According to the Hollywood Reporter, the new Muppets movie will follow a familiar format and provide a myriad of cameo roles for actors to add to their resumes.
The latest actors to be connected to the film are Alan Arkin, Jack Black, Billy Crystal, Zach Galifianakis and Jean-Claude Van. I mentioned in an earlier article that Amy Adams and Chris Cooper would have more prominent roles, and Rashida Jones is now listed, too.
Naturally, scheduling so many different actors presents a problem to the studio, but I honestly don’t think losing a cameo actor to a scheduling conflict will break this film. The most important factors, in my opinion, are story, music, and Muppet talent. They need to be believable and funny, and the movie needs to capture the warmth and heart of earlier films like The Muppet Christmas Carol. Will there ever be a scene as tender or memorable as when Kermit plays his banjo and sings “Rainbow Connection” in The Muppet Movie?
Probably not, but one can hope.
I also don’t think anything can compare to the cuteness of “I’m Gonna Always Love You” sung by baby Miss Piggy in The Muppets Take Manhattan, or the beauty of the wedding scene in the same film. “Wedding, wedding, piggy froggy wedding” says it all.
The movie poster below gives a hint of all of the cameo actors that appeared in The Muppet Movie, and the list contains Orson Welles, Bob Hope, Carole Kane, Dom Deluise, and Steve Martin.
Similarly, the Muppets Take Manhattan had Brooke Shields, Joan Rivers, Dabney Coleman, Liza Minnelli, and several more. Everyone wants to work with the Muppets. If you don’t, there is something missing from you, like a heart, or a soul.