The Muppets — MomStart

The Muppets! Wocka Wocka!

March 16, 2012 By Momstart 394 Comments

Miss Piggy and Kermit recently attended the Oscars. Of course Miss Piggy was decked out to the nines. Her jewels were remarkable. They were 1940s amethyst and diamond ring in gold (70.0 carats) remember from an earlier interview lavender is her signature color after all. And she also wore a 1950s diamond and platinum swirl necklace (55 carats) with matching swirl bracelet (40 carats).

“Blu-ray is a great way to bring the Muppets into your home without having to worry about cleaning up after us,” said Kermit the Frog, commenting on the announcement. “And the behind-the-scenes extras are a revealing tell-all look at what it took to bring our movie to the big screen. It’s a must-see for fans of bloopers, flubs and slip-ups – which pretty much describes our act.”

Miss Piggy is equally thrilled at the movie’s Blu-ray release, “Now you can watch moi whenever you want! Ooh! Lucky vous!”

The Wocka Wocka Value Pack, which includes the movie on Blu-ray high-definition, DVD and Digital Copy (3 discs) plus a download card which allows fans to own all the songs from the film’s hugely popular soundtrack from Walt Disney Records.

Film Synopsis

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan, his brother Gary (Jason Segel) and Gary’s girlfriend, Mary (Amy Adams), from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze Muppet Studios and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets’ former stomping grounds. To stage a telethon and raise the $10 million needed to save the studio, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have allgone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate.

Disney’s “The Muppets” is directed by James Bobin (“Flight of the Conchords,” “The Ali G Show”) and produced by the Academy Award^®-nominated team of David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman (“The Fighter,” “The Proposal”) with a screenplay written by Segel & Nicholas Stoller (“Get Him to the Greek”), who also serve as executive producers along with John G. Scotti and “The Muppet Show” veteran Martin G. Baker. Bret McKenzie, who created, co-wrote, executive-produced and starred in the hit HBO television series “Flight of the Conchords,” is the music supervisor as well as the writer/producer of three original songs. Original score is by Christophe Beck, Michael Rooney is the choreographer, Rahel Afiley is the costume designer, and James Thomas is the editor. SteveSaklad is the production designer, and Don Burgess, A.S.C., is the director of photography.

Film Features:

Additional fun-filled features on Disney’s “The Muppets” Blu-ray include a groundbreaking industry first — ‘Disney Intermission,’ a hilarious all-new feature that allows viewers to press Pause on their remote control and watch as the Muppets take over the screen and entertain until the movie resumes playing. The release also includes “Explaining Evil: The Full Tex Richman Song,” an extended version of the rollicking rap song by villain Tex Richman (Academy Award® winner Chris Cooper) who provides the hilarious backstory of why he hates the Muppets. Audio commentaries with screenwriter and star Jason Segel, director James Bobin and screenwriter Nicholas Stoller are also included.

With the Muppet’s signature irreverent comedy, songs and dancing, Muppet fans of all ages will cheer as the gang reunites to put on a benefit show to save the crumbling Muppet Studios from being razed by nefarious oil baron Tex Richman. New fans and long-time devotees will find the rainbow connection when they bring Disney’s “The Muppets” into their very own homes.

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Denise M.

We received samples for this review. All rules can be found under giveaway rules

Filed Under: giveaway, Movie review Tagged With: Miss Piggy, Movie review, The Muppets

The Muppets Wocka Wocka Value Pack On Blu-ray Saved My Job

March 11, 2012 By Momstart 3 Comments

I haven’t accepted a home movie review for a few months, I’ve been passing them off to contributors. It’s not that all the sudden I don’t like movies, I still ADORE watching movies. I just haven’t had any time to watch any movies. When the offer to review The Muppets Wocka Wocka Value Pack came up, I just felt like I had to accept it. We took our kids to see The Muppets in the theater and they liked it. I think I’m raising two movie addicts to follow in my footsteps. As soon as it came in the door they wanted to watch it, but I was saving it for a rainy day. The Wocka Wocka Value Pack, which includes the movie on Blu-ray high-definition, DVD and Digital Copy (3 discs) plus a download card which allows fans to own all the songs from the film’s hugely popular soundtrack from Walt Disney Records.

