November 20, 2011

Top 5 Favorite Muppet Moments

This was posted about a year ago and since then I have had a chance to rethink my choices. Here is an updated list, My Favorite Muppet Moments

I have grown up with the Muppets. Of course I was a Sesame Street fan so was exposed to Kermit at a very young age. I always remember when I was real young there was some show on that was going to be on way after my bedtime. However, we knew Kermit would be on it at some point. We begged our parents to wake us when he came on so we could see him. Of course, by the time they did we had fallen asleep and didn't care as much.'


I consider myself so lucky that I was just the right age when The Muppet Show was on. I adored this show growing up, and it’s really hard to remember one scene that stood out. Of course it’s hard becausethere are literally dozens of them. However, I had the DVD set awhile back andthe one sketch that made me laugh was that Veterinary Hospital sketch whereRowlf is a doctor and I think Janice is a nurse with Piggy. The one liners weregreat, in one Janice says the patient was there for a stomach ache so Rowlf says“ok then” and take a hammer and pounds him in the stomach. It made me laugh asI wrote this. Probably one of the memorable was the Star Wars episode, how cool was having C3PO and R2DR on a Pigs in Space sketch? The only regret I had is I didn't know who half the guest hosts were at the time, I guess it's good DVD's exist.


So of course when the movies started coming out I had to see them. However, many of the movies fall flat. Especially the later one's. "Muppets from Space" and "The Muppet Wizard of Oz" were awful. Never saw Muppet Treasure Island, and I actually liked A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (may have to do a full review of that in a few months). Yes it was a little dark but still enjoyable. The Great Muppet Caper is forgettable, but "Happiness Hotal" almost made this list.
So what were my favorite Muppet moments from all of their films? Well, here is my list.

#5.Man or Muppet from "The Muppets"-Ok, time to be fair. I was not thrilled with the new movie. I hated the love story and the human actors annoyed me. However, there were some great moments. Pictures in my Head was a beautiful song, the Rainbow Connection scene was great, and then we have this scene. Walter was a very strong character, I really liked him and routed for him. In this scene he realizes that he is a muppet. The lesson is to be true to who you are, and the song and scene is just beautfiul. No wonder at all it won an oscar.

#4.Moving Right Along from The Muppet Movie-How much do I love this song? It’s on my IPod and when it comes on I have to turn the volume up. To be honest most of the songs the Muppet’s sang weren’t memorable.However, this is the exception. This little road song that Kermit and Fonziesing toward the start of the movie so full of energy you can’t help but tapyour feet to it. Of course you can't top The Rainbow Connection, the greatest song ever, but this comes a close a second.

#3. Thankful Heart from .Muppet Christmas Carol-This was a really good movie, a strong enough adaptation of Charles Dickens book with enough Muppet charm in it.Michael Cain was a decent scrooge, and Kermit as Cratchit The songs were great in this movie. Well, ok the love song in the middle is draggy but otherwise they are all great. The final song is my favorite, because it isn't to over the top. Scrogge is happy but not in a cartoonish way like Albert Finney was in his muscical vesion. But the best part  is a quick moment at the end of the song. When the now reformed Scrooge comes to Kermit's door, his wife, played by Piggy, decides to chew him out. She isabout to knock his block off until she realizes Scrooge's real intentions. It'ssuch a great Piggy moment, it always makes me laugh. Tis The Season is a very close second.


#2."I'm Gonna Always Love You"  from "Muppets Take Manhattan"-This was the Muppet movie I loved. The Muppet Movie was so-so, and The Muppet Caper was forgettable (I don't think I ever sat through it to this day). This one was great. From the sad goodbye song, to the search for Kermit later (ok, seeing Kermit hit by a taxi was a tad disturbing), to how Kermit gets his memory back (another great Piggy moment),  It's hard to pick just one scene, but if I had to it would the one where Kermit and Piggy are enjoying a ride through Central Park. Piggy commentson how great it would have been if they had known each other when they were very little and we cut to the cutest song ever with the baby Muppets. It's no wonder the Saturday morning cartoon came out later. If you've never seen it,check it out.There are plenty of other scenes in this movie, especially the wedding at the end, but this one is probably my favorite.


#1.The climax of "The Muppet Move"-This puts a smile on my face every single time I see. Actually I always thought the firstmovie was kind of; well, sad in a way. The idea of Kermit being hunted down and everything. The plot has Kermit trying to get to Hollywood, but Boss Hopper is chasing him because he can use Kermit for his ads whether the frog wants to ornot. Anyway, at the end of the movie Kermit decides to confront Boss Harper.They have a Western style showdown, and just when Harper orders his men to killKermit something amazing happens. One of Dr. Bunsen's inventions,"insta-grow" pills, temporarily turns Animal into a giant who is ableto permanently scare off Hopper and his men. The scene where Animal breaksthrough the roof and looks down at the men, who are terrified, is just one ofthe best moments ever. As they run off, the Muppets celebrate .By the way, The Rainbiw Connection is of course introduced here and while the scene is nothing remarkable, the song remains one of my absolute favorites.


Hope you like this little list; it can’t do justice to how much I love the Muppets. Kermit, Piggy, Rowlf, all of them.  Animal always makes me laugh, and I didn't even get into the other characters like the Sesame Street one's. They have been around my whole life, and will probably always will.

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