The Muppets - Official Trailer

June 18, 2011 7:19 PM

After the Green With Envy teaser, and the Fuzzy Pack teaser, and the Being Green teaser, we finally have the Official Trailer for The Muppets, the new movie coming out in November 2011.
posted by hippybear (147 comments total)

My nine year old daughter hates the Muppets. She doesn't "find them amusing." This is not going to stop me from taking her to this movie though. I sat through her kid movies - she can sit through mine.
posted by Ruki at 7:29 PM on June 18, 2011 [50 favorites]

Obviously your daughter was substituted for a changeling while still in the crib. If she sees this movie in the theater and still doesn't like the Muppets, kill her with fire and start over from scratch. It's the only way to be sure.

(Note: This comment is meant as humor and should not be taken as endorsement of killing children regardless of their opinion of wonderful puppet creatures.)
posted by hippybear at 7:32 PM on June 18, 2011 [9 favorites]

The muppets: Part of Canada's plan to take over the world.
posted by Canageek at 7:39 PM on June 18, 2011

Woot!
posted by TwoWordReview at 7:53 PM on June 18, 2011

Squeeeeeee!!!! And suddenly I am 5 years old again!!
posted by ninazer0 at 7:57 PM on June 18, 2011

hippybear, I was with you up until your unnecessary, contradictory and frankly cowardly disclaimer. I consider Muppet haters to be among the lowest of sub-humans; in fact, I've heard that hating the Muppets is one of the first steps toward becoming a terrorist, serial rapist, investment banker, reality show cast member or Ayn Rand fan. If there is ever available a pre-natal test to show potential for Muppet-hating, I will support manditory abortion.

My greatest fear has long been that Disney may allow these most perfect of creatures to fall into the hands of someone capable of destroying their joyous legacy (most Hollywood Scientologists are on that list). I'm happy to see every indication that Jason Segel will prove himself worthy of Muppet stewardship. (But I still dread the inevitable YouTube mashup of Muppet content with his nude scene in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall")
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:58 PM on June 18, 2011 [9 favorites]

It's the Muppets. So I want to believe. And it looks like it's going to be... ok.

But there's the rancid stink of Disney all over that trailer, and hopefully less of that sort of thing in the actual movie. I'm wary. It has genetically engineered Mouseketeers in it. Be afraid!
posted by loquacious at 7:59 PM on June 18, 2011 [6 favorites]

It's the Muppets. So I want to believe. And it looks like it's going to be... ok.

Well, as I said to Mr. hippybear earlier today, "We'll have to see it. You have no choice. My only hope is that it isn't yet another raping of my childhood, which seem to be happening all the time these days."
posted by hippybear at 8:01 PM on June 18, 2011

Yeah, this looks all right. Weird to see human cast members quite so heavily billed. Wonder about that whatever muppet who seems heavily featured, too.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 8:08 PM on June 18, 2011

Wonder about that whatever muppet who seems heavily featured, too.
That's Walter! The Muppets' biggest fan!

I'm hoping Pepe gets a lot of screen time. I love Pepe.
And Animal.
Oh and Gonzo.
Fozzy is also hilarious.
And I laughed at that shot of the Swedish Chef...

I love the Muppets!
posted by matt_od at 8:16 PM on June 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Weird to see human cast members quite so heavily billed.

Well, I'm not surprised to see Segel featured so heavily. The film was pretty much his idea, he co-wrote the piece, he basically willed it into existence. He's guided the production all along the way, and will ultimately be to blame if the project fails.

It's certainly not uncommon for Muppet films to have featured human actors. The Muppet Christmas Carol had Michael Caine as a major actor, and the Muppet Wizard of Oz also had a featured human.

Amy Adams was in what may be the best Disney movie in the past few years, Enchanted.

If there's any magic at all in the writing, directing, and starring team of this movie, it should be excellent.

*fingers crossed*

Ack. To much from me in my own thread. I'll shut up for a while.
posted by hippybear at 8:16 PM on June 18, 2011 [5 favorites]

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!
YAY! YAY! YAY!

ahem. This is very good news.

yayyyyyyyyyyyy!!!
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 8:20 PM on June 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Nah, it's informative, hippybear. I need the reassurance. I closed the video for the trailer an hour ago and I can still smell the fire and brimstone of Disney.
posted by loquacious at 8:21 PM on June 18, 2011 [3 favorites]

1. I will watch anything with Amy Adams in it.
2. I know the words to "Rainbow Connection".

I'm in.
posted by MikeMc at 8:22 PM on June 18, 2011 [5 favorites]

Jason Segel and Amy Adams are perhaps the most perfect people ever to star opposite the Muppets. They're both wholesome (even though everyone has seen Segel's penis) and gorgeous, they just fit.

Also, I hurt my face when Segel said, "It's time to light the lights." I am going to see this movie so hard.
posted by TypographicalError at 8:26 PM on June 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

It's certainly not uncommon for Muppet films to have featured human actors. The Muppet Christmas Carol had Michael Caine as a major actor, and the Muppet Wizard of Oz also had a featured human.

Of course not, but they're usually given billing that doesn't seem to top the muppets unless it's one of the muppet fairy tale adaptations (for example, the tv movie from a few years back with Ashanti).

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love the muppets, and will watch anything with them in it. But something about this just seems off to me. I guess I can't help but wish this were written by someone who wasn't using it as a vehicle for their own acting. Unless they're, you know, a muppeteer.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 8:27 PM on June 18, 2011

On second thought, I find the decapitated Kermit "M" creepy and the ominously hovering "Disney" even creepier.

