MOVIE REVIEWS: Muppets Most Wanted (James Bobin, 2014)

Alright, here is what I believe to be my last film review for a while. After the release of The Muppets the entire world became mad for the Muppets! Because of this, the Muppets continued doing more things. They were featured in a number of productions, appearing in online videos and music videos. One of those videos includes the incredible CeeLo Green Christmas video, All I Need is Love (Marc Klasfeld, 2012). IT WAS AWESOME! The Fraggles even appeared in a Ben Folds music video, Do It Anyway (Phil Hodges, 2012). IT WAS AWESOME! The Muppets also made a Christmas TV special with Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga and the Muppets’ Holiday Spectacular (Gregg Gelfand, 2013). It…was not anything spectacular (although, I do love the scene where Piggy sings “Santa Baby”). The Muppets also appeared in commercials advertising Lipton Tea, Subway, and Toyota. (Watch the commercial they made with Terry Crews – it is too wonderful!) With all of this success, it made sense not only to have the Muppets appear in mainstream media more, but to also make more productions focused on them. What does that mean? MORE MOVIES!!! Enter Muppets Most Wanted (James Bobin, 2014)!!! Made by almost all the people who made the last movie (director, writers, producers, composer, song writer, etc.) and released almost 35 years after The Muppet Movie, this is a direct sequel to the last Muppet movie. This is a very unique kind of Muppet movie for that exact reason. Muppet movies have never been connected to one another, which was one of the fun things about them. They could do whatever they wanted. Here, there is a connection to the last movie they made. That’s not a bad thing, though. In fact, there aren’t that many connections to the last movie. The filmmakers could have reworked this and made it another stand alone Muppet movie. But the connections are clever enough that they actually do work for the movie. But let’s stop wasting time and just get into the review.

STORY AND THEMES & MESSAGES: As a lot of people have already stated, the story of this film is very clever and funny. A Russian Kermit look-alike named Constantine is the world’s number criminal, most dangerous frog, and an expert with explosives. He escapes a Russian gulag in order to pull off the greatest criminal stunt in the world: stealing the Crown Jewels of England. In order to do this, his right-hand man, Dominic Badguy (played by Ricky Gervais), convinces the Muppets to go on a world tour (which isn’t really much of a WORLD tour, seeing as how the only continent they travel is Europe). Dominic and Constantine sets Kermit up to be taken away to the gulag in Constantine’s place, and the two criminals are now controlling the tour. They perform in the cities that will get them closer to Crown Jewels. However, they’re being followed by Sam the Eagle and French investigator Jean Pierre Napoleon (played by Ty Burrell) because they believe the Muppets have something to do with the robberies all over the country. While this is happening, Kermit is being held in prison against his will by Russian prison guard Nadya (played by Tina Fey).
This is a really clever idea! I love that there are, in a sense, 2 Kermits who are absolutely nothing like each other! We’ll address that more when we talk about the comedy, but watching Constantine trying to convince everyone around him that he’s Kermit is more than entertaining. It’s much more believable then Kermit and Fozzie being twins for no reason!
I do agree that maybe there’s a little too much focus on the villains’ plan. On one hand, I do like Constantine! I love it anytime he’s on the screen, and I’ll take as much as I can get! However, if we are supposed to be rooting for our main heroes then we should have more time with them. I think that all the time we spent with Constantine and Dominic could have been given to the others. Let’s see more of Piggy’s feelings about what’s going on. How conflicted is Walter? How distressed is Kermit? It’s hard to say what exactly will do the trick to fix this because I do know all of these characters, I know what their intentions are, and I know how they feel. All I’m saying is that we don’t spend as much time with our heroes as we do with our antagonists, thus it makes it tricky to entirely feel the weight of what they’re going through and truly sympathize and root for them.
I hear that there’s a lot of stereotyping in this film. I don’t know a lot about European stereotypes, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see that in some places. Why the crud are there leprechauns in the theater in Ireland? How come Napoleon takes frequent long breaks and vacations? How come all of his possessions are so small? I am strongly against stereotyping, but…this didn’t bother me at all…Well, the leprechauns kind of bothered me, but I was fine with everything else. Nothing else was really offensive to me. Most of the time, I see stereotypes in films as offensive because the jokes were too mean-spirited. Maybe those filmmakers actually thought people in a certain demographic behave a certain way or talk a certain way. Perhaps the filmmakers are probably just exploiting the mess out of those stereotypes to cause audiences to have a specific perspective on different people and cultures. It could be that filmmakers are just trying to make a lazy and easy joke so that they don’t have to try and work as hard. But I didn’t get any of that here. I felt these jokes were lighthearted and innocent enough that everyone could laugh at them, even people in Europe. It’s like a person who teases everyone, including him or herself, but in good spirits. The jokes never become too mean, and thus everyone is able to have a good laugh. That being said, I’m not going to say that you shouldn’t be offended by any of these stereotypes. If something offended you in this film, you have every right to be offended – no one can stop you from feeling a certain way. Just know that there are much harsher ways to make these kinds of jokes; especially coming from Disney, this could have been a lot worse!
The major theme in this movie is sort of one of the themes from the last Muppet movie. Remember when Kermit told Piggy, “I need you?” Well, in this film, the rest of the Muppets realize that they need Kermit. They want Kermit in their lives. That may seem like a simple message, especially for adults, but I really like it. I like the idea that we need interaction and a close bond with other people. One of the most important things in life isn’t that we can do whatever we want – it’s the people that help make living worth wild. After the Muppets got everything they wanted but were beginning to lose some of the most important people around them – Fozzie, Animal, Walter, and Kermit – they realized they didn’t need those wild and crazy luxuries anymore. They wanted their friends, the special people in their lives. I think that’s an important message for people, especially in this day in age. I know folks have gone on and on about it, but some many people are closed off from reality and from people thanks to the increase in popularity of technology and the internet. Rather than investing in a relationship with other human beings, a lot of people spend much more time investing in internet videos, blog pages, cell phones, iPads, and the works. I think this is an important message for them, and a good reminder for the rest of us.

