Muppet Guys Talking

Dir: Frank Oz

2017

****

Muppet Guys Talking was filmed way back in 2012 and only made it to the big screen in March 2017 at the South By Southwest Film Festival, where it went under the slightly longer title of Muppet Guys Talking: Secrets Behind the Show the Whole World Watched. It took another year for the film to be released, exclusively on the film’s own website. The film is exactly what it says it is, that is, five of the original Muppet performers sitting around a coffee table talking about their experiences working for Jim Henson and being part of the Muppet family. It’s not filmed particularly well, there certainly aren’t any bells and whistles – special effects and what have you – and there aren’t that many archive clips. It’s not a comprehensive document on the history of Henson or The Muppets themselves, instead it is a feature-length (well, an hour and six minutes) of what you’d generally expect to find in a DVD’s ‘extra features’ section. I’m not sure why it took so long to make it to the big or small screen and I’m not sure I totally buy the explanation from Frank Oz that “The Muppets are rambunctious, and a little bit anarchic, and they’re very affectionate, and they’re rebellious, so I felt there’s only one way to shoot it, which is kind of handheld, roaming cameras, some stuff on sticks, seeing the cinematographers in the background, getting up for coffee and keep rolling. That kind of rambunctiousness and that rebelliousness was the only way I felt we could shoot it, to mirror our spirit.”

Nine hours of footage was shot in total. Nine hours. So in some ways I’m a little disappointed that the film lasts just sixty-six minutes (with five minutes of that stopping for a coffee break). I understand that those that helped crowd-fund the project got more – which is fair enough – and I have no issue with them releasing the film themselves, rather than getting a big streaming company involved. I do wonder whether there were issues – otherwise why wait so long to release it but again, it doesn’t bother me. I just wanted more because I loved it so much. I’m a huge Muppet fan, so I can’t believe I missed the fact that this film even existed. Watching Frank Oz (Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Animal), Dave Goelz (Gonzo, Bunsen Honeydew), Fran Brill (Prairie Dawn), Bill Barretta (Pepe the Prawn) and Jerry Nelson (Count von Count, Floyd Pepper, Lew Zealand, Robin) discuss their time working on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show was glorious viewing. I loved that the film was mostly them just reminiscing without the usual controlled interview format. Direct questions are asked but they generally come from each other, paving a way for many old and forgotten stories to be remembered and told once more. There are many documentaries about The Muppets and Jim Henson but they all pretty much explore the same ground. Muppet Guys Talking reveals the real secrets behind (under) the puppets, a look at how they were developed and how the guys all met and worked together. You can often learn so much more from chat than you can from a simple lesson and that is certainly the case here. It is also rather wonderful watching old friends reminiscing about the good old days. The Muppets very rarely revealed themselves as puppets and that is one of the things I’ve always loved about them, and even though the performers reveal how they achieved certain scenes and stunts, the magic is somehow never extinguished. I think this is down to the fact that – unlike any other puppeteer or hidden performers, Muppet fans know these guys and almost see them and their Muppets as being one and the same – which they are in many respects. Watching the performers chatting is like wearing a comfy pair of slippers, I have never met these people but they are a part of my childhood life and I know many others feel the same way. So it is wonderful to see them together. It is also a particular treat to see Jerry Nelson one last time. As I said before, it was a surprise and a treat to discover this film existed but to see Jerry Nelson again and discussing life as a Muppet performer in a way I have never heard him do before was something else. He died just four months after the film was shot, so thank goodness they actual got together like this in time. There are things discussed in the film that most Muppet fans were probably unaware of and it was fascinating hearing the experiences of each performer who had joined the group at different stages. Jim Henson is a legend and a true hero of mine and hearing old and new stories about him was lovely. Again, there have been quite a few documentaries about Henson and the Muppets and he is always talked about in the most loving way but here they got that bit further and the legend is revealed as a man again but we are also reminded why we all love and miss him so. Certain things aren’t discussed, mainly for legal reasons, but then I don’t think where the Muppets are today is really what this film is about. This is about old friends talking and inviting their fans to be a fly on the wall. I for one am certainly grateful. Now give us more. Make a sequel with the Muppets talking about the humans, maybe invite Steve Whitmire and Kevin Clash – it would be a different kind of ‘talk’ but it would be great to hear and see it happen.