Still, fart shoes.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 8:29 PM on June 18, 2011 [5 favorites]

The Muppets, the new movie coming out in November 2011.

another remake/sequel. We're just out of new ideas altogether, arent we?
posted by jonmc at 8:33 PM on June 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

From Segal's Muppet wiki entry: "We are trying to bring the franchise back to the perfect tone they had established in the early Eighties," Segel tells us. "No more Muppets Underwater.... This movie is about the Muppets putting on a show to help each other out. "

:( Guys, I'm worried. Did he even see, say, Muppets from Space, which was actually a fairly okay tone match for the 80s movies? Or, likewise, A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie? They weren't perfect but they were noble efforts. Bleh. I want to be psyched about this but I am rapidly becoming Not Psyched.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 8:37 PM on June 18, 2011

Well, the original movies made with Muppets... The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth... they're both full-on brilliant, but they both kind of fell over and died at the box office.

Okay, maybe I'll count Little Shop Of Horrors as a movie with a Muppet... Although I won't count Star Wars Episode V as one, for various reasons.

Still, the Henson productions like The Storyteller and Farscape seem to have a pretty rabid following overall.

So... I dunno. I'm of the mind where we need more Muppet films all the time. There were 16 Andy Hardy films... I'll start complaining about too many Muppet films when we reach the 20 film mark or so.
posted by hippybear at 8:41 PM on June 18, 2011

Did he even see, say, Muppets from Space, which was actually a fairly okay tone match for the 80s movies?

No no no no no no no. Muppets From Space was horrible. There was so much wrong with that movie I can't even describe it all at the moment.
posted by hippybear at 8:42 PM on June 18, 2011 [2 favorites]

Yeah, it's very weird. Michael Caine, facing his waning years, decided that "This is a good hill to die on", and absolutely unloaded on the role of Scrooge with every ounce of acting ability at his disposal. It's unreal, how much intensity and subtlety he puts into what is, essentially, a puppet show. It's clear he thought this would be his final motion picture role, and put every ounce of his craft and art into it. No scenery chewing, like Tim Curry's Long John Silver, yet not above the wink-and-nods to living on a Muppet World, it was awesome in its quixotic glory.

And then Henson Studios, in their first movie since Jim died, decided, "It's on like a bomb!", and built a worthy movie around Caine's performance. Gonzo (Dave Goelz) and Rizzo (Steve Whitmere) as narrators, the special effects and clever cinematography in the service of felt and foam-rubber actors - it all coalesced into what is pretty much the definitive film on Dickens' classic, as absurdly unlikely as that seems.

Since then, more misses than hits. Muppet Treasure Island was entertaining, but in a purely camp way. Muppets From Space, not good at all, except for Pepe. The reboot of the Muppet Show was brilliant and incredible and awesome, and suffered incredibly bad timing - an episode dedicated to the mad-bomber "Crazy Harry" was scheduled to be broadcast on the day of the Oklahoma City bombing. It nuked the whole series.

I truly hope this is a return to form - it's a family business, not just a cynical corporate studio. Henson's kids, and the puppeteers Henson recruited who are still involved, all really, really believe in puppetry as fine art, and as a transformative experience.

I do, too.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:45 PM on June 18, 2011 [22 favorites]

I liked it. I thought it was as close to the spirit of The Muppet Movie ("I'm Going to Go Back There Someday" and all) that you could get, considering both the rush job and it being the first Muppet movie since Henson's death. Regardless, both A Muppet Christmas Carol and Treasure Island are pretty good, too. I feel really uneasy when someone proposes to reinvigorate something, but goes in with the attitude of insulting those who have tried it before.

Especially when those who tried it before were there for the movies he's putting on a pedestal. Jerry Juhl was a force behind all of them, after all.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 8:50 PM on June 18, 2011

Muppets From Space, not good at all so much fun, except for especially Pepe.
fixed it for ya!
posted by matt_od at 8:51 PM on June 18, 2011 [2 favorites]

Couldn't they bill this as a total franchise reboot? And take the opportunity to redesign all the Muppets to be, you know, a little more extreme?
posted by Nomyte at 8:52 PM on June 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

(I really think ya haterz of Muppets from Space need to rewatch the beginning of the movie. The end fizzles out, but the house scenes are terrific.)
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 8:52 PM on June 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Whoops, Slap*Happy's right--Treasure Island was the first post-Henson death. Don't know where I got them from. But still.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 8:54 PM on June 18, 2011

I want more fraggles!
posted by MrLint at 8:55 PM on June 18, 2011 [3 favorites]

Hmm. I think the lovers of MfS need to recognize the brilliance of Bill Baretta and the solidification of the Henson Legacy, and let go of a crummy movie. It's also OK to hate on Muppets Take Manhattan, which is an actual Jim Henson joint. (So... boring... hard... to... breathe... )
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:56 PM on June 18, 2011

Wait, we have to let go of liking movies we like, and hate the ones you hate?

I like Muppets Take Manhattan. Harumph.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 8:59 PM on June 18, 2011

I love the Muppets, I was on board for this movie and I still am...

But this was not as effective a trailer as it should have been. I didn't like the voiceover, or the "We Built This City" montage, and it felt like a movie trying to harken back to the heyday of Muppetdom should have had some sharper jokes in the trailer.

That said, I'll give the movie the benefit of the doubt, as trailers are not always indicative of the final quality of the product - if they were, Van Helsing would have been the best movie ever.
posted by HostBryan at 9:01 PM on June 18, 2011 [3 favorites]

FYI for those who are Netflix-enabled - Muppets From Space is currently on Watch Instantly.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 9:03 PM on June 18, 2011 [2 favorites]

I was totally on board.

Right up until 'We Built This City.'

Anyone who thinks it's a good idea to put that song in a movie should not be allowed to do a movie.

I'm gonna go listen to The Rainbow Connection and cry.
posted by MrVisible at 9:04 PM on June 18, 2011 [14 favorites]

One question -- where's Pepe, mmmmkay?

