A Lifetime of Happiness: Movies, TV, and Video Games

The Muppets (2011)

• Steve Bennet-Martin, Stephen Martin-Bennet • Season 1 • Episode 166

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The Steves take on the Muppets as they cover the 2011 reboot, "The Muppets", along with what's making us happy in pop culture today.

What's making us happy?

  • The Super Mario Bros Movie (Theatres)
  • Resident Evil 4 REmake (PS4/5/PC)

The Muppets Discussion

  • The franchise history
  • Our favorite Muppets, movies, and specials
  • Names and numbers behind the scenes
  • Growing up in Small Town
  • Best and worst musical numbers
  • Our favorite Moopets
  • Our favorite new Muppets
  • And much more!

Ending- Any music or audio clips were borrowed from the original source material.

Support the show

Steve:

Hello, returning Happys and new listeners. This is Steve Bennett Martin,

Stephen:

and this is Steven Martin Bennett, and welcome to a Lifetime of Happiness,

Steve:

the podcast we're taking you on our journey through some of the movies, shows, and other bits of pop culture that are helping to keep us happy, while hopefully bring a smile to your face along the way. And we're

Stephen:

continuing a spring full of reboots and remakes with the 2011 reboot of

Steve:

the Muppets phenomena. Do, do, do, do. But before we get into that, my love, what's been making you happy?

Stephen:

It is 100%. The Super Mario Brothers movie. Yes.

Steve:

We saw it this weekend, opening weekend, and

Stephen:

it, it was everything I could have hoped for

Steve:

and more the, there was no way going into it that I thought it could have been perfect or as close to perfect as you could get. Yeah. I have no notes. Yeah, and I, I was like tearing up at the end with the climax of just how happy it was. And the

Stephen:

use of songs like the way they took songs from the Levels, the

Steve:

composer and like the visually, the way that they made K nods to the levels, even in the beginning as they were setting up the intro and they were making parallels to the world.

Stephen:

And then they even used the opening from the Super Mario Brothers super show from the 1980s as the commercial. Yes. It

Steve:

was so good. Yeah. It was someone who's been in love with Mario forever and just pay, pay. I feel like an amazing and awesome tribute to it. So Chef's

Stephen:

Kiss. Yes. I can't

Steve:

wait to see it again. Honestly. Yes. Yeah. And I was thinking like, you know what? When you were little and you watched like those Disney movies or those movies like, or Halloween over and over again on repeat, like this would be one of those if it was around when I was a kid. I just wish that this movie existed sooner.

Stephen:

Oh, me too. With how beautiful it was. I don't think it could have been done. It couldn't have been done before. Now. Now. Yes. So, but what's been making you happy, my darling?

Steve:

The Resident Evil four remake. It

Stephen:

is the Spring of Remakes.

Steve:

It is, and for me, it feels like the first time because I played it when it came out on the Game Cube and I loved it, but I didn't play it again afterwards. And so going back to a video game for the first time in what, 10, 12 something years more than. Yeah. 15, 20 years. Yeah, it's, it's, it's like a playing through it for the first time. So there are parts where I'm like, I remember a guy with a chainsaw, but in terms of story and everything, I'm about a quarter of the way through, probably not very far, but I'm enjoying it so far. No, I

Stephen:

played it four times. Once in the Game Cube, twice on the we, and then digitally on the switch. And it's absolutely my favorite of the resident

Steve:

evil games. It's, how is it watching me play this version? Really fun

Stephen:

and like I'm sitting there in certain parts and I'm like, oh, oh, oh, I remember what's coming up next. I remember what's coming next. Don't say it out loud cuz I don't

Steve:

wanna ruin it for him. Yeah. Excellent. And why am my dear do the Muppets make us happy? I

Stephen:

mean, there are so many reasons why the Muppets make us happy. There's nostalgia. Yeah, because most of us grew up with some version of the Muppets. Then there's just the Muppet things in general. Like I remember my first Muppet movie was probably. The Muppets take Manhattan. Mm-hmm. But my favorite Muppet movie was the Great Muppet Caper. Gotcha. Yeah. What about like, in terms of, what was your first one from like, Muppet Treasure Island?

Steve:

No I remember watching them on like, I mean, the Muppets were always a thing. Like I watched Muppet Babies when I was younger. Yeah. Like the Muppet Show was like on, but I was like a little. Young for that or like to fully get it, or I say that's my bedtime. There were reruns. Yes. But no, I would say, I mean, I grew up watching the Muppet family Christmas, every Christmas, so that the Muppets were around, but I, I wanna say it was the, the Muppet movie I remember seeing, or the Muppet keeper in theaters possibly. Yeah. That was like very young. I don't know. I've the, you know, I've loved them Muppets forever, but for those, for some reason, if someone's like, what's a m. It is a Jim Henson puppet who coined them in 1954 or 1955 ish. But what magic do you think makes a Muppet different from a normal puppet? Oh, that's we, we love, we love Puppet. It's like drag queens when they have the puppet challenge. Everyone loves the, everybody loves puppets. I love, like the puppet episode of Angel was like so wonderfully campy. Like, I love puppets, but what's

Stephen:

a m. I, for some reason, Muppets are real. Like y It would be, I would be hard pressed to not be convinced that Kermit Piggy, big Bird, all like that. They're not like they exist in. With real

Steve:

humans, like in a multiverse somewhere or in

Stephen:

this world, in our world. But like a puppet is controlled by someone, a Muppet that is free. Like you never see somebody controlling a Muppet. That is they are their own entity.

