The Muppets are back, y’all!! After many years out of the spotlight, a new Muppet movie is being made and will hit theaters around this time next year. The working title of this new Muppet movie is The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made … which sounds pretty adventurous, I think. IMHO, 1981′s The Great Muppet Caper is the all-time BEST Muppet movie ever made (and, I’ll have you know, was the first movie I ever saw in a movie theater) so this new film has a lot to live up to. Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, here is our first look at actor/co-writer Jason Segal and friends in a promo image from this new Muppet movie:
It’s time to play the music! It’s time to light the lights! It’s time to raise the curtain on… The Muppets! After a decade spent largely out of the pop culture limelight, doing whatever semiretired celebrity puppets do, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, and the rest of the gang are starting production this month on the first big-screen Muppet movie in 11 years. And co-writer Jason Segel, who also stars in the movie (out Christmas 2011), is setting the bar pretty high, hoping to recapture the magic of the late Jim Henson’s vision. ”We’ve worked really hard to stay true to the original spirit of the Muppets,” Segel says. ”We’ve missed the same thing everyone else has been missing.”
To be honest, this sounds great. As opposed to the countless remakes and reboots that Hollywood loves to inundate us with, this new Muppet movie has the potential to be something entirely new while still maintaining some of the classic charm we hold so dear (The Muppet Show, which aired on TV from 1976-1981, is absolutely one of my all-time favorite TV shows ever). I think it will be really fun to put the Muppets in today’s modern setting and see how they interact in this new age. As you can see, one of the Muppet characters is even holding an iPhone in this photo. I love Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie the Bear and the rest of the gang … I am deffo excited about this film. Naturally I’m worried that they might eff it up but … then again, this new film could actually be The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made.
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So excited!! I LOVED the Muppets movies and totally agree about The Great Muppet Caper..Such a great one! My son had a few videotapes of The Muppet Show when he was little and literally wore the one with Alice Cooper out! He was a mess when it broke..I can’t wait for this new movie to come out!
I read your blog all the time, but have never commented. However, I have been moved by the Muppets to write and say that I loved the Great Muppet Caper as a child AND I owned an awesome board game based on the movie. I haven’t thought about that movie, or game (which I played nonstop for an entire year, quite a feat for an only child) for years. Thanks for sparking some great old memories, and thanks for keeping me entertained and apprised of important entertainment information day after day!
@Maura — Yay! It’s so nice to hear the feedback :) Let’s hope this new Muppets movie will provide new memories for kids these days.
while I recognize the greatness that is ‘the great muppet caper’ (“bear left” “right, frog!” and “ahh, a bear in his natural habitat…a studebaker” are some of my favorite movie lines, ever), I have to say that I think ‘the muppets take manhattan’ is far superior…joan rivers, brooke shields, dabney coleman, gregory hines, liza minella…so many awesome cameos, on top of a great story with songs that my 3-year-old self LOVED singing along with. but, that all said, I am SUPER EXCITED for this new movie. jason segal is such a huge fan of the muppets, so I think he’ll really do right by them.
liza minelli, not minella! ack, I should be ashamed.
I think Jason Segel has a thing for puppets/muppets! His vampire opera is hysterical in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It’s my favorite part of the whole movie. I’m sure he’ll lend some really good and funny writing. Can’t wait!!!!
Ooohhh, this has me excited. I love the Muppets – anything Jim Henson-related, really.
I can’t wait to hear more about this project!
I was born a few years late to fully appreciate the earlier muppet movies, but I remember when I got the muppet christmas carol for christmas, I still watch it about 10 times during the christmas season. I am excited for this new movie and I’m going to rent The Great Muppet Caper ASAP
Why won’t Kermit marry Miss Piggy already? ;[
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Seriously, love the Muppets! They make ALL the bad things in life disappear for a few hours… when watching a couple of the movies back-to-back after watching the news. Which I really have to stop doing.
I hope Pepe the King Prawn has a major role.
Oh man I am THRILLED about this!! I love Jason Segal. Also this definitely goes in the “Why I love Reading Trent’s Blog” category because you cover these things that totally take me back to my own childhood and I love you for it!!! :)
First…it’s Liza Minnelli.
Second…..I worked on the First Muppet Movie, so am a Huge Fan Forever! While I have doubts about a new film…I hope it works in this day and age! If you are interested in seeing a few pix from my time of The Muppet Movie….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lgs1gngsJkI
^^X^^