THE MUPPETS (2011)

The Cee-Lo Green cover had me laughing for a full minute.

how are the other 89 minutes

It's by no means a disgrace, I laughed out loud a few times. Didn't care for Segel's new Muppet. Needed more Piggy and Amy Adams. Also a total late boomer/GenX nostalgia trip.

have you guys seen this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDFgtFXfnv0

This was good! Much funnier than the trailers had me expecting.

Can't believe you wanted MORE Piggy. She's always been the dullest Muppet. But this film skimped severely on Gonzo. :( He's been downgraded to a third-tier character, more or less in line with the Swedish Chef! (I love the Swedish chef.)

Biggest disappointment with the movie is that it lacks the "classic" movie-making-ness of Muppets Take Manhattan or whatever. Reminded me more of a good Pixar movie than old Woody Allen or something.

She's always been the dullest Muppet

lol whut - she's like Lucy in Peanuts, it doesn't work without her.

also Muppets Take Manhattan is the worst of the original trio!

The new Piggy guy doesn't go into that gruff register that Frank Oz used to do (or the script doesn't let him).

Alas the dullest Muppet in this one is the one with the most screen time.

The new Piggy guy doesn't go into that gruff register that Frank Oz used to do (or the script doesn't let him).

huh that seems pretty odd. does she still say "Hi-ya" and karate chop people, cuz that's what my daughter wants to see

Piggy's martial arts chops are undiminished.

BTW it's preceded by a Toy Story short that has a 12-step group spoof, and the feature has one too. Can we leave the really "knowing" dark shit out of kids' movies, guys?

Piggy's absolutely necessary - but i certainly didn't need more of her.

If Gonzo's demoted it's a shame but consistent with his constant frustration.. In the TV series he was always trying to be taken seriously "as an artist" and then just ignored by Kermit, who was trying to run a successful variety show

A number of the cameo guests listed way up in that Wiki article didn't make the cut. I wish Jack Black hadn't.
My other insights which you can read Monday.

the long strong muscular (=non-muppet) legs in that poster totally give me the creeps

haha

i get sad when the new guys can't quite nail the old voices - the one out of statler and waldorf without the mustache in the habanera clip just doesn't sound right... and kermit hasn't sounded right since henson died.

i still really wanna see this film though.

I believe Gonzo is the only (?) originally-voiced Muppet in this.

if i didn't think they were close to begin with does that mean they're still pretty far away

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b138/csmaclaren/Muppets%20and%20Puppets/Kermit%20the%20Frog/outofthebox.jpg <<<<

Can't believe you wanted MORE Piggy. She's always been the dullest Muppet.

This is so wrong that I don't even know where to begin.

Given that most of the Muppet stuff is meta-showbiz, she's a classic showbiz character.

This is so wrong that I don't even know where to begin.

― bouquet beatdown (Nicole), Friday, November 18, 2011 12:52 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

yeah, i was gonna say something about that but i also didnt know where to start. feel like the doctor from bridge on river kwai bein all like madness... madness....

A number of the cameo guests listed way up in that Wiki article didn't make the cut. I wish Jack Black hadn't.
My other insights which you can read Monday.

Oh, Jack Black is in it? I try to avoid everything he gets involved with. My love for the muppets overpowers my visceral dislike for JB though, so I'm still looking forward to this.

There are compensatory factors if you like to see Jack Black suffer.

Frank Oz hasn't really muppeteered since the 90s

we don't need Miss Piggy anymore, we have Jenna Maroney

morbius, does this have much of a plot or is it like beads-on-a-string? (actually i sort of feel like i'd prefer the latter.)

hmm I think I will enjoy seeing Jack Black suffer, yes

it's a getting-the-band-back-together plot.

tho there are some reprises of The Muppet Movie, sometimes the 1979 movie it reminded me of was Satr Trek: TMP.

someone who's seen it already please tell me this doesn't suck. better yet, tell me it's awesome!

if it actually is, of course. if they kill my childhood in this movie i'd rather not see it.

the only assurance I need is that Rowlf The Dog is well-represented here

My FCF loved it, sez it will appeal to anyone over 30+ with fond memories of the Muppets.

we don't need Miss Piggy anymore, we have Jenna Maroney

― Θ ̨Θƪ (sic), Friday, November 18, 2011 5:20 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

MIND BLOWN

tho there are some reprises of The Muppet Movie, sometimes the 1979 movie it reminded me of was Satr Trek: TMP.

This is as close to "ringing endorsement" as I can imagine! I love ST: TMP. It's my 2nd or 3rd favorite Trek movie after Khan!

well, it's funnier, and no one's as stiff as Persis Khambatta.

persis khambatta rip :(

she was only 49

yes, that was a pity.

NYT feature on Bret McKenzie and his 3 songs (the vid here with Kermit is preferable to the perfs of the song in the film):

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/magazine/bret-mckenzie-muppets.html

Better than Muppets in Space; got nothing on the original trilogy.

Also, yes, jaymc's FCF OTM in that it want to make kids laugh but, more importantly, make adults get a good nostalgic cry.

Big fan of Miss Poogy over here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIr99TP7_mw

"You saw All About Eve, right?"

There's a woman always smoking in front of my building who reminds me quite a bit of Miss Poogy.

Actually this could've eclipsed the first movie with a couple moves:

-no Walter
-team up Piggy and Adams

Could've done entirely without Segal, Adams and Walter entirely.

Entirely, in case that wasn't clear.

Adams was criminally underused. Would've preferred the reunion to be instigated by Mark Wahlberg and Adams as their Fighter characters.

I will be interested in hearing kids' reactions, as it's not aimed much at em as you say.

and yes, it'a 100% nostalgia fest and my eyes were leaking in 5 mins.

^^^^ this is all I need to know. I have to see this.

saw this last night in a discount theater jammed to the rafters with single-digits and their stoic herders. movie was fun, but took waaaaay too long to get going. tons of mopey, draggy musical numbers and laugh-free "character development" stretches. as a result, the kids were restless as all hell. serious bag-crinkling set in about ten minutes after the film started and never stopped. surprised that the parents didn't laugh more, though, cuz i found a lot of it pretty damn funny: muppet man, the telethon numbers, etc.

there was a low stage in front of the theater screen on which, during the credits when the lights came up, a bunch of kids danced and played. best thing about the movie. meanwhile, this one little girl, seated behind us with her parents, said "i want to make my own muppet!" her parents just grunted, so she repeated the idea, this time met with silence. then she said that it would be fun to play on stage with the other kids. so her parents got up to leave, again without speaking a word. lesson: parents suck.

this was ok beut somehow didn't feel "big" enough? i mean i capitalized this thread title for a reason.

Way, way, way too much unfunny emphasis on (star and writer and executive producer) Jason Segel, his Amy Adams wife and puppet brother. Detracted from the muppetness, forced tedious "relationship arc" bullshit on the movie.

"Well yes, I know it's called 'The Muppets'. All the more reason it should mostly be about MEEEEEEE!"

Kind of too much to ask for from a movie for kids, but it'd have been nice to have the Segel/Adams arc be emphasized a little less and have more Chris Cooper/Kermit action. I kind of feel like the framing device took over a little too much of the movie.

I did enjoy all the references to the Muppet Show and not just the movies.