Your Thoughts: The Muppets' Wizard of Oz

[Aaron]

Hi Beau. (hugs)

Also, ditto to everything beaker said on Page 5 of this thread. Beaker, "the Abu Ghraib of Muppet films", excellent and right on. What a total trainwreck.

i missed you!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Docnzhoss]

I voted that this was a good movie. It was a Friday night ABC special, not a multi-million dollar production that we had to pay 6 or 7 bucks to see.

The bright spots for me:
-Sam Eagle
-Johnny, Sal and Sweetums goin' good
-David Alan Grier
-Quentin Tarantino's over the top performance (can't have him any other way)
-Steve's Kermit
-Sam Eagle
-Dr. Teeth's line 2x (hey, it's the most we've heard from him since Jim's death, I'll take what I can get and look forward to more)
-The cast shot at the end, especially Rowlf
-Scooter (if they can resurrect him, surely other classic characters will follow)
-Sam Eagle (I really like it when Sam gets used. He gets more exposure in one recent movie and a TV special than in all three original movies combined)
-Crazy Harry

The low points:
-Ashanti (terrible acting, dorky, forced interaction with the Muppets)
-Someone's ignorance of tornadoes. If there's a touchdown just down your street and you're only just headed for the shelter you deserve a Darwin Award when they find your corpse.
-Not enough Rowlf
-The terrible CGI Wizard ploys. Ugh. The dragon could have been a large puppet (thinking "The Luck Child" from Storyteller), one head looked too much like the slobbering leader of Jar-Jar Binks' people in Phantom Menace (they could have used an enlarged Lurch), the chicken was waaaaaay too cartoonish (again, they could have used an enlarged Muppet chicken). Only the fire head looked anything near neat/interesting.
-Miss Piggy. She's gone from charming over-the-top to annoying over-the-top.
-No Lew Zealand. Why would you put Lew in MTI but not Crazy Harry and put Crazy Harry in MWoO but not Lew? Why couldn't we get rid of one of the dispensable pirates like the wolf or Old Tom and replace them with a classic fan favorite we would all be thrilled to see? If Lew Zealand and Crazy Harry are going to be used as bad guys, at least let them be baddies together.


I don't have a problem with Scarecrow Kermit and Tin-Thing Gonzo getting torn up, that's part of the story. It's morbid but hey, bad people do morbid things to good people in stories such as this one.

I agree about the freshman humor. Pepe's belching was not funny. Nor was the line that followed it. Gas jokes leave a bad taste in my mouth, pun intended. I would hate to see the Muppets lower themselves to this brand of humor, but it appears this is the trend (Miss Piggy announcing her need to urinate in MFS). The trend I am referring to is family friendly movies such as Scooby-Doo where the heroes waste their time and ours holding a belching and flatulance contest or defeating an enemy by flatuating in their face. This is not funny and I hate to think that this is the sort of stupidity kids are growing up watching. My guess is that Spongebob Squarepants and other shows employ similar brands of humor to make kids laugh. This is just depressing. It shows a complete lack of imagination and creativity in writers these days.

I think this is a learning process for Disney. They can use this project to discover what works and what doesn't and improve on mistakes. If the rumors are true and they're looking to release a feature film in 2007, they have plenty of time to get their formula right.

 

[MrsPepper]

I like your point of view, Docnzhoss.
It's true, gas jokes really aren't that funny. It was forgettable, though.

I think this is a learning process for Disney. They can use this project to discover what works and what doesn't and improve on mistakes. If the rumors are true and they're looking to release a feature film in 2007, they have plenty of time to get their formula right.

That's a really good point. I think that this one is a good start.
And I too enjoyed Quentin Tarantino. It's true that all of his movies are over the top, so I found it really amusing. A friend who I watched it with is a big Tarantino fan and was all, "but he's not really like that." But that's what made it funny.

 

[Docnzhoss]

I like your point of view, Docnzhoss.
It's true, gas jokes really aren't that funny. It was forgettable, though.