That little shrimp (pardon me, king prawn) makes me laugh hysterically every time he opens his mouth.
posted by zooropa at 9:15 PM on June 18, 2011 [3 favorites]

hippybear: I am as big a Muppets fan as any non-puppeteer you are ever likely to meet. I spent a non-significant part of my life working on what would have been an official Muppet project of my own creation, and came this close to making it happen. And I will tell you something:

Muppets from Space is awesome. It is undiluted Muppet joy. I need not defend it with details of its greatness, but rather simply pity those who cannot enjoy something so wonderful.

As for this, well. I'm psyched as hell. There is almost no one alive who I trust more with this project than Jason Segel. And no, this official trailer is not as exciting as the teasers were, it still includes this bit:

WALTER: It's time to play the music.
SEGEL: It's time to light the lights.
ADAMS: (singing) It's time to meet the Muppets...

And that's all I need to hear. I'm so there it's going to be scary.
posted by Navelgazer at 9:18 PM on June 18, 2011 [6 favorites]

Couldn't they bill this as a total franchise reboot? And take the opportunity to redesign all the Muppets to be, you know, a little more extreme?

The almost total absence of that kind of thinking in everything I've seen about the movie (so far) is a GOOD sign.

But "We Built This City"? Not so good a sign. At least it isn't a Diane Warren song. And The Original Muppet Show did good things with even worse songs. Maybe if they did it "We built this city on felt and foam..."
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:20 PM on June 18, 2011

Kermy?

KERMT KERMY KERMY!
posted by The Whelk at 9:21 PM on June 18, 2011 [5 favorites]

zooropa:

he is in the bottom left of the screen at 1:24 when Kermit is addressing the Muppety masses!
posted by matt_od at 9:21 PM on June 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

The opening scene of MfS, when "Brick House" is playing, remains one of my favorites scenes in Muppetdom.

I am psyched for this movie. That is all.
posted by nonasuch at 9:30 PM on June 18, 2011

I let my little Muppet hater stay up late tonight with the condition that we spend the extra time watching Labyrinth. Her verdict - "I still don't like the Muppets, Mom, but the rest of it was okay. I liked when the Goblin King sang." It's a good thing Bowie met with her approval, or I was going to take her back to the hospital and demand a refund.

Of course not, but I am hoping that this is just a tween rebel against the parents thing. We have, in the past, spent a lot of time watching clips of Roger Miller on The Muppet Show, so there's still hope.
posted by Ruki at 9:30 PM on June 18, 2011 [4 favorites]

"And take the opportunity to redesign all the Muppets to be, you know, a little more extreme?"



AND SPECIAL GUEST STAR

POOCHIE
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:32 PM on June 18, 2011

You remind of the babe.
What babe?
The babe with the power.
What power?
The power of the voodoo.
Who do?
You do.
Do what?
Remind me of the babe with the power!
posted by matt_od at 9:33 PM on June 18, 2011 [6 favorites]

Fart shoes?

No.
posted by BeerFilter at 9:37 PM on June 18, 2011 [2 favorites]

I would also vote Muppets from Space as the best Muppet movie evar. And I really didn't like A Muppet Christmas Carol - it didn't have any of that slightly twisted edge of the Muppets.

The Muppets never were wholesome - that's what made them awesome. They are about explosions and cross-species romance (with sex, albeit off-screen), and sometimes a heartfelt moment of shared awe and wonder at the beauty of the world, but not without willingness to skewer any bit of a swelled sense of pride.

also, I would jump into the ring on who is the biggest Henson/Creature shop fan -- loved Labyrinth ("Don't go that way!"), The Dark Crystal, have the DVD of The Storyteller, watched all 88 hours of Farscape in just over a month...had the Muppet Show book, was so obsessed I even watched hours and hours of Muppet babies when I was a kid - don't know what place Henson/Creature shop had in the making of that, but the writers definitely had the same sense of slightly twisted whimsy, just toned down a little ....)
posted by jb at 9:39 PM on June 18, 2011 [2 favorites]

...still include a muppet or sesame street song on every mix CD I make...
posted by jb at 9:40 PM on June 18, 2011

I will go to my grave defending Muppet Treasure Island as one of the finest films ever made.

Tim Curry + Muppets = GET ME A TOWEL
posted by WinnipegDragon at 9:43 PM on June 18, 2011

I'm concerned. Kermy doesn't sound right. *frets*
posted by Space Kitty at 9:43 PM on June 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

There will be driving! Driving is the best part of any muppet movie, so I am glad they decided it needed it's moment in the trailer.

I love every Muppet movie. I don't understand people who don't. It's like meeting people who don't like chocolate. I know there are people who feel this way but it does. Not. Compute.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 9:56 PM on June 18, 2011

So, so, so excited. As others have said, Jason Segal really seems a good fit for this project - and having just learned that this is a matter of considerable passion for him increases my excitement all the more.

I'm in my thirties, and therefore in the generational cohort who grew up with the Muppets. I have some really happy memories of watching the TV show with my folks when I was little and being really excited that they were laughing as much as I was (more than I was for the parts with jokes I was too young to get). I loved the attempted relaunch show and didn't think it ever really got its due - certainly got pulled way too fast.

I'm interested to see how the Muppets - products of a very different comedy era from the one we're living in now - blend with the dry, awkward comedy of today. I'm not sure if everything in the trailer worked, but the car scene cracked me well the fuck up. Guess I'll hafta wait and see. On opening day. Fifth row center.

Ooo ... I wonder if there's any Muppets on Netflix streaming?
posted by EatTheWeak at 10:11 PM on June 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

I throw the fish away...and it come back...TO ME!!!
posted by mcstayinskool at 10:12 PM on June 18, 2011 [3 favorites]

Fart shoes?

