Miss Piggy's Big Nose

muppetmayhem

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interesting thread. I haven't really noticed. Maybe it is kinda like a pimple we humans get. It just sprouts one morning. Same with her nose

*muppetmayhem hides because his joke, really sucked*

You better not be making fun of the miss piggy!!! :attitude:
 

lowercasegods

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I know its inevitable that the Muppets themselves evolve in appearance over the years, but I think an interesting point has been brought up here. I've noticed as well that Piggy's nose (or snout. Take your pick) has gotten larger in recent appearances. I tie this into recent attempts to make her more slap stick and buffoon-ish, a practice that I disagree with. In the 70s and up 'til, maybe, 1984 before they gave her that out of control curly 'fro in Muppets Take Manhattan, Piggy was a perfect mix of sexy and silly. Then at some point she slowly became a caricarture of herself. This is especially evident in Muppets From Space, where she's kept from being a multidimensional character capable of sympathy as well as comedy, and instead made into an abrasive, goofy looking device for pee and nut jokes (I'm not going to start griping about that type of humor since I use it myself in my own work. I'm just sticking to the subject of Piggy's unfortunate evolution). The Muppet organization should have taken the initiative to fix her when they had a chance. Now it falls on Disney's shoulders, and that worries me. They don't know the character as well as the Henson's did, and they may be content to leave her as a hollow one-note joke. But I know the character's capable of more based on her thirty year history, and she deserves to show it. Her features need to be toned down to something closer to her 70's facial structure, slimming down the nose and giving her eyes a less lazy look. Give her a hairstyle closer to her 70's look as well, long and wavy and pretty, not the choppy platinum wig with bangs that she's been condemned to since Muppets From Space (if not longer). The old hairstyle didn't scream "gaudy 70's" or anything. It was pretty and allowed her to be, as I stated before, sexy and silly simulataneously. I guess what it comes down to is that all the rest of the Muppets have gotten their chance to be rounded out. Steve's Kermit seems to be embracing his silly side along with his sweet side, and Dave's Gonzo has become as introspective as he has weird (and I say that approvingly). Those characters, as great as they've always been, had room to evolve into more complicated personalities. Piggy, on the other hand, was always the most rounded out (no joke intended) and didn't really need any new dimensions to her character. So for whatever reason, the people in control of her have gone the opposite route, choosing to trim down those dimensions to just one, leaving a very shallow, obnoxious character where a vivid and great one once stood. Eric Jacobsen could quite possibly help in bringing Piggy back to her former status by adding new elements to his performance of her, and little by little she may get back to where she belongs. Obviously the writers and directors will have to make an effort as well, but I think it's going to start with Eric. And most importantly, her look must be brought back to "classic Piggy", equipt with her old slimmer snout, an eye lift and some decent hair. Not only will these improvements make a huge difference in the character, but possibly spark some positive changes in the Muppet pantheon all together, pushing for a deeper look at a lot of the classic characters and making them as great as they once were. Just some food for thought.
 

beforemyway

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agreed, I deffinatlly would rather Piggy not be only an obnoxtious characture. Actually, one of the keys to good writing is Chracturization... and since real life people are completly complex.. no one is REALLY that simple, making charactures that change, grow, and are generally complex, makes any move, or show better by far.
 

Beauregard

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Oh, yes. Piggy's nose is bigger, because it was back in the Muppet SHow days when her nose was, bigger.

But, in respose to the other twist this thread has taken. Yes, she has become parody of herself, an yes, sh eneeds toning down. But I never liked the fuzzy-hair look, and I prefer the sexy, blonde hair looks (personally)

Then again, was not Piggy's character more rounded out in VMC? How she sneeks away? Ad how different she in in the world Kermit was never in?
 

lowercasegods

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I'm not sure what you were trying to say here. What I got from it was that you think Piggy's nose was big in the 70s as well. If you go back to compare her look from circa 1976 to today, I think you'll see that there is a difference and that her nose is definitely bigger these days. And I'm not sure about which fuzzy look that you disapproved of, but if you meant the 1984 Muppets Take Manhattan look, I agree. It was out of control. However, if you mean her 70's longer hairstyle, I feel that look is as iconic to her as round ears to Mickey Mouse and that she should return to that aspect of her appearance. The "modern" platinum blonde, choppy bangs look that she sports today looks ridiculous on her and does little for her appearance or my ability to take her character seriously in what few tender moments she's allowed to display. And no, I don't think they really rounded out Piggy's character in A Very Muppet Christmas. Even though the special as a whole was a real treat, the sequence where Kermit meets the future Piggy did little to improve her personality. Instead of making it a genuinely touching moment, a joke about her eating habits was thrown in there which totally deflated the sweetness, not to mention how ridiculous the whole situation was anyway. The Piggy we saw in Great Muppet Caper arguing with Kermit along the banks of the pond showed her in all three dimensions and maintained a nice, sentimental touch with just a touch of silliness. The Christmas special used their scene for cheap laughs and skimped on the sentimentality, which is a hallmark of Piggy and the Muppets themselves. The special showed hope in improving her character but gave up half way through and banked on cheap jokes instead. So I stand by my previous post: Her appearance needs to be brought back to her more classic roots and her personality needs a facelift as well.
 
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