On Wednesday of last week a job came up for me. A very good job and Andrew had to work really really late that night, so I was left with two kids, and needed something to occupy their time with. The Muppets! The Muppets came to my rescue. I told both kids that I had to work and that I’d be on the phone upstairs. I put on the Muppets and not a sound came from them until the very end of the movie. They still loved it. Want to hear another benefit to letting the kids watch The Muppets. I get to hear Zoe singing, “Life’s a Happy Song”. I love hearing her sing and seeing her smile when she’s happy.

I still haven’t had a chance to sit down and watch The Muppets with them. My husband watched it the other night with the kids while I was baby sitting and he said that it has a really cool feature. When you hit pause, it goes into intermission. He had to stop the movie because someone came to the door and he thought the kids restarted it on their own, which would have been fine, but they didn’t. It was just The Muppets entertaining you with some silly intermission scenes.

The Muppets “Feel the Hunger”….

We received The Muppets to this review.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: DVD Review, Movie review, The Muppets, Wocka Wocka Value Pack

Inside The Muppets Domination with James Bobin

November 25, 2011 By Momstart 15 Comments

James Bobin, the director of the Muppets took the time to sit down with us for an interview about The Muppets and his journey with bringing them back to the big screen. Just in case you don’t know who James Bobin is, he’s a British director and producer and one of the most inventive comedic writers in television. He created, wrote and executive produced the hit series “Flight of the Conchords” for HBO and played a key role in making it one of “Time” magazine’s top five new television series in 2007. The show garnered seven Emmy^® nominations including Outstanding Comedy Series. For his work on “Flight of the Conchords,” Bobin received back-to-back nominations for Outstanding Directing and Writing as well as a Writers Guild Award nomination. Bobin currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife Francesca, daughter Madelaine and son Jack.

Way back in January I was on the movie set of The Muppets and I saw a lot of the secrets in making the movie. Making a movie with puppets and puppeteers is quite complicated and takes twice as long as filming a regular movie because they have to cut holes in the set, and film twice as many times. Bobin knew going into this that it would take a very long time filming, but he said,

I knew, coming into this that that was what it would involve ’cause, you know, the moment you start using puppets and you don’t have legs, then the world gets a lot harder for you. So I knew it coming into it.

We also asked him if there was a different in directing Muppets verses people. He said it was the same:

I say none because you are directing them to act in a certain way and humans deal with their emotional things with their face and with puppeteers it is with their hands. But the direction you give is the same.

If you read my review you know that I found The Muppet movie to be great for my generation but it was also a movie to introduce a new generation to The Muppets. So we asked Bobin “What did you do to make the Muppets fresh for this generation?” He said the secret to that was just letting The Muppets be true to themselves and Miss Piggy, well all of them I thought were very true to who they always have been.

But each character would then have their own moment to show the thing they do, so it could make sense if you had no idea who they are.

An interesting fact that I learned was that The Muppets were filmed in England for 5 years.

It was written by Americans and performed by Americans, but the director and the technical staff were all English. And the actual Muppet Theater itself is an old musical theater, which is a London thing rather than a New York thing. So it felt very English in a weird way. But also I think the tone of it, the sense of the, sense of humor is really quite English.

We also asked him what he thought of working with Jason Segel and he said it was quite easy. It turns out that they had the same vision and wanted the same thing for the movie so they got along great.

I mean, you can’t ask for more than that because I mean he really cares about it and so really always gives extra a hundred and ten percent which is fantastic. So as a director I couldn’t ask for more.

The Muppets is now in theaters and you should go see it. It’s a fantastic generational movie.

Disney/Dreamworks paid for my travel and expenses for the press junket.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: interview, James Bobin, movie, The Muppets

The Muppets Are Back! Maniacal Laughter Eighty’s Robot Silly Songs and More

November 24, 2011 By Momstart 5 Comments

On Saturday I got the kids out of bed and said hurry, get dressed and downstairs for breakfast, we’re going to do something fun today. So they got dressed and then I had to make a short stop at the doctors office and then we raced to the movie theater. We missed our check in time by five minutes but we still made it in time to get a seat. As we were going into the theater, the kids figured out that we were watching a movie, and since they were handing out Muppet stickers they could only hope we were watching The Muppets.

