Day 29 – A Song From Your Childhood
“Movin’ Right Along” – The Muppets
This was another of the days that took me a while to figure out what I was going to select. How far back should I go? Should I select something from the first album I ever got? Should I select the first song I remember hearing? There are so many variables here that I was almost paralyzed.
Ultimately I went with this selection from The Muppet Movie.
I loved “The Muppet Show” and watched it religiously when it was on. The film came out while the show was still in production. I was 11 or 12 at the time. The Muppet Movie still holds up today as enjoyable, and my own kids like watching it now. Of course movies are different these days with various family (or kid-centric) films coming out all the time on DVD either as a theatrical release or direct to video, along with multiple channels now available for 24 hour cartoon watching and children’s programs, when I was lucky to have 4 hours on Saturday morning.
The notion of a family film is also different, as there is a loss of innocence in much of what kids consume now. The Muppets are able to straddle that line between being both innocent and worldly in a way that appeals to both adults and kids, and The Muppet Movie is a perfect example of this.
This song, “Movin’ Right Along” is from the film, where Fozzie and Kermit have met up, and are hitting the road. There’s a great joke about a bear in his natural habitat as well. The song is a wonderful buddy road trip type of number that helps with the travel montage, has some humor, and does a great job of showcasing the interplay between the characters. It’s hummable too.
It might not be the greatest song, and might not be the most representative of my childhood, but it’s one that I keep going back to, and happily.