Bork! Bork! Bork!
I think I've established that I am a simple creature. And with the release of The Muppets, we've firmly established that the things that brought me joy when I was five years old still make me happy.
And that's pretty much the basis of the new film. It appeals to the inner five-year-olds in the audience who remember watching The Muppet Show every Saturday night without fail. Who still proudly display their lunchboxes from kindergarten on a bookshelf in their home offices. Who can't remember to buy more milk but still know every song from the soundtracks from The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper.
K-Rock and I are of one mind on the Muppet obsession, but we're also grown up and intellectual now:
Because we are grown up and intellectual, we don't let our inner five-year-olds call all the shots. We grapple with the Big Questions about the Muppets.
Is the Swedish Chef a racist stereotype?
We conducted some intensive research on this topic and concluded, yes, possibly, but there is evidence on the interwebs that the Swedes actually find the Swedish Chef funny. So it probably doesn't matter. Wikipedia tells us that at least one real live Swedish Chef, a guy named Lars Backman (there's an umlaut over the a in that name, but I'm not sure how to add an umlaut on this platform... plus I like to say umlaut) claimed that his appearance on Good Morning America inspired the Swedish Chef, but Muppet writer Jerry Juhl has denied this claim. The same Wikipedia entry cites Brian Henson's story that his father, Jim, had a tape called "How to Speak Mock Swedish" that he listened to in the car, and that became the basis for the character.
While we have been unable to locate where one might obtain a copy of said tape, there are a number of sites on the interwebs that enable users to translate text into Chef Swedish, including an add-on for Firefox which can translate web pages.
What does The Count feed on?
He's a vampire, so the obvious answer would be blood, right? Except, a) he's a character on a children's show, and having a character who lives by draining living humans of blood would be pretty dark and b) he's made out of felt. Does this mean he sucks the stuffing out of rag dolls and teddy bears? Also pretty damn dark.
But for the trivially minded, his full name is Count von Count.
Is Beaker a representation of the silenced cultures victimized by post-colonial European Imperialism?
Since K-Rock threw me this question, I've been able to think of little else. I haven't run my answer past her yet, but I'm going to have to go with a big yes on this one. Beaker doesn't speak English, but rather a series of squeaking "meep" sounds, which clearly represents the Eurocentric misunderstanding of native languages the world over. Furthermore, Beaker is subjected to humiliating and dangerous experiments at the hands of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. That's a very English-sounding name, and he does speak with a slight accent. Or the reference to honeydew melons could be symbolic of the Dutch propensity for agriculture. Also, he looks kind of Belgian.*
In the clip below, we can see the Swedish Chef teaming up with Honeydew to try to evade/ suppress a Beaker rebellion, which reflects the cooperation between European powers to subjugate native peoples.
Finally, Beaker is pale and has red hair, which physically identifies him with the Irish, who lived for hundreds of years under the violent oppression of British rule. He's obviously so skinny because his English landlord hasn't been allowing him adequate food supplies.
Is Animal an indictment of the faulty American educational system?
Some accounts indicate that Animal was inspired by Keith Moon of The Who, except without the dying in a pool of sick part. Under this interpretation, Animal would be, if anything, an indictment of a faulty British educational system.
Except he isn't. Because Animal is fucking awesome.
*I do not hate Belgians.
I think I've established that I am a simple creature. And with the release of The Muppets, we've firmly established that the things that brought me joy when I was five years old still make me happy.
And that's pretty much the basis of the new film. It appeals to the inner five-year-olds in the audience who remember watching The Muppet Show every Saturday night without fail. Who still proudly display their lunchboxes from kindergarten on a bookshelf in their home offices. Who can't remember to buy more milk but still know every song from the soundtracks from The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper.
K-Rock and I are of one mind on the Muppet obsession, but we're also grown up and intellectual now:
Because we are grown up and intellectual, we don't let our inner five-year-olds call all the shots. We grapple with the Big Questions about the Muppets.
Is the Swedish Chef a racist stereotype?
We conducted some intensive research on this topic and concluded, yes, possibly, but there is evidence on the interwebs that the Swedes actually find the Swedish Chef funny. So it probably doesn't matter. Wikipedia tells us that at least one real live Swedish Chef, a guy named Lars Backman (there's an umlaut over the a in that name, but I'm not sure how to add an umlaut on this platform... plus I like to say umlaut) claimed that his appearance on Good Morning America inspired the Swedish Chef, but Muppet writer Jerry Juhl has denied this claim. The same Wikipedia entry cites Brian Henson's story that his father, Jim, had a tape called "How to Speak Mock Swedish" that he listened to in the car, and that became the basis for the character.
While we have been unable to locate where one might obtain a copy of said tape, there are a number of sites on the interwebs that enable users to translate text into Chef Swedish, including an add-on for Firefox which can translate web pages.
What does The Count feed on?
He's a vampire, so the obvious answer would be blood, right? Except, a) he's a character on a children's show, and having a character who lives by draining living humans of blood would be pretty dark and b) he's made out of felt. Does this mean he sucks the stuffing out of rag dolls and teddy bears? Also pretty damn dark.
But for the trivially minded, his full name is Count von Count.
Is Beaker a representation of the silenced cultures victimized by post-colonial European Imperialism?
Since K-Rock threw me this question, I've been able to think of little else. I haven't run my answer past her yet, but I'm going to have to go with a big yes on this one. Beaker doesn't speak English, but rather a series of squeaking "meep" sounds, which clearly represents the Eurocentric misunderstanding of native languages the world over. Furthermore, Beaker is subjected to humiliating and dangerous experiments at the hands of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. That's a very English-sounding name, and he does speak with a slight accent. Or the reference to honeydew melons could be symbolic of the Dutch propensity for agriculture. Also, he looks kind of Belgian.*
In the clip below, we can see the Swedish Chef teaming up with Honeydew to try to evade/ suppress a Beaker rebellion, which reflects the cooperation between European powers to subjugate native peoples.
Finally, Beaker is pale and has red hair, which physically identifies him with the Irish, who lived for hundreds of years under the violent oppression of British rule. He's obviously so skinny because his English landlord hasn't been allowing him adequate food supplies.
Is Animal an indictment of the faulty American educational system?
Some accounts indicate that Animal was inspired by Keith Moon of The Who, except without the dying in a pool of sick part. Under this interpretation, Animal would be, if anything, an indictment of a faulty British educational system.
Except he isn't. Because Animal is fucking awesome.
*I do not hate Belgians.
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