HUMAN STARS, NEW MUPPETS, & CAMEOS: I must say that I think this film probably has the best cast of live-action human stars out of all the other Muppet movies! None of these people are dull, forgettable, or boring! Let’s talk about them!
1) Dominic Badguy – What really makes Dominic work in this movie is Ricky Gervais’ ability to interact with all of the Muppets like they’re actual people! He never treats them like they’re just puppets. He’s never winking to the camera. He’s not like an adult talking down to a child. He is a well-functioning being talking to another well-functioning being. It’s so genuine and honest, you almost forget that the Muppets are puppets yourself. Gervais also dedicates so much passion and energy into this film. He totally gets sucked into the story and into his character. I don’t see Ricky Gervais, I see an intelligent criminal who works under a frog. He’s funny, he’s honest, he’s the bad guy, Dominic Badguy!

2) Jean Pierre Napoleon – This guy is hilarious! A lot of that is, obviously, due to the fact that it’s Ty Burrell in the role! Another reason he works so well is because he’s sized up so perfectly with Same the Eagle! Sam is so stereotypically American while Jean is so stereotypically French! It’s so funny! His accent is funny, his dialogue is funny, his actions are funny. He’s so close to being a live-action Muppet himself, in fact! That’s really the best way I can describe this character, he is almost a live-action Muppet! If you mix Ty Burrell’s Jean Pierre Napoleon with Tim Curry’s Long John Silver from Muppet Treasure Island, you’d either have the perfect or too much of a live-action Muppet on your hands! I love Jean!

3) Nadya – Nadya is also a lot of fun! She’s more reserved than the other two live-action human stars. For the most part, she’s calm, rational, and sane. What I like about this character is that she’s not always over-the-top. She definitely has moments when she is, but she’s very reserved throughout much of the film. However, when she does go over-the-top, she is really funny. I love her trying to sing along with the inmates during the auditions for the review show. I love her affection for Kermit. I love her throwing up her arms in the air as she looks straight up and shouts “Kermit!” All of that is so funny and so good! It shows the different sides of her character, and it’s more than entertaining. Of course, Tina Fey is a great comedic actress already, so what did you expect?