Steve:

True. Yes. And for those who were watching this or listening to this episode, hoping that this was gonna be about a prisoner with psychiatric problems, who would be very right for the Pickens? No, this is a, not referring to the British prison slang. Muppet

Stephen:

like beside, so Muppet. In childhood. I of course had Muppet babies on ABC when I was growing

Steve:

up. And there was Fraggle Rock

Stephen:

and Fraggle Rock. And then in the nineties there was Muppets. Now who is your favorite Muppets?

Steve:

I would say for the longest time growing up, it was Bean, the bunny from the bunny picnic, the Tale of the Bunny Picnic Uhhuh. I would say as an adult, probably animal,

Stephen:

I couldn't see that,

Steve:

Or,

Stephen:

or Ralph of all time. Mine is Miss Piggy. There's, I can see that there's just something about her extraness that I loved when I was little watching the Muppet Babies cartoons. It was gonzo there. I loved Gonzo on there. Also, you can't have the Muppets without Waldorf and Statler and their humor.

Steve:

Yes. Because it's like your father in the room with us. Yes. Watching Muppets. But

Stephen:

also as an adult, I've really grown to love Janice and her.

Steve:

I do love Janice. I wish they would like hippie vibes.

Stephen:

Yes. Yeah. I, she just

Steve:

has, she would go to your moon ceremonies. She

Stephen:

would go to my moon ceremonies. Like, this is just where we're supposed to. And so I said that my favorite was the great Muppet Caper. Do you think that yours is Muppet family? Christmas?

Steve:

Probably, and it's a hundred percent nostalgia, but for those people who don't know and love the Muppets, it's definitely, I would say you saw it as an adult. It's worth checking out. It is. I mean, it's. A crossover with the Muppets Fraggle Rock and Sesame Street and it's Christmas has lots of Christmas music. It's

Stephen:

the Avengers endgame of the Muppets without

Steve:

death. Yeah, exactly. So if that sounds appealing or something, it's on YouTube now. So they

Stephen:

decided to reboot the Muppets?

Steve:

Yes. And why though?

Stephen:

Well, so a household name Muppet movies were big in the late seventies with the Muppet movie through the nineties. Every successful movies coming out about every four years or so. Or so up through Muppets in Space in 1999, which was an all-time low at the box office of 22.3 million. In addition to the movies, there was the Successful Muppet Show a bunch of special shows and spinoffs. Now, I did not see Muppets in Space. I saw the trailer for it, but I was not intrigued by it

Steve:

at all. I was not, but it is on Disney Plus. We should watch it

Stephen:

sometime. Yeah. But in the mid nineties we had Muppets. Which was an updated version of the original Muppet Show, which was like a weekly variety show with a celebrity guest, and my Paula Abdul was one of the celebrity guests during that run. Favorite

Steve:

episode of yours? I bet

Stephen:

of Muppets tonight. Absolutely. It was,

Steve:

yes. And then like in the late nineties into the odds, there was a 14 year courtship where Disney brought them Muppets. Finally in 2002. And as we're seeing in modern day with the X-Men, Disney loves to take their time and plan their well-known ips. So they were left with the question of what next? So I

Stephen:

really loved the ab. C show The Muppets, which was a mockumentary style show. It had some of the best laughs of any Muppet property. It was like those of us that had grown up in the eighties and nineties with it. This was the Muppets for us Now it didn't go over as well because some people felt it was too grown up for that.

Steve:

Yeah. But even that came after this. It

Stephen:

did come after this.

Steve:

So this is after they've rebooted it. This is what, that's what they did after this movie, I

Stephen:

guess. Well, after this. And the one where Kermit went to jail. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And what was great about this is that you can't remake it and you can't really start fresh. You have to treat everything. Like everything that came before was. Yeah,

Steve:

exactly. And them taking on a different location has been done. Them doing different holidays has been done, so they need something new or like a fresh take on breathing fresh life into this IP that everyone loves. Right. So And so how'd that

Stephen:

happen? Well, in 2008, Jason Siegel and Nicholas Stroller. Pitch the concept for a film to Disney and across various rewrites and temporary collaborations and names. Production began in 2010 with James Bobbin directing

Steve:

Yes, and throughout the process. Other rumor titles include the CH the Greatest, Muppet, the Greatest Muppets movie of all Time. And the cheapest Muppet movie of all time, both of which I'm finding to be tongue twisters. What do you think of,

Stephen:

I was gonna say neither one was really good. We know Jason Siegel from How I Met Your Mother. Yeah. Stoler has collaborative with him on movies like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Neighbors and Bowman's Resume includes the Sasha Baron Cohen UK Show the d Oddly G Show.

