Eras in Muppet History: The
Returning Era (2008-Present)
Beaker in the Webby Award winning "Ode to Joy" video |
Here we
are! I finally get to talk about what the Muppets are doing today. In recent
years, the Muppets have busted their way back into the public eye. Aside from
the occasional TV specials of the previous Era, the Muppets hadn’t done
anything significant in a while, but that was about to change. The first thing
the Muppets did was to meet the public where they were. In 2008, the best way
to do that was to head to YouTube. It was the perfect pass time for people who
want to procrastinate from whatever they should be doing, so the Muppets
invaded our computers with their own viral videos over the next couple years.
Most of these were short and simple, like Gonzo singing the Danub Waltz with
some chickens or the Swedish Chef cooking popcorn while using everything in the
kitchen as a musical instrument. There was also a full version of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” performed by the
Muppets. The videos quickly became very popular. The Muppets even won a Webby
Award in 2009 for a video in which six Beakers attempt to play “Ode to Joy”.
Gonzo in Extreme Makeover: Muppet Edition |
With the Muppets back in
the public eye, they started to pop up in everything from CNN, to Late Night
starring Jimmy Fallon, to Disney Channel sitcoms, to Good Morning America, or
even Dancing with the Stars. The Muppets were used to promote the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day campaign,
which encouraged people to volunteer in exchange for admission to a Disney
Park. Then in 2010, there was Extreme
Makeover: The Muppet Edition, which showcased the unique construction
capabilities of the Muppets. They were everywhere, no matter what you tuned in
to watch, there was a good chance that the Muppets would somehow make an
appearance. It turns out that Jim Henson was on to something 50 years earlier
when he started using the Muppets for commercials, who knew?!
The Muppets (2011) |
If ever there was a time for the
Muppets to start creating their own material, it was now. The casting issues of
the past two decades were finally resolved and Muppets were in the front of
peoples’ minds again. This opportunity was seized by Nick Stoller and Jason
Segel who wrote a movie that became The
Muppets (2011). There hadn’t been a theatrical Muppet Movie in 12 years,
the longest gap since The Muppet Movie
was released in 1979. The film stars Segel alongside Amy Adams and the newest
Muppet, Walter, performed by Peter Linz. Segel, Adams, and Walter convince
Kermit to reunite the Muppets to save the old studio from being destroyed by
putting on a show. The premise of recruiting Muppets is one of the many
callbacks to the original film, and it is filled to the brim with classic
characters. All of the expected favorites returned with Kermit; Miss Piggy,
Fozzie, Gonzo, Rowlf, Scooter, the Electric Mayhem, the Swedish Chef, Statler
and Waldorf, among many others.
Uncle Deadly in The Muppets |
For true Muppet fans like myself, we also
noticed the return of lesser known characters who we never thought would
resurface. Singing duet Wayne and Wanda, Lips the Trumpet Player, and Thog all
returned, making us cheer in our seats. The most important return was Uncle
Deadly, the ghostly monster from the early days of The Muppet Show (1976), who was featured prominently as one of the
villain’s henchmen. It felt like an extended episode of The Muppet Show, complete with a performance of “The Muppet Show
Theme Song”. It was clear to me as I watched this that Stoller and Segel were
huge Muppet fans, they had to be! There were so many subtle nods and homages to
earlier Muppet productions. I remember telling people that I thought this film
was a big step in the right direction. We need to see these characters again,
interacting with each other. Any time the Muppets hit the big screen, you can
bet that I’ll be finding my way to a movie theater.
Ricky Gervais and Constantine in Muppets Most Wanted (2014) |
I
Ty Burell and Sam the Eagle in Muppets Most Wanted |
Kermit and Piggy break up in The Muppets (2015) |
So far,
it looks like history is repeating itself. In the 1990s, the Muppets came out
with two successful films, The Muppet
Christmas Carol (1992) and Muppet
Treasure Island (1996), then quickly returned to TV with Muppets Tonight (1996). This pattern did
indeed continue as fans began to hear about the new show The Muppets, which premiered in September 2015. As I’ve talked
about before, the Muppets have always succeeded by doing their own spin on what
was popular. In the 1970s, variety shows were the thing, which lead to The Muppet Show. Today, the trend is
mockumentaries, which is exactly what The
Muppets is. Miss Piggy is the host of a fictional talk show called “Up Late with Miss Piggy”. The Muppets shows us behind the scenes
of how the show is made through the lives of the crew, consisting of Executive
Producer Kermit the Frog, Co-host Fozzie Bear, Head Writer Gonzo the Great,
Talent Coordinator Scooter, House band Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, and
several other Muppets who work together to put Miss Piggy on the air every
night. We also dive into the personal lives of the Muppets as Kermit and Miss
Piggy have recently broken up and Kermit has found a new girlfriend Denise, who
happens to be another pig.
The Muppets singing karaoke at a bar with Ed Helms |
One
thing that I have to mention about The
Muppets is the supposed controversy about it. From the start, it was being
labeled as a more “adult” Muppet show. That label had a lot of people up in
arms, saying they can’t believe how inappropriate it is and how Muppets should
be a children’s franchise. I was saying from the start that people were
overreacting. I knew that it wasn’t going to be an X-rated show full of
gratuitous profanity, but it seemed like people were expecting that, based on
how they were freaking out. The show turned out to be exactly what I expected,
a sitcom starring the Muppets. That’s all. I would even say that The Muppets is still milder that most
sitcoms on TV today. What people don’t realize is that even though Jim Henson
made incredible children’s television with Sesame
Street (1969) and Fraggle Rock
(1983), the core Muppet characters were never strictly a children’s
franchise. If you look back at The Muppet
Show (1976), there are many things that support this, such as Raquel Welch
dancing provocatively in a skimpy outfit with a giant spider or Alice Cooper
trying to convince the Muppets to sell their souls to the devil. The Muppets
have never shied away from adult oriented humor. After ten episodes, the show
has been put on a hiatus for retooling, so I guess we’ll have to see what that
means. In the end, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I think The Muppets is a very entertaining and
funny show. It definitely rings true to who the Muppets are and I am excited to
see what comes next.
Kermit, Rowlf, and Fozzie in The Muppets |
The
Muppets is a franchise that never seems to go away. The Muppets have lived
through six decades and counting, outliving most of the people who created
them. There have been transitional times in Muppet history, but they always
seem to bounce back from any set back. It has gotten to the point where
multiple generations have grown up watching the work of Jim Henson’s Muppets.
Even now, I’ll go back and watch old episodes of The Muppet Show and even if I don’t recognize a guest star or
topical reference from 40 years ago, the characters themselves are timeless and
continually entertaining. So far I’ve written about seven eras in Muppet
history, but I would be surprised if it all ends here. What will happen next?
Will the Muppets make another movie to bring us to three film trilogies? Will The Muppets continue on for years to
come? I for one will definitely be tuning in to find out.
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