A dark day for the Muppets...


What a disappointment. Brian Henson has completely destroyed the last remaining shreds of Muppet charm by approving this desecration of what was once sheer genius. From the offensive gay stereotyping (the dance instructor telling Kermit he has a nice tush!?!) to the mention of "topless bars", the stereotyping of the French director (Gonzo apologetically stating to Kermit that "he speaks French"), this "movie", in the context of the Muppets is insulting and pale while out of the context of the Muppets, it is just plain stupid and terribly unfunny. Jim Henson would have never allowed his creations to become so smarmy, insulting and utterly stupid; he would never have let this thing see airtime. I grew up with the Muppets and it is sad to see that they have become so devoid of any magic, cleverness or charm. Jim Henson is sorely missed. A Very Very Muppet Christmas Movie is to the Muppets what The Star Wars Holiday Special was to Star Wars and not in a tacky and funny way, just a BAD way.

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you're a nutso mutso

this was a terrific tv movie.

loved brian's treasure island too. one of my favorite muppet movies.

i still haven't seen the oz one but i do hear that's not so good.

also like from space a lot.

i think he's done a great job and pushed the company into a good direction. like with farscape. they had some stuff to deal with. now that disney has it... he's able to work creatively. the new fraggle movie should be great. the new dark crystal. and eventually kermit will be back on the big screen... i hope.

but everyone is entitled to their opinions. even nutso mustsos

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I have to agree with the OP to a POINT...I was and still am ashamed of this movie. I've seen the Muppet movie, the Great Muppet Caper, the Muppets Take Manhattan, the Muppets go to the Movies, the Muppet Christmas Carol, and Muppet Treasure Island, from that I know that the Muppets would NEVER depend on money, or a building to make them happy...look at the first Muppet movie, they rode along switching car to car trying to get to Hollywood to become stars...in the Great Muppet Caper, Fozzie, Gonzo and Kermit were traveling to England in cargo and staying at the Happiness hotel because they were broke, and had the time o their lives. In the Muppets Take Manhattan, they were sleeping in lockers and splitting up while trying to sell their show, but they always pulled through. This movie disgusts me.

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<<This movie disgusts me>>

That's funny!

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are you forgetting that when the gang gets to hollywood... at the end of the muppet movie... kermit asks for and gets a contract to become rich and famous. and all the other muppets are happy they will become rich and famous.

i know cause i just went to a screening of it here in LA.

was cool too. one of the muppet performers was there and he did some questions after the movie.

so to summarize... kermit wanted to be rich AND make people happy.

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While that may be true, keeping the Muppet Theatre wasn't a matter of being rich...it was just a matter of keeping a building...and in all the other Muppet movies, they were never attached to one particular place to perform...this movie just struck me as the Muppets tangled up in a severe vanity.

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I think to understand why they have so much emphasis on making people happy over the money thing was as a tribute to Jim Henson. If you read any bio of the man, any quotes from his friends and family, or just pay attention to the underlining message of the entire Muppet show/muppet movies, Hensons emphasis was always on creativity, inspiration, and trying to keep some magic alive. I think that as long as the family is trying to keep the muppets alive we should support whatever they can do.

Besides this was Christmas movie - you can't emphasis money in a Christmas movie, especially one that is a paraody of It's a Wonderful Life. Personally, I loved this movie. I wish this year's rather short and disappointing "Letters to Santa" could have been anywhere was fun and creative at this movie was!

The penguins are calling and I can't find my way out of the labyrinth.

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[deleted]

I couldn't agree more. I caught this back when it was brand-new and turned it off in disgust 20 minutes in.

Utter crap.



Last seen:
Amazing Grace - 9/10
- MUST SEE!

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But still Astroboy is right. There have been way too many sexual comments in the last two muppet movies that I personally found a bit uncomfortable. I loved the muppets as a kid and I recently went back and watched them all over again. And this one and Wizard of Oz one I had not seen before. The use of topless bars, twisting nipples, gay dance instructor pinching tushies, talking about busty vampire vixens exploding into a sea of red crimson blood, and Kermit using the word sexy and drinking absinthe. So many sexual innuendos in these last two movies. Yes I relieze we are now many decades away from where the Muppets started. But that was what was so great about them. You could always count on them being pure and wholesome. In a world where South Park, Family Guy, and Judd Aptow are ruling the comedy era (and I love watching all three of them). It was just still nice to know that there was something still left out there that kids could find funny without adult humor that adults could find funny too.

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I really loved this movie.
It was hilarious, the acting was great (Especially Joan Cusack), and it drove home a really valuable and important message. I loved the song "Everyone Matters," that was a really moving song which should have won the Emmy it was up for.
As for the poster here saying it didn't make sense for the Muppets to care so much about a building when they can just perform elsewhere, I'd point out that they had been performing at the Muppet Theater for many many years, so the old place had a lot of sentimental value for them, and they knew how much the theater also meant to the rest of the community.

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Moongoddess, with all due respect [not much] - you are a total ignoramus.

You clearly aren't old enough to remember "way back when" the Muppets were relatively new, and when the first movie came out. That - or perhaps an excessive partaking of absinthe has corrupted your memory as well as your senses?... either way, your post is worthless. I hope you aren't around other boards spreading lies about other good films.


The Doctor is out. Far out.

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My family and I were so excited to see this movie when it first aired and boy were we ever disappointed. We all could not bear to watch this travesty after the first half hour. I am not even sure it took us that long to turn it off. Don't get me wrong, I generally love things the Henson's come out with, but there was nothing special about this Christmas special.

If you have not seen the Christmas Toy I highly recommend it. Now there was a good old Henson Christmas Special. Muppet's Family Christmas too.

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I love this movie and watch it EVERY year for Christmas. I think it is one of the most clever and funny films from the Muppets. My concern is that everyone disliking it is doing so for the gay themes more than any other reason. Personally, I think the gay themes are so subtle, they WON'T matter to kids. I have 2 nieces and a nephew as well as a very close friend who has a kid I am an "uncle" to, none of them are above the age of 10, and I would GLADLY sit them down in front of these films to watch anytime. Does anyone have any issues with the adult humor in ANIMANIACS? There was a lot of stuff thrown in for the adults watching (Dot reciting lyrics to "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves" for example). That is another show I would gladly let the kids watch and not worry. Say what you will, I will continuously watch this film every year and WILL recommend to all my friends and family. The same goes for MUPPETS CHRISTMAS CAROL. LETTERS TO SANTA was not as strong writing, but it is another special I will watch EVERY year. Besides, how can you NOT love the Yoda cameo?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

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What a disappointment. Brian Henson has completely destroyed the last remaining shreds of Muppet charm by approving this desecration of what was once sheer genius.
Umm...really?? Actually this film was a 'return to form' for the Muppets.Throughout the 90s the core Muppets were sidelined in favor of giving the spotlight to Rizzo and Gonzo. Rizzo and Gonzo were the central characters in all three 90s Muppet Movies (Christmas Carol, Treasure Island, and Muppets From Space). Kermit, Piggy, and Fozzie were given smaller supporting roles, and Scooter and Rolf weren't seen at all (and if they were, it wasn't a speaking role).

This was the first Muppet Movie since the death of Henson and Hunt to bring the focus back to the core Muppets again.

This film was the beginning of the Muppets. And now with the release of the Jason Segel film, it is complete ... the Muppets are back, and once again in top form!

“Am I a man or am I a Muppet? If I’m a Muppet, well I’m a very manly Muppet"

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