Your Thoughts: "Muppets Most Wanted" Theatrical Film

[BobbyBenson64]

Who whould of thought Bobby Benson gets a part in mmw

 

[LouisTheOtter]

And a pretty major part too! I just think that was so wonderfully creative. And Bobby Benson just strikes me as a great secondary character. I loved the "rehearsal" scene in TM2011 where he's just chatting away with Link in the arches as everybody else muffs up their cues for the theme song.

 

[beaker]

Something that my wife brought up is that the Muppets seem to appeal to mostly guys. Both times we have seen the movie the number of guys in the theater out numbered the number of girls.
Now I know that Piggy can play so many different emotions, but maybe it's time for there to be a new female Muppet. One that would not make Piggy jealous like Annie Sue, or Mrs. Poggy, but a female friend for Piggy.
Now I know what some of you are saying, but Dwayne what about Janice? Well to be honest I sometimes have to remind myself that Janice is there and is also a girl.
So I don't know, maybe the Muppets could use there own kind of Abby Cadaby. What do you all think?

Been saying this for years. I say bring back Zondra from the Jim Henson Hour
If they do a tv show, they definitely will need some strong female characters(that Spamella Hamderson was dreadful)

 

[beaker]

I wrote a thread in 1998 on the old MC forums regarding "who would be considered bad guys in Muppet canon". People argued their are no Muppet bad guys. But take, Sesame Street. Oscar is kind of supposed to be an antagonist. I'm just trying to think who, in a third film would be funny to see as bad guys. I definitely want to see more Carl and Behemoth, as well as more obscure TMS full bodied/larger puppetted monsters.

 

[LouisTheOtter]

I honestly don't see why fans aren't seeing this as a better film than the last one. I mean, the last one was very good, and before this film, my favorite of the post-Jim films... just knocking on the door of as good as the originals. This film didn't just feel more like a Muppet Movie... it felt more like a movie. Yet, it feels like only a handful of Muppet fans really get that.

Hey, it's all subjective. I'm surprised I haven't been fired off this forum for listing MFS above TMTM and MCC in my personal Muppet movie rankings.

As I said, MMW isn't far behind TM2011 in my books - the two occasionally wind up tied, depending on my mood. And MMW has it all over TM2011 in several key areas (balancing Muppets with humans, humour content, better use of music and outright rejection of the last movie's non-Muppet '80s chestnuts, pacing/visuals, edge).

But there are a few things that guide me towards TM2011:
(1) Walter's Muppet fandom spoke directly to people like me, especially when he was ridiculed for wearing a Kermit Hallowe'en costume. I was bullied on the schoolyard in Grade 5 for wearing a Kermit backpack, so that all hit home.
(2) More singing and a more prominent role for Kermit - even if he was a little more morose at first - in TM2011. (By contrast, Constantine gets two of the first three MMW musical numbers, even though he obviously scores on both of them.)
(3) The wonderful deconstruction (and reconstruction) of the TMS vibe. It's certainly there in MMW but it takes centre stage in TM2011.
(4) A sunnier overall feel to the movie (embodied by "Life's A Happy Song," even in its cheekier moments).
(5) The depth and pathos added to the Kermit-Piggy relationship (again, it's there in MMW but I think TM2011 went farther in insisting that the characters act like adults, especially Kermit).
(6) No "Man or Muppet" moment in MMW. That's not as much a commentary on the song (which is, lyrically, not so great) as a reflection on the presentation, which parodied overblown power ballads, had the great Surprise Guest Star, and fit with the identity-crisis theme for Walter and Gary. ("Something So Right" comes close in this respect.)
(7) "A celebrity is not a people": Better displayed (if only slightly) by Jack Black in TM2011 than Ricky Gervais in MMW.
(8) Relatable running commentary on how modern pop culture allegedly doesn't have room for the Muppets (or anything not dumbed-down, foul-mouthed or needlessly violent) anymore.
(9) The surprisingly compelling subplot for Animal, which ends when he returns to the drum kit during "Rainbow Connection," followed by that gorgeous camera pull-back showing all the Muppets singing it together. (Seriously, I picture Jim Henson and Walt Disney shaking hands in heaven every time I see that scene.)

Not trying to dismiss what's been accomplished by MMW - or how much I enjoy it and will continue to enjoy it - but I have my reasons for giving TM2011 an edge. (However slight.) To misquote Constantine: "I'm Number One, You're Number One-and-a-Half."

 

[JimAndFrank]

That's it! I give up! There's a question that's been burning in the back of my mind for a week and I can't wait two weeks to find out for myself!!

When Kermit gives Piggy a kiss, is it just a sweet little peck on the cheek or is it an enthusiastic on-the-lips job?

Anyone want to put me at ease?

 

[Slackbot]

It's on the lips, but "enthusiastic" would be an overstatement. It's quick but not hurried, IIRC.

 

[wiley207]

Saw it today with my brother. It was lots of fun, but not as good as the first film. I liked how Sam the Eagle had a prominent role, along with appearances by Link Hogthrob, Mildred, Pops, Uncle Deadly and others! I also enjoyed the sequel song at the start, the Muppets' old run-down steam train they used for their world tour travels (with Beauregard driving!) Miss Piggy's "Macarena" performance, Kermit freaking out at all of his Muppet friends' suggestions for the show, Constantine's initial stage fright, and more.
Matt Vogel's voice for Constantine reminded me a lot of the voice he uses for the Count on "Sesame Street"...

Yet my mom thinks a grown man seeing a Muppets movie is very unusual. She thinks it's entirely kiddie fare.

 

[minor muppetz]

It's interesting when after Constantine tells the others that Walter quit, they're only surprised because he had just joined them (and the last movie was all about him joining them), with nobody pointing out what a big fan he was of the Muppets (it should have been more of a shock that the world's biggest Muppet fan would quit).

I feel like Walter should have sung the line about it being the Muppets seventh sequel in the opening song.

It's interesting how the credits note Carlo and Alonzo Flamingo. They only appear to provide back-up for Miss Piggy' Macarena number, neither gets its own line, neither is addressed by name. I wonder if there are any deleted scenes with them (not counting a possibly extended version of the number). Or could they have had names so that Peter Linz could have another character besides Walter listed among his characters? In fact it seems like having those flamingos is inconsequental. They could have easily used the Gawky Birds (though I don't think they have ever spoken, but there's no reason they can't), or the Clodhoppers, or generic pigs. Though they would most likely need to rebuild Clodhoppers or Gawky Birds.

 

[LouisTheOtter]

My mom thinks a grown man seeing a Muppets movie is very unusual. She thinks it's entirely kiddie fare.

It goes without saying that your Mom is wrong.

By the way, I was pleasantly surprised that Linz was one of the flamingos. I couldn't picture the voice of Walter also being responsible for such a gutsy rendition of the "Macarena" chorus.