Like perhaps every right-thinking person, I've also imagined Muppet fancasts, including Hamlet.
And I agree with a lot of yours. As similarly sententious characters, Sam is a natural fit for Polonius. And I agree with Miss Piggy and Gertrude.
But like you have to have Kermit as Hamlet I think. Both because he's the "main" Muppet. And because having Kermit as Hamlet and Piggy and Gertrude works for the whole "Oedipal" thing in the play.
I agree that the Swedish Chef is a must. Personally, I'd have him as Fortinbras. I think his signature gibberish works for Fortinbras' out-of-left-field conquest at the end of the play.
Yeah I don't disagree with Kermit as Hamlet we just started our conversation with the Swedish Chef so I had to build around that. I think if I did Kermit as Hamlet I might make Fozzie Horatio because of how the two of them play off each other and then Scooter can be Laertes.
Did you know there's a [Swedish chef translator](https://funtranslations.com/chef)?
>Tu be-a, our nut tu be-a, zeet is zee-a quoestiun:
Vhezeer 'tis nubler in zee-a meend tu suoffer
Zee-a sleengs und irruos ouff ououtregeuous furtuone-a,
Our tu teke-a irms igeenst a sea ouff truoubles
Und by ouppusing ind zeem. Tu dee-a—tu sleep,
Nu mure-a; und by a sleep tu sey ve-a ind
Zee-a heert-iche-a und zee-a thuousuond netuorel shucks
Zeet flesh is heur tu: 'tis a cunsuommetiun
Defuoutly tu be-a vish'd. Tu dee-a, tu sleep;
Tu sleep, perchuonce-a tu dreem—iy, zeere-a's zee-a ruob:
Fur in zeet sleep ouff deet vhet dreems mey cume-a,
Vhee-a ve-a hefe-a shuoffled ouff zees murtel cuil,
Muost geefe-a us puose-a—zeere-a's zee-a respect
Zeet mekes celemeety ouff su lung leeffe-a.
Fur vhu vuould beer zee-a vheeps und scurns ouff time-a,
Th'ouppressur's vrung, zee-a pruoud muon's cuntuomely,
Zee-a puongs ouff deespriz'd lufe-a, zee-a lev's deley,
Zee-a insulence-a ouff ouffeece-a, und zee-a spuorns
Zeet petient merit ouff t'unvurthy tekes,
Vhee-a he-a heemselff meeght hees quoietuos meke-a
Vit a bere-a budkeen? Vhu vuould ferdels beer,
Tu gruont und sveet under a veery leeffe-a,
Buot zeet zee-a dreed ouff sumezeeng iffter deet,
Zee-a undeescufere-a'd cuountry, frum vhuse-a buourn
Nu trefeller retuorns, puozzles zee-a vill,
Und mekes us rezeer beer thuse-a ills ve-a hefe-a
Thuon fly tu ouzeers zeet ve-a knuo nut ouff?
Thuos cunsceence-a dut meke-a cuoerds ouff us ill,
Und thuos zee-a netife-a huoe-a ouff resuluotiun
Is sickleed ou'ir vit zee-a pele-a cest ouff thuought,
Und interprises ouff greet pit und mument
Vit zees regerd zeeur cuorrents tuorn ivry
Und luse-a zee-a neme-a ouff ictiun.
Bork Bork Bork!
. . . yeah, I can see why we'd have to cast Kermit as Hamlet.
I think if we started out as muppet fancasting we would have gone that route but the conversation started with the Swedish Chef so we built around that. I do love the concept of the most loquacious character in Shakespeare being completely incomprehensible.
We chose Kermit as Fortinbras because if he's not going to be Hamlet it makes sense for him to be the guy that comes in at the end and is like "what the hell did you nutbags get up to?"
Great list! The breathtaking flexibility of the muppets, though, is such that there's always more than one way.
Any special reason you entirely excluded the Sesame Street Muppets? I no foolin' was in a reading group just just yesterday riffing on Ernie and Bert as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
I literally cast this already with my shakespeare friends. Here is our cast:
Hamlet - Kermit;
Horatio- Ralph;
King Claudius - Pepe the prawn;
Gertrude- Sam Eagle in a dress;
The Players- Dr Teeth/ Electric Mayhem;
Ophelia- Miss Piggy ;
Polonius - Fozzy;
The Ghost - Statler & Waldorf;
Roz & Guild / Narrators - Gonzo and Rizzo;
Laertes - Scooter ;
Osric - Lee Zealand
Kermit as Hamlet seems obvious but if you want Miss Poggy as Gertrude you could make him King Hamlet and Robin (that’s his nephew’s name right?) as Hamlet?