Milton Berle's ghost says YES!
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:19 PM on June 18, 2011

Speaking of Milton Berle - considered to be the father and founder of stand-up comedy, here he is, writing his own heckles, performed by the two most famous hecklers of all time.
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:26 PM on June 18, 2011 [4 favorites]

Muppets :) This could not have made my day any better, but somehow it did.
posted by deezil at 10:27 PM on June 18, 2011

I was surprised by how off Kermit's voice sounded.
posted by anazgnos at 10:27 PM on June 18, 2011

Loved each of the teaser trailers but I gotta say this trailer rattled me a bit. I got to the end and kinda grimaced.

I'm still there, but I'm a little worried here.

Disclosure: Massive, massive muppet fan.

Seconding 'No' for the fart shoes.
posted by AzzaMcKazza at 10:57 PM on June 18, 2011

Isn't "no" the point of that fart shoes gag?
posted by EatTheWeak at 11:00 PM on June 18, 2011 [5 favorites]

Ok, I was nervous about Disney taking over the reins but this actually doesn't look too bad. The route they went with the jokingly cute trailers was the first good sign I saw.

Like several others I'm very worried about the human characters being (seemingly) stars instead of the muppets we know and love. Yes it's went both ways before but it seems to me that the recipe for the success of The Muppet Show and the older movies has mostly followed giving the non-breathing cast members top billing. This is not a deal breaker but I hope it doesn't become a trend. The human characters are important and I love seeing famous/good actors/people in bit roles so don't think I'm advocating for their removal altogether. Just some discretion....

However, things like the little scene where they are playing Menomena in the car shows that they're at least trying to do things right and giving nods back to the old days.

Weren't the powers that be also talking about bringing back The Muppet Show altogether at one point? Did I miss that being canned somehow? Gawd I hope not.
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:07 PM on June 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

I gotta kind of agree on the "no" to the fart shoes. The Muppets were never wholesome, agreed, but they were also never low-brow. I don't think it ruins them, by any means - it seems like absolutely the type of thing Fozzie would think was funny that the others would groan at. I guess I just don't like my Muppets mixing with the word "fart" for some reason.

But no, the Muppets are not wholesome. They are about reveling in the anarchy of childhood.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:10 PM on June 18, 2011 [3 favorites]

RolandOfEld: Muppets Tonight happened, was killed way too quickly, but gave us Pepe the King Prawn. So there's that.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:11 PM on June 18, 2011

*sigh*... I did catch the Muppets Tonight show coming and going but I guess my optimistic side discarded that fact and convinced myself that wasn't the true effort that there must be something coming later to save the day.

Not the first time I've forgotten myself and the real world as a side effect to watching the muppets do their thang, hopefully not the last.
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:20 PM on June 18, 2011

WAIT! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT! was that Wall-E driving?!?!?!?!
also, boo for "We build this city".
also, also, Kermit's voice isnt *that* off.
cant wait to drag my Sesame Street and Muppets hating children. I blame Elmo :P
posted by liza at 11:22 PM on June 18, 2011

liza: I used to be a Muppet fan and bleh about Sesame Street but after seeing and hearing more about Elmo (notoriously this video) and the man behind Elmo I became a big Elmo fan, if not a Sesame Street fan.

Summary: Elmo isn't all that bad, despite what impressions I had about him due to the insane devices marketed to children during the holiday seasons.
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:44 PM on June 18, 2011

Remind me of the babe with the power!

I'm going to pretend you did it wrong on prupose.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 11:55 PM on June 18, 2011 [2 favorites]

right- from this moment on I don't want to see any more trailers. I've been burned by Disney before- with Tangled, the movie fell flat because I was looking forward to it so much and when I saw it I already knew the story (duh) and had seen and laughed at all the funniest jokes.

that said I really actually preferred the spoof trailers to this- (apart from the driving scene) the green lantern one especially (Not in Swedish. We Promise)
posted by titanium_geek at 11:59 PM on June 18, 2011

Jesus. I do a better Kermit than that. Is he supposed to be talking from an ICU or something? He sounds like Sterling Holloway with a frog in his throat.
posted by darksasami at 1:11 AM on June 19, 2011

MUPPETS. MUPPETS MUPPETS MUPPETS MUPPETS but I could go for more Fraggles too come on guys.

I am so there I'm there already.
posted by cmyk at 2:01 AM on June 19, 2011

I'm happy to say that my (superior) children love the Muppets. We're great Muppet Treasure Island fans, but that's partly due to my wife's obsessions with all things piratey.
posted by Michael Roberts at 3:45 AM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]

I'm concerned at the relative lack of that great feminist icon, Miss Piggy. I hope she hasn't been toned down, cut out, or is made to suffer for not being "nice".
posted by alasdair at 3:46 AM on June 19, 2011

Also, when we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean (the first time, in English - I have to warn you all, give the Hungarian dub a miss) there were about twenty trailers, and the kids and I gleefully wanted to see every single one - until the first spoof, Green with Envy. I said, "Well, see, there's a movie we can miss!"

At which point it went rrrrtt, "wait, there are Muppets in this movie?!?" and we all laughed.

I'm so there.
posted by Michael Roberts at 3:48 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

MrLint: I want more fraggles!

You were so so close to having that happen...

Talking about working hard to develop monstrously big ideas for feature films, what’s the situation with the Fraggle Rock movie you were writing for the Weinstein Company ?
Well, I had heard for months now that it’s all but dead. But I have heard recently that it’s not even with the Weinstein Company anymore. They’ve let that option go. Which means that it’s up to the Jim Henson Company, what they want to do with it. My deal was with the Weinstein Company, so we’ll see if anybody wants to make a deal with me to direct again. I wrote a script that the Weinstein Company owns, so in a way I’m disappointed that that project didn’t happen. But as I’ve said on my blog, I think we all need to remember that it’s also good that a bad move didn’t happen. If the elements weren’t right, and the studio wasn’t onboard with my vision, then I’m happy that it didn’t go forward, because it could have been a disaster and fans would have been angry. So my answer is that it’s in a deep, deep coma and it sounds like it’s up to the Jim Henson Company how they want to proceed. I know they like me and I love the Fraggles, so we’ll see.