4) Prison King, Danny Trejo, and Big Papa – Jemaine Clement, Danny Trejo, and Ray Liotta star in this movie as Gulag 38B inmates! I know a lot of people consider these actors cameo stars in the film, but they’re in the film so much that I have to consider them cast members. Their characters are very funny, but what makes them even funnier is if you know the actors themselves. Danny Trejo, Machete! – is singing and dancing in this number! Ray Liotta was trying to take out Denzel Washington in John Q (Nick Cassavetes, 2002), and now he’s auditioning for Kermit the Frog! Jemaine Clement…OK, I don’t know who he is; but that’s OK because his character is still funny. Anything with these guys and the other Gulag 38B inmates is fantastic! I love them all so much!

Alright, let’s get to the new Muppet introduced in this film, Constantine! I FRICKIN’ LOVE CONSTANTINE!!! He is amazing! He is one of the funniest Muppets created since Jim Henson’s days! Most of my favorite moments in the film include him! I love how diabolical and smart he is! I love it when he sings! I love all of the funny things he says and does! I know I said one of the problems with the story is that it doesn’t focus on the heroes as much as the villain, but Constantine is so likeable and entertaining that I don’t regret spending all of that time with him! He’s wonderful! Since the Muppets are making more productions and they’re releasing a new TV show next month, I hope that means I get to see a lot more of this guy!

Like the last film, there are a slew of cameo guest stars in this movie; it’s a “who’s who” game with the audience! Zach Galifianakis is back to reprise his role as Hobo Joe. We’ve also got Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, Hugh Bonneville and Tom Hollander, Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Rob Corddry, Salma Hayek, Tom Hiddleston, Frank Langella, Bridgit Mendler, Debby Ryan, Ross Lynch, James McAvoy, Chloe Grace Moretz, Dylan “Hornswoggle” Postl, Usher Raymond, Miranda Richardson, Saoirse Ronan, Til Schweiger, Russell Tovey, and Christoph Waltz. In deleted scenes, or the extended version on the Blu-ray, you can see Tyrel Jackson Williams, Debby Ryan, Peter Serafinowicz, Dexter Flecther, and Jake Short. Again, I don’t know much about any of these stars, so my favorite will depend solely on their role in the film. I love Josh Groban’s reveal at the end of the movie – I love how he spent the entire film locked in a sweatbox! I love Celine Dion’s appearance as Piggy’s fairy godmother! The two of them singing this silly song together is amazing! must say, though, I think my favorite cameo is Stanley Tucci as Ivan. I ADORE that joke centered around his appearance! It is so hilarious, and I always look forward to that moment whenever I watch this movie!

SONGS/MUSIC: Christophe Beck and Bret McKenzie are back to bring us some more great music! The score can be whimsical, dramatic, and soothing. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from Beck’s score, though! McKenzie goes all out to bring us some more amazing songs that add to the hilarity of the film! I need to say now that these songs will be judged solely on how entertaining they are. With a movie like this, it’s hard and pointless to say whether or not they continue the story or give us character development. They can, but these songs are here merely to entertain us. With that said, let’s take a look at these songs!
1) We’re Doing a Sequel: This is a great opening to a Muppet movie! It reminds me a lot of “Hey A Movie!” from The Great Muppet Caper. The song basically allows us to sit back and have a great time. The melody is so fun and memorable; I can’t help but dance every time I hear it! I love all of the jokes and references in this number. Dr. Bunsen Honeydew even mentions that “this is the seventh sequel to [their] original motion picture” – that is both true and funny! It’s enjoyable, it’s memorable, it’s funny, and it’s a grand opening! I love this song

(This is the best version I could get.)
2) I’m Number One: This is another enjoyable number. Again, the tune is fun, memorable, and danceable. As I mentioned already, I love Constantine, so the thought of him singing is incredible to me! He shows that he’s not just diabolical, but he is also a talented entertainer. He can dance, he can sing; maybe if he wasn’t being a criminal master mind, he could have created his own touring concert. I actually do feel sorry for Dominic during this number. He has to answer to a frog! Man, what is his life anymore? I must thank this song, though, for giving me the awesome phrase, “Dance, monkey, dance!” That is so hilarious! Just walk up to your friends and family and say, “Dance, monkey, dance!” It’s hilarious!

