Muppets News & Discussion

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:05 pm

http://www.animated-news.com/2008/anoth ... s-for-nbc/

Another Muppet Christmas for NBC!

After joining John Denver for a family sing-song, foiling Ebenezer Scrooge’s humbugging of the festive season, and saving their Muppet Theater, the Muppets are getting set to hop back onto NBC again for the holidays with Letters To Santa: A Muppets Christmas. Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Miss Piggy and the rest of the Muppet gang will be joined by Whoopi Goldberg and Harry Potter regular Richard Griffiths among others in the special, which will feature new songs written by The Muppet Movie and The Muppets’ Christmas Carol composer Paul Williams. Goldberg previously starred in the NBC special It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, but it is unclear if she will be reprising her character or if this is a continuation of that storyline. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Letters sees Kermit and company mistakenly avert three letters en route to Santa Claus, which triggers a race against time on Christmas Eve to bring a happy Christmas to the kids whose wishes were lost in the mail.

PeterPanfan · Post by **PeterPanfan** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 3:24 pm

Thanks for the news, Ames! WOW! That sounds amazing..I can't wait!!!

Daisy Duck · Post by **Daisy Duck** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 4:14 pm

That sounds like a good story for a new Muppets special!

I'm surprised it will be shown on NBC and not Disney-owned ABC. But then I don't really understand how all these deals work...

Escapay · Post by **Escapay** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 4:59 pm

NBC's the network that commissioned for it to be made, which is why it's airing there instead of ABC. It's still a Muppet/Disney production, but NBC was the network that opted to produce and schedule a new special. Why ABC chose not to is a mystery to me. Then again, that lacklustre "Studio DC: Almost Live" on the Disney Channel probably had ABC execs thinking twice about a holiday special.

Albert

slave2moonlight · Post by **slave2moonlight** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 6:32 pm

blackcauldron85 wrote:http://www.animated-news.com/2008/anoth ... s-for-nbc/

Another Muppet Christmas for NBC!

After joining John Denver for a family sing-song, foiling Ebenezer Scrooge’s humbugging of the festive season, and saving their Muppet Theater, the Muppets are getting set to hop back onto NBC again for the holidays with Letters To Santa: A Muppets Christmas. Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Miss Piggy and the rest of the Muppet gang will be joined by Whoopi Goldberg and Harry Potter regular Richard Griffiths among others in the special, which will feature new songs written by The Muppet Movie and The Muppets’ Christmas Carol composer Paul Williams. Goldberg previously starred in the NBC special It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, but it is unclear if she will be reprising her character or if this is a continuation of that storyline. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Letters sees Kermit and company mistakenly avert three letters en route to Santa Claus, which triggers a race against time on Christmas Eve to bring a happy Christmas to the kids whose wishes were lost in the mail.

Argh, they totally didn't mention my favorite one, "A Muppet Family Christmas"! Probably because Disney isn't putting it out on DVD (because of the inclusion of the Fraggles and Sesame Street gang I'd wager, which stinks because the first release was edited as it was).

Anywho, I'm a big Muppet fan, but after "A Very Merry Muppet Chrismas Movie, I can't get my hopes up for this one. It had its moments, I didn't hate it, but it certainly didn't feel as magical as the earlier Muppet productions. It was better than the awful Oz they did though (which could have been so great). But, I felt the worst part about it was casting Whoopi as God. Of course, I'm not a big Whoopi fan. I think what bothered me the most about her scenes was that they were in a sunny springtime interpretation of Heaven, which, for me, destroyed the snowy, Christmassy feel of the rest of the film. I just hope she isn't "reprising her role" from that one. I DID pick up the DVD though, because I love, Christmas movies, the Muppets, and it was like 5 bucks at Wal-Mart.

Can't believe I missed that DC Studio show. Must not have been getting to see much TV that month or something. Can't believe they only showed it once, or at least that's the impression I get.

pap64 · Post by **pap64** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 6:39 pm

I personally liked "Very Merry Muppet" movie. Some jokes were duds, the angel played by David Arquette was annoying, heaven in general felt weird and some moments were disturbing (like Sam the Raver). But I thought it had a big heart and the story was quite moving, even if it is a rip off of "Its a wonderful life".

