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, it’s Alice in Wonderland! I’m going to be drawing mainly on the old Disney animated movie for this one, as I haven’t seen the live action version, and it’s been ages since I read the book.
Scooter as The White Rabbit – Scooter, the harried backstage manager, always worrying about getting all the acts ready on time, is just right for the frantically late assistant to the Queen.
Sam the Eagle as Mr. Caterpillar – You need Sam to deliver the right sort of haughty tone for Caterpillar’s “Who. Are. You?”
Fozzie Bear as Mr. Dodo – Dumb and cheerful, right up Fozzie’s alley.
Link Hogthrob & Beaker as The Walrus & the Carpenter – Link is an obvious pick for the selfish and conceited Walrus, and while he’s normally partnered with Julius Strangepork, I think you need Beaker for the mistreated sidekick role, as opposed to Strangepork, who’s more of an enabler. And maybe, instead of eating oysters, they eat prawns, to give Pepe a role.
Lew Zealand & Crazy Harry as The Mad Hatter & the March Hare – Lew Zealand and Crazy Harry are two of the oddest and craziest Muppets, even by their weirdo standards, and are needed to bring the right level of dementedness to the Hatter and the Hare, who, even among Wonderland residents, are singled out as being mad.
Rizzo the Rat as The Dormouse – This one is just obvious.
Gonzo the Great as The Cheshire Cat – The most enigmatic and mischievous of Wonderland residents, this seemed like a good role for Gonzo, the Muppet most known for his bizarre desires and unexplained origins (no one’s really clear if he’s supposed to be some sort of bird or random what-not or what).
Miss Piggy as The Queen of Hearts – Who else could it be? Who else could attempt such a regal bearing, feign such sugary sweetness, and fly into such terrible rages at so little provocation?
Kermit the Frog as The King – If Piggy’s the Queen, then Kermit’s the King, and the King’s nice but easily pushed around demeanor is not a bad fit for Kermit.
and, in the starring role of Alice:
Our Very Special Guest . . . uhh . . . hmm . . . say, who’s the modern equivalent of Ashanti?
Those are my picks for a Muppet rendition of Alice in Wonderland. What are yours?