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The Muppets / Jim Henson appreciation thread

Started by dr_christian_troy, April 15, 2021, 12:53:34 PM

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dr_christian_troy

I'm revisiting a few Muppet films and shows for an ongoing project, and I was wondering what your favourite aspects, moments, memories etc are of The Muppets and Henson-related projects generally?

I recently viewed this episode of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson hosted by Kermit in 1979, in the same month when The Muppet Movie came out. What a joy!

Anyways, with more now available through Disney + and with there being over 60 years of content out there, let's celebrate these felt folks accordingly.

Petey Pate

I really enjoy the Sesame Street segments which pair Kermit with the Cookie Monster.  Some of the best Muppet content is definitely from Sesame Street.

https://youtu.be/FuqWQjmM3Zg

DrGreggles

The original Muppet Show is my favourite.

Not just my favourite Muppet thing; my favourite thing.

Attila

I like the improve stuff they did when testing locations/color/sound for the Muppet Movie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4rJ-E5yATY

RetroRobot

Love everything the man touched to be honest, but the Muppets are of course my favourite. All very funny, human characters. Shame they're stuck with a company that wants to turn them into replaceable, interchangeable joke telling mascots. Absolutely miss Kermit's neurotic side. I don't think Disney understands the character at all, hes hardly ever come across as a rubber band about to snap since they bought the rights. Just generically put upon but nice now.

Jack Shaftoe

Big fan of all things Henson, although the voices have gone a bit wrong these days, haven't they? It is the great failure of my life that my kids won't watch the Muppets on Disney, proclaiming them 'weird' and 'scary'. Never have kids.

TheMonk

Quote from: Jack Shaftoe on April 15, 2021, 03:03:09 PM
Big fan of all things Henson, although the voices have gone a bit wrong these days, haven't they? It is the great failure of my life that my kids won't watch the Muppets on Disney, proclaiming them 'weird' and 'scary'. Never have kids.
I'm not sure how old they are but I pulled mine in with the new Muppet Babies originally. Not good but a short step from there to the good early movies and the tv shows.
I tell you what though, that new series from a couple of years ago is cynical tosh and a bastardisation of those beloved characters.

olliebean

I've said this before: Every film that has CGI creatures - every single one (but especially Fantastic Beasts) - would be immeasurably improved if the creatures were physically built and operated by the Henson Creature Shop.

purlieu

The first series of The Muppet Show is one of my favourite things ever. The later ones are great, but they get a bit heavy on the musical numbers, while the first series has Kermit interviewing the guest and the topical panel discussion sketch every episode, which is a nice balance.

There are a few duff episodes, but they're rarely sub par. A favourite later one is the episode where the theatre is being fumigated so they stage it in a train station. It includes the exceptionally great Rhyming Song (which, despite its broad whimsy, works best in context of the utterly chaotic episode). Another favourite was the surprise arrival of the Sesame Street muppets in a very late episode, halfway through a song. My partner and I watched an episode over breakfast over the space of a few months a year or two back and it was a genuinely wonderful experience. Nothing beats starting the day with Kermit and friends.

The films are mostly great, especially the first two. Muppets Take Manhattan loses the more madcap, off-the-wall element and plays on being a straight-forward family comedy, which it does pretty well, but has fewer wtf moments that the first two have in spades. I know how loved Muppet Christmas Carol is, but it always felt off to me because I was brought up with Alistair Sim's Scrooge, by which all versions will be judged, even Dickens's. Muppet Treasure Island is an unsung gem. Muppets from Space is not very good at all and it's not surprising the franchise dried up for a few years after.

I remember enjoying Muppets Tonight a lot when it was first broadcast, and I'd love to see it again (the only good torrent I've ever found is an almost unwatchable VHS rip). I should probably get around to watching the recent films too.

In terms of Jim Henson's other stuff, The Dark Crystal is one of my all-time favourite films. The level of detail in it is absolutely mind-blowing to this day, and it has a level of atmosphere which I've rarely come across in films since. Labyrinth is almost as good, balancing the dark fantasy with a wonderful playfulness. Henson's death was an absolute tragedy, but we're lucky that Brian took over his position and kept a lot of the magic going, regardless of who owns the franchise. Farscape is one of my favourite programmes, and that is in no small part due to the madcap ideas and amazing puppet designs of two of the show's main characters which came from being part of the Henson family.