--EW, May 2011

Although, wait... from June 15... Scissor Sisters to score new Fraggle Rock movie: Jake Shears and Babydaddy will oversee music for delayed film of Jim Henson's much-loved 80s TV show

So who knows? If The Muppets is a hit, you can probably bet on Fraggle Rock hitting the screens too.
posted by hippybear at 3:50 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

A friend from school once storyboarded for Dinosaurs. He really wanted to work for Henson but became a little disillusioned after that gig ...

I loved all the Muppet movies, even post-Jim. I have most of them on DVD. Also Labyrinth and Dark Crystal. And I grew up in the great Golden Era of Sesame Street in the '70s, when Oscar had yet to deal with his anger, and Mr. Hooper ran the corner store. But the spin-off series like Muppet Babies and Dinosaurs were a bit much. Fraggle Rock was pretty good, but it didn't quite live up to the glorious and goofy Vaudeville madness of the Muppet Show. There was nothing else like it.

I remember happening upon some video tapes of the original Muppet Show in the '90s, when finding lost childhood media sometimes became a time-consuming scavenger hunt rather than a quick trip to YouTube. One of my friends gasped when she saw the Muppet audience singing along with the theme- not one being a "human." She had forgotten how much detail, work and care went into creating the show, and it all came back at once watching dozens of Muppets sing together in their seats, each one alive and with a distinct personality. I mean, it's entertainment, but Jim Henson had a vision and was a master at his craft, and he seemed to really get what was the best part of being a kid and how to keep that feeling alive in adults, too, that part of us that is having way too much fun to "grow up" completely and take ourselves too seriously. I still see that in the Muppet movies since his passing. If we can't have another Muppet Show we can at least have another Muppet Movie. It's been years since I've seen a film in a theater. I'll be there.
posted by krinklyfig at 4:39 AM on June 19, 2011

The trailer appears to be gone from the original site.

Here it is, at least for now, on YouTube.
posted by andreaazure at 6:05 AM on June 19, 2011

That's odd. It's still loading just fine for me at the link I put in the FPP.

And it's not in my cache, so it must be being served from that website anew....
posted by hippybear at 6:07 AM on June 19, 2011

Some of my favorite moments from the original trilogy:

* "Peoples is peoples."

* "We'll catch those thieves red-handed!" "What color are their hands now?"

* "I finish work, go home, read a book, have a couple of beers, take myself for a walk and go to bed."

For the Elmohaters, I offer you this amazing clip. It's impossible to hate Elmo after watching him make a pregnant woman cry.
posted by zooropa at 6:09 AM on June 19, 2011 [3 favorites]

So, the chances of Elmo appearing in a Muppet movie are pretty slim, as he's a Sesame Street character and isn't really one of The Muppets. Other characters which fall into this category are... well, pretty much all the Sesame Street characters (Oscar, Ernie, Bert, Big Bird, Grover Cookie Monster, etc). Kermit is really the only link which crosses between the two worlds regularly, although in the first season of The Muppet Show there was a bit of crossover but that ended early on.

Anyway, Elmo (and a lot of the Muppets, actually) are regularly on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. And Elmo's most recent appearance there was brilliant. And NOT for children to watch, unless you want to have bad behavior modeled for them by one of their heroes.

Here is the page with the video links. It's worth watching. Adorable yet late night adult. I love it.
posted by hippybear at 6:15 AM on June 19, 2011 [5 favorites]

What's the deal with Fozzie's legs in the trailer? I don't remember seeing them before, it's kind of unsettling.
posted by marxchivist at 6:20 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

I couldn't see any wires on their arms. What is this sorcery? Is this new, or did it happen in previous muppet films as well?
posted by piratebowling at 6:22 AM on June 19, 2011

What's the deal with Fozzie's legs in the trailer? I don't remember seeing them before, it's kind of unsettling.

Fozzie is seen tap-dancing with Kermit in the El Sleazo in The Muppet Movie
posted by AzzaMcKazza at 6:24 AM on June 19, 2011

oh Dinosaurs! How could I forget them. That was my favourite sitcom - and was truly a meta-sitcom too. It wasn't trying to be Muppety - it did have some of the harsher edge, but instead was a wonderful mix of humour, social commentary and occasional profundity.
posted by jb at 6:24 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

Hey, a new Muppet movie! This will be quite the phenomenon.

doot doooo de do doot
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:27 AM on June 19, 2011

and I had a total crush on Robbie...
posted by jb at 6:27 AM on June 19, 2011

My husband and I had "Rainbow Connection", Kermit's original version, as our first dance song at our wedding. We're so there for this movie. :D
posted by bizzyb at 6:45 AM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]

My favorite moment from Dinosaurs was when the teenage daughter was complaining about her weight. "I can hardly hear my thighs rubbing together!"
posted by hippybear at 6:57 AM on June 19, 2011

So, the chances of Elmo appearing in a Muppet movie are pretty slim, as he's a Sesame Street character and isn't really one of The Muppets.

Big Bird is in the Muppet Movie and has the best line!
posted by escabeche at 7:06 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

So, the "fart shoes" joke actually made me cackle, because the fart shoes aren't actually the joke. The joke is that Kermit says "there'll be no cheap tricks in this movie," and then we cut to Fozzie standing there with no visible puppetry. And *then* we get the "fart shoes" line. This strikes me as a sublimely Muppety joke.

Actually, I'm going to nerd out hard-core now and say it reminds me of the bit in Muppetvision 3-D when Kermit promise "no cheap 3-D gags" and Fozzie's immediate response is "Did someone say cheap 3-D gags?" and starts tossing things at the screen.