Once we were seated I told them we’re going to watch the Muppets, and Zoe said, I GET TO SEE MISS PIGGY? uh yep, I told her and she couldn’t wait for the movie to start. The Muppets was aimed at my age the 30 to 40’s audience, you know the children of the 80’s. But it was also intended to entertain a newer audience introducing them to the craziness we all know as The Muppets. The Muppets was hilarious. We had slap stick humor, musical dance numbers, old jokes, new jokes, fart shoes, rap music, actor cameos and The Muppet Show. After the movie I asked my whole family what their favorite part was, hands down, it was when they did the Muppet Show.

The Movie Synopsis in my words:

The Muppets begins in Smalltown USA, a cute white picket fence kind of town where everyone knows everyone. As we begin to meet the characters, Walter, Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) they break out into music. It was like watching a full blown musical with the dancing in the streets number. It was over the top just as you expect the Muppets to be. Gary and Mary were on their way to LA to spend their ten year anniversary when Gary decides to invite his brother Walter along. Mary was not happy!

First stop for the third wheel trio was The Muppet studio where we get the plot line filled with lots of maniacal laughter. Big Oil man (Chris Cooper) is going to tear down the studio and dig for oil unless The Muppets can raise 10,000,000. Walter, Mary and Gary set off to find Kermit and then they all have to bring The Muppets back together to save the studio. Zoe is intently sitting there through all of this and suddenly I hear her anxiety as she says, “mommy, daddy, where is MIss Piggy?” That was the same question that was on the mind of all the Muppets too. We had to tell Zoe she’s coming so that she would sit there and watch the rest of the movie. As the Muppets asked Kermit where she was, he said, no. We’re not going to get her. Finally they convinced him. And it didn’t go well, Miss Piggy and Kermit had a small falling out and the only way for Kermit to fix it was to admit feelings for MIss Piggy and he wasn’t ready to do it. But my daughter was just happy to see Miss Piggy. I loved Emily Blunt.

So without Miss Piggy, everyone goes back to the studio to continue without Miss Piggy. But she comes back on her own and comes up with the craziest idea to help save the studio. In fact my favorite part in the movie was what they did and Kermit’s reaction. That’s all I’m going to say, you have to go see The Muppets and come back and tell me what your favorite part of the movie is. Our family loved it.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: Gary, Jason Segel, Mary, Movie review, The Muppets, The Muppets Show, Walter

Inside The Muppets: Kermit Says It’s Much Easier Being Green

November 16, 2011 By Momstart 29 Comments

During that interview with Miss Piggy, I also had the chance to sit down and talk to Kermit the Frog. He’s much more level headed than Miss Piggy and wanted to know about my daughter Zoe, which thrilled me to death when he asked me what her favorite color was. In case you guys don’t know which you should because I talk about Zoe all the time, her favorite color is any shade of purple, lavender just like Miss Piggy is what she would probably say today.

Here are the rest of the highlights from the interview with Kermit.

Q : So what were you doing all these years before you started production on this last movie?

Kermit’s Response:

Oh, lots of stuff. You know, it’s been, it’s been quite a few years since we’ve done a big movie. You know, we haven’t done that in a long time but, uh, we’ve done lots of other stuff that we can talk about. We just thought we were trying to come back to the big screen. We did do the Bohemian Rhapsody so we’ve been together.

Q : Do you find it’s easier to be green, now?

Before I give you his response, you’ve all heard of The Rainbow connection and his song about It isn’t easy being green right. He’s a great singer and one of the best I know at expressing his feelings. So if you hvaen’t seen Being Green, then here it is. It’s not Easy being Green!

Kermit’s Response:

I think so. It’s taken on all these new meanings. When I said that originally, when I sang that song it was about being accepted in the world and these days it’s a lot more about the environment I think, you know. People are kind of taking it to mean that. But, uh, I think it’s just about being comfortable in your own skin. And It can be tough especially in Hollywood so you have to make your place in the film industry.

Q : How did you like your new costars?

Kermit’s Response:

Oh, wonderful. It was wonderful working with Jason. You know, Jason actually wrote this thing to begin with and it went through about 17 thousand rewrites but he’s the guy who wanted to make this movie with us.

When asked about children, he said they’re a big responsibility and then Miss Piggy mentioned something about wanting some and well he changed the subject as quickly as he possibly could.

Interview Opportunity and Travel Expenses covered by Disney.

