Muppet Question # 8 Answered
MelbourneGirl asked me the following question yesterday:
At Monday, October 24, 2005 10:28:58 AM, MelbourneGirl said...
you may have covered this in a previous posting, in fact i think you did, but what is your real objection to miss piggy? was it she just became too much of a parody?
Well, MelbourneGirl, thank you for asking.
With Miss Piggy, it's certainly not a sexist thing (case in point: please note that Janice the bass guitarist appears on the "LOVE 'EM" list from yesterday's post); I think it's more that she often slowed the story down and was annoying to me as a kid by turning up to singing boring and soppy romantic songs (which she does in The Muppet Movie as well (my favourite all all the Muppet films), but in true Muppet style, there are sight gags throughout to reward the faithful viewers who stick with it!).
Additionally, if she wasn't being a prima donna (never an attractive quality), she was solving her problems with violence (karate-chopping Kermit or whoever was offending her at the time so that they flew clear across the room), and this never appealed to me either, as far as problem-solving techniques go. I always thought she could do with attending anger management classes. :)
Seriously though, I never liked her selfish nature, and was probably too young at first to see that she was a parody (and certainly never knew who actress Peggy Lee was to understand the direct parody there. If you didn't know, that's who she was based on, and they even share the same surname, although Miss Piggy is rarely referred to by her full name, Piggy Lee).
All of that said, though ... I have always been amazed at Frank Oz's talents in voicing Miss Piggy (particularly when she sings a song in her high register, because it's all Frank singing in falsetto!). He also voices Fozzie Bear, Yoda from Star Wars, and characters such as Grover from Sesame Street. (You can tell, because these three examples in particular sound strangely identical if you think about it!)
So in summary, although Miss Piggy irritates me, she's definitely a main player in the cast of wacky characters that make up The Muppets. And if she makes Kermit happy, I'm happy for them both.
posted by BEVIS @ 8:41 am
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14 Comments:
Whoa! How does one go from being a Nasty friend to being a Nice friend? Do I have to go and kidnap the Muppets and their respective voice, um, coaches and blackmail them into doing a private show for you and your other Nice friends? Will that be nice enough or is it too nice in a nasty way? Is there any formal criterion?
Actually, what I meant to say was "Whoa! Top of the list!, Hooray, etc"
I never liked Miss Piggy either, she was by far the most aggressive one in the whole, whole, whole thing. I always, always liked Rowfl the Dog.
Rowlf rules.
You're 'nasty' because most people are. (But I happen to know Channy, Logan and Riss in the real world, so that's the only distinction.)
PS - Adam, did you even notice that the previous post was answering two questions of yours from last month?
So far you haven't commented, but I like to think that you're currently working on that ...
I'm done!
I couldnt buy a Ms Piggy in Malaysia. In fact, the Pooh displays did not have Ms Piggy amongst them.
Yeah, those boring songs were irritating.
And she was always chasing Kermit around - it got in the way of other, funnier storylines.
thanks bevis for answering my question. sorry i have been tardy in replying. i've been involved in a stoush. again.
miss piggy's voice was the bit i liked the most about her. but i can see why a child (esp a boy) would be annoyed and irritated by her stopping the flow, singing romantic songs, etc. i always felt sorry for kermit - she was always so overpowering. did he ever stand up to her? or try? i can't remember.
haven't done anything about getting the muppet movie yet. but will. princess is away on school camp, then we are away over the weekend. so prob next week.
oh and ps. i don't mind being a nasty friend. you know i am good. plus you have done it alphabetically. maybe i will do same. i revised my list last night.
you are a great logger, BEVIS
(it's not catching on yet. will double my efforts)
Is Robin the frog Kermit's offsider?
If so, wasn't he the attempt to revive the show, you know, like when the brady bunch introduced cousin oscar (or whatever his name was).
Maybe I should check "jump the shark" and see if he gets a mention there.
OK, just checked jump the shark and Robin gets a mention.
Whoa! Weird!
I obviously, totally noticed that the post previous to this one was answering my question, and commented accordingly. I just went back to check, and it's not there. I was very complementary in my response. I don't know what happened, maybe I clicked when I should have clacked.
Adam, probably. (You moron!)
Clokeeeey, if that was a not-so-subtle attempt to get me riled up, you oughta know by now that I'm not that easy to YOU STINKIN' MONGREL! ROBIN'S TWICE THE MAN YOU'LL EVER BE! get fired up.
In all honesty, I can't understand how he would have been 'brought in' to save the show, as he appears as early as the first few episodes of the first season. I'm not sure which one marks his first appearance (but I could check), however I can assure you it's within the first four or five episodes.
So the theory you're listing couldn't be accurate, although Jump The Shark isn't my most favourite site anyway. It's all so relative, that people go on there just to attack a show they don't like or to intentionally anger a show's fans by making some ridiculous claim as to why a show apparently sucks.
They generally aren't using good logic with their claims, and Robin being a burden on a kid's show? I honestly see no truth in it. What on Earth did he do wrong? He sang songs like any other Muppet.
Stupid critics. (Not you, Clokeeeey - whoever listed Robin on Jump The Shark.)
Chai, I'm not sure why you would have expected to see Miss Piggy toys amongst Winnie the Pooh toys, as they're different shows altogether, but I know Miss Piggy is banned in some countries, du eto her bovine leanings (ie. she's a pig). I find it all extremely interesting.
MelbourneGirl, you make me laugh. Keep plugging away, and I'm sure it'll catch on eventually. :)
Everyone, thanks.
Sorry dude, It was a piss weak attempt to get you going.
Jump the shark is pretty much as you describe but I think most of the time it does get it right.
The muppets never jumped the shark.
I was only guessing about Robin being a froggy-cum-lately.
I understand, and I half-figured as much.
(Although I suspect you're just trying to placate me now with your "The Muppets never jumped the shark" line.)
:)
Cheers.
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