Ohhhhhh-hhhhhh, Doc Hopper would foam at the mouth if he saw the newest poster for Jason Segel’s upcoming Muppets movie. The fiendish fast-food magnate (played by Charles Durning) spent the entire 1979 film chasing Kermit as a pitchman for his frogleg dishes, and now look at his little green friend: Kermit has legs! Long legs!
Of course, Kermit and company had legs back then, too, but scenes with Kermit riding a bicycle or Kermit and Fozzie dancing in a saloon were the clunkiest sequences, barely passing the credibility test of a generation ago. “Technology has changed,” Segel told the USA Today. “We’re able to show [the Muppets] doing stuff they hadn’t been able to do before. We’re pretty proud of that.”
The Muppets opens Nov. 23, which might explain the otherwise tepid tagline: “They’re Closer Than You Think.” Or has Segel changed his mind about filming in 3-D?
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I’m not sure how I feel about seeing them walk and such…it’s almost creepy.
Agreed. They don’t seem Muppetty. And Fozzie was never that tall- he’s scaring me! They all are!
Agreed–not liking the legs.
While it is cool to see their legs, I love the Muppet bounce walk.
The bicycle scene was awesome at the time and still is.
Agreed.
Exactly. When I saw it as a kid, it brought down the house. Jeff, you’re a jaded fool.
(and by Jeff, I mean Jeff Labrecque)
… They’re still puppets right?
Just because you see their legs here and they’ll be “doing things they couldn’t do before”, doesn’t mean you’ll see them walking like this in every scene. You might but it is just a poster for a movie that no one has seen at this point.
That was part of the enormous charm of the original Muppet movie–it wasn’t high tech! Muppets can’t walk!
Well if you start over thinking it, most of the Muppets could not be in the same frame as the actors, if standing next to them. Rizzo and the other rats always seemed to be hovering above the ground…
Segel is a huge Muppets fanatic who is trying to take this franchise back to its glory days – I’m going to ignore this one poster and one vague quote and put my faith in Segel’s work/vision until I see it for myself.
Agreed Shawn, I trust Segel with this given how much of a Muppets fan he is.
I can’t wait to see the new movie.
“The Muppets opens Nov. 23, which might explain the otherwise tepid tagline: “They’re Closer Than You Think.” Or has Segel changed his mind about filming in 3-D?”
It could also reference the plot, which has the Muppets spread across the country, living amongst us, doing odd jobs as a result of their theatre closing. I’m starting to hate this website.
I like the tagline. But also, I can remember seeing Ms. Piggy’s legs and Gonzo’s and animals (but not Fozzie’s. And if you collect the figurines (which I do), they have legs … so I’m ok with the legs.
Jason is a huge fan and is not going to mess up the Muppets.
And I forgot-Bobby’s Robot is right-
Kermit bicycling was mind blowing back then! and still is!!!!
Gonzo had legs in a few scenes of Muppet Treasure Island. So did Miss Piggy. I don’t think it is a shock that the Muppets have legs in the poster. Would you rather have a hand stick up their bottom in the poster. Its just a poster. The movie could have only a few scenes showing the Muppets legs.
they CAN’T walk!!! Seriously the rare occasion that you did see their legs was AWESOME!!!!