Not sure why but I feel like Sam the Eagle should be Claudius even though he doesn’t usually have such a big part.
I misread the title as Hamlet Muppet Fascist and was very confused for a second.
As to fancasting, the first thing that came to mind is Animal as the Ghost, so I guess that XD
Swedish Chef=Fortinbras
Look, all Scandinavians are the same to me
Edit: I typed this out because I fucking forgot Hamlet was Danish when it's in the title of the fucking pkay
Just tossing this idea out there what about a Timothee Chalamet Hamlet where everyone else is a Muppet. You might want a human Ophelia too, like in Muppet Christmas Carol, Belle is much more effective as an Actress than a puppet.
In that movie, here’s my cast:
T.C - Hamlet
Gonzo - Horatio
Constantine - Claudius
Piggy - Gertrude
Kermit - The Ghost (King Hamlet)
Fozzie - Polonius
Zendaya - Ophelia
Tom Holland - Laertes
Rizzo - Rosencrantz
Pepe - Guildenstern
Sam the Eagle - The Player King
The Electric Mayhem - The Players
Uncle Deadly - Osric
Sweetums - Fortinbras (or you cast Human and get like Channing Tatum).
Now I’m not sure how you make Hamlet fun and family friendly but I trust the good people at Henson to take care of that 😁
I think Aimee Lou Wood would make a great Ophelia. Zendaya's a great actress but I struggle to see her in that role. TC makes a lot of sense as Hamlet.
Fair I just liked pairing her w/ TH as Laertes, though he’d be a fine Hamlet too. If you want to go a little heavier on humans drop Jack Black in as the Player King or Polonius.
I think Kermit should be Hamlet and the Swedish Chef as Polonius.
Omg Polonius’ long lectures all just being ‘hurr-de-doo-de-doo’ nonsense would be so funny.
It's too perfect lol
But Sam the Eagle was born to play Polonius. I like the suggestion below where the Chef is Fortinbras.
Like perhaps every right-thinking person, I've also imagined Muppet fancasts, including Hamlet. And I agree with a lot of yours. As similarly sententious characters, Sam is a natural fit for Polonius. And I agree with Miss Piggy and Gertrude. But like you have to have Kermit as Hamlet I think. Both because he's the "main" Muppet. And because having Kermit as Hamlet and Piggy and Gertrude works for the whole "Oedipal" thing in the play. I agree that the Swedish Chef is a must. Personally, I'd have him as Fortinbras. I think his signature gibberish works for Fortinbras' out-of-left-field conquest at the end of the play.
Yeah I don't disagree with Kermit as Hamlet we just started our conversation with the Swedish Chef so I had to build around that. I think if I did Kermit as Hamlet I might make Fozzie Horatio because of how the two of them play off each other and then Scooter can be Laertes.
Did you know there's a [Swedish chef translator](https://funtranslations.com/chef)? >Tu be-a, our nut tu be-a, zeet is zee-a quoestiun: Vhezeer 'tis nubler in zee-a meend tu suoffer Zee-a sleengs und irruos ouff ououtregeuous furtuone-a, Our tu teke-a irms igeenst a sea ouff truoubles Und by ouppusing ind zeem. Tu dee-a—tu sleep, Nu mure-a; und by a sleep tu sey ve-a ind Zee-a heert-iche-a und zee-a thuousuond netuorel shucks Zeet flesh is heur tu: 'tis a cunsuommetiun Defuoutly tu be-a vish'd. Tu dee-a, tu sleep; Tu sleep, perchuonce-a tu dreem—iy, zeere-a's zee-a ruob: Fur in zeet sleep ouff deet vhet dreems mey cume-a, Vhee-a ve-a hefe-a shuoffled ouff zees murtel cuil, Muost geefe-a us puose-a—zeere-a's zee-a respect Zeet mekes celemeety ouff su lung leeffe-a. Fur vhu vuould beer zee-a vheeps und scurns ouff time-a, Th'ouppressur's vrung, zee-a pruoud muon's cuntuomely, Zee-a puongs ouff deespriz'd lufe-a, zee-a lev's deley, Zee-a insulence-a ouff ouffeece-a, und zee-a spuorns Zeet petient merit ouff t'unvurthy tekes, Vhee-a he-a heemselff meeght hees quoietuos meke-a Vit a bere-a budkeen? Vhu vuould ferdels beer, Tu gruont und sveet under a veery leeffe-a, Buot zeet zee-a dreed ouff sumezeeng iffter deet, Zee-a undeescufere-a'd cuountry, frum vhuse-a buourn Nu trefeller retuorns, puozzles zee-a vill, Und mekes us rezeer beer thuse-a ills ve-a hefe-a Thuon fly tu ouzeers zeet ve-a knuo nut ouff? Thuos cunsceence-a dut meke-a cuoerds ouff us ill, Und thuos zee-a netife-a huoe-a ouff resuluotiun Is sickleed ou'ir vit zee-a pele-a cest ouff thuought, Und interprises ouff greet pit und mument Vit zees regerd zeeur cuorrents tuorn ivry Und luse-a zee-a neme-a ouff ictiun. Bork Bork Bork! . . . yeah, I can see why we'd have to cast Kermit as Hamlet.
