Category Archives: Muppet Mondays

Muppet Monday: If You Thought the Muppets Were Only Going to Dominate the Web, TV and Volunteerism in 2010 Then You Were Wrong. Dead Wrong.

They’re taking on the comic book world as well.

I had a long, busy day so I’m just getting to the Muppet Monday post now.  In lieu of this, and for the sake of brevity, I’m going to paste an email from Jump the Snark BFF Steve Ponzo:

Maybe a future Muppet Monday for you…
also here at David Petersen’s blog on jan. 5th he posted a bunch of new images:

That’s right, a new Muppet comic book!  So now they’re officially taken over TV, Disneyland, the web and your local comic book store.  Next stop Broadway?  Or maybe they can partner up with Conan on a new venture.

Oh, and make sure to check out Steve’s blog, His Still Life.  He’s an artist, and a good one.

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Filed under Comic Book Guy, Muppet Mondays, Muppets, Other people's stuff

Muppet Monday: VoluntEar Video and Peoples is Peoples

Only two Mondays into 2010 and things are already shaping up for the Muppets in the new decade. When we decided to institute Muppet Mondays we feared that we wouldn’t have enough material each week, or at least enough relevant material. But with Disney making the Muppets the face of their new volunteerism initiative, it seems like there’s a new Muppet story every day, and certainly no lack of content for Muppet Mondays. So thanks, Disney! And keep it up!

Speaking of Disney and Volunteerism, Disney was nice enough to post some rehearsal video of the new “Honorary VoluntEars Calvacade,” which, of course, stars Kermit and Miss Piggy (and, somewhat surprisingly, Sweetums). I was fortunate enough to get down to Disneyland last month, but it looks like I’ll have to make another trip (pilgrimage?).

However, while I previously emphasized the abundance of current Muppet news, I think for today we’ll highlight a classic clip, Pete’s insightful words of wisdom from The Muppets Take Manhattan:

Really makes you think, no?

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Filed under Mickey Mouse Club, Muppet Mondays, The Big Screen

It’s Just Another Muppet Monday

First Monday of 2010 and already we have enough Muppet material to last a month.  Talk about setting the bar high right off the bat.

Most notably, the Muppets appeared on last night’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (which begs the question, at this point, does EMHE really require the “Home Edition” designation.  Do people even remember the original Extreme Makeover, a less dirty, less Foxier version of Fox’s The Swan?).  Even better than renovating a home and changing a family’s life is that the Muppets got to work with Sam Champion, who boasts the 2nd best weatherman name, just behind Storm Field (interestingly, however, Champion might be the front-runner for best overall name.  It’s fascinating and complex how these things work).  As usual, the Muppets demonstrated their unique brand of mayhem, as well as their extra-large hearts inside adorably tiny bodies.  Coming on the heels of their work with Habit for Humanity, the Muppets now seem to be the go-to team for carpentry (speaking of which, as it is now 2010, make sure to check out Disney’s “Give a day, get a day” list of participating programs.  Surprisingly, being an extra on The New Adventures of Old Christine is already all filled up.  Even more surprising is that Disney considers being an extra on a CBS sitcom an acceptable form of volunteerism).  But really, will ABC just give the Muppets their own show already?  Yes, Muppets Tonight didn’t set the world on fire.  And yes, America’s Next Muppet didn’t make it to air.  But just because that didn’t work out doesn’t mean that the Muppets don’t deserve another crack at it (and, please, the opportunity should be on ABC, not The Disney Channel.  And if not on ABC, maybe they should put Kermit and Co. in a gritty cop drama and send them to FX).

Check out the full show here, and an exclusive clip below:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

In other news, it was just announced last week that the Muppets film debut, The Muppet Movie, was included on the list of features to be added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.  Finally, the government takes a real step to preserve a national treasure (also, many thanks to my roommate who righted a wrong and gave me The Muppet Movie on DVD for HanuChristmas.  I’m embarrassed to say that I only had it on VHS (although, I might as well just have waited until they perfect/release the technology to imprint it on my brain)).  I guess, unlike his predecessor, Barack Obama cares about the Muppets.

And, finally, I thought it really fitting/kinda sad that Amazon offered me these recommendations today.  It’s not that they’re wrong.  It’s that they’re so right.

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Filed under Century 21 Reality, Mickey Mouse Club, Muppet Mondays, Muppets

Muppet Monday: How the Muppets Are Already Improving Your 2010 (And Why Even Disney Knows That Kermit is Superior to Mickey)

We’ve well-documented how the Muppets are just dominating the end of 2009.  However, will it continue in 2010?  Well, that remains to be seen, but they’ve already made it so your 2010 will be a little better.

