It’s time for another round of Muppet Casting, where we take a famous movie and ask, if Jim Henson’s Muppets made their own version of it (in the vein of The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island), which Muppets would you cast in the lead roles?
This week, fellow Avocadoites (Avacadoans? Avocadans?) it’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy!
Link Hogthrob as Ron Burgundy – This is the second week in a row where I’ve cast a tertiary Muppet in the lead role. Massively egotistical leading man (emphasis on the “man” part) is such a perfect fit for Link, more so than for any of the other Muppets, I just had to do it.
Miss Piggy as Veronica Corningstone – An ambitious, tough as nails woman who’s trying to make it big in the male dominated world of 1970’s television, though not immune to falling wildly, madly in love? Veronica Corningstone is Miss Piggy. Who else could possibly say “I am good at three things: fighting, screwing, and reading the news. Now, I’ve already done one of those today, so what’s the other one gonna be, huh?”
Rizzo the Rat as Brian Fontana – Brian Fontana is probably the scuzziest member of the Channel 4 News Team, while also probably being the least blatantly stupid/insane member of the bunch, which is a combination of traits that Rizzo can nail well. Pepe the Prawn would probably be a better fit, honestly (especially for the “made with bits of real panther, so you know it’s good” scene), but you’ll see a little further down why I didn’t want to use him here.
Fozzie Bear as Champ Kind – Champ tries to present himself as a tough, rough-and-tumble guy, but (at least when it comes to Ron) is surprisingly needy and emotional. Fozzie doesn’t usually try to present himself as tough, but he does have a stand-up comic bravado he (not so successfully) uses to hide just how desperate he is for people to like him. That’s a close enough match to make him a good fit, I’d say.
Gonzo the Great as Brick Tamland – Gonzo isn’t stupid the way Brick is, but they do both seem to exist in a slightly different reality from all the other characters, saying and doing things that make sense to them but to no one else.
Kermit the Frog as Ed Harkin – Show/station managers who are clearly in over their head trying to keep their eccentric talent under control. Seems like a natural fit for the frog.
Scooter as Garth – If Kermit is Harkin, then Scooter is definitely Garth.
Bobo the Bear as Wes Mantooth – With Pepe the Prawn and other Muppets who debuted on Muppets Tonight rounding out the Evening News Team. Thought it would help with the teams’ rivalry if it’s framed as The Muppet Show cast against the Muppets Tonight cast. Plus, doing that leads us into:
The Fraggles as The Channel 2 News Team
Cast of The Dark Crystal as The Spanish Language News Team
and
Sesame Street Muppets as The PBS News Team – I just think this would be hilarious. Imagine Big Bird or Cookie Monster leading a pack of weapon-wielding Muppets, calling out, “Public News Team is taking a break from its pledge drive to kick some ass. No commercials, no mercy!”
Those are my picks for a Muppet rendition of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. What are yours?