Hello and welcome to In Too Deep, where I over-analyse a certain section of pop culture.
Well with the Muppets: Most Wanted release people have been arguing that it’s very similar to The Great Muppet Caper. As such if history does indeed repeat itself it won’t be long before they turn to adapting classic literature again. So after doing A Christmas Carol, Treasure Island and The Wizard of Oz what’s left for them to do? Well I do have a few suggestions…
6)Arabian Nights: Okay the trouble with this one is a)working out which stories to focus on and b)not trying to appear to be a rip-off of Aladdin. But ignoring those problems this is pretty much perfect fodder for the likes of The Muppets since it allows them to really get creative and do new and interesting things. Sure it will feel a bit episodic but that doesn’t stop them from having new characters for each story. It’ll let some of the minor characters have a chance to shine. So while writing the script to adapt this one would be hard I think there’s real potential here.
5)The Odyssey: Okay fair warning I’ve never actually read this and I’m only including it cos my friend is currently translating the prequel to this into Latin (don’t ask me why, apparently she likes studying Latin). But I’ve seen The Simpsons do a brief outline of the story and they’ve already done Treasure Island. Plus all the cool imagery in the story would be great to recreate using muppets. Especially the Cyclops. So put this down as something that could be made if they worked on the script well enough.
4)Gulliver’s Travels: See the argument I made above. Now in part this one would be a bit difficult to make due to the size difference that plays such a big part, along with its somewhat adult humour found within in the text. But if you can work past those difficult parts of the story (and they did it in Treasure Island after all) you have a book ripe for a Muppets adaptation. The story (at least the first quarter) has been adapted into children’s movies before, so it’s not entirely impossible. So put this one day as a maybe that could one day be adapted in the Muppet’s brilliant satirical way.
3)Shakespeare’s Comedies: The hardest part about this one isn’t so much the source material as choosing which one to adapt. Do you got with a Much Ado About Nothing starring Miss Piggy and Kermit? Do you do a Twelfth Night parody featuring humans and muppets pretending to be one another? Do you look at The Winter’s Tale and realise that to exit, pursued by a bear needs to be realised by a certain Muppet? Honestly there are lot of options open in regards to this and I think they should all be exploited in one way or another. Have half the script be proper Shakespearian English, have the other half be the Muppets commenting on the proceedings. If nothing else it’ll give the kids something to watch.
2)Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: It’s depressing that the first story writers tend to go to for “characters in fantastical world†is The Wizard of Oz (including the Muppets), which is a shame, since Alice in Wonderland is always a more interesting world. In fact Frank Baum always hated his work being compared to the Alice series because, as he put it, his work contained proper logic. Which is true when you look at it, there is a more grounded universe than in Alice. But I’m getting away from the point. Do I need to go on about which characters could play what roles? Gonzo and Rizzo would make a great Hatter/Hare, Fozzie could be the Caterpillar, Miss Piggy as the Queen of Hearts I mean come on! It pretty much writes itself. Honestly the Jim Henderson company made Labyrinth, which is kinda like Alice in Wonderland. Why not just do an adaptation of the book and make full use of the muppets at hand?
1)Around the World in Eighty Days: I’ll often gush about how much I love this book because this is just such a good book. I mean the characters are great, the story is great, the humour is brilliant. I mean yes it’s kinda a piss-take against the British, but I love it more because of that. But you have cultures all around the world and a character that visits all of them… I don’t think I’m going to say any more. This is one of those moments were you look at the people who look after the muppets and wonder “Why have you not done this really obviously good idea yet?†Can we please make this one after the third Muppet sequel? Please?
So there you have it. My look at classic stories that the Muppets could have a crack at. If you disagree with anything, or have anything to add, feel free to leave a comment. Till next time.
