VOA标准英语2011--'The Muppets!' Are Back in New Hilarious Adventure

'The Muppets!' Are Back in New Hilarious¹ Adventure

 

Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, The Swedish Chef and the entire gang are back together for a hilarious new adventure after more than a decade out of the spotlight². Their new film is titled - appropriately - The Muppets.

It's hard to believe it was 35 years ago when "The Muppet Show" first appeared on TV and became a worldwide hit. Kermit, created by the late Jim Henson as a combination of marionette³ and puppet - hence, "Muppet," led audiences through a variety show of wacky acts with a parade of human guest stars joining in the absurdist humor. But those happy half-hours are long gone and, in the new film, the old Muppet theater is about to be torn down unless they can raise $10 million.

KERMIT "$10 million? That's impossible. The only way to raise that kind of money would be …to put on a show. I haven't seen the old gang in a long, long time."
WALTER "Your fans never left you. The world hasn't forgotten. It's time to play the music."
GARY "It's time to light the lights."
MARY "It's time to meet the Muppets …"
KERMIT "Come on guys, let's go!"

"The Muppets" joined by Amy Adams and Jason Segel

The Muppets is a dream project for comic actor Jason Segel. He co-wrote the script and then convinced the Disney studio, which now owns the Muppet characters, to make the film.

"It's hard to get a movie made in general, but I think the big thing we had to get across was that we weren't trying to do it with a sense of irony⁴ …that it wasn't us making the Muppets with a 'wink-wink' attached to it," Segel explains. "We had a pure love for the Muppets and we wanted to restore it to the 1970's and '80's Muppet movies."

(L-R)Jason Segel and Walter in "The Muppets"

Director James Bobin is no stranger to innovative⁵ comedy as creator of television hits like "Da Ali G Show" with Sacha Baron⁶ Cohen. However, he says The Muppets has the added challenge of re-introducing its characters to a younger audience.

"I couldn't just make a movie whereby I just told them the Muppets were great. I had to show them being great, and that's why the second half of the movie is really a Muppet Show, in a way," Bobin says.

FAKE PIGGY "You've been replaced."
MISS PIGGY "Oh yeah? Hi-yah! Ow, that hurt."

But beyond nostalgia⁷, Jason Segel believes there is a place in today's edgier⁸ entertainment for something wholesome⁹ like The Muppets.

Miss Piggy and Kermit in "The Muppets"

"The Muppets remind us of the best versions of ourselves," Segel says. "You are instantly transported to who you wanted to be when you were a kid. The sense of wide-eyed wonder that the world eventually beats out of you is something the Muppets have refused to let go away. I think in this more cynical¹⁰ world where a lot of comedy now comes through making jokes at other people's expense, the Muppets refuse to go there."

Amy Adams co-stars as the longtime girlfriend of Segel's character. Chris Cooper plays the ruthless tycoon¹¹ threatening the old theater. And, true to its origins, The Muppets features cameos by an assortment¹² of top music, film and television stars.

1 hilarious   

adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed

参考例句：

• The party got quite hilarious after they brought more wine.在他们又拿来更多的酒之后，派对变得更加热闹起来。
• We stop laughing because the show was so hilarious.我们笑个不停，因为那个节目太搞笑了。

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 marionette   

n.木偶

参考例句：

• With this marionette I wish to travel through the world.我希望带着这个木偶周游世界。
• The development of marionette had a great influence on the future development of opera.木偶戏的发展对以后的戏曲有十分重要的影响。

4 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

5 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

6 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

7 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

8 edgier   

adj.不安的，易激怒的( edgy的比较级 )

参考例句：

• The Hill is an upstart competitor that's a little edgier. 国会山是一个有点边缘化的新晋竞争者。 来自互联网
• Despite the edgier aspects of his personality, Anakin possesses a guileless charm. 除去他性格中的边缘性，阿纳金拥有一种坦率的魅力。 来自互联网

9 wholesome   

adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的

参考例句：

• In actual fact the things I like doing are mostly wholesome.实际上我喜欢做的事大都是有助于增进身体健康的。
• It is not wholesome to eat without washing your hands.不洗手吃饭是不卫生的。

10 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

11 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

12 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。