"If I ran the Muppets" thread. Post YOUR good ideas HERE!

[spcglider]

Okay everybody!

This is the place. Here is YOUR opportunity to post YOUR great ideas about what should be done with the Muppets franchise. First, a few basic guidelines:

1) Concentrate on the POSITIVE. This is NOT a "Bash Disney/MHC" thread. Offer up things that could be helpful. Construcive criticism IS helpful as long as you suggest remedy or solution.

2) This concerns ONLY the CLASSIC MUPPETS. Not Fraggles, not Sesame Muppets, not JHC characters or movies like Dark Crystal, etc.

3) REACH. Don't just think outside the box... think OFF of the table that the box is sitting on and out the door to the room that the table is in. It doesn't matter how broad or miniscule the plan is... if you think, even for a microsecond that it's a GOOD plan, post it!

Alright then... have at it!

-Gordon

 

[MuppetsRule]

Thanks Gordon. I'm looking forward to hearing everybody's ideas of how they would run the Muppets! Maybe Disney will take some of MC's ideas and run with them. Who knows?

 

[spcglider]

Okay...since nobody here has decided to speak up, I will.

My wife had a GREAT idea. How many movies does Disney release every year? A dozen or so? Well, PIXAR has had tremendous success with making animated shorts to put at the beginning of their movies.

So the idea is this: Let the Muppets make some 8 minute shorts to go in front of major Disney family releases. They could be modelled on the classic Warner cartoons, but in the Muppet "idiom".

What does this accompish? 1) It allows the Muppets exposure that they aren't getting now and plays on their strength (short, intense comedy), 2) Each short won't cost as much as a major project and can be tailored to small budgets, 3) They can produce multiple shorts at one time if necessary, and 4) If they bomb, the program can be cut without too much permanent investment.

If Disney is SERIOUS about their rhetoric of "re-introducing" the Muppets to a wide audience, this would be a terrific and cost-effective way to do it. Not only could the shorts be distributed on the front of film releases, they'd be included in the DVD releases of the films AND could eventually be compiled into a DVD collection of their own (ala the Warner Bros. animated shorts).

Aesthetically, it plays on the strengths of the Muppets, and nostalgically it resurrects the tradition of the Disney Studios production of short films.

Imagine a short... something like Gonzo and Rizzo start a baby-sitting service. That in itself is a receipe for gut-busting hilarity. Imagine Kermit, Fozzie, Pepe, and Rowlf running a repair shop or a "Muppet Anything Agency: No job too weird!" scenario.

I'm tellin' ya... it would work.

-Gordon

 

[minor muppetz]

I have been thinking about the idea of there being theatrically-released Muppet shorts. Maybe they can be released alongside every Disney release, and at the end of every year, a DVD with all those shorts can be made available. Maybe there can be two Pigs in Space shorts, a Statler and Waldorf short, two or three Electric Mayhem shorts, three or four Kermit and Miss Piggy shorts, three or four Kermit and Fozzie shorts, four Kermit, Fozzie and Gonzo shorts, a Kermit and Robin short, a Swedish Chef short, two or three Gonzo and Rizzo shorts, a Rizzo and Pepe short, and so on.

Though I'd rather have the Muppets remain as puppets, maybe it would be good to have a computer animated Muppet movie, animated by Pixar. If done by Pixar, then it pretty much guarantees at least one celebrity voice (John Ratzenberger), and maybe t would be good if tests are done, where the main performers perform their characters, and the movements get reproduced in animation, so that they move like the puppets do, albeit with legs added.

I would also have there be a few new Mupet television specials. I'd re-approve of Kermit's Christmas Capers, and I'd re-approve of the Kermit roast special (though it wouldn't be for an anniversary). I'd also approve of some additional holiday specials, like a St. Patricks Day special and a halloween special.

 

[minor muppetz]

Here are some merchandising ideas:

I would approve of a collection of Muppet Comic Books. They would be formatted like The Simpsons comic books, with a main 10-15 page comic story featuring the main cast, and a shorter, 5-6 page story either based on a recurring sketch (Pigs in Space, Veterinarian's Hospital) or with a limited number of characters (Gonzo and Rizzo, The Electric Mayhem, etc). There would also be funny one-two page advertisements, both before the main story and between the two stories (or maybe a funny interview, in script format). Such advertisements could be for stuff like "Rowlf's Piano Trainning", "The Swedish Chef's Pizza Parlor", or "Crazy Harry's Dynamite Shop".