3) The Big House: This song isn’t as memorable as most of the others, but it’s still entertaining enough. We have a singing Russian Tina Fey – how cool is that? This is an interesting choice of style for the song. Why did McKenzie choose to go this route? I don’t know, but it makes it fun. This song does remind me a little but of the “Happiness Hotel” number from the Great Caper film…Huh. I knew the filmmakers were inspired by that film, but I didn’t know they’d try to redo EVERYTHING. Well, anyway, this song is pretty enjoyable. It’s a toe-tapper, it’s funny, and it makes me want to be sent to a Russian gulag as well. So long as Tina Fey is the warden and Clement, Trejo, and Liotta are my backup singers and dancers, I’m good!

(This is the best version I could get.)
4) I’ll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu): This song is…strange. Don’t get me wrong – it’s funny, entertaining, and memorable like the other songs, too. But…it’s so weird. In this scene, Constantine, posing as Kermit, goes to talk Piggy and tells her that he can give her whatever she wants. He then spins around, is wearing a 1970’s disco suit, and…starts this song. It just comes the butt out of nowhere and has almost nothing to do with anything. But it’s so funny! A fan is blowing on Constantine, he wipes vasoline on the camera lens, he gives Piggy a thingy-thing…OK…It’s so odd…but so funny! It’s not my favorite song in the film, but it’s still an entertaining number!

5) Interrogation Song: When I first heard this number, I immediately fell in love with it! This is one of the best songs in the film! True, there’s no real melody for the characters to sing, but we don’t need one here. Ty Burrell and the Muppets do a great job speaking rhymes in rhythm. It’s hard to say what exactly makes this song work. Maybe it’s seeing how each Muppet respond to the accusations in character. Maybe it’s Sam the Eagle and Burrell’s character accusing the Muppets. Perhaps it’s just watching the two of them acting off of each other. It could be seeing Burrell in a musical number. Possibly it’s the music that accompanies the song. Maybe it’s all of those elements. I don’t know, but this song is great! I look forward to hearing it anytime the movie is on!

6) Something So Right: YEEEESSSSSSS!!!!! I LOVE this song! THIS is my favorite song in the movie! It sounds so sweet and soulful! This does sound like an R&B duet, and it’s so fantastic! I love the incredible lead vocals of Piggy and Celine Dion! I love it when the other Muppets join in and sing as well! Their voices – particularly Dr. Teeth, Floyd, and Rowlf – really contribute to the style of the song. I love that this musical number is shot like a music video; it’s so much fun! Why wasn’t this song nominated for an Oscar? If “Man or Muppet” was nominated and won, why couldn’t this song? I don’t know, but it ticks me off! This song is wonderful, and it always makes me smile!

7) Together Again: I wanted to address this song because it is an original Muppet song. You may remember that this song, written by the late and the great Jeff Moss, was first played in The Muppets Take Manhattan in 1984. It’s always nice to hear a classic Muppet song in a new Muppet film. It’s done really well here. We hear all the Muppets singing this number, and we see all the cameo stars singing it as well. I guess it makes sense to have this song in the film, seeing as how Kermit was apart from the Muppets for much of the movie and now they’re all together again. But do you remember when it Bobo and Uncle Deadly sung this song a bit and Walter played it on the piano in the last film? Hmm…Disney is really trying to get this song that Sony owns, aren’t they…Sony does own the rights to the song, right, seeing as how they own the rights to the film? I don’t know. Anyway, it’s a joy to hear it at the end of this film. It’s great and nostalgic!

