Posts Tagged ‘Frank Oz’

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IT’S TIME TO GET THINGS STARTED

by Tom on November 14, 2011 at 8:02 am
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(24 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10)
The Muppets, Jason Segel, Frank Oz, Jim Henson, grumpy

The Muppets comes out two weeks from now and - as I declared on Twitter - that means you get two weeks of Muppets-related Theater Hopper comics.

I'll be frank and admit that I don't entirely know what to expect from The Muppets. I've been in lockdown mode on this one for a while. It has been extraordinarily hard to do this because it seems like Disney is practically littering the internet with clips from the film. I'm even doing my best to avoid the commercials.

I hope I haven't gotten my hopes up too far. There's been inklings of dissaproval swirling around the movie from people in the know - most notably, Frank Oz. The creator of Miss Piggy, Fozzy Bear and original Muppeteer has been quoted as saying that the new movie sacrifices the integrity of the characters for the sake of making cheap jokes, and rewrites their personas and relationships in a way that “creates a false history that the characters were forced to act out for the sake of this movie.” There's even been talk of some of the Muppeteer's who performed in the movie wanting to take their name off of it.

The main complaint seems to be that writer/actor Jason Segel had the right intentions with the movie, but that basically... it's not what Jim Henson would have wanted.

Personally, I see both sides of the story. Yes, it's important to maintain the integrity of The Muppets. There is something unquantifiable about these characters that people have fallen in love with and we don't want to see the sullied.

But to disparage the film because it's not what Jim Henson would have done is simple short-sighted. Where would Disney be if they stopped producing cartoons after Walt Disney died? At some point, you have to prepare for the reality that the characters you may have had a hand in creating really don't belong to you anymore. They belong to the people who believe in them. If you want your work to live on, it might not hurt to be a little magnanimous about it and hand them down to the next generation.

Oz's comments in the Hollywood Report article strike me as a little possessive in a "get off my lawn" kind of way. If the new Muppets movie gets it wrong in some way, let them go back and try again. Were the Muppets fully formed characters out of the box when they were introduced 50 years ago? No, the evolved over time. There's got to be a learning curve to this.

But to lock the characters in amber because you don't want their integrity sullied? Well, that's just selfish.

What are your thoughts about The Muppets? Are you looking forward to it? Specifically, I'm kind of interested in what Gen Y's reaction to The Muppets will be. Do they feel left out of the loop since The Muppets were essentially a lost property during the 90s? Do they have the same affinity for the characters that older audiences do? Will the elixir of nostalgia be as potent among that audience?

Leave your comments below! I'd love to hear them! And, as always, if you could use the ShareThis tool at the bottom of the blog post to share the Muppet-y goodness, I'd appreciate it!

Have a great week!

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DVD REVIEW – MONSTERS, INC.

by Tom on November 24, 2009 at 12:00 am
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(7 votes, average: 7.14 out of 10)
DVD, review, Blu-ray, Disney, Pixar, Monsters Inc., John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Jennifer Tilly, Steve Buscemi, Frank Oz, James Coburn

In 2001, the proposition of Monsters, Inc. must have been a scary one for Disney / Pixar.

Coming fresh off the success of Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life and the original Toy Story (all directed by Pixar King John Lasseter)Pixar put an unproven director in the driver's seat for Monsters, Inc. - Pete Docter.

Of course, time would prove that Docter's madcap vision of a world inhabited by monsters who collect the screams of human children to power their communities proved to be a smash hit. But it's interesting to learn about the behind-the-scenes hand wringing that occurred at Pixar before the release of the film.

One of the bonus features of the movie is a film makers round table with Docter, co-director Lee Unkrich, producer Darla Anderson, and script supervisor Bob Peterson (who also lent his voice to the surly clerical worker Roz in the movie). In their round table, they discuss not only their uncertainty over the somewhat complex idea of a world powered by screams, but also the real-life intrusions that threatened the success of the film.

For example, I had completely forgotten how Monsters, Inc. had come out one short month after the terrible events of 9/11. An even that lead Pixar to wonder if they should push the film back. Ultimately, according to the feedback they received, the film became a refuge for families looking to steer themselves away from the unending and horrible coverage of that day. The insight that the round table provides certainly adds a layer of enjoyment to hard-core fans of the film.

Eight years after its theatrical release Monsters, Inc. holds up incredibly well and the Blu-ray transfer gives the film a candy-coated shot in the arm. Colors are richer, details are more pronounced. Even the hair on Sully's arms looks more refined. A more perfect version of the film I can't imagine unless you were sitting in Pixar's offices, watching it over the shoulder of one of the animators.

In terms of extras, the Blu-ray doesn't bring much that's new to the table. A short documentary about a Monsters, Inc. ride at Disneyland Toyko made me want to hop a flight to Japan immediately and an interactive game featuring over 100 doors intimidates more than it inspires gameplay.

Additional features include those already packaged on the Collector's Edition that was released in 2002. The animated shorts "Mike's New Car" and "For the Birds", storyboards, a database of monsters featured in the film, and multiple gag reels.

However, the Blu-ray package gives you a bevy of formats including a digital copy of the film as well as a DVD copy of the film, which are nice bonuses.

As a Pixar fan, I have no problem replacing all of my DVD copies with Blu-ray editions of the film. I believe they are the most authentic reproductions of the movies possible and a visual treat. However, it would have been nice to see a few more extras with the film and I probably wouldn't have minded waiting another 2 years for a 10th anniversary edition if it meant getting additional content.

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