Of all the revivals and reboots on the air today, only one can boast the presence of a bona fide weirdo. That would be Disney Junior's Muppet Babies, which is currently winning over younger generations in the same way it captured kids' imaginations in the '80s and '90s. With the upcoming episode, Kermit and the gang are heading to a local art museum, which is where older viewers will delight in a totally random homage to John Hughes' classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Check it out!
Now wasn't that splendidly unexpected? Granted, there are few entertainment factions that embrace pop culture as wholeheartedly as the Muppets do, and the original Muppet Babies series was full of references to Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, Frankenstein and more. While the first handful of modern-day Mupper Babies episodes set up its revamped universe in ways that weren't so overtly homage-y, the seventh episode is just the ticket for everyone who still keeps a bit of Ferris Bueller's fearless anarchy in their hearts.
Titled "You Ought to Be in Pictures," and airing alongside "Summer Penguin, P.I.," the museum-set episode in question sees Fozzie getting his lunchbox stolen by a mischievous monkey, who jumps from painting to painting to hide out while the kiddos give chase. (While presumably learning something along the way.) And it looks like Fozzie does end up finding that lil monkey, though not before getting caught up in staring at George Seurat's 1894 classic, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, in the same way that Alan Ruck's Cameron Frye did in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, as the film's trio were in the middle of their day's adventures.
Clever and perfectly set up, and without openly tipping its hand, this Muppet Babies moment was already solid enough just to for adhering to the visual side of the homage. But the fact that they even created a soundalike version of The Smiths' "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want," which played over the scene in the film, well that's just consummate professionalism. (That wasn't the first choice for the film's scene, either.) Relive that introspective moment below.
Even though sneaking in references to comedy classics could only help the show win over older viewers, Muppet Babies isn't having any trouble bringing in young audiences. It continues to grow its viewership week after week, with the most recent episode being its most-watched telecast yet, with its 1.25 million-strong audience up 8% over the previous week, and up 21% over the total viewers that tuned in for the series premiere in March. As well, the show is gaining in its own younger demographics, and ranks as cable's top telecast on Fridays with all kids in the 2-5 age range.
New episodes of Muppet Babies air on Disney Channel on Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. ET. Check out our summer premiere schedule to see all the other new and returning shows that'll hit primetime (and possibly Friday mornings) in the future.
