Your Thoughts: "Muppets Most Wanted" Theatrical Film

How would you rate Muppets Most Wanted?

  • 5 Stars - Perfect

    Votes: 84 46.4%

  • 4 Stars - Great

    Votes: 68 37.6%

  • 3 Stars - Good

    Votes: 18 9.9%

  • 2 Stars - Fair

    Votes: 7 3.9%

  • 1 Star - Poor

    Votes: 4 2.2%
  • Total voters
    181
Pinkflower7783

Pinkflower7783

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And then there's that other movie The Muppets sword in the stone. Okay I'm gonna go eat some muffins now before I get yelled at.
 
FletchySRF3088

FletchySRF3088

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Ruahnna said:
I love Walter—I really do. He is a valuable addition to the Muppets and I’m so glad we have him. Still, I can’t help but feel that Walter sort of took over Scooter’s role here in much the same way Constantine took over Kermit’s role. I think, had Walter not ever been introduced, that Scooter could have simply said Walter’s lines in the movie and had the share of the film that he should have had instead of being stuck around the edges as it was. My only objection to that is that Scooter just isn’t that gullible or dumb—he wouldn’t have had the “Oh my goodness—Constantine looks like Kermit only with a mole!” thing going on. Keep in mind that it is supposed to be something of a joke that Gonzo can’t recognize Camilla out of all the chickens. It is, in my opinion, the fatal flaw of this plot that the muppets cannot recognize Kermit and don’t really notice when he’s not at the helm. There is never an admission by the other performers that the show is any different without Kermit there—only Walter notices and complains. That should have been Scooter. When Walter is the first—the FIRST –to put his hands forward for handcuffs—not Fozzie, not, Rowlf, not Gonzo, either—my heart just ached for Scooter. Scooter has been displaced by a newcomer who wasn’t even angling for Scooter’s job!! How horrible is that?!
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This is something I've thinking myself, but I thought I might be a little biased in some way, considering Scooter's my favourite :wink: During my first viewing of the movie and even still in the last couple times I've seen it since, I find myself thinking "If Walter wasn't there, that would've really been Scooter who noticed something was off with Kermit and figured it out - particularly if this had been done on 'The Muppet Show'".

I just want to say that I love Walter too and I don't resent him in any way, but I do sometimes feel that he might be taking a place that Scooter used to have, because they are quite similar. I even felt that way after TM came out, and worried a little that the writers might struggle, or just decide to give Walter lines and actions that Scooter would probably do.

It's interesting, a few weeks ago, I was listening to a MMW Q&A on the podcast 'Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith' with Nicholas Stoller and James Bobin. And there was more or less an admission from Bobin that they do struggle a little between Scooter and Walter.

Here's a transcript of that bit for those who haven't listened to it (it's at the 56 minute mark for those who might want to listen to that or just the whole thing in general, which is really good btw):

JEFF GOLDSMITH: "One of things that I would say you did, that was really impressive, was that Walter - 'cause he was such a focus of the first movie - there is that danger of him not being the focus here, but honestly now that I've seen it twice, he really picks up on something being wrong from early on with Constantine..."
JAMES BOBIN: "Yeah."
NICHOLAS STOLLER: "He's the least dumb of the Muppets."
JAMES BOBIN: "Yeah! He's sensible..."
JEFF GOLDSMITH: "Well, because of his dealings in the human world for so long. He is kind of the guy that is Kermit's equal, that holds them together and chases after them. Were you worried about finding his place and his function in this movie or..."
JAMES BOBIN: "Well, I kind of always knew he'd be like... I love the way in the first movie he reminds them of how great they were, which is a really helpful thing that he's got this great knowledge of their past and he reminds them that 'Listen, you do things like this' and it's really fun, so I always thought he'd have a role. I never really knew what he'd do in the show apart from whistle, but I knew he'd have a kind of Scooter-ish role. He and Scooter occupy a similar space and so often, we were writing the scenes thinking 'Who's the only person here who's got a brain and can say something sensible?' and so we'd go 'Oh ok, Scooter or Walter has to say something right now' and so he's useful for that really, he's very helpful and that's why he's the guy to work it out. Because he's the fan and knows there's something wrong with Kermit."
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I was thinking of maybe creating a separate thread for this and ask what other people felt about this, but I thought it would probably be best to just do it here (Apologies if I'm going off-topic from previous posts.) Does anyone else think that Walter might take over a little from Scooter in some way?

I mean, I am grateful and happy with the role he was given in this film (he was still given more to do than he got in TMM and TGMC), but I sometimes feel that maybe it was a missed opportunity for Scooter to be the one to feel something was off with Kermit, and to leave with Fozzie and Animal to get him back.
 
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