Muppet fans are excited about ABC's upcoming America's Next Muppet, everyone except Aaron Barnhart,
that is, who says the Muppets are dead. Barnhart's rant isn't totally
off base, because, as much as I love the Muppets and I'm glad they
continued after Jim Henson's death, there has been a steady decline in
quality since. When Henson died, the Muppets lost a lot of their heart
and irreverence. Those of us who grew up with Jim Henson's Muppets
can't watch any of the recent movies, commercials, or TV specials
without noticing this. What Barnhart insists, however, is that the
Muppets cannot be made relevant for a new generation, that technology
has advanced and mere puppets aren't enough anymore. I disagree, but he
touches on what seems to be the Muppets' biggest problem: trying to
maintain their nostalgia while at the same time trying to attract
a new crop of viewers with only a vague (if any) memory of the
phenomenon the Muppets once were. If kids today aren't getting into the
Muppets like we did, it's not because puppets are too atavistic,
it's because those who tried to keep Henson's vision alive may not have
realized just how difficult it is to emulate such a deep and complex
imagination.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-26-2005 @ 6:55PM
RAB said...
What's kept the Muppets down isn't the loss of Jim Henson so much as the mistaken idea they need to be "child friendly entertainment" according to the standards of prudish adults. The things children enjoy and find entertaining are considerably more dark and subversive than the things adults think they ought to see. Henson understood this from the start. The Muppet Show understood this well enough to have British comedian Chris Langham as its head writer. There are many clever and talented people with the Henson Company today, and I bet they'd give anything to cut loose and do the Muppets right. Unfortunately, the rights were owned for many years by corporate entities who saw the Muppets as just another vehicle for merchandising...and that means never taking the risk of offending anyone. If the Hensons have creative control back, we might just see some new life in them yet...
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10-26-2005 @ 8:40PM
Rob Austin said...
Muppets Tonight! - the Short lived follow up show to the Muppet show was veru underrated and introduced a slew of new characters that embodied the spirit of the old Muppet Show. Clifford the rasta-man was everyone's laid back buddy, and Johnny Maestro (?) and his monkey were the mafia goodfellas - something you'd never initially expect to see on a kids show. It also introduced Pepe the Prawn.
My daughter is two and we still see a lot of spirit in what Sesame Street does in their parodies - everything from "Desperate Houseplants" to having a grouch character named "Donald Grump" with appropriate bad hair.
We're showing my daughter the first season of the Muppet Show (out on DVD) - she'll grow up with just as we did - she already loves the characters and it's a hell of a lot better then a lot of what's being pitched at kids on TV now. It comes off a little more corny watching it at age 37 - and though my daughter doesn't know who the actors are who are on it - it's nostalgic for us to see the likes of Joel Grey, Rita Moreno and Vincent Price. With the rest of the seasons coming out on DVD - there's no reason a new generation of kids can't grow up with the Muppets.
--*Rob
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