Tag Archives: Miss Piggy

2011/11/22 · 12:04 am

Muppet Monday: Our Long-Awaited Thoughts on the Impending Arrival of ‘The Muppets:’ Or Why We’re Dreading the Thing We Wanted More Than Anything Else

In two days The Muppets will return to theaters after more than a decade away from the big screen.  It seems like just yesterday that we were salivating over the whispers of a Muppet resurrection orchestrated by Jason Segel (yes, that Jason Segel).  After spending years on the brink of obsolescence – thanks to bad business deals, changing tastes, the boom of CGI, and general Hollywood bureaucracy – it began to seem like the Muppets would never be given the opportunity to recapture the glory they once possessed, that they would forever be relegated to an aging, evermore antiquated attraction at Disneyland, and truly exist only on DVD and in the hearts and memories of people over 25.  We yearned for their return, and while we never imagined their savior would be a geek in shining armor like Segel, we were thrilled when the rumors began to circulate that someone who grew up on the Muppets, someone who loved and cherished them as much as we did, was going to resuscitate them.  Not some out of touch, graying puppeteers, or even the Henson family, but someone with a fresh, relevant perspective whose primary hope was to honor the spirit and style of Jim Henson.  We could not have been more excited.

And now, with The Muppets about to unspool at theaters across the country, what we feel is not excitement, but trepidation.  Why? Because of this:

Kermit, Miss Piggy

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Filed under Be careful what you wish for, Bert-n-Ernie, Flashback!, Freak Out Control, Muppet Mondays, Muppets, Saturday Night Live, The Big Screen

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2011/05/23 · 10:59 pm

Muppet Monday: And So It Begins

It’s been a long, long, too long time since we brought you a Muppet Monday, but this was the one we were waiting for, the one we couldn’t deny.  After months – and years – of anticipation, the trailer for The Muppets arrived, delivering a teaser in the truest sense of the word.  And while our excitement level for this film couldn’t have already been any higher, this trailer provided us with something greater than excitement: confidence.  If the brilliance, whimsy, and poise demonstrated in the teaser is any indication, than we have nothing to worry about come Thanksgiving 2011.

If we weren’t so sick of this rain and the mild temperatures, then we’d say that we can’t wait until November. But, then again, why rush this?

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2011/01/10 · 5:37 pm

Jim Carrey, ‘SNL’: No One Does a Thicke!

Well, we weren’t devastated.  Maybe it was because we were still ecstatic from the Jets victory, and that residual giddiness made us a little more lenient, a little looser (the beers couldn’t have hurt either).  Whatever it was, we were in a good mood, and Jim Carrey’s return to SNL didn’t ruin it.  It wasn’t a landmark episode, or a groundbreaking night, nor did they seem that they were fully back from vacation.  But, given our lofty, unrealistic, expectations, it was satisfying.  And (unfortunately), that’s enough.

And let’s, for a change, start at the top.  We often completely ignore the cold open when reviewing SNL, because it’s usually one of the weakest, least memorable parts of the show, certainly in non-election years.  We can’t pinpoint when it started exactly, but perhaps it’s been since the great Bush-Gore battle of 2000 that the cold open has almost felt obligated to be political sketch.  Often times that’s made for great, funny television (Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton, Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, occasionally Jason Sudeikis as Joe Biden), but more often than not we’re treated to a mildly amusing address from by Fred Armisen as President Obama.  It’s become predictable and somewhat boring.  So what a surprise it was for the show to begin and discover Armisen not as Obama but as NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Keep reading! More on Bloomy, Carrey nails Kunis, and a sketch made just for us…

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Filed under Analysis, Good Humor, Growing Pains, Intersection of the venn diagram of things that I love, Muppets, Saturday Night Live

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2010/10/25 · 6:31 pm

Muppet Monday: Don’t Call it a Reunion, They’ve Been Here For Years

In last week’s Entertainment Weekly (on stands now) the Muppets, as the cast of the Muppet Show, reunited to talk about their old show, as well as, most importantly, their upcoming return to the big screen with Jason Segel.  To be fair, it’s not like the Muppets needed to be reunited, as they’ve been pretty much working non-stop for 40 years (we’re also not sure there was any compelling reason to bring the casts of The West Wing, Will & Grace and Alias back together after like 4 months apart, but that’s a different complaint for a different blog), but any national magazine publicity is good national magazine publicity.

(click to enlarge, so you can see how they managed to sneak Mickey Mouse in the background)

And read the brief interview with Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, and Gonzo here.

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Filed under Internet Killed the Print Media Star, Mickey Mouse Club, Muppet Mondays, Muppets, Other people's stuff

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2010/01/11 · 11:54 am

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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2010/01/06 · 7:23 pm

Muppet Wednesday: Slow down, Muppets, I can’t keep up!

If Jimmy Fallon didn’t already have the planet’s best house band, I’d say he should hire the Muppets, because, as seen in this outtake from their pre-Christmas visit to Late Night, the Muppets don’t only do Christmas Carols:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Although, when I first saw the link I was hoping it was going to be this version of “One.”  Now, that would have been cool.

More Muppet News: Parades, Groins, Collectible Figurines!!!

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2009/12/28 · 2:54 pm

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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