Muppets In Space (lost early drafts of "Muppets From Space" sci-fi family film; 1999)

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Muppets From Space Poster.jpg

The film's theatrical poster.

Status: Lost

Muppets From Space, released on July 14th, 1999, is the sixth theatrical film created for the Muppets franchise. The film centers around Gonzo, who wishes to find his family after discovering he might be an alien from outer space. The film is generally considered a box-office bomb, receiving mixed reviews and barely making back its 24 million dollar budget. However, what many don't know is that the film that was eventually released is much different than what it was originally intended.

Production History

Originally, the film was going to be a sci-fi parody titled Muppets In Space, which was reminiscent of Star Wars. The plot would have involved Kermit getting kidnapped by an alien race after being mistaken for their long-lost leader, prompting the rest of the primary Muppets cast (Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, etc.) to go into space in an attempt to rescue him.[1] This film was to be written by Kirk Thatcher.

At the same time, Jerry Juhl was developing a similar idea titled "Star Gonzo", which involved Gonzo and UFOs, the plot of which is unknown. Eventually, it was decided by Columbia pictures to shelve Kirk Thatcher's film to focus more on Juhl's idea, although the title (Muppets In Space being changed to Muppets From Space) of Thatcher's film was kept.[2] Though Thatcher's version of the film was never produced, a series of Welch's Jelly Jars were made to promote the film.[3]

Joey Mazzarino was hired to co-write for the film alongside Jerry Juhl and Ken Kaufman. Director Randal Kleiser, of Grease fame, was hired to direct. Joey Mazzarino described his version of the script as being very parody heavy. Featuring references to famous sci-fi properties such as Men In Black, Contact, and Alien. The ending was also considerably different. Instead of Gonzo being confirmed as an alien, it would've revealed that the aliens visiting earth only modeled themselves in Gonzo's appearance out of worship, and Gonzo would have remained a "whatever." This ending was preferred by Mazzarino, but this, and the parody aspects of the film were removed following the hiring of Tim Hill as the new director. Which caused Mazzarino to leave the production shortly thereafter.

"...We were working with a director, Randal Kleiser, who had directed Grease, one of my favorite movies. We got the green light, it was Jerry Juhl’s script, and they asked me to do a pass, and I wrote a very parody-heavy script. We parodied Men in Black, Contact, Alien, and we were very close to shooting. Then I got a panicked call from Henson saying that they were firing Randal. They said, “We don’t feel like he’s bringing enough vision.” I said, “But we got the green light! We’re going!” So they flew me out to LA to pick a new director, and we picked a director who was a very nice guy, and he did a decent job, but he wanted to get rid of all the parody stuff. He wanted it to be more real, and the ending, I hate the ending. In my draft, the aliens were getting the signal of old Muppet Shows, and they made themselves look like Gonzo because he was the ultimate being to him. And then they peel back to reveal themselves to be these hideous creatures. And it’s not about family being those guys, his family is the Muppets. So he’s still a whatever, he’s not an alien in the end. So the fact that they made him an alien bugs the crap out of me. Anyway, they hired him, he wanted to make all these changes, and I just left."

- Joey Mazzarino on the film[4]

Muppets From Space was also the first Muppets film to not be a musical. Although originally, it was planned to have original songs. Such as a new version of Gonzo's song, "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday" from The Muppet Movie, and a new song that was written by rock band Ween, titled "Eye 2 The Sky."[5] Whether or not any other songs were planned/written for the film currently remains unknown.

Availability

None of the earlier scripts have been leaked to the public, and little-to-no behind-the-scenes content has been released. It's unknown if any of these materials will ever be released.

Gallery

Videos

The version of "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday" featured in the official Muppets From Space soundtrack.

"Eye 2 The Sky" an original song meant for the film.

A TV Spot for the film that contains some clips of deleted scenes.

Images

See Also

References