Sunday, July 24, 2011

Brunonian on Muppets

More than one person has pointed out to me this thoughtful article on the changing Muppets by Brown art/semiotics alum Elizabeth Stevens (class of ’04).

She notes that if there’s an anti-Muppet faction out there, they’ve kept quiet – though I think her generation owes Gen Xers an explanation for their attachment to the mediocre Labyrinth, which can’t hold a candle to the Muppet Movie.  The latter, among countless other wonders and great comedy bits, offers one of the best opening songs in film history.

As for the far less catchy and vaguely creepy Labyrinth, if a film can’t fully win me over despite featuring David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, and Muppets, it must be doing something wrong – not so unlike a play with U2, Spider-Man, and Julie Taymor.  Or spaghetti pizza.  

1 comment:

Dave said...

Original muppets had an adult appeal, but later versions tried a little too hard:

"Steve Whitmire, known for his smart-mouthed Rizzo the Rat, took over"

No doubt a reference to Dustin Hoffman's character in the X rated Midnight cowboy.