Steve:

Yes. Is this a teen? Youd what expect firm Muppets movie with this kind of

Stephen:

resume? No, because Jason was usually known for his adult humor. But you can see the love that he has for the property. And when you heard him talking about it during the press leading up to the movie, he truly gets what makes the Muppets iconic. And the way he voiced his love and his nostalgia and his respect for the properties always really hit at my heart. And I was like, oh God, me too. Yeah, me too.

Steve:

Yeah. And now if there's a name that people associate with the Muppets, besides Jim Henson, it's often Frank Oz right now. Frank Oz was originally set to direct, but apparently he left the project because he was unhappy with the script. Now, at least with the final script we got, what are your thoughts on that?

Stephen:

I'm not sure what script he saw, but if it was the one that we saw on screen, I love this movie. No notes, no corrections. The end melts my heart every time. If this was the script he saw, I don't see a problem

Steve:

with it. So yeah, I remember in this final script someone associated with him up. It's might have been him, it might have been someone else had issues with foe's fart shoes, saying that that was lowbrow humor, that the is below the Muppet. But I don't think that one land like that would cause someone to have that big an issue. No.

Stephen:

And

Steve:

and I'm okay with some fart humor.

Stephen:

Yeah. And it wasn't, it wasn't a lot. And even like whenever. They were doing it at the end, somebody turned to Fosse and was like, now's not the time. Yes. And I was like, good. They got the joke in, but then they told him it's not appropriate.

Steve:

Yeah. Yes. And with his big old hard on for the Muppets, of course he gets to star in the movie, Jason Siegel, of course. And he stars with Amy. Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, and dozens of faces and names you've seen from all over the place. Yeah. Who are some of your favorite cameos?

Stephen:

Whoopie, of course, I love Whoopie. Selena Gomez. I have come. To truly love, thanks to only murders in the building. Yeah. And Neil Patrick Harris was really good in his short cameo during the telethon. Yeah. With his line of, yes, I agree. I should be hosting. Yes. I love

Steve:

that. And they always love when you have other characters like, just like that are celebrities, like Sarah Silverman. Just playing a a regular, regular person is always fun to see too. Yep. Yeah. And after finishing the movie, a funny story I have cuz we see Jason Siegel get his Muppet version of himself during Muppet or a man he got to keep the Muppet of

Stephen:

himself. I think that's very cool and hopefully he has some type of acrylic case to keep it in so that it's not gonna get dusty or with the elements and

Steve:

things like that. Or this pet doesn't find it and think it's a chew. Yeah. As we look at Remy

Stephen:

and producers gave Jason Siegel feedback card from a child audience member at an early test screening of the

Steve:

film. Yes. The producers attached a handwritten note to Jason's feedback card that said to keep you humble. When asked to describe what the child's audience member did not like about the film the child wrote in. Gary's face,

Stephen:

Gary being Jason Siegel.

Steve:

Yes. Now Im DB describes the movie as a Muppet fanatic with some help from his two human compatriots Must Regroup the Muppet Gang to stop and. Acis Avaricious, I hate that word, oil mogul from taking down one of their precious lifelong treasures. Besides using a$5 word in an IMD b movie script for what could be constituted as a children's movie being absolutely ridiculous.

Stephen:

It's a good summary. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, Ava just is even more than a$5 word, I think that's at least a 1550. Yeah. That would

Steve:

score you 15 points with words, with friends, with

Stephen:

mom. It had a budget of 45 million at a box office of 165.2 million. Definitely saving our Muppet Theater. Yes.

Steve:

And this is the first, first Muppets production to win an Oscar. Bre Mackenzie won best original song for Muppet O Man or a Muppet.

Stephen:

And it's good, but honestly, I'm

Steve:

surprised that that's the

Stephen:

one that went in the York. I know, because honestly, the song that got stuck in my head. Was the one from the beginning. The song like the happy song? Yeah.

Steve:

Yes. And

Stephen:

like someone is beside you to sing along like

Steve:

You. Yes. And the day prior to the film's DVD D released them, Muppets. Finally were awarded a star on the Hollywood. Wood Walk of Fame. It's located in front of the El Capon Theater, which is owned by Disney and plays the Muppet Theater in this movie.

Stephen:

That's fantastic. Yes. Now to talk about the movie Walter, what had happened was, yeah. What had happened was Walter, a fabric person lives with his brother Gary, a human in small town. The two become Muppets fans when they watch the Muppet show in their. As long as there are Muppets, there

Steve:

is hope. Yes. Growing up Walter doesn't seem to notice the difference between humans and Muppets, which made me think of our real world. Do you think that children are inherently open to accepting people's differences and focusing on their similarities and that it's parents and politicians that spread bias in otherness?

