Dizzy's Bunny Hell
Gonzo
First thing's first: I'm not new to the Muppets by a long shot, but I am new to watching a lot of content. I'm pretty behind; I've yet to see most Muppet movies or television shows. I'm getting there!
I feel like Gonzo's, like, a pretty popular candidate for "favorite Muppet". At least, that's the general impression that I get.
But like, everyone loves him for a different reason. A lot of the analyses and articles that I've read about him tend to go over how his not-giving-a-shit-about-what-others-think-of-him is commendable, or how his "whatever" identity can be read with a queer lens.
I haven't yet seen many people love Gonzo for the reasons why I love him -- His craziness and insanity.
... Specifically, I reclaim those words, and damn it, Gonzo's an inspiration! I wish that I was him! Everyone calls him weird, or crazy, or insane, and he revels in it! He's a proud masochistic and insane and odd weirdo, and I admire that so, so, SO much.
... I also admire Rizzo for putting up with him.
Me & Gonzo
I don't remember when I first watched The Muppet Movie. I know that I was a child, and I know that I saw Gonzo and his silly chicken girlfriend (Camilla; you'll see some mentions of her here :P) and thought "Wow, I love that guy". And, like, he was always my favorite Muppet, I think? I don't know.
The Muppets are kind of like... Omnipresent in pop culture, from my perspective. Like, everyone knows Kermit and Elmo and Gonzo and Big Bird and all those other guys.
(And as a side note, the Sesame Street characters are, in fact, Muppets. I shall be referring to them as such.)
Anyway, because of this (I think?), I haven't really been, like, a huge Muppets fan. Like, they're there, they're always there, I enjoy seeing The Guys, they fascinate me, I enjoy how they're, like, Real Celebrities, etc. But something about Gonzo just kinda made me go full torrenting-The-Muppet-Show mode, like I want to see more of that guy in particular.
(And Rizzo, which is why I've yet to watch Muppets Haunted Mansion.)
I think that part of this is Muppet Christmas Carol, which introduced us all to the brilliant and genius double act that is Gonzo and Rizzo. Like, yeah, the main story was good, the music was good, yadda yadda I think we've all heard heaps of praise for that movie, but seeing Gonzo express jealousy that Rizzo "has all the fun", seeing Rizzo getting in Situations, and seeing these two banter for the entire movie was, quite possibly, the best part. I would watch an entire movie that's literally just them bantering.
(Muppets From Space exists; I suppose that counts? Maybe?)
Anyway. I think that my fascination started with Christmas Carol, and then I rewatched The Muppet Movie, then I watched Muppet Classic Theater, then I started Fully Realizing Gonzo, and like. Dude, he's literally me. But like, better. I fucking wish that I could just be like "Yeah, I'm different, who cares?" And like, his craziness and insanity are more just things that he reclaimed -- Unlike me, he doesn't have psychosis or anything; he's just weird and enjoys it.
Basically, he's Me But Better. I want whatever the fuck he has.
... This appears to be an incoherent mess of words. Whoops.
Fun Facts
Hmm... Fun facts... Uh...
- My favorite movie with the classic Gonzo/Rizzo duo is Muppet Classic Theater.
- I considered just watching Muppets Tonight to see more of these two bastards, but I opted to watch The Muppet Show instead. Still on season 1; I'll keep you updated.
- Camilla and I have somewhat similar sounding names. This probably means something, right?
- He's such a depressed and sad wet puppy in the first season of The Muppet Show. Like, he's such a True Artist and he's adorable and I love him and, to me, it feels like he's worrying too much about what how the audience sees him ("Yokels! Rubes!!"). I know that's mostly because they were still figuring out his character, but I want to think that it's more that he was just more insecure before simply doing his artistic shit for the hell of it.
- I have decided that Rizzo understands Camilla. I've little to no evidence for this, but like, he's gotta understand his bestie's girlfriend, right?
A Note
This shrine is currently under a load of construction. I've plans for this place! For now, take these pictures that I nabbed from old and official Muppet websites.
