Disney Enlists Segel & Stoller for new Muppets movie

[Beauregard]

Beau - I want you to get up from that desk & computer and go over and open a window - take a deep breath and say this ten times "creative possibilities".

Well, I can certainly see it was no mistake you named yourself, 'Uppity,' there, Mr Uppity.

Bea{Uppity in this case meaning, "Taking liberties or assuming airs beyond one's station; presumptious." (thefreedictionary.com, 2008)}regard

 

[theprawncracker]

I'm not being gripey or pernickity, but if the writer's decided to put Miss Piggy in rehab as 'a joke...' something as simple as that. 'Unexpected.' Something that I'm obviously not 'good' enough to notice when I'm watching films, in order to put a 'spin' on things...it would not be a good spinny joke, or a surprise, it would be wrong.

*applauds Beau's post* I'm not, though it may seem like it, saying that all of the Muppets are these sweet sugar-coated goody two-shoes, that is NOT what I'm saying AT ALL. I know that the Muppets all have their dark jaded sides to them, ESPECIALLY Miss Piggy, but I do not, and CANNOT envision her in rehab of any sort, as Beau said, it's just NOT in her character. Strong, dynamic, tough (see, there's where her karate chops come in), and yet at the same time caring and gentle (to Kermit at least ).

Yes, all of the Muppets have their "dark side" (except maybe Fozzie), Kermit's was built by years of nut-jobs surrounding him, Gonzo is just a dark-humor in himself, Piggy's tough, Rowlf's pun-derful, Rizzo and Pepe are Rizzo and Pepe, yes, they all have thier dark moments. However, deep down in the core of each and every Muppet character is a soul, one that shows they truly do care about each other.

In "The Muppet Movie" Kermit spoke of his "dream," a dream that the frog has been living since 1976 when he and his friends set out to do a show to sing, and dance, and make people happy. The Muppets couldn't live this dream without each other. Think of it this way:
Kermit is the dream.
Miss Piggy adores the dream to no end.
Fozzie believes in the dream (as said by Jim Lewis)
Gonzo tests the limits of the dream.
Rizzo and Pepe live the dream by reeping the benefits of it (or that's what they try to do anyway).
Statler and Waldorf push the dream to be the best it can be by heckling its every move.
Scooter and Robin represent the future of the dream with their youth.
Sam Eagle tries to uphold the moralities of the dream.
And more and more of these parallels can be drawn between this "dream" and all of the Muppets. I think these ideals and ideas need to be held if the Muppets are to come back as the entertainment super-power they once were. The ideals of caring, real characters is what draws people to the Muppets.

And a few explosions here and there doesn't hurt either.

 

[SarahOnBway]

Ryan that was just awesome--putting all the Muppets and how they relate to the dream. Very beautiful and very true.

And btw, I think Fozzie has a dark side: his anguish over not being funny is slightly tragic in a way.

 

[theprawncracker]

Ryan that was just awesome--putting all the Muppets and how they relate to the dream. Very beautiful and very true.

And btw, I think Fozzie has a dark side: his anguish over not being funny is slightly tragic in a way.

Thanks Sarah.

Haha, yes, poor Fozzie... but you'll never see Fozzie being pushed to the limit a la Kermit, or karate chopping anyone a la Piggy. I dunno, just my two cents on my favorite Bear.

 

[uppitymuppity]

It just seems like this longwinded discussion about rehab is a little redundant. If you refer to my original post I even say that it would be better that she were simply on the skidz in Hollywood with her career than rehab.

Piggy's tough as nails but every star goes through unpopular periods - it would be fun to watch her deal with that because as I said earlier she would overcome.

 

[Beauregard]

And btw, I think Fozzie has a dark side: his anguish over not being funny is slightly tragic in a way.

I certainly think a lot of the Muppets have a tragic, or dark side to them.

And I never once intentionally suggested they were sweetness or light. In fact, Bean Bunny is as close as it comes to a purely sweet character and too much of him would make the strongest Muppet's teeth fall out (do Muppets have teeth?).

Fozzie, as you say, is tragic. But I think Gonzo is too. Ever since VMC I've veiwed Piggy with a slightly tragic aspect to her personality too, which isn't evident in the real world as long as she has a dream (and flippers) to hold onto. Note, she is sad in TMM when she's waiting at the side of the road after leaving Kermit, sad in GMC when she had to run away from the ball, and sad in MTM when she has to spy on him...

 

[theprawncracker]

Piggy's tough as nails but every star goes through unpopular periods - it would be fun to watch her deal with that because as I said earlier she would overcome.

Totally agree with you there, and I think that the Piggy in the low-point of her carreer angle could be played off very nicely, but what I think could be even better is if ALL of the Muppets played off that angle, that would be cool. If we actually saw them separate from each other because their careers were going nowhere and then have to get back together, I think that would be the best way to approach a separation story, if one is going to be included in the film.

Just my two cents!

 

[CensoredAlso]

. There seems to be this purist camp of muppet fans who think that everything was entirely sweetness and light with the muppets. What i've found and find most appealing about Jim Henson's work is that there is an amazing balance he struck with everything. There is darkness to the muppets - not that they are evil - but, just like real life the characters are not entirely one thing or the other.

I still say it's rather the confusion between adult and immature humor. Fans know the Muppets always had a dark side. But lately it's been less sophisticated and that's what people object to.

 

[uppitymuppity]

I definitely object! Jim Henson wouldn't have fought so hard to have an adult show on at a primetime hour if he had wanted some cheesy disney-esque safe characters. I mean we all know this - Henson wanted adult themes and dark themes and variety.

This is what made me fall in love with the show at such a young age. It was dark and wonderful. We lost that over the years because of this purest view.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I agree, Jim Henson loved adult humor, and I love that about the Muppets. What a lot of fans think is that the more recent projects are not adult humor, but rather more immature, trying to seem adult. That is all.