Stephen:

100%. Hate and bigotry are taught. You're not born with it. Kids don't see socioeconomic differe. Kids hang out with the kids that they like. It's as simple as that. It isn't until the adult world that starts to get in, that the kids start changing how they treat other people. Whether they, you know, oh, I'm not hanging out with you cuz you're poor, or I'm not hanging out with you cuz you're a different race or a different religion. Like that's what adults in the adult world does. Kids never think of those.

Steve:

Yes. And what was your Muppet show growing up that would make any hard day better? Oh, it was

Stephen:

absolutely Scooby-Doo when I was younger. It was always on when I would get home from school and something about that always made me happy and calm when I watched it. And like the Muppet Show for Walter, that was my happy. But I have to give special mention to Heman and Sheira from that same time period and later X-Men the animated series. Yes. What about you and what was your Happy Place show as a child? Buffy

Steve:

as

Stephen:

a younger child?

Steve:

Buffy? No, I was like, what? 10 19

Stephen:

93? No, Buffy did not start in 1993. Whatever

Steve:

it was. Buffy. No, but before that. Before that, probably Fraggle Rock, I would think. Actually, I loved my Muppets. Okay. I'll accept that answer. Okay. Or Digi.

Stephen:

That's, I'd accept that answer as well.

Steve:

Yes. And they grew up in small town, which is designed to be a comically idyllic small town. Did you have that kind of

Stephen:

childhood? Honestly, for the most part, yes. Growing up in my small town where you knew so many people and they knew you and you had just fantastic teachers and people were amazing cooks and bakers, And there were so many small town festivals. There was a lot Right, with growing up in a small town like Spencer back then.

Steve:

Back then, yes. What would you say about growing up in a small town today?

Stephen:

It's not for the queer community at all. Like growing up, I mean, just the things that you see. Going through West Virginia legislature and even how they're treating their teachers these days with pay and different things, like West Virginia has some of the most natural beauty and culture and history and amazing people, and certain people that are in charge are. Making it awful. So

Steve:

I would love a small town in maybe Southern California where everyone's gay, but it's like a small town where everyone bakes and sings songs in the town square and dances and has fun.

Stephen:

That sounds lovely. Yes.

Steve:

Now as adults, Walter and Gary continue to live together in their hometown of small town. Gary Plans a vacation to Los Angeles with his girlfriend Mary, played by the Mar. Marvelous, Amy Adams, who

Stephen:

should have won an Oscar by now, just saying

Steve:

yes. It's to celebrate their 10th anniversary, but he invites Walter along so he can see them up at. Gary's pleased to spend time with both of his favorite people. Maryanne Walter, as they sing, life's a happy song. No, Mary Sings about how Gary's devotion to Walter detracts from their relationship and makes her heart sad. That

Stephen:

song with the dancing and the singing sets the tone for the movie immediately. You can't help but smile and you are willing and ready to go along for the ride with. I just

Steve:

love it. Yes. And did you ever have a best friend who's basically a third person in your romantic relationships or dated someone who was, had that person? So,

Stephen:

when I was dating a guy in Cincinnati it was overlapping with the time where Brady was living with me. Brady's my best friend. So we'd have dinner together after work, we'd talk about our day, we'd share our joys and frustrations. And I can definitely look back and see the times that I gave the guy less because I had already shared all the things of my day with Brady. Whoops. But in the end, Brady's still around and the guy's not, so maybe I did the right thing. Exactly. They

Steve:

were definitely at the time in like, especially like post-college, but before Florida. Where any guy in my life, like Laura was part of the The baggage deal, or No, it was, it was in college, probably like my sophomore year. But yeah, during that time when I was living at home with my grandmother, like if I was free and Laura was free, we were hanging out and if you were dating me and you wanted to hang out with Laura and I, you can join Laura and I, but if you wanted me on your own, it had to be because Laura had work or some other plans. Otherwise, we were the ones joined at the hip and my boyfriends were. Passing by now in Los Angeles, the three visit the Muppet Theater to find it in ruins. Oh no. During the tour around the facility, Walter sneaks into Kermit the Frog's office and discovers Statler Wald selling the theater to Tex Richmond. Played by Chris Cooper, an oil magnet, and his associates Bobo The Bear and Uncle Deadly. While Doff explains that the Muppets can raise 10 million to rebuy the theater in a certain number of. Once Statler and Walter Earth leave Walter Learns of Texas true intentions to tear down the Muppet studios and drill underneath for oil. Maniacal laugh,

Stephen:

maniacal

Steve:

laugh, maniacal laugh, maniacal laugh. And I think that that was a funny joke that did not get old in that movie, but at all probably would get old eventually. It's still funny. Yes, and they have the worst tour guide ever who clearly is. Waiting to die. Oh. So I

Stephen:

remember a school trip to some science museum. Not one of the Smithsonians or anything like that. I can't remember which one, but I remember that the guy just sounded monotone and boring and I just kept thinking like, I'd rather be in school. Like that's how bad it was.