PUPPETRY: In this section, I’ll be addressing all of the special effects. Let’s start with the traditional art of puppetry. These films keep trying to improve what they can do with these characters more and more. We constantly see a lot of head to toe on these characters. This film might contain the most number of full-bodied Muppet scenes out of all the other movies…Maybe. We even see a full Kermit walking on a table during the “Big House” number! It looked so real and natural, like he was walking effortlessly! Whenever we get any head to toe on a character, it looks natural! It doesn’t look like a radio controlled Muppet or anything like that. The characters just move naturally, like they are really alive! That’s no easy feat, and I think it’s pretty awesome! One of the main feats that impressed me was Constantine’s thumb. Throughout the film he’s always pressing a detonator, and his thumb really moves on it! Even during the scene where he’s watching a tape of Kermit, his thumb is pressing down on the remote! How did they do that?!? That is so cool! I’ll also say that Matt Vogel did a great job making Constantine look different than Kermit. Of course Constantine was built to look angrier and a bit different from Kermit, but Vogel added a lot of weight to his walk and movements as well. Whereas Kermit’s walk is much lighter and smoother, Constantine is heavier, almost as if he’s stomping to get to where he has to go. I also love his facial expressions. Constantine sort of has a permanent frown on his face. Even when he’s smiling, laughing, or just talking to someone, you can still see that frown that never leaves. It’s kind of funny!
The blue screen effect does not work to the film’s advantage. I’m always aware when the characters are standing in front of it because nothing in the background looks natural. The main place this becomes obvious is near the end of the film when all of the action takes place on the roof of the Tower of London. Nothing in the background looks real. On one hand, I guess it made sense to shoot that scene in front of blue screen since the Muppets had to stand on top of each other. But…couldn’t they have just worn blue suits? A scene that long shouldn’t be shot in blue screen because we not only recognize the effect, but it’s also distracting from everything else going on.
Finally, I’m not a fan of the CG used in this film. Maybe I’d feel better about it if it looked better, but it doesn’t look great. It’s pretty bad. I can tell whenever someone is being transposed into CG, and, again, it’s really distracting. I remember Constantine fighting off the guards as he escaped the gulag, Constantine hoping around during “I’m Number One,” and all the Muppets and cameos stuck on the wall singing “Together Again.” It looks unnatural, and it takes me out of the moment. I will say this, though: I respect the fact that they combined the techniques of puppetry and CG instead of just using CG. I can still tell that Constantine is always being performed by a puppeteer, not computer animated. The reason for this is because James Bobin said that one of the great things about the Muppets is that they are really there. They’re real – you can touch them. Too many films today use CGI to animate the main characters, and that’s always distracting because we all know they aren’t there. But Bobin insisted on having the Muppet performers controlling the characters so that we could still feel our characters are there. On the one hand…those CG moments are distracting because I can obviously tell that the characters are composited to CG. On the other hand, though, I’m glad that he’s preserving the relationship we have with the Muppets by keeping them in the film and not replacing them with CG. And who’s to say why they used CG in the spots that they did? Perhaps it was absolutely necessary – I don’t know. I can say, though, that I think Bobin has a great respect and understanding of Jim Henson’s Muppets. Whenever they make their next film, I hope he gets called to direct it again!

