Quick one today! Check out a featurette about Being Elmo, an upcoming documentary about Kevin Clash, better known as the puppeteer behind the little red Muppet monster (also known as the voice of Splinter in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films). As much as we resent Elmo for obscuring the other Muppets on Sesame Street (and, to some extent, watering down the show’s material), we most certainly respect Clash’s body of work.
And we also respect the filmmakers for resisting the urge to title their documentary Tickle Me: The Kevin Clash Story.
A relatively broad term today, simply: “muppets.” It’s actually quite interesting, and encouraging, that someone ostensibly found our blog via the term “muppets.” That must mean (we guess) that due to our vast library of Muppet-related posts we’re becoming one of the top results for that search. Which is something to be proud of (right? Please say yes).
Since the search term was so wide open we’re going to give you two clips today, that way everyone goes home happy. First, we have this mash-up of the Muppets performing Kanye West’s “Monster,” which is all the rage today:
[sidebar: Is the Muppet remix becoming something of a tired art? How many times can we see some kind of Muppet mash-up until it feels derivative, devaluing both the Muppets and whatever work they are paired with? Only time will tell.]
And, secondly, we’re happy to counter that “Monster” with the original Muppet Monsters, Little Muppet Monsters, the extremely short-lived series that was briefly paired with Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies in 1985. Shelved after airing just three episodes, it remains when of the great Muppet oddities:
Nice and easy today with the term “swedish chef.” But, instead of offering up a Muppet Show clip, which might have been the obvious choice, we’re going to use this as yet another opportunity to showcase one of our favorite Muppet outings, The Muppets at Walt Disney World. This also allows us to enjoy another one of our most beloved Muppets, Beaker, who in this clip seeks out the Chef’s help in extricating himself from a rather tight situation.
With the new Muppet movie just 11 months away, we already know that 2011 is going to be a HUGE year for the Muppets, perhaps their biggest in three decades. But one intrepid tumblr-er is already getting the ball rolling with the creepy good Muppets with People Eyes:
That one actually kind of works. Cookie Monster probably should have hazier eyes.
So how long until we see “People with Muppet Eyes?” You can have that one if you want, provided we see 10% of any profits.
Or how about “Hall & Oates with Muppet Eyes?”
We think Sesame Street just found their new viral hit.
Merry Happy, Everyone! The clock struck midnight and we’ve arrived at C-Day. Let’s finish off Christmas 2010 with a bang.
First, let’s get the festivities going with a little Full House holiday party. Steve has gone off to Junior College in Florida and DJ is super bummed; meanwhile Danny is carrying on a long-distance relationship with Vicky, Becky misses the snow and no one seems to find it creepy that unmarried, unrelated “Uncle” Joey lives in the house with three young girls. It’s a very Tanner Christmas and DJ is on the rebound. WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
And it wouldn’t be a Jumped the Snark Christmas without a contribution from Jim Henson. We already covered the basic Muppet Christmas staples, so for Christmas Day we’re going outside the John Denver classics and proudly gift to you the 1986 TV special, Toy Story before there was a Toy Story, The Christmas Toy:
If you’re not watching Community, you’re stupid. If you haven’t seen their Christmas special, you’re silly. If you’ve seen it and weren’t moved to tears, well, then you’re completely dead inside, and we both pity and despise you. But if you’re in one of the first two camps (or just want to relive its greatness), please enjoy “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas,” just the latest example of how Community has been the most inventive, most ambitious, smartest, warmest and just flat-out best show on television this year.
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That’s it for us this Christmas (we think)! Hope you got that Magic Bullet you wanted!
(and remember to recycle your wrapping paper. Or reuse!)
…with the news that the Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made, initially slated to arrive on Christmas 2011, has been pushed up a month to Thanksgiving (yes, we admit that this news is a little outdated, but we’d be remiss not to mention it at all). So rejoice this Christmas, Muppet fans, knowing that a new, fantastic, Muppet movie is less than a year away.
In very much related news, here’s Jason Segel on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon describing his first encounter with Kermit:
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We imagine we’d react the same way.
Anyone know if Hanukkah falls on Thanksgiving next year? That would certainly qualify as a miracle.
It dawned on us a couple of weeks back when we caught Forgetting Sarah Marshall on TV (and cemented this past weekend when we suffered through The Muppet Christmas Carol on The Hub), that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to Jason Segel, as he’s almost single-handedly saved the Muppets.
Well, there’s more than just Muppet movie casting news these days. No, what we’re getting now are actual photos from The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made, and not just promo shots of Jason Segel and the gang, but photos from the set. Behold, the Henson Company Studios in Hollywood transformed into Muppet Studios, a once thriving studio that has fallen into disrepair. It’ll be Segel’s character Gary, and his roommate, the new Muppet Walter, who ostensibly rally the Muppets to reunite and revive the studio.
(one of our greatest regrets from our time living in LA is not trying to take a tour Henson Studios, or at the very least stopping at the gate on La Brea Ave and attempting to bribe the guard with pepperoni pizza).
Jumped The Snark 