Steve:

Yes. Yeah, I definitely remember that's what all of Colonial Williamsburg felt like when I was a child, but I was also like in third or fourth grade and was not smart to bring a child to old Colonial Williamsburg in the middle of summer where they don't practice like air conditioning or everything. Your child's very soft and used to playing video games and reading books inside. So I, I think that it probably was also just, I did not want to be there.

Stephen:

In Kermit's office, there are many pictures of him with different special guessso like Steve Martin and Florence Henderson, and one of the pictures is of Kermit and Jim Henson, who originally performed Kermit until his death in 1990.

Steve:

Yes. And Uncle Leys now become one of your favorites as Peggy's assistant on Muppet's now. Oh,

Stephen:

uncle Deadly has just become so fantastic. I, it's hard to believe that this was his introduction because now it feels like he's just part of the crew.

Steve:

Yes. And the role of Tex Richmond was originally written for Alan Rickman, who would've

Stephen:

been absolutely amazing in the role.

Steve:

He turned it down for whatever reason. I checked, he died afterwards. So it's not that he was dead.

Stephen:

No, but it was definitely much afterwards because the Harry Potter movies hadn't happened yet.

Steve:

So I just wanted to make sure when it happened, I was like, why didn't he? Maybe he didn't wanna sing that rap. I don't know. Probably that was the one part that I was like, oh, I can't imagine him doing that, but maybe he would've. You never know.

Stephen:

Yes. Walter explains the situation to Gary and Mary and the three track down Kermit at his mansion. Kerman is distressed to learn the news and realizes that the only way to earn the 10 million would be to put on a show. Which the Muppets haven't done in years. Walter convinces him to try and they set off to reunite the group.

Steve:

Yes. And I loved eighties robot. Would you want him as your butler and personal

Stephen:

assistant? Not at all. He annoyed the shit out of

Steve:

me. I would love him to be someone else's that I could visit and play with. But I don't imagine keeping him around for myself. No, because

Stephen:

I would throw him in the pool. Yes.

Steve:

And is the song pictures in my head the most boring, slowest. Part of the movie? Or am I just heartless?

Stephen:

No, it's definitely the most boring part, but the lines about how the world has forgotten about the Muppets is sad because after a dec decade it does feel like the world really had forgotten about the Muppets and the line. Not sure if anyone would watch or care did something break that we can't repair. And it's, it kind of hits that like part of you. Yeah. And. That made me sad, but I wasn't upset when the song was

Steve:

over. Yes, me either. Now, would you want to go on an adventure with Kermit to save the Muppets?

Stephen:

In a heartbeat. I'd go on an adventure with the Muppets to help them get groceries if they needed to. And I hate the grocery

Steve:

store. True. Well, first on their Stop to recruit is Foe Bear, who's performing with a group of Uncouth Muppet Impersonators, the Mopes in Reno, Nevada, and Kermit persuades him to leave the. Gonzo has become a powerful plumbing magnet. He at first refuses but secretly longs to return to his daredevil days. He then blows up his business and joins them with his girlfriend. Camilla

Stephen:

Animal is in a celebrity anger management clinic. He rejoins them, but his sponsor, Jack Black, warns him to avoid the drums. Yes.

Steve:

Now any favorite? Yes.

Stephen:

I mean, Ms. Puggy

Steve:

Yes, is I do, I'm glad that we got more Ms. Puy. Yeah. And then I also love fake, Janice. I'm figuring, being that they're in Reno, which is basically ghetto Vegas. Yeah. She must be a drag queen. Right. Has to be perfect. And am I the only one who like, especially this summer around. Was like, where's Rizzo?

Stephen:

He should have been Gonzo's personal assistant.

Steve:

Yeah. Th this has been his smallest part since he was first introduced in the Muppet Show. Yeah. In any of the movies, like

Stephen:

he, he should have been Gonzo's personal assistant and also, Couldn't Gonzo have used the money from his successful business to buy the theater? You know, instead of blowing it up, I'm sure if he had sold the warehouse and all the supplies and added that to money, he already had the, in the bank, he would've had more than$10 million. I'm just saying Yes.

Steve:

That's human logic. We're using Muppet Logic here. I know. Why don't we travel by map somewhere

Stephen:

else, babe? Oh, God wouldn't, couldn't they? And. As Amy Adams said, another part of the movie, this is gonna be the shortest movie ever. Yes.

