I saw a post somewhere about how Disney should stop with their live action remakes and do all Muppet remakes of classics. Beauty and the Beast with the beast being the only human actor, played by some handsome guy constantly being told he’s horrible and ugly, until in the end he transforms back to a felt puppet. It’s the only remake idea I’ll watch from this point forward.

Brandon and Dan are a blueprint for how to be different people and disagree a LOT about different things, but still be incredible and respectful friends.

Another example of the "Newt Principle" is the Disney Star Wars Trilogy. I was never able to get into it because the Force Awakens undid everything that the heroes worked for in the Original Trilogy.

We who come here for Dan's bad takes were well fed today

My favorite authors talking about my favorite movie franchise? Truly a blessed day. Instead of a serious Mistborn: the Last Empire movie simply make "Muppets on Scradriel"

Brandon and Dan talking passionately about The Muppets is absolutely wonderful

Can confirm, am (now) here for Dan’s Bad Takes™ It’s just another reason to love the guy.

Jim Hensons Workshop also brought us the rare alien sci fi Farscape and a major part of why everything looks so colourful and distinct. One of the last practical sets and puppetry used on a sci fi

I LOVE Dark Crystal and Age of Resistance!!! Still heartbroken that we didn’t get a second season😢

I see no 631 and I want more!

When I was a kid, I loved Muppet Caper so much my parents took me so see it multiple times when it was in the theater.

Farscape really deserved a mention here. But im pretty sure Dan and Brandon havent seen it.

Listening to Brandon talking about the Muppets, and then bring in Defunctland… Now I just need a Defunctland documentary about Brandon…

Ooh, I disagree with Dan on the Albert Finney Scrooge. For one, Scrooge’s problem in the book is not that he hates people. His problem is that he’s made an idol of money. And then when the rest of the town is dancing on Scrooge’s coffin and thanking him for dying, I’m left wondering why we are hoping for change in Scrooge when the rest of the town is as nasty as he is. I know a lot of people like that version, but for me it’s the worst one.

I never saw the Muppet Wizard of Oz, but I did see a thing where they did a bunch of fairytales with the muppets standing in for the characters. (I think Gonzo and Rizzo were narrating). My favorite one was the shoemaker and the elves, where the elves turned out to be three 'Elvises'. It ended with Kermit giving them all white sequin jump suits, and the three Elvises living happily every after in Las Vegas. (Kermit was the shoemaker, and learned to make shoes that 'weren't so ugly' by looking at the 'Elvis's' patterns.

12:55 “Sound off in the comments if you come here for Dan’s bad takes.” At first I thought, “No! I am here for invigorating discussion!” But I probably am here for Dan’s bad takes. You win.

If you like Jim Henson then you need to watch the BBC series he made called The Storyteller with John Hurt. Absolutely stunning program that doesn't have the recognition it deserves.

Muppets from Space is pure gold, Dan!

As a kid I never watched the Muppet Show, but I watched Muppet Babies a lot.

Muppets ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ 🙌🏼 that reboot I could get behind. Question is- who plays Mr. Potter … or is it a Mrs. …?

Absolute best Christmas Carole is Mickey’s Christmas Carole. Fight Me

Where are the 631 Super Secret Projects you are hiding Brandon?

It was hilarious to hear Dan advocating for the "unfallen" skeksis, because that is exactly what World of Warcraft did with their knockoff Skeksis. At one point, you get the opportunity to see the suntalon arakkoa of the past in their full undimmed glory, and oh yeah, it came out 5 years before the show!

Skipped instantly to the end to see if Ben’s feelings were acknowledged

Any other weirdos in the room waiting to hear them talk about Farscape?

I disagree with Dan maybe 90% of the time, but oh is it satisfying when we align. Can't get enough of him.

They forgot Storyteller, which is amazing.

100% agree about Muppets Most Wanted. Also, the number of times they say "The Muppets Again" in that opening song only to miss the obvious joke of replacing "Again" with "Most Wanted" in the credits left me feeling like there was some studio nonsense going on. I wonder if we didn't get a half baked version of what they wanted.

I had no idea liking Muppets from Space was a hot take 😅

Farscape! Everyone always forgets Farscape! Brian Henson co-directed and produced Farscape, and the creature work in that show is so excellent. Two main characters are puppets.

