There’s a conversation starter that has popped up in a couple of my friend groups that is similar to this, basically “what movies would be improved by all but one actor being replaced by muppets?” My answer has consistently been Face/Off with Nic Cage as the only human actor. I even threw a poster together…
This is incredible
Cage playing Gonzo would be magical
Best. Movie. Ever.
So basically the Muppet Treasure Island and Muppet Christmas Carol treatment for cartoons.
Yes, that would clearly work and Disney is squandering the potential.
You clearly didn’t watch Muppet Haunted Mansion.
I don’t remember hearing about Muppet Haunted Mansion, is it good?
It’s actually very good. I enjoyed it thoroughly
Would one need to have seen the original first?
lol there isn’t an original unless you count the Eddie Murphy version, which is not really connected to the muppet one. Besides both being about the haunted mansion.
It’s not based on the movies, it’s based off the ride itself. You would catch more references having ridden the ride at any of the parks.
This idea makes too much sense and would make way too much money.
Disney board - “Pass”
imagine the merchandizing potential of a muppet Jedi, and Yoda (the only human) is Danny Devito.
I want to watch Muppet Flubber, where everyone is a muppet except for Flubber. Also, possibly Honey I Shrunk the Muppets with a human Rick Moranis.
They couldn’t do star wars with Yoda being the human. How many Muppet Yoda plushy sales would they be giving up‽
Also why are these recent live action remakes so boring? Even my children couldn’t get past five minutes in any of them.
They try to go as close to the source material (their own version) as possible while following a checklist of fixes. That checklist involves things like CinemaSins-tier critiques of the original, and what corporate execs think as “good representation” (the most corporate-safe way, e.g. gay characters that can be cut out for certain audiences, because you need that money from Saudi, Chinese, Russian, etc. audiences), with the latter being the most blamed for the issues. But the actual greatest issue itself is that they try to redo even the stuff that only works within the realms of animation in live action.
Animation relies on exaggeration, which doesn’t work in real life, thus getting rid of the most fun part of the animation medium, just to win over the “cartoons are for children” crowd. This leads to stuff like The Lion King “live action” remake, with its expressionless realistic animals acting out what cartoon animals did in a previous, animated version of The Lion King. The same is in to different extents and versions in all the other “live action” remakes.
They try to go as close to the source material (their own version)
Except they changed Mulan to appease a Chinese audience. Before release everyone thought the remake would be closer to the original story because of the rumor that the movie targeted the Chinese market. But they turned it into a Marvel movie and made Mulan a superhero resulting in that almost everyone disliked the movie.
Everything about that was puzzling. They changed the story supposedly to be more culturally accurate, but what they came up with wasn’t culturally accurate at all. How did that happen?
Besides, when Chinese people want a culturally accurate Mulan, they watch one of the many Chinese-made adaptions of the story. The animated was appealing because it was a fresh take, a Disney musical that Chinese could relate to. The remake was just a huge miscalculation.
But the animation flopped in China. Mainly because it felt foreign for the Chinese. They even found Mulan’s design too westernized. That’s why Disney thought they had to make a different Mulan story.
I’m surprised to hear that. When I was in China in the early 2010s I saw it played all the time.
Please don’t remind current-state Disney of this, unless you want to see yet another beloved franchise destroyed in an inconceivable way.
That seems to be Disney’s only achievable direction right now. Massacring all creativity out of everything they own for sake of…I can’t even tell anymore, but apparently it’s somehow not even money.
We’ll end up with a live action The Muppet Movie remake only starring humans.
That’s so meta I’d actually be interested to see how they pull it off…
Poorly, that’s a given, but beyond that.
cats style CGI fursuits, except now it’s kermit
We would get things like Treasure Island where Tim Curry’s part is played by a single Muppet. So yeah, not great.
In the wrong accent and cadence “high ho, Kermit The Frog here”
It’s not just Disney digging the graveyard to sell more rotting remains and wondering why they don’t go for top dollar; it’s the lot of them. FREAKY FRIDAY is coming out again.
