Meet the Feebles.........

Lord of the Rings this aint. Nor is it suitable for children. But anybody interested in the career of Peter Jackson should check out his production of Meet the Feebles.

It is, to sum it up in one sentence, a very dark take on the Muppets. A strong stomach, a black humour with a taste for the macabre or the degenerate is required. Meet Heidi the Hippo, the Miss Piggy equivalent. Tragically in love and ever faithful to her husband Bletch the Walrus, a criminal adulterer whose only true love is money. Now our poor hippo has a weight problem, which is excacerbated by the heartlessness of the walrus (she addresses her pain via her sweet tooth) In turn her weight gain makes him use the pleasures of his new girlfriend, a slinky, model thin feline, even more. A catty cat who takes open pleasure at the pain of the hippo. Vicious and tragic circle.

Meanwhile the rest of the cast have their own problems. The playboy rabbit Harry has some ghastly illness which his doctor thinks is AIDS. Wynard the frog is a Vietnam veteran with a severe drug addiction.

The show reaches its climax when Heidi the Hippo decides she can take no more. After a failed suicide attempt when Bletch finally decides to ditch her because she is past her prime, her feline rival makes one last jibe at her while she has a gun in her mouth. That mistake costs the cat her life - and most of the other feebles! Heidi turns the gun on her and proceeds with a massacre of the entire studio.

Great fun if you like this kind of thing (and I do). You may enjoy it simply if you are a fan of the original muppets (as I am).
Lets hope Kermie stays faithful to Miss Piggy is all I can say for now.......

Update/note: A few years back I wrote a spoof rap involving Kermie, Miss Piggy and Kermie's new girlfriend, in which Miss Piggy's reaction was not unlike that of Heidi the hippo! Kermie lapped up the attention and was ultra laid back in his classic style while the girls were at each other's throats threatening blue murder. I'll try to dig it out. Not sure if the Muppet presenters will want it though. I'd like to know what Jackson thinks though.