Um, you know. This is where I post stuff

growltiger:

When I was 21, I was at MGM Studios with my friends and we happened to be on mushrooms, no big deal. We went to the 3D Muppetvision show because I am one of the world’s biggest muppetheads and then we were browsing in the Muppet Store (exiting through the gift shop). “The Rainbow Connection” played over the speakers and we paused to listen to it. In the context of The Muppet Movie, this song opens the film as the camera flies over and then down into Kermit’s swamp, where the frog sits on a log playing the banjo. It’s our first introduction to Kermit and the lyrics tell us a little about him:

1) he’s a very cultured frog because he knows that there are many other songs about rainbows and what’s on the other side

2) he is a very wistful frog because he knows there is something more for him to be (beyond his life as a frog playing a banjo in the swamp)

3) he is a very wise frog because he knows that we all tend to believe things that may or may not be true, as long as they give us hope.

ANYWAY! So we’re on mushrooms and feeling full of FEELINGS about the Muppets, and we’re inside of MGM Studios which is part of Disney World because the Muppets are now Disney-owned, and we stand stock still in the gift shop as we hear:

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that and someone believed it
Look what it’s done so far

And it’s entirely possible that we experienced a major epiphany only because we were on mushrooms (but, wasn’t Henson? Maybe? Sometimes) and we were like:

HOLY. SHIT. THIS IS WHY THE MUPPETS ARE SO MUCH SMARTER AND BETTER AND MORE APPEALING THAN DISNEY.

Disney tells us:
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

And the Muppets tell us:

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that and someone believed it
Look what it’s done so far

What’s so amazing that keeps us star gazing

What do we think we might see?

Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers, and me.

As in, at least in our heads at the time, we were suddenly aware of the fact that Kermit was sort of crapping on “When You Wish Upon A Star” for being just a thing that people said and other people believed. And that song relies heavily on fate and suggests that everything is predestined. Whereas “The Rainbow Connection” is saying that there’s a sense of wonder and magic to the world and that we all must fulfill our own destinies - the lovers, the dreamers, and me.

Which is why I am a Muppets person, always and forever. 

This is kind of perfect.