Dan I disagree what you said about Muppets Christmas Carol but I will defend to the death your right to say it

EVERY Muppet movie dismisses the previous ones, it's part of their fourth wall breaking., even in the Jim Henson era. "Hey, in this one we're going to be twin brother detectives!" "In this one we're graduating college students that were babies together!" Even the original Muppet movie has a framing device of "we're just watching a movie, this isn't necessarily how things actually went." None of them pretend there's any continuity, most of them start with a song number saying "hey this is a new outing, just enjoy the ride!" Even Kermit and Piggy getting married at the end of Manhattan was a vague ??? for decades.

Mistborn tasted, The Lord ruler approved.

Does Farscape count as a Muppet-containing property?

Muppets from Space is legitimately one of my favorite movies. 😅 It's tied with Muppet Treasure Island. Pepe definitely has some of my favorite lines! "We came all the way out here for a stupid egg?" "Shhhh. It could be full of chocolate, okay!"

I'm 100% on board with everything Brandon said im the first like 5 minutes the first new muppet movie got ruined by the second one but the second one is actually really fun.

You two are Statler and Waldorf. I watch you because you’re interesting. I never read any of your books. I come for the commentary and home-felt weirdness.

Well done

I’m disappointed they never cover the muppets frog prince.

12:55 I come here for Dan’s AMAZING takes. And he is 10000% (yes, that’s ten thousand percent) right about Scrooge!

The one thing in Muppet Christmas Carol that ruins it for me was always Michael Caine's Scrooge. He just wasn't Scroogey enough, he's barely into the first ghost's journey when he seems to just be along for a fun ride, there should be _some_ resistance to be made a better person but he starts enjoying himself almost straight away on this fun nostalgic adventure he's having with quirky characters. Everything else about the movie I love but I can't accept their Scrooge.

I absolutely fell in love with MASH on DVD when I discovered you could turn off the canned laugh track! It's so much better with out the audio indicating the jokes, forcing you to pay a little more attention while being a little more immersed. Statler and Waldorf are the best Muppets ever.

SO agree with Dan about the massacre of Gonzo with Muppets From Space. I hate that Muppets From Space unilaterally decides he's an alien; I preferred the "weirdo/whatever" non-explanation. Giving him a specific "species", if you will, takes away his chaotic character. (It's like midichlorians in Star Wars -- who needed that explanation? Ever?) Besides, he already had been shown to have more depth even within his chaos as shown with "I'm Going to Go Back There Some Day" from Muppet Movie. Plus, it made him THE main character when he was never conceived as one, which just skewed everything. His part in the Muppet universe was growing from Christmas Carol on (and I don't mind it in Christmas Carol, because even though his part is bigger than Kermit or Fozzie or Miss Piggy, he's not actually a character in the story itself), but that was partly because both Jim Henson AND Richard Hunt had died and the years were passing, anyway. And it's not that Gonzo was a small part of the Muppets, but he was more a brilliantly crazy supporting character, which people tend to forget is still a really valuable part. It's okay for a beloved character not to BE the main character. I love Muppet Christmas Carol and I will defend it to haters, but I can see how Dan thinks it's mid-tier Muppets. It really is; it doesn't attain the brilliance of the three original Muppet movies, but it's not the train wreck of later films. Muppet Treasure Island was the one that made me realize that the Muppets were failing, Tim Curry notwithstanding. As for favorite Muppet? Rowlf the Dog. He's the best.

The original Muppet variety show (from the late 70s) is one of the funniest shows on TV. My favorite Muppet is Rawlf

Loving that beard, Brandon.

18:33 i think you meant to say "Gelflins"

I finally checked out of the Dark Crystal show when they had a guy in a suit. You have all these janky obvious puppets moving like puppets do and then there is suddenly a man in a skeksi suit moving smoothly like a person.

Argument for Muppets Christmas Carol: It is one of very few adaptations that includes the narration. It does change a few things, yes, but it does bring in the narration, so it gets points.

Wait, people don't like Muppets From Space? That was my favorite one!

Always come for the hot takes lol. Definitely disagree with the POV on Dark Crystal Age and Resistance. I think they did a good job weaving individual plots together, they were compelling and invited you to invest emotionally in them. Visually, I find it easy to differentiate between characters. I actually enjoyed the series more than the original film (film isn't bad, and was a feat for the time, but didn't love the storytelling as much)

My wife *loves* Muppets from space. I ofdly enough didnt particularly grow up with the muppets, and dont really remember watching them until after i saw the new ones. I remember liking them, but haven't seen them in a while. I also havent seen the original, manhattan, or caper, just treasure island, Christmas carole, and from space. I also really had fun with the muppets show on ABC

Week 14 of persistently asking for an Intentionally Blank episode on Marching Band!

Caper for Diana Rigg. I grew up on that one and I don't think I saw any of the literary ones until I was an adult. They never felt as good as muppet caper.

