The Muppets are proving themselves to be the Leonardo da Vinci of modern media, moving effortlessly between movies, TV, community service, comics and cultural relativism*. Dudes are just hitting it from all angles right now. They’re like Miley Cyrus times four, with actual talent and vast more human emotion and independent thought.
Sure, they’ve always pounded the pavement when it comes to the traditional media, boasting a vault full of films and TV specials and music albums. But lately they’ve shown to be experts at exploiting popular YouTube videos to create their own. Right now the Muppets at the forefront of what I like to call viral video deconstructionism. Starting with their attempts to usurp the iconic skateboarding dog, and most notably in their “Bohemian Rhapsody” music video, they’ve deftly played with what we’ve come to call internet memes (at least I think that’s right. Still not quite sure what a meme is. Ask Urlesque). And they continue this trend now with what might be the most subversive video yet: Beaker (who has sort of become the go-to Muppet for these videos) performing a meepfelt version of “Dust in the Wind,” only to be crowded out and ultimately sabotaged by those YouTube pop-up comment boxes. Beaker, shine a light and we shall follow.
Very delayed but very exciting Muppet news: while most of our Muppet Monday posts have focused on the recent rise of Muppet visibility in Disneyland and on TV, as well as a few classic clips, we finally have some Muppet movie news!
Vulture reports that Flight of the Conchords co-creator James Bobin has been offered to direct a new Muppet movie in the works for Walt Disney Pictures. However, there might be a snag, as Bobin has apparently also been asked to helm Bridesmaids, a Kristen Wiig penned (and we’re assuming starring) comedy produced by Jumped The Snark legend Judd Apatow. But really, do you think Bobin should attach himself to a movie described as “two women battling to plan their friend’s wedding party?” I think the Casey Wilson-penned Bride Wars kinda covered this ground, and between that and 27 Dresses, I’m not sure that the discerning comedy masses are clamoring for another slapstick/rom-com wedding flick (although, if it’s more like Baby Mama, then maybe I’ll revise that statement). Plus, would you choose to work with a bunch of petulant divas* over the seasoned professionals that are the Muppets?
But maybe you’re thinking to yourself that Bobin should choose Bridesmaids for the chance to become part of the Judd Apatow fraternity and secure on a place on my chart. Okay, fair. However, this Muppet movie will be based on the script penned by Jason Segel and his Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller. Both men have several ties to Apatow, so Bobin can join team Apatow either way, and if this movie is produced it’s definitely going on the chart. So, James Bobin, if the main factor in deciding which movie to direct is earning a spot on the Judd Apatow chart, then I can assure you that if you take the reins to the Muppet movie you’ll get your due. Plus, you have about an equal chance of working with Paul Rudd on either movie (actually, with this in mind, the odds might actually be a little better with the Muppets)
And with that out of the way, you can make a measured, smart decision.
A couple weeks ago I decided to check out the Paley Center here in LA (formerly known as the Museum of TV & Radio). I assumed it would be basically the same as its NY brother (and my assumption proved mostly correct, as the West Coast branch actually has a little less to offer), but with The Muppets at Disney World scheduled to screen at 4pm I figured it would be worth a trip. Except that when I arrived I realized that I had been looking at the NY schedule, and the most attractive screening option was an old episode of the Carol Burnett Show. So I decided to try my luck with the video archives.
With the Muppets still on the brain I resolved to see what kind of treasures the library might offer, knowing that the Museum had put together several special Jim Henson events. Indeed, I found a series of compilations celebrating the life and work of Henson. Amongst these was an episode of The Jim Henson Hour that featured a short film I had heard of but never seen: Dog City.
Now the Paley Center has been rendered almost obsolete by YouTube; the web offers a wider selection videos, often better in quality, on demand, and with the added benefit of being viewable from your home computer instead of on an old NTSC monitor at a video carrel in an eerily quiet and sterile media room. Not to mention you don’t have to wear ratty, flaking headphones that have already been used by innumerable strangers (that must be a health hazard). But there are a few items, a couple rare gems that you can’t find on YouTube or even weird Polish websites. Dog City is one of these such rarities.
Dog City is Jim Henson’s take on film noir, but in this scenario it’s classic hard-boiled crime drama inspired by paintings of dogs playing poker. And with main characters named Ace Yu and Bugsy them, it has no shortage of corny, Abbott and Costello style jokes. Except that, with Henson’s Muppet alter-ego Rowlf the Dog playing the piano and breaking the fourth wall as our narrator, the jokes are delivered with a full-on wink at the audience and they actually work. I usually get bored during musical numbers in Muppet productions, and this was no exception, but I found the rest of the movie quite enjoyable, even with the VHS quality picture and its sometimes cranky tracking. Since the movie is almost exclusively available at the Paley Center, the best we can do here is present the trailer:
Three years later Henson would turn Dog City into a Saturday morning cartoon, “Jim Henson’s Dog City” changing Ace Yu into Ace Hart, a more standard noir detective. Luckily, the show still offered some traditional “real world” Muppets, as Dog City is animated by Eliot, a Muppet German Shepherd, and his friends and neighbors serve as inspiration for the animated canines.
So while the Paley Center has become a bit of a ghost town, made nearly irrelevant by the Internet, it can still be worth a visit, if only for that one special show.
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:
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.
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:
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:
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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.
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 Tonightdidn’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:
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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.
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).
On Christmas Eve My True Loves Gave to Me: One awesome Muppet video.
As if you didn’t know that the Muppets have just been dominating the last part of 2009, they dropped by Jimmy Fallon to put a festive exclamation point on what has been somewhat of a Muppet resurgence (it was a good year for The Roots and Jimmy Fallon as well, in that order). The Muppets have traditionally done some of their best work during the holidays, and this is no exception, recreating their classic collaboration with John Denver, the “12 Days of Christmas,” this time with Fallon subbing in for the late great Denver (and a few Muppet substitutions as well: hello Sam the Eagle, Pepe and Rizzo; goodbye Janis, Dr. Teeth and Stadler & Waldorf. Times have changed).
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And in the spirit of the holiday here’s the original:
Sidenote: At last night’s pub trivia the final question was “What are all the gifts from the ’12 Days of Christmas?'” Having just watched the Muppets and Fallon, I had an ace in the hole. I still could only name about 8 of the gifts (hey, what do you expect from a Jew with a terrible voice?), but thanks to Fozzie I knew that day 7 brought sevens swans a swimming. Much appreciated, Fozz!
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.
Jumped The Snark 