Steve:

Now is rejoining them. Muppets. The best thing for animal, personally and spiritually? Well, you have

Stephen:

to ask certain questions. Does animal have anger or rage issues outside of drumming? Is animal addicted to the drumming or is he his most authentic self while drumming? Does his drumming hurt anyone else? These are questions that have to be answered because. What has animal done that has harmed anyone else?

Steve:

Personally, I don't know, but I would think to end up in a fancy celebrity rehab you have to do something.

Stephen:

Maybe people just thought it was the best for him and two of his friends may signed the thing cuz, or at two family members. I was gonna say

Steve:

cuz the amount of property destruction we've seen him

Stephen:

now property destruction is one thing, but you know, I. Have to assume that the band had made enough money that they could pay back. There you go. I dunno. I support animal and

Steve:

his drumming. Okay. Now, during a montage, the rest of the Muppets are found and picked up. They then travel by map to Paris to find Miss Piggy who went to work as Vogue Paris's, plus size editor-in-chief with Emily Blunt redoing her devil's. Whereas product character as her s. They get in using the classic Muppet Man trick to try and ask her to come, but she refuses to cooperate because of her unresolved issues with Kermit, and she splits after what they thought was a real marriage. After Muppets take Manhattan, the Muppets replace Piggy with her Moet counterpart, miss Puggy, which is the one thing that would piss her off the most.

Stephen:

So at the end of Muppet's, take Manhattan, Kermit and Piggy got married. Yeah. It's now Muppet Cannon that they're. Minister was defrocked shortly after, so their marriage wasn't legal, which was unfortunate. Yeah. I love Muppet man. All of them standing on their shoulders and I love that. She's like, I fell for Muppet, man.

Steve:

Yes. I love that. And any Muppet's missing from the montage that you want to create a backstory of where they've been?

Stephen:

I mean, they showed Ralph. And he was just relaxing. Yes. And you know, the, the one Muppet I always miss is the one that doesn't exist. And it's skier, ah, scooter's sister from the Muppet babies. And I always wish that there had been a skier, like, and Janice is about as close as we get,

Steve:

but Yeah. True. And I also would've loved to see like what chef's been up to for this long. Yeah. Like I would love to see that he like, made a fool of himself on some reality chef competition.

Stephen:

Oh. Like that one with the angry British.

Steve:

Exactly. Like and have Gordon Ramsey like to telling chef off. Yeah. And just, just hurt it hurting. Yeah. And then also, I don't necessarily need a full backstory, but I wanna do, wanna know what the hell is up with the big, giant blue monster Muppet man? Because it, I don't catches your eye, but I've never seen him

Stephen:

before. No. That is a shade of blue. That is not even Grover Blue. That's a new blue. And I don't remember. Him seeing, like seeing him

Steve:

ever again. Well, I'm good. I like the blue color. Yeah. Personally, now do the limited spaces for the puppeteers in the scene where the car is full of Muppets after picking them all up. Amy Adams and Jason Siegel were asked to operate the Muppets on either side of them. So they've been Muppet tears. I think That's really cool. Yes. And with Miss Piggy and Kermit fighting after their fake marriage, are you team Piggy or team Kermit or do I even need to ask? It's Team

Stephen:

Piggy because Kermit has always been very wishy washy with his commitment and feelings to her. Piggy has always been very. In what she wants. Gmy? Yeah. Kermit needs to get his shit together. It's, it's his fault.

Steve:

Yes. And with one of the fluffiest names, but most terrifying demeanors. Can we talk about Sweden's for a moment? Sweden's,

Stephen:

you mean the eight foot tall, scariest Muppet ever?

Steve:

Yes. I remember. Especially in the, when we saw in Disney World, the 3D experience. Yeah. When he was stomping around, I was terrified as a child.

Stephen:

Terrified. No, Swedens is terrifying. And I think that it's really funny that he looks so scary and his name is Swedens. I think that's fantastic. I do too. Also still scary.

Steve:

Agreed. Now the Muppets pitch, their idea for a telethon and are rejected by several network. But one executive Veronica, played by Rashida Jones accepts an offer to give them Muppets a two hour opening in her network schedule. Due to the sudden cancellation of one of the network's hit shows punch teacher, however, on the condition that they bring a celebrity guest,

Stephen:

the rep Muppets repair the theater with the montage of, we built this city. But their rehearsals do not go well and Kerman is unable to find a celebrity guest. He goes through his entire Rolodex. Some of them dead, some of them have moved on. Even Molly Ringwald says no. And she was busy doing the Secret Life of the American teenager at that point. Oh, okay. Miss Piggy returns and kicks Miss Puggy out, Kermit persuades Walter to help them and. So that he can find out his talent.

Steve:

Yes. And before he actually became a TV show host on every show ever. We have the host of punch teacher, Kim Jong, not Kim Jong, not Kim Jong-Un.

Stephen:

Dr. Ken. Dr. Kim. Not Kim John. That's the guy from North Korea.