I hope this new Christmas movie is more original.

slave2moonlight · Post by **slave2moonlight** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 6:46 pm

pap64 wrote:I personally liked "Very Merry Muppet" movie. Some jokes were duds, the angel played by David Arquette was annoying, heaven in general felt weird and some moments were disturbing (like Sam the Raver). But I thought it had a big heart and the story was quite moving, even if it is a rip off of "Its a wonderful life".

I hope this new Christmas movie is more original.

I actually liked David Arquette. Ha, it's funny, I generally enjoy him, it's Whoopi who generally I don't like. A little too obnoxious I think. In general though, I did like the story, just, like you said, some of the jokes "felt weird/disturbing".

In the case of the Oz one, they should have shelled out the dough to get Hilary Duff and go bigscreen, and as much as I like Pepe, stop over using him! He had no business being Toto. That should have been either a Muppet dog (Sprocket would have been good, or just a new one, I don't think Rowlf would have worked, though I WOULD like to see more of Rowlf again) or Rizzo. Since the Dorothy character was a waitress, Rizzo would have been great and way more logical than Pepe. I liked the choices for the rest of the human cast, just not Dorothy. I HEAR they originally wanted Duff, and she would have been perfect (not to mention she's like my fave girl).

pap64 · Post by **pap64** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 7:13 pm

slave2moonlight wrote:
pap64 wrote:I personally liked "Very Merry Muppet" movie. Some jokes were duds, the angel played by David Arquette was annoying, heaven in general felt weird and some moments were disturbing (like Sam the Raver). But I thought it had a big heart and the story was quite moving, even if it is a rip off of "Its a wonderful life".

I hope this new Christmas movie is more original.
I actually liked David Arquette. Ha, it's funny, I generally enjoy him, it's Whoopi who generally I don't like. A little too obnoxious I think. In general though, I did like the story, just, like you said, some of the jokes "felt weird/disturbing".

In the case of the Oz one, they should have shelled out the dough to get Hilary Duff and go bigscreen, and as much as I like Pepe, stop over using him! He had no business being Toto. That should have been either a Muppet dog (Sprocket would have been good, or just a new one, I don't think Rowlf would have worked, though I WOULD like to see more of Rowlf again) or Rizzo. Since the Dorothy character was a waitress, Rizzo would have been great and way more logical than Pepe. I liked the choices for the rest of the human cast, just not Dorothy. I HEAR they originally wanted Duff, and she would have been perfect (not to mention she's like my fave girl).

Oz definitely should have been a film for theaters. It looked as if they wanted to go bold and grand, almost like the classic Oz film, but the budget constraints held it back. It was a good movie, but it would have benefited from a more ambitious approach.

And speaking of Pepe, I HATED him in "Very Merry". While the Muppets antagonize each other, its usually in a playful and cartoony way. But Pepe betraying them for that evil lady was just uncalled for. He's greedy, and yes he sets everything right by the end of the movie but he should have never done it in the first place.

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 8:06 pm

slave2moonlight wrote: Argh, they totally didn't mention my favorite one, "A Muppet Family Christmas"! Probably because Disney isn't putting it out on DVD (because of the inclusion of the Fraggles and Sesame Street gang I'd wager, which stinks because the first release was edited as it was).

I absolutely LOVE "A Muppet Family Christmas"!!! My parents taped it off TV when I was little, and I used to watch it every year! "Watch out for the icy patch"!!!!! lol. Last year my mom made me a DVD of the tape (of the TV airing), so I now have it on DVD, unedited, and I'm thrilled!

slave2moonlight wrote:It was better than the awful Oz they did though (which could have been so great).

