I freaking love the Muppets. Puppets as a form of entertainment can really wake up that 10 year old sitting inside me who's watching Spongebob Squarepants and playing Super Mario World and no one did puppets better than Jim Henson and Co. I can't say that I grew up with the Muppets, per se, and until fairly recently I wasn't even very familiar with The Muppet Show but they were a presence in my childhood.
A few Christmasses ago, I got the first season of the Muppet Show on DVD, and I loved it so much, I stole it so I could watch it up at college. When my girlfriend and I started dating, I tied her down and forced her to watch it as a test of whether she was "Dateable" material (she passed with flying colors, don't you worry). The Muppet Show is a wonderful, beautiful thing. Stars weren't considered stars unless they had hosted the Muppet Show, and the skits are constantly wacky, bizarre and hilarious.
I was born in time to just miss the peak of Muppet craze. Jim Henson died when I was one. So the movies I remember are the "Muppets do the classics" films that don't quite measure up to the original films. After "Muppets in Space" came out, things got hairy (Har har har) for the Muppets, and they were relegated to doing occasional (Though Awesome) internet music videos.
And that's where the new movie picks up. The Muppets was always a pretty self-aware franchise, with much of the show taking place backstage in the Muppet theatre. The first movie was a film-within-a-film chronicling Kermit and friends' rise to fame. So it makes perfect sense, the approach that Jason Segel took in making this one. It's a sort of Blues Brothers style "Get the band back together and put on a show" film. Kermit and the gang have to save the Muppet theatre, and much of the conflict comes from the fact that the Muppets simply aren't popular anymore. I like that they acknowledged the fact. Part of the issue with movies like the Chipmunks, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Yogi the Bear, and *shudders* the Smurfs if that they all rely on the fact that they're still popular enough for the parents to remember and to want to bring their children. It's the Nostalgia thing again.
Now, I haven't seen any of the films I just listed, but my impression is that Nostaliga of the 70s and 80s cartoons these parents are supposed to have loved so much is merely a way to draw and audience, while the content of the film may not actually have anything to do with the cartoon save for the name. The Muppets may have that same draw, but stays true to the original characters, despite the news that came out just before the movie that some of the Muppet originators were unhappy with the adaptation. They surpass the Nostalgia trap and have a true emotional story to tell, and I was on board with that emotion through the whole thing. The camera was close enough to the Muppet characters that I wanted to run my hand through Fozzie's fur and pat Kermit's green felt head.
Also, the songs are great. Anyone familiar with Flight of the Conchords will recognize some of the tone and silliness that were prevalent through that show. The lyrics fit the silly bizarre comedy the Muppets are known for, but are surprisingly sentimental at times.
Anyway, the movie's great and using Nostalgia in making a movie or a game or whatever is a tricky thing. When done wrong, you just get rehashes and reheats, TV dinner content. But when paired with a real love and care for what we've got our "Rosy Glasses" on for, as Mr. Segel and the team that put this movie together for did, the results can be transcendent. It's a solid film, go see it. Take a friend, have some fun. My only real complaint was that it was too short.
And that's where the new movie picks up. The Muppets was always a pretty self-aware franchise, with much of the show taking place backstage in the Muppet theatre. The first movie was a film-within-a-film chronicling Kermit and friends' rise to fame. So it makes perfect sense, the approach that Jason Segel took in making this one. It's a sort of Blues Brothers style "Get the band back together and put on a show" film. Kermit and the gang have to save the Muppet theatre, and much of the conflict comes from the fact that the Muppets simply aren't popular anymore. I like that they acknowledged the fact. Part of the issue with movies like the Chipmunks, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Yogi the Bear, and *shudders* the Smurfs if that they all rely on the fact that they're still popular enough for the parents to remember and to want to bring their children. It's the Nostalgia thing again.
Now, I haven't seen any of the films I just listed, but my impression is that Nostaliga of the 70s and 80s cartoons these parents are supposed to have loved so much is merely a way to draw and audience, while the content of the film may not actually have anything to do with the cartoon save for the name. The Muppets may have that same draw, but stays true to the original characters, despite the news that came out just before the movie that some of the Muppet originators were unhappy with the adaptation. They surpass the Nostalgia trap and have a true emotional story to tell, and I was on board with that emotion through the whole thing. The camera was close enough to the Muppet characters that I wanted to run my hand through Fozzie's fur and pat Kermit's green felt head.
Also, the songs are great. Anyone familiar with Flight of the Conchords will recognize some of the tone and silliness that were prevalent through that show. The lyrics fit the silly bizarre comedy the Muppets are known for, but are surprisingly sentimental at times.
Anyway, the movie's great and using Nostalgia in making a movie or a game or whatever is a tricky thing. When done wrong, you just get rehashes and reheats, TV dinner content. But when paired with a real love and care for what we've got our "Rosy Glasses" on for, as Mr. Segel and the team that put this movie together for did, the results can be transcendent. It's a solid film, go see it. Take a friend, have some fun. My only real complaint was that it was too short.
I never really got into the muppets. My parents took me to see Muppets in Space when I was a wee lad, but I remember very little. However, I always did love the Muppets adaption of A Christmas Carol, and I remember various snippets of Muppet Treasure Island. Even though I never was really invested in The Muppets, to this day my favorite Pez dispenser is one of Gonzo the Great. Gotta love that nose.
ReplyDeleteI definitely recommend giving the TV show or the first movie a shot. The Muppet films from the 90s just aren't as great as the original deal. Gonzo constantly blowing himself up is one of the many highlights of both.
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