Filed Under: Movie review Tagged With: Being Green, Disney, dreaming, Interview with Kermit, Kermit, Movie review, Rainbow Connection, The Muppets, The Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody

Travel Like The Muppets Use Alamo Rent A Car

November 16, 2011 By Momstart 102 Comments

We’re going to see the Muppets on Saturday and I can’t wait, Zoe can’t wait and Miles can’t wait. My husband he’s excited too, I’m pretty sure he’s the biggest Muppet fan in the house. Everyone travels for Christmas and if you don’t travel perhaps someone travels to your house. Want to know the Muppet Rental Car Brand? It’s Alamo.

In Disney’s “The Muppets,” Amy Adams character, uses an Alamo-branded map of Los Angeles to find her way around the city. The Muppets also star in an Alamo television commercial promoting the Alamo Get The Gang Back Together Sweepstakes, and the movie The Muppets coming out November 23rd. When does it come out? NOVEMBER 23rd. That’s how I teach my kids things. Ask them a question right after telling them something, then I know they’ll remember it. Anyways, it’s an outtake video starring Fozzie Bear.

Here is the outtake video:

Looks Like Fozzie needed quite a bit of practice before filming with Kermit and Miss Piggy. Here is the Alamo Sweepstakes Commercial Spot. DOGS! Crack me up!

“As the official rent a car of Walt Disney World^® Resort and Disneyland^® Resort, Alamo is thrilled to be a part of Disney’s ‘The Muppets’ movie,” said Susan Madigan, director for the Alamo Rent A Car brand. “In the movie, the characters embark on a journey to get their gang back together, so we’re excited to offer our fans the chance to win $5,000 towards a dream vacation to reconnect with their friends.”

To enter the sweepstakes click the “Get The Gang Back Together” tab in the left column on the page. After registering for the grand prize, you can “Check Your Luggage” for a chance to receive instant-win prizes, including gas cards, free Alamo rentals, Muppets prize packs and more. You can enter the sweepstakes once per day, and members of Alamo Insiders can receive two entries per day. The simple process to become an Alamo Insider can be initiated on the Alamo Facebook page. Alamo Insiders who book through Alamo.com are guaranteed a 10 percent discount or more off retail rates.

The sweepstakes will end on December 16, 2011. The grand-prize winner will be selected at random on or about December 19, 2011. To participate in the contest, visit http://alamo-muppets.prizelogic.com/officialRules.pdf for complete contest rules.

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Elisabeth.

All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: Alamo Rent A Car, car rental, giveaway, The Muppets

Twilight: Team Kermit or Team Rowlf Wordless Wednesday?

November 15, 2011 By Momstart 15 Comments

My friend and I are trying to make plans to go see Twilight before the Muppets comes out and I was thinking, where is that spoof? Well here it is every, the Twilight Spoof done the only way it can be, by The Muppets themselves:

Featuring

Bella Swine

Star Crossed loved between

Whose team are you on?

Filed Under: personal, Wordless Wednesday Tagged With: Muppet Mania, The Muppets, Wordless Wednesday

Inside The Muppets: The Commonalities Between Miss Piggy And My Daughter

November 15, 2011 By Momstart 6 Comments

My daughter who is only four is so excited about The Muppets coming out November 23rd. She wants to watch anything and everything we can find on the internet that has Miss Piggy in it. Miss Piggy has suddenly become one of my daughters idols and as I sit here thinking about how interested Zoe is in Miss Piggy it’s no big surprise because they have so much in common.

In an interview with Miss Piggy she was asked how she liked working at French Vogue, well, she got right down to the point. She didn’t really work there she was acting for the Movie The Muppets. “I did not really work there. This is a movie we’re talking about. You all know that, right? It was, it was lovely. It was lovely. I wish we’d actually shot on location. Paris, — we shot here in the back lot.” If you haven’t noticed, Miss Piggy is a very direct character, over the top at time direct. So is my daughter!

Something else they both have in common is that they are both very fashionable. Zoe has had a fashion sense since she was 15 months old. She just learned how to walk and suddenly she was picking out her own clothes and accessories. And Miss Piggy says fashion is wonderful and loves the clothes she wears in the movie. “Those are real and it’s wonderful, it’s fabulous. I love to do free clothes from, from fashion designers.” And so does my daughter!

