Jim Henson's "old guard" not happy with THE MUPPETS movie

Movie Disney The Muppets Jason Segel about 12 years agoby

I am excited to see The Muppets returning to the big screen in this new movie. According to /Film (via THR) some of the old-school Muppet team is not happy with Disney and Jason Segel's take on the characters, and believe the film does not treat the characters well.

According to the story in THR, most of the old guard haven’t even seen the film yet, but they have felt compelled to make comments such as:

“they’re looking at the script on a joke-by-joke basis, rather than as a construction of character and story,” have to be taken with caution. But another source complains that that ‘fart shoes’ joke seen in the most recent trailer is “too cheap,” and another takes issue with the way the story is treating the core characters, through elements such as Kermit owning a mansion at the outset."

One specific statement is particularly harsh, saying this take “creates a false history that the characters were forced to act out for the sake of this movie.”

Frank Oz had been trying to get a new Muppets movie going before Disney and Segel got theirs started. Oz had this to say about the new movie, “I wasn’t happy with the script… I don’t think they respected the characters. But I don’t want to go on about it like a sourpuss and hurt the movie.” The report also states that the Kermit's puppeteer in the new movie had contemplated taking his name off the film, but ended up deciding not to bother because doing so wouldn’t have any effect.

Disney is under the belief that Jim Henson's old crew is only truly interested in the bottom line, which may in fact be partly true. On the other hand, Segel has a love for this project and is very passionate about the characters. This reminds me of some people at offices I have worked at that complain about a new computer system coming in and having to learn their job over again. I think that many people often get flustered when even the small details change, and that is what has happened here. I plan on seeing this film in theaters no matter what. What are your thoughts?