I would also approve of a collection of Muppet PVCs, similar to the Tyco PVCs of Sesame Street that was released during the shows 30th anniversary.

The sets could include:

The Muppet Show 30 character box set #1:
*Kermit the Frog
*Miss Piggy holding Foo-Foo
*The Great Gonzo (in purple tuxedo)
*Dr. Bunsen Honeydew
*Beaker (in screamming pose)
*Fozzie Bear (holding hat in his left hand)
*Dr. Teeth
*Floyd
*Animal (holding drum sticks)
*Janice
*Zoot (holding saxaphone)
*Lips (holding trumpet)
*Scooter (holding clipboard)
*J.P. Grosse
*Muppy
*a Snerf
*a Crocodile
*Boppity
*Droop
*Pops
*Sweetums (holding club)
*Nigel
*Mildred
*Hilda
*Beauregard
*Annie Sue Pig
*Uncle Deadley
*Mean Mama
*Fletcherbird
*Crazy Harry (holding plunger)

The Muppet Show 30 character set #2:
*Kermit holding Robin's hand
*Fozzie Bear (operating Chuckie)
*First Mate Miss Piggy
*Captain Link Hogthrob (holding a silver vanity mirror)
*Dr. Strangepork (holding dissolvitron)
*Sam the Eagle
*Wayne
*Wanda
*Timmy Monster
*Rizzo and a few rats on each others backs
*Camillia
*Gonzo in daredevil attire, holding a cannonball (though his arm won't be very long)
*Dr. Bunsen Honeydew (holding up his glasses)
*Beaker (with head halfway in body)
*T.R. Rooster
*Rowlf
*Baskerville
*Statler
*Waldorf
*Marvin Suggs (with a few Muppaphones on his body, showcasing their revenge)
*The Swedish Chef
*Gladys
*The Eel
*Lobbock Lou
*Jerry
*Gramps
*Zeke
*Bubba
*Lou
*Trumpet Girl

The Muppet Show 30 character set #3:
*Kermit (in tuxedo)
*Patrol Bear
*Patrol Link
*Nurse Piggy
*Dr. Bob
*Nurse Janice
*The Newsman
*Louis Kazagger
*Fleet Scribbler
*Thog
*George the Janitor
*Angus McGonacle
*Gloat
*A viking pig
*A tuxedoed pig
*a hawian pig
*Zelda Rose
*The Houses
*A Gawky Bird
*Statler in vaudvile attire
*Waldorf in vaudvile attire
*Koozebanian Phoob
*Scooter (in his outfit from Six String Orchestra and with guitar)
*A group of penguisn (one on top with wings spread out, and two more on top, one on each wing)
*A plate of Muppet food (featuring a tomadoe, lettuce, artichoke, and a banana)
*Chopped-Liver Monster
*A frog (sitting on a lilly pad)
*the Walrus
*Catgut (holding Gaffer)
*Lew Zeland (holding fish)

There would also be seperate box sets of three figures each, for those who can't afford the whole box sets.

 

[minor muppetz]

Here are a few more PVC set ideas:

The Muppet Movie:
*Kermit (on log with banjo)
*Fozzie Bear (with two ice cream cones)
*Miss Piggy (with suitcase)
*Gonzo (with balloons)
*Scooter (with fingers in clapboard)
*Sweetums (with suitcase)

The Great Muppet Caper:
*Kermit (in reporter attire)
*Fozzie (with "press" card in hat)
*Gonzo (in photographer attire with camera)
*Miss Piggy (on motorcycle)
*Floyd (in red jacket)
*Zoot (in zoot suit)

The Muppets Take Manhattan (set 1):
*Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Gonzo (with arm around Camilla), Rowlf, and Scooter in their "Togetehr Again" attire

The Muppets Take Manhattan (set 2):
*The same characters in their attire from "Right Where We Belong"

The Muppets Take Manhattan (set 3):
*Kermit (in tuxedo)
*Miss Piggy (in wedding dress)
*Janice (in MTM attire)
*Dr. Teeth (in black leather vest)
*Rizzo (with food tray)
*Masterson (wearing butter as skates)

The Muppets Take Manhattan (set 4)
:Kermit (in his "hip" attire, holding script)
*Miss Piggy (on rollerskates)
*Chester
*Yolanda
*Tattooey
*Animal (in I Love New York shirt)