Also, this seems like the place to mention that I once wrote a short story in which someone creates sentient AI in the form of a Kermit robot. It is kind of sappy, I'm not gonna lie. Self-link, obviously.
posted by nonasuch at 7:17 AM on June 19, 2011 [3 favorites]

Have not even read the rest of the thread. Just saw that someone called Muppets Take Manhattan boring and popped in to say WRONG!!!
I'm walking down the aisle for my wedding this summer to "He'll Make Me Happy". *Squeee!!!*
posted by bloody_bonnie at 7:19 AM on June 19, 2011

I haven't liked any of the Muppet movies made after The Muppets Take Manhattan. I have my doubts that this'll be any better.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 7:27 AM on June 19, 2011

The Muppets were....never low-brow.

!!
posted by mediareport at 7:39 AM on June 19, 2011

the muppets were always low-brow -- big, fuzzy low uni-brow.
posted by jb at 7:56 AM on June 19, 2011

In my head the closing line 'prepare for muppet domination' is going to entirely wrong places.
posted by emmtee at 8:16 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh, good, I am not the only person who was completely fooled by the Green with Envy trailer.

Statler, Waldorf and Sam Eagle. The Mahna Mahna song. I really hope the movie turns out well.
posted by jeather at 8:39 AM on June 19, 2011

I have every faith that Jason Segel has caught the real spirit of the Muppets. He's a huge Muppet geek and it shows in the details. He would not let a Muppet film be made without a Mahna Mahna reference. Not on his watch, no sir!

There's a bit of a dance number near the end of the new trailer which shows Muppets and people doing that side-to-side head toss move. That right there is textbook Muppet, and watching people try to do it is hilarious.

Segel also looks as if he's having the time of his life in the film, and considering he's helping revive his childhood heroes, it's safe to say he probably is. With some projects that can quickly sour and come off as self-indulgence, but Jason Segel's enthusiasm is genuine and infectious. His characters are never so much happy as they are psyched, and you can't help but be psyched along with 'em.
posted by Spatch at 8:51 AM on June 19, 2011

Fart shoes. I just like saying, "Fart shoes."

Fart shoes.
posted by warbaby at 8:57 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

Even if the movie's (heaven forbid) awful, I hold out hope that maybe it will inspire Buena Vista to finally release Muppet Show seasons 4 & 5 on DVD.

Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease...
posted by gern at 9:00 AM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]

Bonus points for NOT using record-needle scratch when the muppets show up in green with envy. Someone in the room said no to it, and had enough power to make it stick. Also, I like that it seems to take place in hollywood and has a fairly conventional put-on-a-show plot. That feels right for a sequel to the original.
posted by condour75 at 9:00 AM on June 19, 2011 [5 favorites]

One moment in the trailer gave me chills, and I mean that in a good way. It's at 1:14, when Kermit speaks to Piggy:

"Maybe you don't need the whole world to love you, you know? Maybe you just need one person."

Maybe you just need one person.

Just one person.

Just One Person.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:21 AM on June 19, 2011 [8 favorites]

looks a bit dull and annoying. but i've always found Muppet movies rather tedious
posted by mary8nne at 10:08 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

I was Beaker for Halloween. That is all.
posted by desjardins at 10:30 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

the rancid stink of Disney

Yup. So much stink.

raping of my childhood

People get raped. Rape is a violent, physical and emotional assault that does permanent damage. Recollections about puppets do not get raped.
posted by Brocktoon at 10:33 AM on June 19, 2011 [3 favorites]

People get raped. Rape is a violent, physical and emotional assault that does permanent damage. Recollections about puppets do not get raped.

It's called a metaphor. They're quite common.
posted by hippybear at 10:36 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

Rape: to plunder (a place); despoil.

I'll go out on a limb and say that recollections about puppets can be despoiled [to strip of... value].

Try again, maybe you'll be offended over something accurate next time.
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:59 AM on June 19, 2011

It's called a metaphor. They're quite common.

Hippy, I love you like, 99.99% of the time, but this isn't one of them. "Rape" shouldn't be used as a metaphor, because nothing is like rape except rape. There are quite literally hundreds of thousands of other words in the English language; it wouldn't inconvenience you to say what you meant in another way.
posted by tzikeh at 11:06 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

BACK TO THE MUPPETS:

I have very much enjoyed the recent Muppet YouTube releases and have hop hope for the movie and franchise. And everyone has seen Segal's own puppet work, right?
posted by maryr at 11:08 AM on June 19, 2011 [4 favorites]

And RolandOfEld - that is, indeed, a definition of rape, but sometimes one meaning overpowers all other meanings to the point that the word can only be interpreted as the first meaning. Arguing about other definitions of the word "rape" seems insensitive at best at this point in our history.
posted by tzikeh at 11:09 AM on June 19, 2011

Okay... Is this better?

"My only hope is that it isn't yet another violent emotional assault of my childhood memories resulting in lasting damage, which seem to be happening all the time these days."
posted by hippybear at 11:13 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

Hey, can we talk about the adorable vintage-looking dresses Amy Adams appears to be wearing in the trailer?

Because they're adorable. And vintage-looking, as is Segal's costuming. Are they going for a Pleasantville vibe with the human characters, do you think?
posted by nonasuch at 11:14 AM on June 19, 2011

tzikeh: I couldn't agree more. However, I'm positive that 99.99% of the time, if someone tries hard enough, they can find something to get offended/upset about.