Steve:

Oh, that's bad. No, never. Dr. Ken. Yeah. Yes. But would you watch Punch

Stephen:

Teacher? No, that is awful. I would watch a show where teachers could compete to double their salary or get all their school supplies paid for.

Steve:

True. Would you wanna watch a show called Punch the Executive Director?

Stephen:

Do I get to

Steve:

pick

Stephen:

the

Steve:

executive director? I think we know who you would pick.

Stephen:

Now. An appearance by Elmo of Sesame Street was planned for a scene where lawyers would've nixed an attempt by the Muppets to have him host the show. According to Jason Siegel, the cameo itself was forbidden by lawyers. Sesame Street Muppets had previously made cameo. But have not done so since the purchase, the Muppet characters by Disney in 2004 because Sesame Street Muppets are owned by the Children's television

Steve:

workshop. Yes. And you've done plays Lamo. Yes. And any dress rehearsal nightmare stories like this one? Oh God, yeah.

Stephen:

So many. But the one that is the worst. We were doing Kiss Me Kate, and about two weeks before opening, they canceled the show like the. The entire board of directors of the people that were paying for it. Yeah. Showed up to watch a full run through and that's never a good sign. And like we were three quarters of the way through and they just had us come sit out front and tell us that it was done. And we had all put in, you know, a lot of time and effort, but it was a mess. Yeah. In 2010 or 11, who would've been your dream celebrity host? For this? For

Steve:

this? Well, I am looking at a list of some of the hottest celebrities of 2010 right now. Right up top, I would say Robert Downey, Jr. Might be one, but out of all the names that I see, the one that I could see, even though I don't love him personally, I'm surprised. Will Ferrell like seemed like a natural for Muppets and was very big in 2010. God, I don't like him. I know. Well, how about Jennifer Aniston? She's number 23 on the list. True.

Stephen:

Honestly, though, I would've picked Vanessa Williams. She was doing Ugly Buddy at the time. She is a Grammy award-winning singer. She can dance, she can do comedy. She's a terrific actress.

Steve:

Speaking of somebody who can do it all, how about Meryl St. Oh, Meryl Streep with Muppets. Wouldn't that be a match made in heaven?

Stephen:

Okay. Somebody that's listening to this that knows someone next to Muppet movie, like, you know how you get famous people? We're gonna talk about it in a second. But Meryl is the human. The in. Yes. Make it happen.

Steve:

Perfect. Now, right now, who do you think needs the other one more? Walter or

Stephen:

Gary? Gary, hands down. I don't think he's ever had a dream or a passion of his own. Walter's dream has always been the Muppets and he's found a home with him now. And it doesn't seem that Gary is sure what to do. Correct.

Steve:

And Mary and Miss Piggy have their own separate me party numbers as Mary gets neglected by Gary again and piggy settles in Poor Mary. Like you can see she's doing her best to make the best of a bad

Stephen:

situation. Yeah, yeah. But I do feel bad for her. I

Steve:

do. Now soon realizing they have not found a guest host Kerman Aztecs to give their studio back, but he refuses in the rap. Let's Talk about me. That I also wish was not in this movie, but at least it was short.

Stephen:

Yeah. He further reveals that the Muppets will also lose the rights to the Muppet name. And it will be given to the MUE who have Allied with

Steve:

texts. Miss Piggy then organized the Muppets Sands Kermit to kidnap Jack Black to serve a celebrity host, which is brilliant. Yeah,

Stephen:

so Chris Cooper fully committed to this role. He is a well respected actor with a diverse and amazing resume.

Steve:

Yes. And we feel very differently about this rap. Yeah.

Stephen:

Because I think the rap was everything from the fact that it's Chris Cooper in this role in the Muppets movie who had been doing maniacal

Steve:

laugh. Yeah. And that

Stephen:

was funny. And the rap is just one of those other things where it is the last thing you'd expect Chris Cooper to do. And it's reminiscent of Michael Kane in the Muppets Christmas Carol or Tim Curry and Muppet's Treasure Island famous. Like classically trained actors going all in on their Muppet roll whenever they could have gone Muppet. Yes. With their performance, but they took it like they were doing fucking Shakespeare in the park. Exactly. And I fully

Steve:

approve. Yes. Now Mary returns to small town after Gary forgets the promised anniversary dinner. Gary and Walter each want the other's, help with their problems and they have a falling. Gary realizes he needs to step up in his relationship with Mary. While Walter realizes he was meant to be a Muppet as they sing Man or Muppet, Gary returns to have dinner with Mary and they watch the telethon, which goes well with celebrity host Jack Black as host, and. Very obviously under duress and, and no one cares.

Stephen:

Yeah. And that's what's working really well, is he's the straight man to foe's jokes. Yes. And it's the funniest I've ever seen foe cuz. Foe's not really that funny, which is part of the, the show, which is part of the humor of it all. But to have foe doing it and then have someone go, oh Lord, Lord, please.

