Muppet parody puppets on Crank Yankers

[Buck-Beaver]

They also can't make the characters look *exactly* like Kermit for legal reasons.

 

[scarylarrywolf]

Hey gang,
Either way, it was a really base-level obvious joke that any ten year-old could have come up with, not funny, and just being crude for the sake of crudity. The Simpsons' use, however, was funny and clever, and I think it does depend on how the joke is handled, for it to be rightly accepted by fans. Sure you can just act like everyone just needs to "take a joke", but seriously, jokes tend to be funny. Whether the Crank Yankers people like the Muppets or not does not justify such blatant, immature use of the characters' likenesses, especially when their show would never existed without Jim Henson, in that they entirely copy that puppeteering style.

Very nicely put. Do they even have writers for shows like this? I am REALLY sick of shows with a lack of thought behind them in which every other joke is dirty. Sixth graders could have come up with some of the stuff they do on this show. We need some imagination exercising on TV.

 

[MrTheFrog]

Do they even have writers for shows like this?

Actually yes they do. The writers write the premises for the calls. Also, they sit in the room (while the comedians are making the calls) with a dry-erase board, listening and scribbling ideas to help the comedians with the direction of the call. And when the call is finished they write all the puppet actions, posters, and any gags that take place. So yeah even thought all the crank calls are actual real calls, the writers play a big part.

And yes, Rick Lyon is indeed a phenomenal puppet builder, but he actually only built a handful of the puppets for Crank Yankers (the horse, monkey, gay frog, Niles Standish's head, and a few others.) The rest were built by a company called Den Design which does alot of stuff for SNL (and employs mostly former Henson employees), and some freelancers (also former Muppet builders). So it always makes me laugh when people say how badly made the Crank Yankers puppets are, because they were built by the same individuals, (using the same materials and methods) who have been building everyone's favorite frog for many many years.
-Artie

 

[Puppetplanet]

*clapping hands & laughing*


I love it! Well said!

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Very nicely put. Do they even have writers for shows like this? I am REALLY sick of shows with a lack of thought behind them in which every other joke is dirty. Sixth graders could have come up with some of the stuff they do on this show. We need some imagination exercising on TV.

You should really check out Puppets Who Kill. No US network will carry it because they say it's either "too Canadian" or "too vulgar" but it's really brilliant in a subversive kind of way, especially the second season. It's not for the faint of heart - there's no "full puppet nudity" or anything like that but it does make Avenue Q look like a G-rated movie.

 

[Ryan]

I agree with Artie. What's so ugly about these puppets? I think they are actually very well done. And as for Rick's puppets, well, the Avenue Q puppets are possibly the most beautiful puppets I've seen in a very long time. The CY puppets are obviously built very well.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

...The rest were built by a company called Den Design which does alot of stuff for SNL (and employs mostly former Henson employees), and some freelancers (also former Muppet builders). So it always makes me laugh when people say how badly made the Crank Yankers puppets are, because they were built by the same individuals, (using the same materials and methods) who have been building everyone's favorite frog for many many years.

Actually Artie, I have it on very good authority that The Crank Yanker puppets were originally designed by a company called Funny Garbage - which is not known for it's puppet work but who's design style Jimmy Kimmel (one of the series' creators) liked and so they were asked to do the puppets despite knowing almost nothing about puppet construction (this happens a lot more in the business than you'd think).

F.G. pulled together an in-house shop to do most of the characters and "Crank Blanks". I don't know for certain that any of the staff specifically worked for Henson, but it's very likely since most of the experienced LA/NY "puppet people" in the industry have gone through the doors of the Muppet shop at some point in their careers.

Some of the puppet building work was sub-contracted to folks like Rick Lyon and it's entirely possible that was the case with Den Design. These other companies may have become more relied upon after the 1st season. I can't say for sure. It's pretty common for multiple companies to work on a show like this (that was done on Between the Lions too) which creates confusion. I am 99.5% certain Funny Garbage is the main company involved though.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

...The rest were built by a company called Den Design which does alot of stuff for SNL (and employs mostly former Henson employees), and some freelancers (also former Muppet builders). So it always makes me laugh when people say how badly made the Crank Yankers puppets are, because they were built by the same individuals, (using the same materials and methods) who have been building everyone's favorite frog for many many years.

Actually Artie, I have it on very good authority that The Crank Yanker puppets were originally designed by a company called Funny Garbage - which is not known for it's puppet work but who's design style Jimmy Kimmel (one of the series' creators) liked and so they were asked to do the puppets despite knowing almost nothing about puppet construction (this happens a lot more in the business than you'd think).

F.G. pulled together an in-house shop to do most of the characters and "Crank Blanks". I don't know for certain that any of the staff specifically worked for Henson, but it's very likely since most of the experienced LA/NY "puppet people" in the industry have gone through the doors of the Muppet shop at some point in their careers.

Some of the puppet building work was sub-contracted to folks like Rick Lyon and it's entirely possible that was the case with Den Design. These other companies may have become more relied upon after the 1st season. I can't say for sure. It's pretty common for multiple companies to work on a show like this (that was done on Between the Lions too) which creates confusion. I am 99.5% certain Funny Garbage is the main company involved though.

 

[Puppetplanet]

Actually, on the Lyon website if you go thru the photos of his work there are photos fo multiple puppets that he designed and built for Crank Yankers.


Regardless of who made them, I agree that the work is clever and well done in addition to the show being totally funny and a joy to watch.

 

[scarylarrywolf]

You should really check out Puppets Who Kill. No US network will carry it because they say it's either "too Canadian" or "too vulgar" but it's really brilliant in a subversive kind of way, especially the second season. It's not for the faint of heart - there's no "full puppet nudity" or anything like that but it does make Avenue Q look like a G-rated movie.

Oh yeah, I browsed that website a while ago and thought the concept was funny as heck, but was annoyed that US TV wouldn't broadcast it. How can I get ahold of those episodes?