10 Hilariously Meta Moments From The Muppets Franchise

So far, the Muppets have poked fun at movie and television conventions like sequels, introductory scenes, exposition, and running gags. Now, in another moment from The Muppets (2011), they mock the use of montages.

This is during the first act when Kermit is getting the gang back together, and that's clearly going to take some time to accomplish: he has to visit every individual person and convince them to rejoin, which would make for a very boring film. The characters understand that problem, and so 80s Robot suggests they pick up everyone else "using a montage." It's as if when the movie cuts to a montage of them getting everyone to come back, the Muppets are actually experiencing the montage the same way the audience is. Or do they just decide in that moment to edit the film this way later on?

Montages are kind of a cheap screenwriting trick, but they are effective at moving the plot along, as the Muppets suggest in a meta way during this scene. Have you also ever noticed how montages will only show some of the events that occurred? Rowlf notices, complaining that his scene didn't make the final cut. As it turns out, it's because it was rather boring, and those mundane moments always end up on the cutting room floor. Poor Rowlf.