Today I will look at the first trailer for the new Muppet film, simply called The Muppets.
This is a perfect example of a bait-and-switch trailer. Over half of the trailer is edited to make the film look like some generic romantic comedy starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams. It isn`t really until Kermet the Frog and Miss Piggy turn up in the cast rundown when it`s revealed what the film really is about.
From what I heard, this film aims to go back to the style of the original Muppet Movie with a story about saving the Muppet theatre from an oil tycoon. However, the promotional material currently seems aimed at parodying Hollywood blockbusters. First there`s the larger-than-life poster and now there is this trailer that spoofs rom com trailers that summarize the entire plot of the film in two minutes.
One worry I have with this trailer (supported with comments I`ve read about the trailer) is that everybody might not get the joke. I`m sure there are some people who would watch the trailer and truly think that the film is a generic romantic comedy — albeit with Muppets. I`m sure many of the scene in this trailer were edited out of context and it would be interesting to see how they appear in the final film.
Either way, The Muppets opens this November and I would definitely be interested in checking it out.