What’s next? Non-racist Chitty Chitty bang-bang? Twin child actors again with yet another parent trap?
A24 presents 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕻𝖆𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝕿𝖗𝖆𝖕
Hugh Jackman as “hideous non-Muppet Beast”, plus he gets to sing and dance. I know he’d jump at the opportunity.
Quick. Call his agent!
This is basically the same strategy that put Lego back on top. And clearly that’s working brilliantly.
Aside: Lego was staring into void until they changed leadership and pivoted to this “license everything” strategy. Why? The patent on their bricks was about to expire. Rather than run on brand recognition alone, they embraced something else that nobody else could get. Disney should take note here: any other studio could start cranking out irreverent send-ups of classic fairy tales, but they won’t have Muppets.
But aren’t the brick composition and manufacturing process trade secrets?
Sure, but it can’t be that hard to reverse engineee plastic bricks. I mean build a mold to size, try a few plastics, and you’re done
The quality control is also huge. They have competitors with compatible pieces, but Lego’s bricks are just better.
There used to be a Lego plant a couple towns over when I was a kid, employed a lot of people before it closed. It was always funny talking to kids that’s parents worked there because they acted like they were in the CIA. I guess they all had to sign NDAs, so they were extremely tight lipped about their jobs.
Anyway, I am pretty sure Lego is the only company that has actually achieved 6 sigma… probably before it ever even became a thing.
They don’t even have to be high budget either I’d watch the lowest budget muppet remake over the highest budget live action remake anyday
They are too chicken shit to put out a new story, 90% of the time anyhow
They want the safe bets.
I don’t get why people love Muppets so much. I pretty much grew up without it, and I think one time my mom let us take a Muppet movie home from the library when I was a kid, and it was… Alright. I guess.
Anyone care to explain what they like about about them?
It’s the craft.
Multiple actors who have played against Sesame Street characters like Elmo have said that they forget there is a human hidden under the puppet - they’re that good.
Hmm… If it weren’t for those sticks controlling their hands, I might have been convinced too lol.
One probably tunes it out after a while. And professional actors are probably much better than average at convincing their brains that a fictional situation is real.
As an adult who grew up on sesame street and the muppets, it’s just the unabashed wholesomeness that I love. They were preaching inclusivity when I was growing up in a time/place that tried to force conformity. They weren’t cool, they were themselves, and that’s never a bad message for kids (or adults).
The newer movie (The Muppets 2011), co-written by Jason Segal, who also grew up with The Muppets, captures that vibe perfectly IMHO.
Jason Segal is awesome
I will look for and watch that movie to see what you’re talking about!
The show is the best of the muppets, not the movies. Some of them are decent, but judging the show by the movies is like trying to understand SNL by watching Blues Brothers and Night at the Roxbury.
I’m sorry but Night at the Roxbury is better than SNL.
Hot take
Mahna Mahna!
Micheal Cane was awesome in the Muppet movie he starred in because he treated his fellow muppets like people.
Tim Curry was awesome in the Muppet movie he starred in because he treated himself like a fellow Muppet.
Said it before I’ll say it again, full original trilogy star wars with Muppets, all human characters are Muppets, all muppet aliens are humans (Jaba, Yoda, etc). It would print money
Have him played by a Hemsworth lol
Or Cavill
I’ve seen articles genuinely arguing that “him being such s gamer and obsessed nerd makes him unattractive”, they hated that he sided with the fans on Witcher.
That has to be either satire or a character assassination on behalf of Netflix. Right? Right?
Sadly…no, it may be true
I can’t say about Europe, but Asia doesn’t have the cultural pull for the muppets. I suspect China’s indifference to the Muppets makes it less lucrative.
They must learn to love them.
i bet China would love a wuxia muppet film
It would be fabulous!
They did own Winnie the Pooh until 2 years ago. What a missed opportunity in China.
except a muppet movie would be effectively free to produce in comparison to the live action movies, the muppets christmas carol had a budget of 12 million dollars, the live action lion king had a budget of 250 million (jesus christ).
