It’s been a challenging decade for fans of the Muppets. Years filled with missed opportunities, character miscasting, and a lack of quality content have brought plenty of heartache and suffering for Muppet fans around the globe. Now in harmony, we rejoice! “Muppets Haunted Mansion” debuted on Disney+ over the weekend to rave reviews.
The Muppets are an institution. Ever since Jim Henson debuted The Muppets on the TV show “Sam and Friends” in 1955, they’ve maintained their presence as comedy giants with their original fan base, while new generations of fans would continue to discover the franchise. My father grew up with Jim Henson’s original incarnation of the Muppets that included Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Richard Hunt, and Jerry Nelson – and I with the post-Jim era that put into the spotlight performers like Steve Whitmire and Bill Barretta. However, my little cousin has been forced to grow up alongside the confusing and sometimes disappointing version of the Muppets that we’ve seen take the stage over the last decade.
There is no question Jim Henson’s Muppets were king in the world of entertainment. Jim and Frank as Kermit and Piggy, or Kermit and Fozzie or Bert and Ernie were an unstoppable comedic force of nature. Jim and his crew created characters so ridiculous, yet so real, they are often indescribably viewed as visceral beings and not puppets with human hands up to their butts.
When Henson died in 1990, his characters were passed down to other Muppet performers, most notably Kermit, who was taken over by Steve Whitmire. Upon Henson’s and soon after Richard Hunt’s passing, the Muppets underwent a transition that shifted focus to other, now beloved characters like Rizzo the Rat, Pepe the King Prawn, and Gonzo the Great, an original Muppet performed by Dave Goelz on the “Muppet Show.”
But gradually, things began to change. Disney bought the Muppets in 2004, Oz would leave the collective in 2007, and Nelson passed away in 2012. After a long absence from television and film, the Muppets returned in 2011 with their namesake reboot spearheaded by Jason Segal, and all seemed right in the Muppet realm for a short time. The sequel “Muppets Most Wanted” received mixed reviews, as did their ABC series, “The Muppets,” which lasted only one season. (I liked them both!) And then, to the dismay of fans worldwide, they were neglected for a solid five years until the release of the wildly disappointing “Muppets Now!” which saw the characters reduced to basic and often unrelatable versions of their former selves.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
The concept of “Muppets Haunted Mansion” is brilliant; it almost makes too much sense. It’s hard to imagine this hasn’t been done before, but this marks the Muppets’ first foray into the world of Halloween-Esque spookiness, save for some episodes of “The Muppet Show” hosted by Vincent Price and Alice Cooper, of course.
The special sees the return of Gonzo and Pepe as the story’s central characters, and it’s clear Disney has made the right move. Dave Goelz and Bill Barretta are the creators of their respective characters, allowing for a more authentic performance. They know what makes these puppets funny! In contrast, Kermit, who Matt Vogel recently and hastily replaced, has not been the same since his transition. Most fans on the Facebook message boards agree that Vogel cannot deliver Kermit’s voice or performance in an acceptable way to fans. Nonetheless he, and many of the other characters take a backseat in this special.
The special also marks the return of Kirk Thatcher as director, who wrote well-received Muppet productions like “Muppet Treasure Island” and produced the Emmy Award-winning series “Muppets Tonight.” Thatcher also serves as a writer alongside performer Bill Barretta and Kelly Younger, who also worked on “Muppets Now.”
In the special, Gonzo and Pepe skip a party their Muppet compadres are hosting to explore a mansion that fictional magician “The Great Macguffin” disappeared in one hundred years ago, hoping to survive one night in the spooky abode. They are met by the Ghost Host, played by Will Arnett, and encounter various trials, tribulations, and cameo appearances by celebrities and Muppets.
Fans of the Haunted Mansion ride at the Disney Parks will be delighted to see accuracy in set design and references to dialogue and music present throughout the ride. Seeing the Muppets as the stretching paintings in the room with no windows or doors, or Miss. Piggy as Madame Pigota (instead of the ride’s Leota), or Ed Asner in his final appearance before his death, as a ghost, is just downright, hilariously fun.
Long time Muppet aficionado’s will spot classic elements from the “Muppet Show” era like a reworking of “At the Dance,” a recurring sketch that appeared on the show, reformatted to the ballroom of the Haunted Mansion, or a ghostly Fozzie, telling bad jokes that Statler and Waldorf absolutely demolish. Seeing the Muppets’ return to form almost makes you forget about all the misguided transgressions placed upon the Muppets by Disney over the past decade. Almost.
So, if you have yet to feast your eyes on the Muppets’ latest special, what the hell are you waiting for?
“Muppets Haunted Mansion” is currently streaming on Disney+.
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