When I asked Miss Piggy what her favorite color was, she said she wears a lot of lavender and that probably is her favorite color. Lavender matches everything. My daughter must have gotten her coordination directly from Miss Piggy because she’s always wearing some shade of purple even when I think it doesn’t at all match. I just keep my mouth shut because I know she’ll just tell me I’m wrong and have no fashion sense. Not like they do at least.

One thing I adore about Miss Piggy is the great advice she gave about kids playing outside. She said, “Kids need to play. They need to go outside and play and run and jump and skip and have fun.” This makes me quite happy with Zoe’s new idol choice.

Some other great advice I’ve seen Miss Piggy share is about Facebook. Miss Piggy wants you to like the Muppets on Facebook a Bazillion times because you guys are wasting likes on things like Lima Beans. Zoe agrees! The only green you should like is Kermit! The Muppets comes out in Theaters November 23rd.

My travel expenses and interview opportunities were provided by Disney/DreamWorks.

Filed Under: Movie review, personal Tagged With: Disney, Kermit, Miss Piggy, movie, The Muppets, Zoe

Wordless Wednesday Muppet Domination

November 8, 2011 By Momstart 18 Comments

Filed Under: personal Tagged With: personal, The Muppets, Wordless Wednesday

Animal Advice: Live Loud, Eat Now and Have Friends

November 8, 2011 By Momstart 4 Comments

The Muppets have taken over MomStart. In an attempt to let them have their way, they get one post a day as long as I can keep up with them. Today’s post is from Animal and he’s impossible to keep up with always yelling at me with excitement.

Animal has sound advice and from every Muppet movie I’ve ever seen, he sure does know how to have fun. Before I let Animal have his way and give out all of his sound advice, I thought I’d share some interesting facts about Animal.

Animal first appeared in the 1975 pilot, The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, chained up in a basement cell when he wasn’t onstage performing with the Electric Mayhem. He later became a main character on The Muppet Show, and his unrestrained style has made him popular with young people for decades.

Animal was the official mascot of the U.S. Ski Team during the 1998 Winter Olympics. Animal was also featured in one of eleven commemorative stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service.

In the movie Muppets from Space, Animal meets his match in the form of a security guard played by Kathy Griffin—after chasing her down a hallway with his "Woo-man" call, he later comes running back around the corner, yelling "HELP HELP!" with Griffin calling after him about how they’ll settle down, buy a house, and have children.

Ty Pennington commented about the possibility of Animal having ADHD when the character appeared on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I wonder about Ty Pennington having ADHD myself sometimes he’s pretty crazy himself on that show. (love ya Ty!)

In 2010, Animal was featured in a viral video alongside power-pop band OK Go, where he challenged the band’s drummer, Dan Konopka, to a staring contest. Animal ultimately wins and forces Dan to be his roadie for a year.

Animal Demands that you go see his new movie The Muppets in theaters November 23rd. Now without further ado, here are his valuable life living advice.

· ROMANCE! – Animal is not much for subtlety when it comes to finding romance. His idea of flirtatious small talk usually consists of the phrase “WOMAN! WOMAN!” But it works…for him as you saw mentioned above. . As for you, may we suggest finding a slightly less assertive approach to finding love.

· NICE BUNNY! – Everyone needs a sense of security, a quiet space where they can find peace. For Animal, it’s time well spent with his bunny, whose name is “Nice Bunny.” For you, it can be anything from soaking in pond scum (Kermit) to wearing tapioca-filled tap shoes (Gonzo). Wherever you find it, embrace your bliss. Just don’t squeeze too hard.

· EAT NOW! – There are those who believe it is important to “stay hungry” in life, to put off rewards and defer gratification. Animal is not one of those. He devours life—literally—which goes a long way towards explaining his mealtime nickname: the Appetite with Legs.

· FRIENDS! – Good friends watch your back, take care of you and always follow your beat. With his band mates in the Electric Mayhem, Animal has found kindred spirits. (Oh sure, sometimes they yank his chain, but that’s only to make sure he doesn’t miss the tour bus.)

· LIVE LOUD!!!! – Anything worth doing is worth doing at high-decibel. Whether it’s playing drums, singing, expressing your opinion or simply wearing a really loud sports coat, this is a surefire way to make sure the world knows who you are, where you are and in which direction you’re headed.