Its not easy being green.....

It is clear that the new writers remember that the best muppet films (you know the 3) were not only fun for kids, but entertaining for adults. I only hope that they spend time with the creative team from the Sesame Workshop aka the Children's Television Workshop. They will need to step into the roll of a child experiencing their muppet movie and remember the messages they took with them from the earlier muppet films. In 1968, Sesame Street founder, Joan Ganz Cooney, assembled a team of producers to "create a program that would spread prolearning values to both viewers and nonviewers (including their parents) that would affect them for many years after they stopped watching it." The team (including Jim Henson) attended seminars over a summer, led by a Harvard University professor, which gave them a "crash course" in child development, psychology and preschool education.

I think the 3 early muppet films stayed true to the vision of the Children's Television Workshop, and that is what makes them so memorable. The messages were created for kids and the films did indeed affect us for many years after we saw them. I think the new film premise is great, the title is a bit bold (and it doesn't leave the door open for future muppet films to be as "great?"), and it would be great to see the scattered muppets in some exciting International locales (exposing young kids to world travel and keeping in mind how International the muppets really are now).
Also hoping that the cameos feel natural and not so forced - truly loved when the famous actors played waiters, department store clerks, roller-skaters in central park- so it still felt like the muppets were the real stars of the film.

Lastly, the song lyrics. I hope again that they team up with the Sesame Workshop team to knock out some fantastic songs that are not only catchy, but inspiring and educational. The enigmatic "I'm going to go back there someday" from the muppet movie is my fav. ("There's not a word yet, for old friends who've just met...") Another public broadcasting giant, Mr. Rogers, made an incredible speech to the US Senate to win back millions of dollars for PBS in the face of budget cuts. He won over the Senate chairman by reading the lyrics to one of the songs on his show. Definitely check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXEuEUQIP3Q

Unfortunately both PBS and the Children's Television Workshop have lost focus with their original purpose, to teach children the basic tools to develop into well rounded adults. Now they are more concerned with being Politically Correct and have lost the need to stick with the original concept. Add in their political slants on politics and the shows today are a shadow of their former self.