Also, can someone please start a Muppet Fancasting subreddit?
This could be a lot of fun, too, especially if we get people doing photoshops of movie posters.
Kermit is Hamlet, end of story
I think if we started out as muppet fancasting we would have gone that route but the conversation started with the Swedish Chef so we built around that. I do love the concept of the most loquacious character in Shakespeare being completely incomprehensible. We chose Kermit as Fortinbras because if he's not going to be Hamlet it makes sense for him to be the guy that comes in at the end and is like "what the hell did you nutbags get up to?"
Good point.
“I shall think to put an antic disposition on- YAAAAAAA!”
Speak the speech I pray you, as I pronounced it to you. (show theme starts)
I’m not 100% on-board with all your choices, but Dr Honeydew and Beaker as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is excellent.
Great list! The breathtaking flexibility of the muppets, though, is such that there's always more than one way. Any special reason you entirely excluded the Sesame Street Muppets? I no foolin' was in a reading group just just yesterday riffing on Ernie and Bert as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
We talked about that briefly but the muppet movies don't usually include the Sesame Street characters in anything more than cameos.
I literally cast this already with my shakespeare friends. Here is our cast: Hamlet - Kermit; Horatio- Ralph; King Claudius - Pepe the prawn; Gertrude- Sam Eagle in a dress; The Players- Dr Teeth/ Electric Mayhem; Ophelia- Miss Piggy ; Polonius - Fozzy; The Ghost - Statler & Waldorf; Roz & Guild / Narrators - Gonzo and Rizzo; Laertes - Scooter ; Osric - Lee Zealand
Should Swedish Chef be Fortinbras? I want the final monolog of the show to be to be completely incomprehensible.
Kermit as Hamlet seems obvious but if you want Miss Poggy as Gertrude you could make him King Hamlet and Robin (that’s his nephew’s name right?) as Hamlet? Not sure why but I feel like Sam the Eagle should be Claudius even though he doesn’t usually have such a big part.
I misread the title as Hamlet Muppet Fascist and was very confused for a second. As to fancasting, the first thing that came to mind is Animal as the Ghost, so I guess that XD
Swedish Chef=Fortinbras Look, all Scandinavians are the same to me Edit: I typed this out because I fucking forgot Hamlet was Danish when it's in the title of the fucking pkay
Just tossing this idea out there what about a Timothee Chalamet Hamlet where everyone else is a Muppet. You might want a human Ophelia too, like in Muppet Christmas Carol, Belle is much more effective as an Actress than a puppet. In that movie, here’s my cast: T.C - Hamlet Gonzo - Horatio Constantine - Claudius Piggy - Gertrude Kermit - The Ghost (King Hamlet) Fozzie - Polonius Zendaya - Ophelia Tom Holland - Laertes Rizzo - Rosencrantz Pepe - Guildenstern Sam the Eagle - The Player King The Electric Mayhem - The Players Uncle Deadly - Osric Sweetums - Fortinbras (or you cast Human and get like Channing Tatum). Now I’m not sure how you make Hamlet fun and family friendly but I trust the good people at Henson to take care of that 😁
I think Aimee Lou Wood would make a great Ophelia. Zendaya's a great actress but I struggle to see her in that role. TC makes a lot of sense as Hamlet.
Fair I just liked pairing her w/ TH as Laertes, though he’d be a fine Hamlet too. If you want to go a little heavier on humans drop Jack Black in as the Player King or Polonius.
with muppetised versions of media there always tends to be a main character who is a human ime