship, they both said that it was more or less a force of nature. Piggy said something about them being irresistibly pulled to each other. Kermit illustrates, pretending to be drawn like a magnet to Piggy's side. "Did you see that?" he quips. "I've just been pulled over by a pig!" The interviewer didn't get it, but I laughed and laughed.

I've found myself warming to MMW some as I watched the interviews, and I finally realized why. (Don't laugh.) Kermit and company have always mined their "real lives" for their movies. It dawned on me that I don't mind the imbecility of everyone not recognizing Kermit if it's just a movie. It is the thought that his friends really might not know him that distressed me! The last movie, The Muppets, felt like "real life" to me, despite the fact that the timeline was all a-whack and the muppets hadn't been out of the limelight since the 80s. The emotional feel of the movie seemed realistic to me in the context of the story, and when all of them stood strong together at the end of the movie I just wanted to cheer. I'm sure I don't have to tell you (again) that I adored Kermit finally managing to tell Piggy how he feels about her--has felt about her at the end of The Muppets. To me, the suggestion that the muppets would wonder if their fans had forgotten them seemed like a genuine worry. The way MMW insisted that their fans had forgotten them didn't. Still, if it's just a movie--it doesn't bother me as much and I can just enjoy it as a story.
I wonder if anyone else was having this problem?

 

[Pinkflower7783]

You do realize most of those moments you mentioned are from interviews I sent you.

 

[MWoO]

I finally got to see the movie and I must say I liked it very much, more so than the last film. The last film played heavily on Amy and Jason with some good muppet moments, but mostly it was a Jason Segel movie featuring the muppets. That isn't to say I dont still like that movie. I do and at the time I adored it because for the first time in 12 years the muppets were on the big screen playing themselves in an original movie. But to me, MMW is a true muppet movie.

Somethings I noticed that other people seem to be complaining about.

1. People putting their fingers in their ears when Piggy sang in Madrid. It wasn't because she was singing badly, it's because she was singing the macarena. No one wants to hear anyone sing that song.

2. Piggy singing the macarena. Ive seen people say that they did this to make the muppets seem "hip" when it was the exact opposite. It was to show how bad the muppet show is without Kermit running things.

3. Dominic needing to buy tickets and reviews. The reason I say he did this is because the show was terrible. In Madrid they did over 3 hours! I'm sorry, but a 3 hour variety show which songs like macarena and a jam session that lasts hours is not going to get good reviews on it's own. Dominic needed a 3 hour plus show to break all the busts, but to fill the seats he needed to buy off the audience and the reviewers afterwards. Why didn't he want the muppets to rehearse? Because if they did, they might find out Kermit isn't Kermit of course!

4. The muppets not realizing Constantine was Kermit, including Piggy. Well for one, when a friend seems to act out of character you don't automatically think he's been replaced by an evil criminal mastermind...at least I don't. Also, when that same friend starts giving you everything you want, you kind of just go with it. Piggy was lost in the idea that Kermit finally was showing her he loves her openly. If someone you loved who didn't show it often was finally showing you all the attention you wanted you would just...well...go with it, at least for a while. The same holds true for the muppets. As for the fact Constantine's voice was obviously not Kermit, well that was kind of the joke...

5. The Celine Dion cameo. Yeah...I didn't get this one either. Perhaps it would have been better if I had not known about it previously and if it hadnt been alluded to at least twice. Also if I was a fan of her's I may have liked it better as well. In the last movie, the appearance of Jim Parsons was a huge surprise and I am a fan of his so I loved that. Do I feel it ruined the song? No, it was still rather good and heart felt. I loved the Lew sand the line about the happiest day of his life being sad. Earlier he was shocked you could leave the muppets (implying he wanted to) and then when he finally is he is hapy yet sad. I loved how that was set up.

Thats just my two cents. There was a lot I loved about the movie and many reasons I feel it was better than the last one. In fact I would put this movie in 3rd place of all time favorite muppet movies. TMM and GMC being a head of them. MTM use to be a favorite but it is also one of the most dated movies.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

I've found myself warming to MMW some as I watched the interviews, and I finally realized why. (Don't laugh.) Kermit and company have always mined their "real lives" for their movies. It dawned on me that I don't mind the imbecility of everyone not recognizing Kermit if it's just a movie. It is the thought that his friends really might not know him that distressed me! The last movie, The Muppets, felt like "real life" to me, despite the fact that the timeline was all a-whack and the muppets hadn't been out of the limelight since the 80s. The emotional feel of the movie seemed realistic to me in the context of the story, and when all of them stood strong together at the end of the movie I just wanted to cheer. I'm sure I don't have to tell you (again) that I adored Kermit finally managing to tell Piggy how he feels about her--has felt about her at the end of The Muppets. To me, the suggestion that the muppets would wonder if their fans had forgotten them seemed like a genuine worry. The way MMW insisted that their fans had forgotten them didn't. Still, if it's just a movie--it doesn't bother me as much and I can just enjoy it as a story.
I wonder if anyone else was having this problem?

To be fair IMO they've only acted like a solid couple since the previous film. Because up until then Kermit was still denying they were even together. When Kermit is confessing his feelings that did play into their "real lives" because it was only after that film did he admit to them being together for 30 years. I think that's why the wedding was played off again because I think they wanna work on building the new relationship Kermit and Piggy have. I must say it is a little weird to see Kermit actually being the more affectionate one over Piggy lately but I am enjoying it.

 

[DannyRWW]

4. The muppets not realizing Constantine was Kermit, including Piggy. Well for one, when a friend seems to act out of character you don't automatically think he's been replaced by an evil criminal mastermind...at least I don't.

I'd just like to point out that when my friends are acting out of character I do automatically think that they have been replaced with an evil criminal mastermind...always my first reaction.

 

[Ruahnna]

To be fair IMO they've only acted like a solid couple since the previous film. Because up until then Kermit was still denying they were even together. When Kermit is confessing his feelings that did play into their "real lives" because it was only after that film did he admit to them being together for 30 years. I think that's why the wedding was played off again because I think they wanna work on building the new relationship Kermit and Piggy have. I must say it is a little weird to see Kermit actually being the more affectionate one over Piggy lately but I am enjoying it.

I appreciate al of your comments, but it is simply not true that they were never a couple before the last movie. As I keep sayong, I rember them. Look for the video where Johnny Mathis sings"Never Before" at a muppet anniversary show. It's awesome. Go back to Muppet Family Christmas. Those of you younger than me-which is ALL of you--go BACK to the beginning. Where do you think the whole idea of a frog/pig epic romance began? It didn't start after Jim died--the whole "We're NOT a couple thing became a HUGE thing when before it was just played as Kermit's reluctance and commitment-shy demeanor. From the moment she stepped out of the chorus, Piggy has always been Kermie's girl.

 

[Ruahnna]

You do realize most of those moments you mentioned are from interviews I sent you.

Yes, dear--THANK YOU sooo much for the videos. I had found a few on my own but I am enjoying them ALL.