I've not watched any Sesame Street in years, and although I always found Big Bird really weird, the show overall has such a feeling of warmth and friendliness that I can still feel when remembering it now.

If I could live in any fictional world, the one where Muppets are really would be the one.

sutin

I never saw the Muppets as a kid (i'm 38), and really struggle to see the appeal for adults. I watched the Muppets Christmas Carol last December and while I didn't think it was a bad movie, it certainly did nothing for me as An Adult Man. Is this something you needed to be into as a kid?

Mr Trumpet

All I can add here is that one of the things guaranteed to put a smile on my one year old's face, whatever mood he's in, is the Manah Manah video on youtube. Great stuff.

kalowski

The Sesame Street segments where Don Music tries to write a song (eg Row, Row, Row Your Boat) are genius. I know the  songs off by heart:
QuoteDrive, Drive, Drive your car
Gently up the street
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a treat
QuoteYankee Doodle stayed at home
A-cooking for his pony
Put fat spaghetti in a pot
And called it Macaroni

steveh

Had completely forgotten Don Music until you mentioned him. The brilliance and daftness of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1Ugqh471IE.

Ignatius_S

Quote from: sutin on April 16, 2021, 12:52:51 AM
I never saw the Muppets as a kid (i'm 38), and really struggle to see the appeal for adults. I watched the Muppets Christmas Carol last December and while I didn't think it was a bad movie, it certainly did nothing for me as An Adult Man. Is this something you needed to be into as a kid?

Nope - and would bear in mind that the first Muppets series was 45 years ago and since then we have had approximately ten movies and ten series, so wouldn't set too much store in only experiencing one film to make up your mind. However, I wouldn't say they are very everyone - I suspect people with no sounds would be completely unmoved, for instance.

The Muppets wasn't intended as something for just children - Henson wanted to do a programme that was more adult-oriented partly because he was concerned how his work was being categorised, but had trouble getting American stations interested in the idea and much credit must go to Lew Grade's involvement.

I loved the original series when I was a kid, but as an adult get more of the jokes and appreciate it more. For example. when Mr Showbiz himself, Milton Berle, reminisces with Rowlf about working in Vaudeville is something I find very charming because I can understand the link to the past. Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy (tormenter of WC Fields and who got Mae West into so much trouble) was a huge influence on Henson and it was great watching such huge stars of the past appearing as guests - in fact, the range of guests they got were simply incredible.

There have been quite a few show or films, that I liked /loved as child, I have revisited and found that some things are better left in the past and in the memory, but The Muppets aren't in that category.

One reason a recent reboot series failed, is that the humour was pitched much more at adults and it was clear that a lot of people who loved the original series wanted the tone to be more like the original's - something that could be enjoyed by a broad demographic. In fact, it was interesting to see that partway to the season, the audience was effectively told 'sorry, we didn't get it right and we're making changes now.' One of the joys of the original series is just what a wide demographic could happily watch it. Although I would add something like Muppet Babies (which they recently restarted, but I haven't seen) is the sort of animated show that was aimed at kids, but there had something to allow for a wider crossover audiences.


notjosh

Watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) for the first time in ages last week and the costumes are still amazing. So many cool facial expressions. I love the face at 3.25:
https://youtu.be/RTHdDxOKX68?t=200

Also found out that Splinter was voiced and puppeteered by Kevin Clash (Elmo)!


Gulftastic

I was on holiday in Florida when Jim Henson died. Same day as Sammy Davis jr. The latter was on all the front pages with tiny extra blurb about Jim. He was Farrah Fawcett to Sammy's Jacko.

kalowski

Quote from: Gulftastic on April 16, 2021, 04:35:59 PM
I was on holiday in Florida when Jim Henson died. Same day as Sammy Davis jr. The latter was on all the front pages with tiny extra blurb about Jim. He was Farrah Fawcett to Sammy's Jacko.
Or Sky Saxon to Sammy's Farrah.

I knew Stan Freberg was an influence on Jim Henson but I'd only recently heard this story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mefbXErJRJw