By Charlotte Hilton Andersen, REDBOOK
For my first childhood talent show, I sang "The Rainbow Connection." How did I learn the lyrics? I sang along with Kermit the Frog on my record player, of course. Who made me into the (horrible) cook I am today? The Swedish Chef. I can't believe I'm admitting this on the Internet, but Muppet Treasure Island is still one of my top five favorite movies. To this day, whenever my husband or I say something dumb, we'll point to our index finger and say, echoing the adorably vacant Fozzie Bear, "Mr. Bimble told me! He's the man that lives in my finger. He's been to the moon and back-twice!" It turns out the Muppets have been a large part of my life.
The Muppets are one of those rare cultural phenomena that have the power to span generations, class lines, and even the lines of adult-child humor while still giving everyone something to laugh at in the end. This is why I was super excited when I saw that a new Muppet movie is coming out. But will I be seeing it? Probably not. Apparently, my kids hate the Muppets.
It's true. And it's not just the Muppets: They have something against puppets in general. While they all went through an Elmo phase as toddlers, they have staunchly refused to watch any other segments of Sesame Street. The reasons they give are varied: The show is boring, the characters wear funny clothes (this comes from the kid sporting half an Iron Man and half a Tinkerbell costume), and Big Bird is larger than an elephant. But I think my 2-year-old gave the real reason one day when she pointed a chubby finger at garbage-dwelling Oscar and whispered, "CWEEPY!" followed by a full-body shudder.
It makes me wonder if, in an age of stylized computer-generated animation, real puppets have lost some of their magic to kids. I mean, maybe once you've seen Toy Story 3 eleventh times, a fuzzy sock with a stick up its rear might seem a little, well, creepy. If so, that's a shame. But then, maybe it's only my kids who aren't excited about the new Muppets movie. I sure am.
Do you love the Muppets? Do your children love them? Will you be taking your kids to see the movie?
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