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Minor Movie Mentions

From Muppet Wiki

The following is a list of Muppet Mentions made in movies outside of the Henson/Sesame fold, all of which are too brief or minor to constitute having their own page in the Movie Mentions category. See also: Minor TV Mentions.

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Alice

In Woody Allen's 1990 comedy Alice, a friend of Mia Farrow's title character says that her son cries whenever he has to leave the house, "especially if Sesame Street is on."

Bart Got a Room

As Danny goes through a list of potential prom dates, he asks his friend for an opinion of Sokolov. He replies, "Too tall for you. Like, Big Bird tall."

Connections

Bee Movie

A 2007 computer animated feature by DreamWorks Animation, about a bee name Barry B. Benson deciding what to do after graduating from college. When Barry talks to Mr. Klauss Vanderhayden since he is suing Honey Farms for taking the bee's honey, he finds the image of a bear as the jar of honey not appropriate to represent honey. However, Mr. Klauss Vanderhayden replies that they're very lovable creatures and name a few bears including Fozzie Bear.

Connections

Beyond the Mat

In this 1999 wrestling documentary, World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Senior Vice President of Merchandising Jim Bell claims the following:

"There's a direct similarity between WWF and the Muppets. Family owned company, whole business based in performance and characters, with real human beings playing characters. In our case, they just don't happen to be using puppets."
Connections

Clerks

Dante and Randal are discussing which Star Wars movie was better: Return of the Jedi or The Empire Strikes Back. Dante prefers Empire, pointing out that "All Jedi had was a bunch of Muppets!"

Death to Smoochy

A dark comedy following Sheldon Mopes' (Edward Norton) rise to stardom with his Barney-like character Smoochy the Rhino, and all the amoral inner workings of the children's entertainment that he encounters. Early in the film, Sheldon states "I was born on November 11th, 1970. You know what else happened on that day? [The] first broadcast of Sesame Street!" (The statement is factually incorrect by one year and one day.) Later, while Robin Williams' character Randolph Smiley (aka Rainbow Randolph) smashes Angelo's television set, he calls Smoochy a "Muppet from hell," during a barrage of expletives. The film also features the Leonard Bernstein song "I Feel Pretty," which the Muppets have performed in numerous times.

Connections

Elf

Some scenes taking place at Gimbles Department Store feature various Sesame Street toys in the background.

Flushed Away

A 2006 computer animated feature by Aardman Animation, about a mouse trapped in the sewer. At one point, heroine Rita addresses the villainous toad with "Hoy! Kermit!"

Connections

Helvetica

A 2007 independent feature-length documentary film about typography and graphic design, centered around the typeface of the same name. During the montage of the usage of the Helvetica font for video medias, a clip of Telly Monster talking about D words with the letter D is shown.

Also, when we meet graphic designer, Michael C. Place, and go to his company office, a Big Bird figurine is seen behind his own creation of figurines.

Hot Fuzz

In one scene, Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) tells PC Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) the story of how he always wanted to become a policeman. At one point, he adds "Barring the summer of 1979, when I wanted to be Kermit the Frog." When he finishes, Butterman comments, "I think you'd have made a great Muppet."

The DVD's "Fuzz Facts" text commentary explains that Simon Pegg's favorite Muppet is actually Animal, which didn't fit the character.

Connections

I Love You, Man

When Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) gets set up on a man-date with a guy from his brother's gym, he gives him the nickname Elmo because of his high, squeaky voice.

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Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

In one scene, director Chaka Luther King claims the white man stole his idea for Sesame Street, which would have been known as "NWP" ("Niggas With Puppets").

Connections

Jingle All the Way

Walk-arounds of Ernie and Bert appear in the Christmas parade sequence.

Connections

The Little Rascals

A 1994 film based on the Our Gang short films. At one point in the film, Alfalfa and Spanky get mad at each other, and Stymie tries to get them to forgive each other, stating that they are a team, and lists other teams, including Bert and Ernie.

Connections

The Manhattan Project

A scene from the 1986 film (about 25 minutes in) features Paul Stephens (Christopher Collet) discussing the presence of plutonium in a supposed medical facility in his town with his study date. In the background, her younger brother is watching The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, specifically the "Aggression" sketch. The 1975 special was written by Marshall Brickman, who directs this film.

Connections

The Mist

The 2007 film adaptation of Stephen King's The Mist tells the story of a group of small town residents trapped together in a food store as the outside world experiences a disaster that begins picking off lives. Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden) riles a group of religious fanatics who begin chanting "expiation!" in response to God's will in the face of unknown dangers. Observing the loss of control exhibited by her followers, Ollie Weeks (Toby Jones) remarks, "Welcome to Sesame Street, kids. Today's word is 'expiation'."

The home video release of the film includes a featurette called Drew Struzan: An Appreciation of an Artist. In addition to showing off some of Struzan's Muppet posters, footage of his studio reveals that he keeps a Kermit the Frog photo puppet replica overlooking his painting area.

Connections

Mr. Jealousy

In the 1997 romantic comedy, Eric Stoltz's character says he does a "pretty good Muppet walk" as he bounces off-screen with his head tilted into the air.

Mr. Mom

Mr. Mom is a 1983 comedy written by John Hughes about a family man who loses his job, and stays at home to care for the family while his wife goes off to work. The younger of the two sons, Kenny, wears Ernie and Bert slippers (one on each foot) which are seen at several points throughout the movie. Kenny also wears a t-shirt adorned with an image of the Electric Mayhem.

Connections

Noises Off

Noises Off is a farcical play about the behind-the-scenes troubles of a new play. In a scene shot for the film version in New York City, an advertisement poster for Kodak can be seen displaying an image of Elmo and Big Bird.

Connections

Notting Hill

William Thacker, played by Hugh Grant, opens the 1999 movie Notting Hill, talking about the location of the same name. His voice-over describes a montage of scenes:

"Notting Hill -- my favorite bit of London... There's the market on weekdays, selling every fruit and vegetable known to man... the tattoo parlour -- with a guy outside who got drunk and now can't remember why he chose 'I Love Ken'..."
(A woman with hair dyed bright blue exits a hair salon) "The radical hairdressers where everyone comes out looking like the Cookie Monster, whether they want to or not."

Poltergeist

The 1982 film written by Steven Spielberg features a poster of Every Body's Record on the childrens' bedroom wall.

The Pursuit of Happyness

A scene from the 2006 film, which is set in 1981, shows protagonist Christopher Gardner with a Sesame Street lunchbox featuring Grover, Big Bird, Prairie Dawn, Oscar the Grouch, Barkley, Lefty the Salesman and Sherlock Hemlock.

Connections

Rumble in the Bronx

The 1995 Jackie Chan movie features a blue sweater with Bert's head on it, worn by a little girl that is building a large sandcastle when Keung (Jackie Chan) comes ashore with the hovercraft.

The Sasquatch Gang

The 2006 film features a scene in which Gavin (Jeremy Sumpter) and Sophie (Addie Land) discuss their favorite fantasy films, including Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.

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