A few months ago Disney announced their “give a day, get a day” promotion, whereby if you volunteer for a day at a participating organization you’ll then receive a free one day ticket to a Disney park (I’m sure there are some annoying restrictions, but I’m not going to do all the work for you), and soon followed up with a series of commercials starring the Muppets touting the promotion.  Interesting that they’re using the Muppets and not Mickey and the gang (Disney first made the announcement by having their characters volunteer in five cities, sending Mickey & Co to four of the cities, and assigning Kermit and Miss Piggy to LA, the biggest media market of the five), but when you think about it, it does make sense.  Mickey, and the other full body suit characters, can’t talk, can’t emote, and has no expressions beyond hand gestures and head nods.  The Muppets, on the other hand, feel living and breathing.  You sometimes forget they are not real animate creatures, instead a hand surrounded felt and rubber and glue-on eyes.  But while Kermit can speak genuinely and effectively about the importance of Habitat for Humanity, if Goofy attempted to do the same thing it would seem, well, exactly that.  Goofy.

Below you can see the Swedish Chef wreaking his usual brand of havoc with Iron Chef Cat Cora, and then check out the additional spots with (ABC stars) Taye Diggs (maybe the only man with the power to make Miss Piggy forget about Kermit), Teri Hatcher, James Denton and Sara Ramirez.

The promotion starts January 1st, 2010.  So while we expect big things from the Muppets next year, they’ve already gone ahead and made an impact on the next decade.  Hopefully this also means that if you give a day, you get a day with the Muppets.  A larger presence at the Disney parks is far overdue, and, as Disney has implicitly admitted, Kermit can do more good than Mickey could ever imagine (and, in case you didn’t know, Mickey’s imagination is ridiculous).

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Filed under Analysis, Mickey Mouse Club, Muppet Mondays, Muppets

Muppet Monday: Take That, ‘The Sing-Off!’

The boys of the Beelzebubs aren’t the only ones who are able to make “beautiful” music with just their voices.  Nope. Beaker, Animal and Swedish Chef can hold their own, as shown in the new holiday video from Muppets Studios, the “Ringing of the Bells:”

Doesn’t that just put you in the holiday spirit?

I had intended to post the Kermit/Robert De Niro duet of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” from Saturday Night Live, but even though it was included in “A Very Gilly Christmas,” it’s nowhere to be found on the interwebs.  Tragic.  But, it’s true, it is better to give than to receive.

Anyone else feel like watching Home Alone now?

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Hanukkah Muppet Monday: The Secret Connection Between ‘Growing Pains’ & ‘Sesame Street’

You didn’t think I’d let a Muppet Monday falling on Hanukkah pass by without posting some sort of hilarious video or funny picture or insightful essay relevant to both the Muppets and Hanukkah, did you? Well, it’s Tuesday now, so I guess you were sorta right.  But, still, a little faith would be nice.

I stumbled upon this video that combines perhaps the two things that I love most in this world: The Muppets and Growing Pains.  This video features Jeremy Miller (aka Ben Seaver, aka the cute kid who grew into an awkward bespectacled teen and was quickly supplemented (supplanted) by a young Leonardo DiCaprio) visiting the Jewish version of Sesame Street, Shalom Sesame, and hosting a Hanukkah inspired game show spoof entitled “Dreidel of Fortune.”  Watch and…well, watch.

I guess this means that Jeremy Miller is Jewish too.  Not nearly as exciting as the same news about Alison Brie.

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Filed under Growing Pains, Muppet Mondays, Muppets

Muppet Monday!

For the past few weeks, starting with the days around Thanksgiving and the hoopla over the Muppet’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” video, I’ve been posting Muppet-related entries every Friday (I think).  However, today, we usher in a new era of Muppet posts, “Muppet Mondays,”* a hopefully weekly addition to Jumped The Snark (however, this certainly does not preclude the possibility of posting Muppet-related material on days other than Monday).

The inaugural Muppet Monday post is not just a viral video, but something much greater than yet.  Yesterday, even though I’ve been visiting Southern California for the last 12 years and have been living here for the past 7 months (to the date, in fact) I had yet to visit the original Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland.  Well, that all changed about 36 hours ago.  And sure, I enjoyed myself on the two Buzz Lightyear rides, was charmed by the Monsters, Inc attraction, was thoroughly spooked by Pirates of the Caribbean, and napped during the Finding Nemo submarine tour, these all paled in comparison to what was the clear highlight: Muppet*Vision 3D.

Continue: I see the show, my life is complete. Also, the Muppets & Disney, what could have been…

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