That's a really good point. I think that this one is a good start.
And I too enjoyed Quentin Tarantino. It's true that all of his movies are over the top, so I found it really amusing. A friend who I watched it with is a big Tarantino fan and was all, "but he's not really like that." But that's what made it funny.

Thanks for your comments, MrsPepper.

In response to what your friends said about QT, if you watch him on late night talk shows and other appearances he really is a wacky fella. He gets all sorts of crazy when he gets the chance which is exactly why I feel he was a good fit with the Muppets. I think his behavior just depends on his environment, because in interviews where he's not in front of an audience he's more laid back and mellow.

 

[MrsPepper]

Yeah, he seemed like he was enjoying himself. I thought it was a really neat cameo.

And you're welcome. I'm glad there is someone else who enjoyed the film, and I'm not off my rocker.

 

[Docnzhoss]

Yeah, he seemed like he was enjoying himself. I thought it was a really neat cameo.

And you're welcome. I'm glad there is someone else who enjoyed the film, and I'm not off my rocker.

You're not off your rocker. The poll is 60 (those who like the movie) to 34 (those who don't). There is strength in numbers.

 

[MrsPepper]

Great!
Now I can't wait to see what the Muppets will do next.

 

[That Announcer]

My pros and cons are as follows.

Pros:
- Eric Jacobson's excellent Sam the Eagle.
- The bringing back of all the pirates from MTI, especially Angel Marie.
- Johnny Fiama. 'Nuff said.
- Pepe as Toto. I know that this was a major downer for some that it was Pepe in the role and not Rowlf, but you gotta admit Pepe was pretty bloody funny.
- Piggy as the witches.
- The rats. These are some of the most under-appreciated Muppets, and their fairly major role here was great.
- Sal getting the hat at the end.
- Crazy Harry. I've waited to see him, and I finally did.
- Clifford's reduced role. I never cared a whole lot for Clifford and his role size here was tiny.
- HY-larious songwriting.
- NO BEAN BUNNY.
- A great bit with Bunsen and Beaker- "It burns! Oh, the pain! I'm on fire!"
- All the human actors, excepting Ashanti and specifically pointing out Quentin Tarantino and Jeffrey Tambor as great.

Cons:
- Brian Henson's Scooter voice. Somebody else had better be found to do this character.
- Very little Camilla.
- Steve Whitmire as Statler. The voice wasn't quite up to snuff.
- Where's Lew Zealand?
- Foo-Foo. I always found her a little annoying.
- Practically no EM. Now Floyd I can understand not having, inasmuch as Jerry's not there anymore. But why didn't Zoot or Janice have a speaking part?
- Kermit and Gonzo's head getting ripped off.
- The gas joke.
- Jeffrey Tambor's horrible rug in the "Award Ceremony" scene.

 

[MuppetCrazy]

 

[MuppetCrazy]

Now that almost every TV series/cartoon has been trashed by the film industry, it does not surprise me that greedy Disney Corporation (a.k.a., slave owners, ask their employees) would TRASH The Wizard of Oz. They cast a girl who clearly comes from a garbage heap herself. The opening sequence was nothing but a promotion for her CD (WHO would buy that garbage??) The writing was awful, full of urban trash jokes, and of course, they always have to throw in a burp. WHY is that funny? It is disgusting. People who burp are disgusting. I will try to organize as many people as I can to RIOT ABC. Ever since they bought Disney (I really DO feel sorry for the memory of Walt Disney) they have TRASHED every aspect of Walt Disney's vision. Because they are GREEDY and produce what they think young (future trash-heaps) want to see/hear. ABC/Disney: go in to the RAP business, where you belong, and take your Muppet Oz movie with you.

Are we a bit racist or what??? "They cast a girl who clearly comes from a garbage heap herself".........they "produce what they think young (future trash-heaps want to see/hear".........WOW! I'm just as big of a Muppet fan as anyone else, but jeez....that's taking it a bit too far. It's just a movie dude!