For example,

Person A: "Man that comedian killed me!"
Person B: "Living things get killed. Killing is the act of taking the life of something else (often without consent). Comedians do not kill."
Person A: *facepalm*

... Now back to The Muppet Show!
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:15 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

So here's a more interesting and relevant discussion: I found discussion on other ends of the internet about the cardinal rule established by Jim Henson that this film breaks, namely in acknowledging that muppets are puppets. How do you all feel about this?
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 11:19 AM on June 19, 2011

Segal's big doofy face makes me smile even when he's not flopping it from side to side while skipping.
posted by The Whelk at 11:21 AM on June 19, 2011

Person A: "Man that comedian killed me!"
Person B: "Living things get killed. Killing is the act of taking the life of something else (often without consent). Comedians do not kill."
Person A: *facepalm*

One of the things MetaFilter does really well (except when it doesn't) is have intelligent discussions about language; meaning; how we communicate with one another; etc. One of the things that we do badly is get obnoxious about it when someone is trying to make a legitimate point. The discussion of the word "rape" is an ongoing discussion that weaves in and out of many different threads about many different topics. There's a difference between being offended and being over-sensitive. The line between those two states can shift over time, but I think that your example is a bit of a reach, and I think you know it, too.

I know it's *definitely* discordant for there to be a discussion about the word "rape" in a thread about the Muppets. I get that--but, at least in my opinion, letting an opportunity to address this kind of thing go by is worse than addressing it, even if it's awkward.
posted by tzikeh at 11:23 AM on June 19, 2011

I found discussion on other ends of the internet about the cardinal rule established by Jim Henson that this film breaks, namely in acknowledging that muppets are puppets.

Where do you get that impression, PhoBWan? I just watched the trailer again and there is no mention of them being puppets anywhere to be found. In fact, the film seems to go further out of its way to create lower bodies for the Muppets than any other film so far. (Example: Miss Piggy's leg which is seen after she tackles Kermit.)

I'm not sure that it breaks that rule, and would welcome evidence that it does if there is any to be had.
posted by hippybear at 11:26 AM on June 19, 2011

I'm cautiously optimistic about this movie. Jason Segal's obvious love for The Muppets encourages me that he will treat them right and give them--and the movie--just the right amount of reverence and irreverence.
posted by Corpsegoddess at 11:30 AM on June 19, 2011

From the Muppet wikia entry: "Early versions of the script described Gary and Walter as 'a ventriloquist and his puppet who's alive and wants to be a Muppet.' Later versions described Walter as a nondescript, brown puppet."

It's unclear if this ventriloquist plot thread remains, but Walter's wikia entry notes, "Of course, Walter's Muppet fandom is complicated by the fact that he is a Muppet himself. 'Walter has a bit of a self-confidence issue because he's the only person like him that he's seen aside from the Muppets,' Segel explains. 'His dream is to meet the Muppets and be around people who are like him.'"
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 11:33 AM on June 19, 2011

To contribute to the Muppet discussion, though probably in a way that will cause people to do the Platoon move (even if only in their heads):

Jim Henson died on May 16, 1990--a Wednesday. Tom Smith, a filker, was scheduled to appear at a convention on Friday, May 18, and take part in the filk circle. In 48 hours, he wrote the filk A Boy and His Frog, or, as it is known among my friends, The Saddest Song in the World. It is Kermit singing about Jim's death. The lyrics aren't polished, and his Kermit impression isn't great, but it really doesn't have to be.

You can listen to it for free here, or right-click here to download the mp3.

Warning: The Saddest Song in the World.
posted by tzikeh at 11:33 AM on June 19, 2011 [5 favorites]

Bork bork bork mork bork mork bork bork bork mork bork bork bork bork bork.

Bork.
posted by 4ster at 11:35 AM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

So Segal has a someone he looks after and cares for ...smaller than him ... and in say a stewardship role who knows he's different from all the other people and becomes a megafan of a TV show about a theater, with music, full of other beings so seem just like him whom he wishes to emulate to feel like he belongs and has a place in the world.

...No one tell Free Republic, okay?
posted by The Whelk at 11:37 AM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]

Jim Henson died on May 16, 1990--a Wednesday.

Jim Henson is the only celebrity death which upset me so much I was non-functional. My boss at the time sent me home because I was so non-functional.

Now I need to change the subject.
posted by hippybear at 11:38 AM on June 19, 2011 [4 favorites]

Hippybear, I prescribe watching the recent Bohemian Rhapsody video again, especially the very end.
posted by maryr at 11:46 AM on June 19, 2011

hippybear - don't listen to the song.

I was in the last week of my Junior year at Northwestern--theater major. You can imagine what those of us who inhabited the Theater Building on a daily basis were like when the news hit. Classes weren't canceled, but they might as well have been.
posted by tzikeh at 11:48 AM on June 19, 2011

Anyway, one of the movie channels, I think it's HDNET, has been running Labyrinth lately. In high quality HD letterboxed (as in, wider than 16:9) surround sound broadcast, and it's EXCELLENT.

The soundscape in the Bog Of Eternal Stench alone is worth everything. But there's so much more going on in that movie. And it holds up really well against the years.

I may have to watch that again here soon, actually.
posted by hippybear at 11:51 AM on June 19, 2011

Random happenstance is random. I'm watching an episode of The Office (US) ["Money", Season 4, Episodes 7 & 8] on Netflix and while analyzing Michael's debt problem the following ensued:

Oscar: "Ok, 125 dollars to Amazon."
Michael: "Oh! Best of the Muppet Show on DVD. Classic."

It's simply everywhere... and I'm glad...
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:56 AM on June 19, 2011

But there's so much more going on in [Labyrinth].

Everyone quotes the "You remind me of the babe" bit when they quote Labyrinth, but I have been known to announce "It's so *stimulating,* being your *hat*," for no reason at all. It's such a... Muppety line.
posted by tzikeh at 12:08 PM on June 19, 2011 [2 favorites]

Everyone quotes the "You remind me of the babe" bit when they quote Labyrinth

That's, like, the LEAST quotable line from that movie.

"Higgle" "Hoggle" "Yes" was the one we all walked out of the theater quoting.