Steve:

No. Exactly. Yeah. And the opening is just always

Stephen:

special as it, it's time to light the lights. It's time to start the show. It's time for it. Yeah, it is. It still gives me all the feels. It is. Classic and I'm so glad they included it.

Steve:

Yes, the show is turning out great and I enjoyed Camilla and her chickens doing, forget you more than I probably should. Tex cuts the power to the theater, but Gary and Mary Rush back to Los Angeles via map and repair the wiring so the telethon can continue. Mary repairs

Stephen:

the wiring because Mary can also.

Steve:

Fix a carburetor. Yes. Mary is the hero here. Yeah. Uncle Deadly turns on texts and stops him from destroying the transmitter antenna. And is he the winner of Best New Muppet?

Stephen:

Absolutely. 100%. Uncle Deadly is best New Muppet. Runner up, of course, is Miss

Steve:

Puggy 100%. Kermit admits he needs Mrs. Miss Piggy, and they do a wonderful rendition of Rainbow Connection and she decides to stay with Kermit with the telephone running short. Walter finds his talent by performing a whistling act of Figueroa to the audience's acclaim, and I find that that is a show off because I can't whistle more than a.

Stephen:

I used to be able to do the entire walk like an Egyptian whistle part. And I'm always jealous of people that can do the two fingers in their mouth

Steve:

Whistle. Oh, the dad whistle? Yeah. Yes. I can't do it. Me either. Now the, the total board stops at 9,999,999 after text destroys the nearby telephone pole.$1. They were$1 away. Oh, no. If only one person in that audience had the$1. Oh no. But glitch discovers when Fazi bangs his head on the tote board that the denominations forgot the decimal point, and it's only$99,999 and 99 cents, nowhere near the amount of money they needed. Oh, Kermit states that they tried and that it's all that matters together as a family. They will start over.

Stephen:

Now, there was a joke that Jason Segel tried to put in here.

Steve:

Yes. Cut from the movie was a joke of Kermit saying to the television. This went so well. We're bringing back the Muppet Show this fall on ABC

Stephen:

and Disney's Dote did note to Jason Siegel and Nicholas Stoler about The joke was Nice. Try.

Steve:

Yes. Now when The Muppets, along with Walter, Gary and Mary walk out to the theater, they discover a huge gathering of fans and press. Thousands and thousands of people who have turned out to show their love and in my hope, made all those signs at home and brought them to the movie cuz they love the Muppets so much.

Stephen:

Yeah. And everyone has missed the Muppets. And honestly, I started crying at this point.

Steve:

Like because you had missed the Muppets too. I had missed the

Stephen:

Muppets too. And when everybody was there it was like a everyone works together moment. Yes. And just. Unbridled adulation for the Muppets. And I was like, me too girl. Me too.

Steve:

Yes. And with Gary's encouragement, Walter joins the Muppets as they greet the crowd singing. Life's a happy song, Gary proposes to Mary Black is taken and declared King of the Hobos by Hobo Joe. Played by Zack Galifianakis in the role that he was born to play. Yeah. And Tex returns the theater and the Muppet named to the Muppets after Gonzo's failed head bowling act from the telethon causes Tex a head. Making him laugh for the first time in his life, and it all leads to them singing

Stephen:

phenomena. Do, do,

Steve:

do, do phenomena, do, do, do, do. Thoughts on the ending.

Stephen:

I love it. I just said like it made me so happy. I was just sitting there with tears streaming down my face and then I was trying to sing phenomena and it was awesome. It was everything. Than I could have hoped for in a Muppet movie like this. To me, perfectly encapsulated modern movie making and the muppets and heart and warmth and comedy like is so good.

Steve:

It is. And there was a sequel to this. What were your thoughts on the sequel?

Stephen:

It was good. It wasn't great. It just didn't have the same magic.

Steve:

Overall though, would you say that this movie was successful at rebooting the franchise, if not for the movies, but bringing them Muppets back into

Stephen:

100%? And I do feel like if the second movie had been better, We would be having more Muppet movies, but this movie in general is the one that brought it back into popular culture so that the Muppets will still be a thing after being gone for 12 years.

Steve:

Yeah. Most recently we had the Halloween special. That was this year, right? Or was that last year?

Stephen:

It was last year. That was the Muppets Haunted Mansion. Yep. That was fun. We love during Covid Muppets now on Disney Plus. Yes. And I think there is absolutely more room for Muppet content with the right tone and the correct guiding. Agreed.

Steve:

But any last thoughts or are you ready just to tell our listeners how much we love them?

Stephen:

Ugh. Well, I am ready to say that we very much love our listeners and we would love to hear what you have to thank. About this movie.

Steve:

You could do that by emailing us at happy life pod

Stephen:

gmail.com. You can get in touch with us on all the socials, whether that is Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok at Happy Life

Steve:

Pod. And until next time, everybody, stay happy

Stephen:

phenomena.