Last week, Flight of the Conchords co-creator James Bobin was announced as the director of Disney's upcoming Muppet Movie, which was titled The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made.
Now, a new piece of news from Muppetland: The title is changing. The Playlist writes that a source confirmed it's now The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time. Said unknown source also provided a brief synopsis of the script, written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller:
The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time is about Gary, Mary, and Walter (a man, his girlfriend, and the man's life-long nondescript, brown puppet best friend) getting the old Muppet gang — now retired entertainers known for the same Muppet show we know them from — together to save the TV studio that the original show was shot in. A villain, Tex Richman (nice name, on par with Doc Hopper), bent on drilling for oil underneath the studio, is due to take over the studio in weeks and the only way to stop him? Putting on a show that draws ten million viewers (see also "Heartbroken: The Conan O'Brien Story").
Sounds a bit formulaic (an oil-greedy tycoon named Tex Richman?), but it should have a good bit of nostalgia and offer some fun opportunities for re-exploring the Muppets in their heyday. The mysterious source's evaluation?
It's a solid attempt at recapturing what made The Muppet Show and the first two Muppet movies so great, but The Great Muppet Movie of All Time is no Great Muppet Caper ... but it is a fresh, younger approach. Stoller and Segel have fun with the characters, are aware of what made the Muppet early years so great.... But what their script lacks (oddly enough, this being a Muppet movie and all) is forward pulse.
We'll have to wait and see what the final product looks like. Disney plans to go into production this summer. In the meantime, enjoy the Swedish Chef, Animal, and Beaker singing "Danny Boy."
Posted 02.10.10 by reelz