The Jim Henson Hour:
*Kermit (in directors chair)
*Digit (with remote)
*Bean Bunny (with satelite)
*Leon (with hammer)
*Gonzo (in white shirt and gray vest)
*Vicki (with clipboard)

Muppets Tonight (set 1):
*Kermit (with coffee mug)
*Clifford
*Seymour holding Pepe on his shoulder (both in elevador operador attire)
*Johnny Fiama (holding microphone)
*Sal
*Zippety Zap
*Mr. Poodlepants
*Dr. Phil van Neuter
*Mulch

Muppets Tonight (set 2):
*Bobo the Bear
*Dr. Fozzie
*Dr. Pain
*Seymour and Pepe in cookin attire (Seymour would be holdign a tray that Pepe lays on, for some reason)
*Nigel
*Rizzo (holding clipboard)
*Bill the Bubble Guy
*Andy and Randy Pig (with arms around each other)

Muppets Tonight (set 3)
*Pigs in Space: Deep Dish Nine Miss Piggy
*Captain Pighead
*Craniac
*Snorty
Spamela Hamderson
*David Hogsohog
*Andy and Randy as Donnie and Art C. Shell (holding arms around each other)
*Gary Chuenga
*Gonzo (in Muppets Tonight attire)

 

[spcglider]

Good stuff folks... keep it coming!

-G

 

[muppetperson]

Muppet Shorts

Okay...since nobody here has decided to speak up, I will.

My wife had a GREAT idea. How many movies does Disney release every year? A dozen or so? Well, PIXAR has had tremendous success with making animated shorts to put at the beginning of their movies.

So the idea is this: Let the Muppets make some 8 minute shorts to go in front of major Disney family releases. They could be modelled on the classic Warner cartoons, but in the Muppet "idiom".

What does this accompish? 1) It allows the Muppets exposure that they aren't getting now and plays on their strength (short, intense comedy), 2) Each short won't cost as much as a major project and can be tailored to small budgets, 3) They can produce multiple shorts at one time if necessary, and 4) If they bomb, the program can be cut without too much permanent investment.

If Disney is SERIOUS about their rhetoric of "re-introducing" the Muppets to a wide audience, this would be a terrific and cost-effective way to do it. Not only could the shorts be distributed on the front of film releases, they'd be included in the DVD releases of the films AND could eventually be compiled into a DVD collection of their own (ala the Warner Bros. animated shorts).

Aesthetically, it plays on the strengths of the Muppets, and nostalgically it resurrects the tradition of the Disney Studios production of short films.

Imagine a short... something like Gonzo and Rizzo start a baby-sitting service. That in itself is a receipe for gut-busting hilarity. Imagine Kermit, Fozzie, Pepe, and Rowlf running a repair shop or a "Muppet Anything Agency: No job too weird!" scenario.

I'm tellin' ya... it would work.

-Gordon

Hey, Gordon-I like your baby sitting or repair shop ideas.Great to see some original storyline ideas rather than Muppet versions of established stories.

 

[spcglider]

Well, honestly, I thought aboutsome of the great situations that I'd seen some of the Looney Toons in. And they're pretty universal. And I thought to myself, Gonzo and Rizzo make a good pair, so what would be the WORST possible business they could start? The answer was obvious!

The repair shop concept comes from an old Mickey Mouse cartoon I saw some layouts from where Mickey, Goofy and Donald were auto mechanics. But I thought that it would be crazy fun to see them running a repair shop that was a tremendous Rube Goldberg contraption... an automated repair shop that can fix anything, but then they get sucked into the works of the machine and mayhem (Electric Mayhem?) ensues.

Simple concepts that are funny at their base and then embroidered to fit the characters. Can't you see Kermit sitting at a little window in a vest and a magnifying visor accepting items to be repaired? Fozzie wearing a coverall and big rubber gloves? Rowlf in a smudged baseball cap and rolled up shirtsleeves? I sure can!

-Gordon

 

[minor muppetz]

Here's what I would do concerning DVDs...

If I was in charge now, I would check on the progress of clearing music rights for The Muppet Show: Season 2, and also check on features and the restoration process. If at least 95 percent of the music rights are cleared, then I would set a specific date for it's release right now. If less is cleared, then I'd wait a few more months before deciding on when to release it.