(Yes, I was one of the 50 people who actually paid to see Labyrinth in the theater. Twice in one week, actually.)

Watching it again last night, I was struck by how much the visuals and emotional curve of the film resembled a mushroom trip I took near Sedona, AZ nearly 15 years ago. All the faces in the rocks and the realization about personal power when confronted by external forces...

It's truly a brilliant film. It's a shame it fell over and died at the box office. We might have had many more in the same vein in the decades inbetween if it had been successful.
posted by hippybear at 12:20 PM on June 19, 2011

Yet sneaking in "As The World Falls Down" into a music mix for people of a certain age and disposition is more effective then unleashing weaponized MDMA.
posted by The Whelk at 12:23 PM on June 19, 2011 [3 favorites]

[Please take discussions of language to Metatalk, thanks. ]
posted by restless_nomad at 12:35 PM on June 19, 2011

Bonus points for NOT using record-needle scratch when the muppets show up in green with envy.

Seconded. That has been so overused in movie trailers.

Movie trailers themselves actually are like a rank little missive direct from Satan's crotch. Except these.
posted by JHarris at 1:34 PM on June 19, 2011

Those Jimmy Fallon clips up above have almost gotten me to forgive Elmo for taking over Sesame Street.
posted by JHarris at 1:45 PM on June 19, 2011

Thanks to Faint of Butt for the link to Jim Henson's memorial service. This clip of Big Bird singing "Bein' Green" will absolutely make you cry (especially at the end when Big Bird looks up and says, "Thank you, Kermit.")

And on a happier note:

• "You are all, weirdos!"
  
• "Why don't you try something simple like 'Ocean Breeze Soap will get you clean'?"
  
• "Hey there! Wanna lift?" "Oh, no thanks. I'm on my way to New York City to try to break into public television."

That is all.
posted by zooropa at 1:49 PM on June 19, 2011

Unfortunately, there's nothing to the trailer that makes me excited about this movie.

The videos they've done online over the last few years have been great fun... and this isn't.
posted by markkraft at 2:39 PM on June 19, 2011

Unfortunately, there's nothing to the trailer that makes me excited about this movie.

The videos they've done online over the last few years have been great fun... and this isn't.
posted by markkraft at 2:39 PM on June 19 [+] [!]

Nothing?

Seriously?

What is it like to not have a soul?
posted by cerulgalactus at 5:14 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

Just One Person. yt


You know I have a folder called CRYING and that is the only video in it.
posted by The Whelk at 10:02 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

I hate that John Denver couldn't voice someone.
posted by cp311 at 10:15 PM on June 19, 2011

However, I'm positive that 99.99% of the time, if someone tries hard enough, they can find something to get offended/upset about.

This isn't one of those times.
posted by Brocktoon at 11:05 PM on June 19, 2011

I just watched "Henson's Place" last night... A TV special from 1984. It was brilliant. Watching Frank Oz and Jim Henson talk about their experiences with the Muppets made me want to watch more Muppety stuff. And I never realized that my entire memory of watching The Muppet Show must have been in syndication, since I was 3 when the original run finished. Funny, that.

Also:

The muppets: Part of Canada's plan to take over the world.

... huh?
posted by antifuse at 8:08 AM on June 20, 2011

The muppets: Part of Canada's plan to take over the world.

... huh?

Well, The Muppet Show was an international co-production between the US and England, and Canada is sort of like a cross between the US and England...

Yeah, that's all I've got.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:34 AM on June 20, 2011

Well, Fraggle Rock was produced in Toronto from what I recall. But that's the only Canadian connection to the Muppets (that I'm aware of - IANAMuppetTriviaBuff)
posted by antifuse at 11:57 AM on June 20, 2011

It looks like quite a few Muppet productions have been filmed there. I still wouldn't call them Canadian.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:33 PM on June 20, 2011

Nor would I. Hence my "Huh?" :)

*Pokes CanaGeek with a stick*
posted by antifuse at 12:49 PM on June 20, 2011

No, if you were going to call them Canadian, you'd have said, "Huh? eh!"
posted by hippybear at 4:08 PM on June 20, 2011

That would be an incorrect usage of "eh" (I speak as an authoritative for-real Canadian). You can't just go pegging it onto the end of every sentence all willy nilly :P
posted by antifuse at 4:56 PM on June 20, 2011

You can if you're me, making fun of them, in a conversation like this.

So there.

Eh.
posted by hippybear at 5:04 PM on June 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

Take off!
posted by maryr at 6:42 PM on June 20, 2011

Jason Segel On Set Interview THE MUPPETS
posted by hippybear at 4:31 AM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]

(plus bonus interviews about The Muppets links at the bottom of that Segel interview.)
posted by hippybear at 4:42 AM on June 21, 2011

Whoops, both screwed up & forgot about this thread. I know someone who worked on Fraggle Rock many years ago, so I assumed all the productions with Muppets were made in Toronto. Next time Google then comment.
posted by Canageek at 8:01 AM on June 25, 2011

Muppets: The Green Album tracklist ^*

1. OK Go – Muppet Show Theme


2. Weezer and Paramore’s Hayley Williams – Rainbow Connection


3. The Fray – Mahna Mahna


4. Alkaline Trio – Moving Right Along


5. My Morning Jacket – Our World


6. Amy Lee – Halfway Down the Stairs


7. Sondre Lerche – Mr. Bassman


8. The Airborne Toxic Event – Wishing Song


9. Atreyu’s Brandon Saller and Good Charlotte’s Billy Martin – Night Life


10. Andrew Bird – Bein’ Green


11. Matt Nathanson – I Hope That Something Better Comes Along


12. Rachael Yamagata – I’m Going to Go Back There Someday</blockquote.

posted by hippybear at 7:26 AM on June 26, 2011

Want.
posted by maryr at 4:25 PM on June 26, 2011