The Muppet Studios in Hollywood is in trouble, and in order to save it, the Muppets need to reunite, set aside their difference, and put on a show that will attract 10 million viewers in order to save the studios from an evil oil baron. At least that is the premise behind Disney’s The Greatest Muppet Movie of all Time set to go into production this summer. It’s been a while since the Muppets have been on the big screen, and with a few lackluster television specials, and the very needed presence of Jim Henson, will this indeed be the greatest muppet movie of all time, or the last?
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If they get the talentless hack who directed the last two movies – that Christmas one and the Wizard of Oz ‘adaptation’ – you bet your life this will be the last one. I seriously don’t get why they thought referencing the Moulin Rouge – an adult movie – and having Miss Piggy as Miss Cleo in the Christmas one was a good idea, nor why they decided that the Wizard of Oz should include Kermit, Fozzy and Gonzo being dismembered, Miss Piggy being graphically dissolved and melted, and Kermit lowering himself to ask a moron like Quentin Tarantino for help.
What happened to the excellent potential in “Muppets From Space”, with the gang sharing a house together? Where did Tim Hill go, and why did the vomit-brained Kirk Thatcher take his place? What happened to Frank Oz, and why weren’t people as upset at him leaving as when it was rumoured that the Futurama cast wouldn’t be back?
How in the hell did the Muppets sink to this? Hollywood has a lot to bloody well answer for.
Well, the “talentless hack” who wrote the Muppet Christmas Carol was Jerry Juhl, who was head writer for The Muppet Show, co-creator & head writer of Fraggle Rock, and a longtime friend & collaborator with Jim Henson. Helps to research a little before you make blanket dismissals.
You are mistaken. Muppet Christmas Carol remains in my esteem the finest TV adaptation of Dickens’ classic ever created, and a staple traditional film of my childhood, no matter what those cretins at Disney do to edit down the DVD version.
I was in fact referring to the equally cretinous Kirk Thatcher’s creation, “It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie”, a failed attempt at yet another “It’s A Wonderful Life” ripoff that should be avoided at all cost.
Wow, I’ve never even heard of that one. If it’s yet another “Wonderful Life” take-off (a movie I never liked much, since George Bailey strikes me as an entitled whiner), then I’m probably better off.
Salieri- 1) You clearly haven’t been watching the Muppets Studios videos on YouTube. Fresh and funny as anything before it.
2) Did one of these guys kick your puppy or something?
3) Quentin Tarantino’s not a moron.
Oh yeeeah…I completely forgot about that.
Sorry, but as with Jeph Loeb, the activity of Kirk Thatcher makes me so full of insane vitriol that I need to punch a lioness in the face to ease the frustration. But, yes, these new YouTube videos are all fantastic – especially the Bohemian Rhapsody one, which combined characters from both the earlier years (e.g., the Newsreader) and more recent eras like Muppets Tonite (Johnny Fiama and Sal).
I just hope whoever made them is kept on, you know?
wow, I’ll tell you one thing, I would never name a movie ‘the greatest of all time’ that’s like naming your movie 13/13: The Macbeth Titanic.
1. Salieri; If you watch the original Muppet Movie, there are many adult references of the time. Jim Henson above all else was a subversive in the most extreme sense of the word.
2. Michale Eisner and Disney helped contribute to the physical deterioration of Jim Henson that eventually led to his death.
3. After Henson dies, and the founders of Sesame Street retired, the powers that be let bean counters and politically correct hacks direct the entertainment. While alive, Mr. Henson had an arrangement that the entertainment portion that he was in charge of never was controlled by the Politically correct hack.
4. Unless Brian Henson has a larger portion of control, it will be bean counter bullshit.
All your points are true, but Henson’s subversions had the distinction of being witty, funny and not over the heads of the kids. Previous Muppet Movies have never included the main cast being dismembered – perhaps given the standard Warner Bros. type physical alterations like Gonzo’s arms being stretched or Beaker’s nose falling off – but nothing as shockingly horrible as the bit where Miss Piggy as the Wicked Witch slowly melts into a puddle, lacking any of the Shakespearean dignity that accompanied the original scene with Margaret Hamilton.
Plus, under Henson in the Muppet Show, guest stars were always figures which kids were likely to be familiar with – musicians like Elton John, comedians like Spike Milligan, sci-fi actors like Mark Hamyll. Tarantino made one or two semi-intelligent films at the start of his career and has since made his name in trying to top Frank Miller for sheer amount of brainless gorefests with no interesting plot.