It's time to play the music... it's time to light the lights!!

The latest in a series of spoof trailers hit youtube today for the new Muppet Movie that's hitting theaters this Thanksgiving....

I can not begin to contain the excitement I have about this movie!  Instead of going with the tack of using Muppets to do a classic story like Wizard of Oz or A Christmas Carol, they're going back to a story about the Muppets as the Muppets and their beloved theater.  Already being a fan of Jason Segal just makes it doubly awesome. He seems to genuinely care about the property and really making a great Muppet film. 

Jim Henson has been one of the greatest influences in my life next to Star Wars and my dad.  His creativity and originality blew me away as a little kid and teenager.  From Sesame Street, to the Muppet Show on to Dark Crystal and TMNT: The Movie, the things he did with puppets and special effects have inspired me as an artist and as a person all my life.   While I was way too young to catch The Muppet Show during it's original run, let alone any television at all... thanks to the magic of syndication, I fondly remember the very first time I did catch a glimpse of the end of the Muppet Show one night when I was supposed to be in bed.  I vividly remember peering around the archway into the living room to get just enough of an angle on the tv to see Zoot playing that last note on his sax.  Already being a huge Sesame Street nut (Oscar and Ernie topping the list of favorites) I was so intrigued by more of the awesome puppet madness, that I had to see more!  So I would find myself sneaking down to the kitchen at night to try and catch the show on the little set, most of the time not finding it on and having to sneak back upstairs.  The ONLY episode my mom and dad did let me stay up to watch was the episode that had Luke Skywalker, C-3PO and R2-D2 on it.  Star Wars..... on the Muppet Show?! I would not miss this!!  Darth Nader remains one of the greatest villains of all time! ;)

I have really high hopes that this film will capitalize on the grassroots movement Muppet Studios has been doing on Youtube (do a search, there's some really funny stuff!) and push The Muppets back into the lime light where they belong, so that my children can enjoy the same magic that I enjoyed as a boy.

It's time to get things started!!