One of my favorite stories ever is the soldier and death episode from Jim Henson's Storyteller. When I toyed with the idea of writing a comic, I really wanted to do a story focused later in the life of the soldier when death and the devils are afraid of him as he travels the world, seeking meaning and an ending.

The Great Muppet Caper feels ignored.

I rarely disagree with Brando, but I thought the Dark Crystal Netflix series was fantastic! Visually stunning!

Personally, I quite liked Dark Crystal Age of Resistance.

Muppets also did Cinderella and Fairy Tales.

I do not come here for Dan’s bad takes. I adore Muppet Treasure Island and Muppet Christmas Carol!!

Me screaming Muppet’s Haunted Mansion!

Aren't Waldorf and Statler essentially the template for this whole BranDan thing?

WHAT DOES 631 MEAN BRANDON???

I was also in love with JC from Labyrinth. At some point my wife made me watch "Requiem for a dream". If you have not already seen it, DO NOT WATCH THIS. Amazing cinematography and acting that will make you feel so dirty that it will never wash off.

Pepe definitely stole the show during Muppets from Space.

I Love Muppets from Space

What's up with 631?

Muppets In Space is my favorite movie, likely because Gonzo was already my favorite Muppet and it's the only one I had on VHS as a kid so I've seen it so many times

Love Dan's bad takes.

Dan is the sanest person in Utah when it comes to beloved media properties.

Woah, no food heist!

Don't forget Legend no matter how much Tom Cruise would like to forget it. For fantasy and Farscape for Henson/Muppet content

They missed Kermit: swamp years. I know it is not full cast but I need a rating!!

Does anyone have a Dan Wells book recommendation? I haven't read one of his yet and would love to give him a shot.

What are Dan's and Brandon's opinion about the Muppet Mayhem show about the band. This was the one that aired on Disney Channel?

I agree completely with BS on the second remake

Best use of Muppets for a film would be Muppet Dungeons and Dragons.

no love for ridley scott's legend?

About epic fantasy from the 80's what about "legend" with tom cruise and an epic tim curry!

I, too, don't care for Muppet Christmas Carol.

The podcast version of this won't download. My app says "Download failed, error code forbidden. Contact the podcast author." Can you check it on your end?

No mention of Muppets Haunted Mansion.

*here for Dan's bad hot takes*

The answer is the Muppets Wizard of Oz on NBC

Has anyone else been made aware of the 631 Sanderson conspiracy?

I dislike the automatic "it's terrible", like honestly when was the last time you watched it. With regards to the muppet movie

Last!

Pepe is MID at best… bring back Rizzo!!

I fundamentally disagree with Brandon's interpretation of the start of Muppet's Most Wanted. They were doing a 4th wall joke about how sequel work, not trying to reframe the entire first movie. As someone who has watched that movie many times I had never even considered someone could interpret it that way. I don't think the movie undermined the investment in the first movie at all. It wasn't focused on those characters, but Walter's characterization in this movie is the same and is clearly picking up from where the last one left off in terms of his personal journey. He's accepted as a muppet and just gets to just be one of the crew. If anything the sequel reaffirms the emotional investment in the original.

I fail to see how this is a hot take.

No food heist?

Adoooonalsium

Farscape?

Pepe the Prawn is only funny to me when he's not one of the main sidekicks. Rizzo the Rat filled the role better. Muppet Wizard of Oz was a wretched dumpster fire. The only good part was at the beginning, with Queen Latifah and David Allen Grier as Auntie Em and Uncle Henry. They knew how to act alongside the Muppets! Once they were out of the picture it all went downhill. I had the same reaction as Dan to the reveal of Sheldon in the reboot film, THAT was a perfectly Muppety moment. 😂 The reboot sequel has its good points (Tina Fey!) but ultimately falls flat for me because I don't particularly enjoy watching Ricky Gervais. [shrug] I only watched one episode of the Office-style show, but it was so mean-spirited that it felt more like a parody of the Muppets themselves. And how dare they break up Kermit and Miss Piggy for drama! 😭

If you have been steeped in the Muppets your whole life, the problem with Muppet Christmas Carol, is that Kermit is not Jim Henson's Kermit and is tragically *wrong*. Also, my favorite Muppet is Cookie Monster.

Dan is wrong. There are no mid tier Muppet movies. They never rise to that level.

George C. Scott Scrooge is best Scrooge. 😎

Dan dan the bad take man!!!

Nah, Scar has to be the straight man, or Ben...

First!

I don’t like any Muppet production after the 90s.