I would also tell The Muppet Studios people to get to work on clearing any rights for Muppet Babies DVD releases. Special features (for various seasons) would include editons of The Muppet Babies Video Storybook, Kermit and Robin's introductions from the "Yes I Can..." series of videos, episodes of Little Muppet Monsters (in production order, with a few episodes per set), the Muppets, Babies, and Monsters opening, and episodes (if you want to call them that) of Muppet Time (again, in production order).

I would also start approving some video games. I mentioned some of my ideas in a thread about Mupet video game ideas a long time ago, so you might want to find that thread to see what I posted. I mentioned one idea in which the Muppets get locked in a cursed theater, and Kermit must rescue everybody. But here are some more ideas...

Muppet Racemania II: A sequel to Muppet Racemania. I don't know if the distribution rights are actualy owned by Disney or the company that distributed the game for Playstation. But this one would have more characters to race as. If Disney has the rights to Muppet Racemania, then I would have that game rereleased on the same day (though I guess the game would have to be altered, unless I can get permission from Henson for a Doozer to be included and for a Fraggle Rock world to be unlocked, and permisison from Sony to have clips from The Muppets Take Manhattan and Muppets From Space to be included... but then again, the company that produced this game got permission from Disney for use of clips from The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure island). If not, then it wouldn't be called Muppet Racemania II. I'll post ideas on what racing levels and playable characters will be included later.

Another idea would be for a sequel to Muppet Party Cruise. Regardless of whetehr Disney owns the rights to Muppet Party Cruise, this game will not be titled Muppet Party Cruise, and the word "cruise" won't even be used. Instead of taking place on a cruise ship, it will take place (or places) somewhere else, and more characters will be involved, not just playable, but also in the context of the game (outside of introducing mini-games). Instead of Muppetisms being unlocked, there will be unlockable clips from The Mupet Show, and maybe also from The Jim Henson Hour, Muppets Tonight, From the Balcony, The Muppets at Walt Disney World, The Mupets Celebrate Jim Henson, A Muppet Family Christmas, and The Muppets Go to the Movies.

Some titles that could be used: Muppet Party, Muppet Party Adventure, Mupet Party Mania, Muppet Party Mayhem, Muppet Party Land, Party with the Muppets, Party at the Muppet Boarding House, and Party at the Muppet Theater.

Another great idea... Muppet Party at Walt Disney World (or Disneyland., or California Adventure). This version of the game would take place at one of the Disney theme parks (if Disney World, then players can choose to play at either The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM Studios, or Animal Kingdom). Maybe more Disney characters (non-Mupet Disney characters, like Mickey Mouse, Darkwing Duck, and the cast of The Rescuers) could make appearances (though as long as the game still includes as many Mupets as possible). It seems like it would be hard to think up good mini-games based on rides and attractions (I don't think the theme park even has games). But after scoring a certain amount of points, players could unlock... Muppet Vison 3D! Yes, unlocking it would allow the film to be available for home audiences. All individual screens would be shown for the pre-show in an illusttrated room (with Disney characters watching) on monitors so the pre-show can be seen like it is at Walt Disney World and California Adventure (and the interraction between screens would still be coherent), and hopefully I could find a way for the film to have the same effect as watching it in 3D, with a computer-animated theater (plus computer-animated versions of Sweetums and the animationics, maybe). And after more points, fans can unlock Here Come the Muppets and Days o Swine and Roses. I don't know if Disney's archives have any official video tapped footage of these live shows, but if not, the vocal tracks would be reused and the characters would be computer animated (images on the picturephone in Here Come the Muppets would be the same clips). Hopefully Disney still has all of that in it's archives.

Video games based on the movies would also be nice.

And for a listing of special Mupet Christmas Carol PVC sets:

Set 1:
Bob Cratchet with Tiny Tim (similar to the Palisades PVC... sorry, folks)
Emily Cratchet
Belinda and Betina (with arms around each other)
Peter Cratchet
Charles Dickens holding Rizzo on shoulder
Bean Bunny (holding christmas turkey)

Set 2:
Fozziwig
Mrs. Fozziwig
Ghost of Christmas Past
Ghost of Christmas Present
Ghost of Christmas Future
ice-skating Penguins

Set 3:
Jacop Marley
Robert Marley
Bunsen
Beaker
Bookkeepers
Sam the Eagle