Rizzo one of the top movie rats on MSNBC

[SarahOnBway]

Hey guys!

I am a loyal MSNBC Entertainment reader, and in honor of Ratatouille, they listed the top mice and rats in the movies. Alongside such legends as Gus and Jacques from Cinderella, Stuart Little and the big boss at the Mouse House Mickey, is our very own Rizzo!

Here's the link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19376900/page/2/

It doesn't say much, but I'm thrilled he made the list!

 

[peyjenk]

Good for him!

Who'd have thought that Hollywood would have ever embraced rodents so readily?

 

[MrsPepper]

Rizzo the Rat, “The Muppet Christmas Carol”
When Rizzo first appeared in the final season of “The Muppet Show,u201D it seemed like a desperate Cousin Oliver move from the Muppet people. But his personality turned out to be closer to Travis Bickle from “Taxi Driver,u201D which shouldn’t be a surprise considering his name was influenced by a “Midnight Cowboy” character. Rizzo’s star turn happened when he paired with The Great Gonzo to narrate “The Muppet Christmas Carol.” We’re rooting for him to get the CNN voice-over gig when James Earl Jones retires.

In MCC he was definately a star with Gonzo, they completely stole the show. But wouldn't it make more sense to say that his "star turn" was in The Muppets Take Manhattan, as the rat waiter in the diner? He got his own song, tons of scenes, and I'm pretty that's one of the first, if not THE first time he is portrayed as the tough New Yorker character that we know him as today.

And what does he mean by Cousin Oliver? I don't know the reference, but I think I understand what they are trying to say. As far as I understand it, Rizzo wasn't a last minute attempt to revive the show with a new character or anything. Steve was a new performer and needed some characters, and pulled that one out of a box and worked magic with it, so they worked it in. They make it sound like it was a calculated move that didn't work as planned, or something. I'm just not fond of the spin they put on it.

Also, and this is just biased opinion, but he should be on the 1st page! **points at her Rizzo signature**

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Yeah, it was great that he was on the list! But you know how us Muppet folk can be.

 

[minor muppetz]

I don't know what is up with that cousin Oliver thing. Unlike Oliver, Rizzo wasn't a major character when he was introduced. He only had one really major role in any episodes, and only a few lines of dialogue in other episodes. And he was rarely mentioned by name on the show. Lips is more like a cousin Oliver character, since he was added to The Electric Mayhem in the last season, but again, his debut was not meant to be a last attempt to get fans interested in The Electric Mayhem, and was more minor than Rizzo was on the show.

 

[peyjenk]

In MCC he was definately a star with Gonzo, they completely stole the show. But wouldn't it make more sense to say that his "star turn" was in The Muppets Take Manhattan, as the rat waiter in the diner? He got his own song, tons of scenes, and I'm pretty that's one of the first, if not THE first time he is portrayed as the tough New Yorker character that we know him as today.

Wouldn't a star turn be considered the role that makes people first take notice? I mean, yeah, MTM was his first major role in a movie, but MCC was when he really took off.

 

[anytimepally]

Oliver Martin, usually known as Cousin Oliver, came during the final six episodes of The Brady Bunch, in an attempt to save the show by getting the "kid" angle again since all of the regular kids were older... the same thing was done, more successfully, on The Cosby Show when Olivia joined the cast for the last few seasons.

Apparently, Oliver's parents were on an archaeological dig in South America, and Oliver couldn't go, so he has to live with the Bradys. The addition failed to improve ratings and Cousin Oliver was unpopular with viewers.

A "Cousin Oliver" is now used as a metaphor to denote when the writers of a t.v. show decide the addition of a cute kid to the cast will improve the ratings of the show, or as a replacement for child cast members that have grown up since the show started.

.. so, just think of Rizzo as a cute little kid .. or something

 

[Speed Tracer]

Rizzo reminds me so much of my late grandfather that whenever I watch The Muppet Christmas Carol or Muppet Treasure Island, I get a little teary eyed. I swear he's EXACTLY like my granddad, just smaller and furrier and rattier.

 

[Winslow Leach]

Oliver Martin, usually known as Cousin Oliver, came during the final six episodes of The Brady Bunch, in an attempt to save the show by getting the "kid" angle again since all of the regular kids were older... the same thing was done, more successfully, on The Cosby Show when Olivia joined the cast for the last few seasons.

Apparently, Oliver's parents were on an archaeological dig in South America, and Oliver couldn't go, so he has to live with the Bradys. The addition failed to improve ratings and Cousin Oliver was unpopular with viewers.

A "Cousin Oliver" is now used as a metaphor to denote when the writers of a t.v. show decide the addition of a cute kid to the cast will improve the ratings of the show, or as a replacement for child cast members that have grown up since the show started.

.. so, just think of Rizzo as a cute little kid .. or something

Don't forget Cousin Oliver was also a jinx!

 

[Ilikemuppets]

.. so, just think of Rizzo as a cute little kid .. or something

Yeah! I disgusting one...