Yeah, I fell asleep during "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz"...it totally could have been so much better. That will probably be the last (or just about the last) Disney DVD that I get, due to it being not so good. Maybe I was just sleepy and irritable, I don't know...I'd like to give it another chance someday- maybe it's not quite as bad as I remember it as being? I wonder if the writing would've been any different if Hilary were in it. I don't dislike Ashanti, but I do prefer Hilary...if she were in it, we can't say that it'd necessarily be a better film, because it still could have had the same script.

slave2moonlight · Post by **slave2moonlight** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 11:43 pm

blackcauldron85 wrote: Yeah, I fell asleep during "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz"...it totally could have been so much better. That will probably be the last (or just about the last) Disney DVD that I get, due to it being not so good. Maybe I was just sleepy and irritable, I don't know...I'd like to give it another chance someday- maybe it's not quite as bad as I remember it as being? I wonder if the writing would've been any different if Hilary were in it. I don't dislike Ashanti, but I do prefer Hilary...if she were in it, we can't say that it'd necessarily be a better film, because it still could have had the same script.

Well, for one thing I think her acting would have been better, so that alone would have made it a better film (even if not by much, if the script stayed the same, it'd still be a huge difference for Hilary fans like me). I'm not saying she's the best actress in the world, but I think she's better. I didn't dislike the girl they chose, but she didn't have enough personality for me. But based on Muppet Wizard of Oz, that's really going to be the last Disney DVD you get? Wow, seems harsh.

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:26 am

slave2moonlight wrote: But based on Muppet Wizard of Oz, that's really going to be the last Disney DVD you get? Wow, seems harsh.

Well, I have a list of DVDs I want to get, organized by categories (want most, want second, etc.), and it's in my last category...as I said, it may not be as bad if I watch it a second time (and I never saw after the middle of the movie, since I fell asleep)...there are just other movies I'd rather spend my money on first.

slave2moonlight · Post by **slave2moonlight** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:21 am

blackcauldron85 wrote:
slave2moonlight wrote: But based on Muppet Wizard of Oz, that's really going to be the last Disney DVD you get? Wow, seems harsh.
Well, I have a list of DVDs I want to get, organized by categories (want most, want second, etc.), and it's in my last category...as I said, it may not be as bad if I watch it a second time (and I never saw after the middle of the movie, since I fell asleep)...there are just other movies I'd rather spend my money on first.

Oh, ha, I misread your statement then. I thought you already had bought it, and that you were saying it was the last Disney DVD you were ever going to get because it was disappointing.

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:25 am

slave2moonlight wrote: Oh, ha, I misread your statement then. I thought you already had bought it, and that you were saying it was the last Disney DVD you were ever going to get because it was disappointing.

Yeah, never gonna happen!

I'll always buy Disney DVDs!

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 10:17 am

Here's an interesting 2-page article about the Muppets, their history, and their future:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/movie ... ref=slogin
(via blueskydisney.blogspot.com)

Cordy_Biddle · Post by **Cordy_Biddle** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 3:18 am

Why haven't Disney released the fondly-remembered "Frog Prince" and "Hey, Cinderella!" specials on DVD?

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:08 pm

Some info on upcoming Muppets projects:

http://www.latinoreview.com/news/huge-u ... ppets-7997
(via disneyreport.com)

Cordy_Biddle · Post by **Cordy_Biddle** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 4:00 pm

blackcauldron85 wrote:Some info on upcoming Muppets projects:

http://www.latinoreview.com/news/huge-u ... ppets-7997
(via disneyreport.com)

Muppets in 3D sounds pretty cool

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 6:02 am

A little more info on The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made (but if you don't want to know what could be the basic plot, don't read):
http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/09/11/dis ... ever-made/
(via screenrant.com, via disneyreport.com)

JEANYLASER · Post by **JEANYLASER** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:18 am

That's will be awesome to see a new Muppet Movie of the year! And thanks for the info! Janice is cool!

blackcauldron85 · Post by **blackcauldron85** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 7:11 am

Tube Tuesday: Xmas marks the spot for the Muppets in 2009
http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/ ... ppets.aspx

If you scroll between the picture of Kermit holding the envelope and the picture of Rizzo, there's a link to "The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora"- which debuts in January- right now it just has a commercial for "Give a Day, Get a Day", but there will be a whole series, apparently.

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