Quentin Tarantino's Dolls Cameo Is Helpful (And Weird)

In the 1990s, the Muppets started a trend that was sadly discontinued. In 1992, the puppet troupe starred in The Muppet Christmas Carol, a film starring Muppet players in Charles Dickens' immortal Christmas story. The Muppets followed this with the excellent “Muppet Treasure Island” in 1996, which did a similar thing; The Muppets were just actors putting on their own modern production of a literary classic. It was a clever use of the Muppets, and there's every reason to believe they'll continue with high-profile literary adaptations.

Unfortunately, the trend ended with the release of faders in 1999 Dolls from Outer Space, the troupe's last theatrical feature in 12 years.

In the intervening period, there was an additional visit to the world of literature. In 2005, ABC aired a television movie, The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, starring Ashanti as Dorothy Gale. Kermit the Frog played Ink, Gonzo played the Tin Woodman (aka the Tin Thing), and Miss Piggy played the four witches in the story. There was also a brief scene at the beginning where Dorothy met the “real” Muppets, as they were also the audience traveling through this world.

“The Muppets' Wizard of Oz” is also a fun and slightly surreal aside. Near the end of the film, before Dorothy throws water on the Wicked Witch of the West and renders her oblivion, the film dies and cuts to a Hollywood boardroom where Kermit serves as a studio executive. At his desk, Quentin Tarantino plays himself, brainstorming how Dorothy can kill the witch more violently. Famous violent director Tarantino was an odd choice for a famous cameo in a Muppet movie.

Tarantino came to prominence in 1992 with his release his well-written and notoriously violent heist film Reservoir Dogs. Its 1994 sequel, Pulp Fiction, a sprawling crime film, won major awards and still frequently tops lists as one of the best films ever made. He later adapted Elmore Leonard's book Rum Punch into his most mature film, Jackie Brown, in 1997. Interestingly, most of Tarantino's films since 2001 have been genre exercises that use extreme cinematic violence to address social injustice. . When he appeared in 2005's The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, his most recent film was Kill Bill: Vol. 2, the second half of the martial arts revenge film starring Uma Thurman. That movie had gallons of blood and lots of swords.

So when Tarantino pitched ideas to Kermit the Frog, he suggested Dorothy whip out a samurai sword—perhaps melted down by Hattori Hanzo—and send the Wicked Witch of the West with it. “I'm talking kung fu! I'm talking walking on walls! I'm talking explosions everywhere!” Kemit points out that it would be too violent for a family film, so Tarantino says yes, the violence can be dialed back a bit. Instead, he suggests using CGI to transform the Wicked Witch into various other characters, including a busted vampire witch. (“Everything is done in classic anime style, you know, for kids.”)

Kermit says it will be too expensive, so Tarantino suggests Dorothy kick the Wicked Witch. On the face. “Now,” says Kermit, “we can afford it.” And look, that's what happened in the last movie.

It's a good thing that the makers of The Muppets' Wizard of Oz brought Tarantino into their movie, because as we all know, little kids love Quentin Tarantino's movies. From what I understand, eight-year-olds especially adore The Hateful Eight.

In May 2005 Tarantino starred in Late Night with Conan O'Brien. and the chat box director had a lot to say about working with the Muppets. Like many human actors, he expressed his astonishment at the skill of the puppeteers handling the Muppet characters and found that he was talking to real-life Muppets rather than a puppet operator. Tarantino also admitted to being particularly close to Rowlf, the dog who co-starred with The Muppet Show's pianist and Kermit the Frog (both originally played by Jim Henson, though Bill Barretta has since played Rowlf). 1996). Tarantino said he loved Rolfe in the early days, and Rolfe responded with a lament, hating his reduced role in the Muppets since the 1970s. “Like I was having a legitimate conversation with a bitter old movie star!” Tarantino noted.

Tarantino also spoke with Electric Mayhem's Muppet member Janis (played by Tyler Bunch in 2005), who admitted to having a crush on her. Without warning, he smacked Muppety's mouth, only to then admit to kissing Bunch's hand. O'Brien, and indeed anyone familiar with the Muppets, admitted to being similarly starstruck when they saw Kermit the Frog.

Since 2005, the Muppets have appeared in two additional feature films: 2011's The Muppets and 2014's Muppets Most Wanted. They also appeared in the failed 2015 television series The Muppets, as well as the 2020 Muppets Now and “The Muppets Mayhem” in 2023. They also performed in a holiday variety show with Lady Gaga and the Disney+ special “Muppets Haunted Mansion.” Quentin Tarantino directed none of these.