112: Peter Ustinov & Grendel Grendel Grendel

Today’s special guest is renaissance man of the world Peter Ustinov, whose very presence puts the show in a tizzy and forces Kermit to confront his self-esteem issues! Then, we discuss another work about a green guy with problems - Grendel Grendel Grendel, the 1981 animated Australian adaptation of John Gardner’s existentialist novel!

Topics of discussion include how scripted Muppet Labs is, the Newsflash Anchor’s skills as an actor, what you could get away with in movies for children in the 1980s, how to adapt existentialist angst in ways that are emotionally comprehensible to children, and new one-episode Muppets.

Further resources:

• British actor Peter Ustinov, who had an appointment with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi…
• A genius who spent life dabbling
• Logan’s Run: The Naming of Cats - Peter Ustinov - Closed Captioned
• OMNI: the New Frontier
• Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf. Peter Ustinov, Herbert von Karajan, London Philharmonia Orchestra
• Sir Peter Ustinov (1921-2004)
• Sir Peter Ustinov - UNICEF