Your Thoughts: "The Muppets" Theatrical Film

[Muppet fan 123]

i was wondering that too when i saw him...he is HUGE

Yeah what happened to him, why can't he fit into the arches anymore?

 

[Slackbot]

Has anyone read Heinlein's "The Star Beast"? The fed him too much and he GREW!

 

[Ozymandias]

Guess who just saw the movie?

LOVED. THIS. MOVIE. Loved the character interaction. Loved the writing (Jason Segel, James Bobbin and whoever else had a hand in writing the script, you guys all ROCK. THANK YOU). Loved the plot. Loved how every joke and act was PERFECT and hit all of the right notes. Loved the music (except "Me Party", because that was just weird). Loved the flippin' hilarious Jim Parsons cameo (I DID NOT see that coming). Loved Uncle Deadly (he's now on my favorite charachers list!), loved Bunsen and Beaker (as usual), loved Wayne and Wanda, loved Animal and Floyd, LOVED WALTER, loved Scooter, and LOVED Miss Piggy! Oh my word, she was FANTASTIC, and I didn't really like her all that much growing up but I sure do now! You go girl!

The only thing I found kind of off was Fozzie's voice in a few scenes and "Me Party", but other than that, it was flawless!

I think, to sum up my views on this movie, I will quote my mother, a woman who has been a fan of the Muppets since their first episode of "The Muppet Show" back in the 1970s: "That was the first time in a long time that I've come out of the movie theater and hadn't felt like I'd been pummeled." Well done, everyone. May there be much more things to come.

 

[dwmckim]

Agreed. It's played EXACTLY like Kermit realized what Piggy did to him ... but unlike what happened in the Muppet Show, THIS time he accepts his love for her.
On the other hand, we know they were doing a play about two young lovers who find themselves again, so even though it's "real", it's still ambiguous.

Hmmm.... i wonder if "Ambiguous Amphibious" is due to be the follow-up song to "Carribean Amphibean"?

 

[dwmckim]

The Forget You song is origanlly entitled F-You but to be able to play it on mainstream radio he had to make a G rated version entitled "Forget You" which is the song the chickens sing.

...or ARE they? Unless you happen to speak chicken, who's to say they're NOT doing the original version?

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Another way to think about the Muppet Theatre vs VMX "historical landmark" issue is that the premise of this movie's story is that the Muppets have been apart for a long time (implied since the 80's) so in this alternate history/timeline, VMX didn't happen.​

Ah- the "Sliders" explanation! yeah, that can work. All in all, I suppose you can also always look at it as- all of the Muppet productions are just that- Muppet productions. Thus, nothing that happens in them affects their status as Hollywood actors and actresses, etc. Or their status as felt puppets in real life.​

 

[SOTTH]

I took my kids to see the film while mom/wife was out Black Friday shopping. My kids are like me; they like going to the movies and will see just about anything. And while I've tried to expose them to the Muppets, I've never pushed the Muppets on them. Mostly because I live with the belief that they'll find the Muppets eventually when the time is right for them, and forcing the issue may just turn it into something they dislike because of overexposure (my parents had a few of those with me...).
So it was odd that they seemed excited about "The Muppets" as Black Friday drew closer. As we grabbed our seats, my daughter had a few questions (mostly about how much Beaker would be in the movie), and I mentioned that they seemed excited. My son said, "Well, you haven't stopped talking about it for months!" So much for not pushing...

I honestly can't add much to what's already been said here. But this was one of the few times in my life where I didn't sit in the theater and pick apart every element of a movie (I studied film theory in grad school) or else consciously "turn off my brain" to enjoy a film. Sitting and watching this film was like running into a close friend I hadn't seen in years and falling into a genuinely comfortable rapport with them. Yes, the years had changed us both (I'm older; the Muppets were more, um, "Segel-y"), but it was still the same old relationship.

And so as the movie went on, I just found myself more and more engrossed in the movie and just happier and happier. And I looked at my kids, and they were equally as engrossed.

What was most interesting, though, was the end. When Richman stopped the telethon and took control of the Muppet Studios, and as the Muppets left the theater with their heads held high, my nine-year old son looked at me with the saddest look in his eye and said, "So, the bad guy gets to win?" Before I could try to explain that reality to him, the Muppets walked outside to the throngs of fans, and it brought tears to my eyes and tears to my son's eyes. The reaction was so emotional, my son missed the "happy ending" where the Muppets got the studio back. But it didn't matter. Because on the drive home, and throughout the afternoon and well into the evening, my kids and I discussed the ending. And we discussed what it meant to be "the good guy" and what it meant to be "the bad guy". And whether it's okay to win if it means hurting others. And if you can really lose if people love you for what you do for them. It's the kind of long-running talk that parents don't get to have often enough. And I was lucky to have that moment.

So, we loved it. We were touched by it. And I'm grateful that my kids are going to be able to have the same love for the Muppets that I've had for over 40 years.

 

[Puckrox]

i do hope there is SOME stuff with gonzo and rizzo in there somewhere. i realize they were going for the pre-jim henson's death muppet crew in this, but i personally became very attached to those two later on, they were hilarious

Yes, yes, yes, a million times yes! One of the major things I was looking forward to in this movie was the Rizzo-Gonzo reunion scene that I was so sure would happen. I wasn't expecting anything big, maybe a hug or an "I've missed you", but yeah, that didn't happen.

Robin's in the crowd at the end behind fozzie in a little tiny tim hat...which i had the fozzie close up

Okay, see, now I don't feel bad for not seeing him the three times I've seen this movie. He's so tiny, he's easy to miss.

Did Sam the Eagle have a scene stealing line? I liked the Fox News spoof, I could totally see Sam Eagle as some Glen Beck/O'reilly character. But the lack of Sam having a really scene stealing aside...the lack of Rizzo, Pepe only getting a small bit, Robin MIA, most post JH characters MIA(tho Big Mean Carl is seen briefly in the background...

My thoughts exactly on Sam. I mean, I think Sam's a really underused Muppet in every film that's been made (except for MTI), because honestly I think he may very well be the most amusing Muppet of them all (he's just so darn serious). But usually he does have that one line that everyone remembers, but there were none in this movie. And, again, I agree about Rizzo.

 

[Slackbot]

I thought Sam was great in the barbershop quartet. The way he sings the song, throwing such energy into the lyrics, puts it over the top for me. It's one of my favorite parts of the soundtrack.

 

[Muppet fan 123]

...or ARE they? Unless you happen to speak chicken, who's to say they're NOT doing the original version?

It says in the soundtrack list "Forget You" so I'm assuming they're doing the other version