COMEDY: When I heard a lot of people comparing this film to The Great Muppet Caper, I got really excited! As you may know from my other reviews and my Top 10 Favorite Muppet Productions list, that film is not only my favorite Muppet movie, but one of my favorite comedies ever! You can imagine that I was expecting a lot of great jokes and constant breaking of the fourth wall. And…I sort of got that. The film doesn’t break the fourth wall nearly as much here as the Great Caper did, and that’s where a lot of the comedy was. A lot of the comedy in the last film came from breaking the fourth wall as well! Whenever the Muppets do break the fourth wall, in this movie it’s really funny! In fact, my favorite joke in the film takes place when they address Walter joining the Muppets in their last movie! I wish they could have done it more, but that’s just what I wanted to see. Let’s dive deeper into the comedy that’s actually here.
A lot of the jokes come from references to other films. They parody movies like The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994), The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991), The Spy Who Loved Me (Lewis Gilbert, 1977), Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962), and others. These are some great classics and old capers for the film to satirize. The problem with that is these moments won’t be funny to people who haven’t seen these films. I haven’t seen any of these movies, so I couldn’t supply a laugh for these jokes. The Great Muppet Caper satirized some films as well, from what I’m told. But the comedy didn’t come from whether or not you understood any of those references. I don’t know a single movie that film parodied, and it’s still funny! That’s because the comedy came from the situations and the characters. If you took away the references, the film can still stand up on its own! Here, a lot of the jokes come from movie references, so they can be hit-and-miss with the audience.
That being said, however, the other jokes are really funny! A lot of that comes from the characters and the songs. As I said before, the human cast for this movie is unbelievable! I love them all, none of them are dull, and they invest so much into this film! All of the songs are funny and more than entertaining! The Muppets deliver, as they always do! I love every scene with Constantine! They make me laugh, and they make me laugh hard! At the end of his first scene, he emerges out of a swampy lake and says “It’s time to light the lights.” THAT IS SO AMAZING!!! The way he says it, the fact that he’s referencing The Muppet Show theme song, his accent – IT’S TOO GREAT! I also love what he says to Fozzie once he and Walter figured out his plan; he says “You have wockaed your last wocka, bear.” I CAN’T EVEN SPEAK ON HOW FUNNY THAT IS!!!…Huh. That’s the second “Wocka” joke a Muppet movie gave us…I can’t think of a joke that doesn’t work in this film. I know I haven’t seen the films they’re satirizing, but other people have. In fact, now that I know they were satirizing something, I can give a bit more of a laugh than I gave before. In my opinion, their best jokes are the fourth wall jokes, Constantine trying to impersonate Kermit, and any references to other Muppet productions.
I’ll end with this: if you haven’t seen the Extended Version of the film on Blu-Ray, get it! Not only does it answer some questions, but it also provides a lot more hilarious jokes! One involves the Muppets literally breaking the fourth wall. It’s so corny…but so funny! I love my DVD copy, but after picking up the Blu-Ray version from the library, I can definitely recommend that!

CONCLUSION: I really love this movie! Sure I could have used some more comedy, and I’m not crazy about the special effects they used. But I love everything else about it! The comedy we did get was really funny! The puppetry doesn’t disappoint at all! The songs are overwhelmingly fun (and should have been nominated for an Oscar)! The characters – Muppets and live-action humans – are absolutely entertaining and enjoyable! The story is engaging and creative! I wish this had been a bigger commercial success than it was, but let’s not act like it was a failure or a disappointment. Critics still enjoyed this film. Audiences enjoyed this film. It did make some money in the box office. It may not have lived up to the greatness of The Muppets, but I don’t think it was supposed to. For as great and wonderful as that film was, let’s not forget that it was the Muppets’ comeback, their revival. You can’t have a grand comeback twice within three years! This film just wanted to be a fun and loving Muppet film, and that’s exactly what it is! I love this film, and it now fits somewhere on my Top 10 Favorite Muppet Productions list…I don’t know, maybe it’s Number 7 or 8 (just don’t tell Constantine I said that). If you haven’t seen it yet, go to the store and buy it! If you’re a fan of the Muppets, you won’t regret it!

Let me end on this final note: I’m really glad I was able to review these film during the 60th anniversary of the Muppets! Yes, the Muppets have been around for 60 years now! Since 1955, they have been entertaining us, and I’m so glad that they are still e You all know about their new show coming out this month, don’t you? On Tuesday, September 22, The Muppets (Bob Kushell and Bill Prady, 2015) will air at 8:00 pm on ABC!!! It’s going to be great! Tune in and watch it – we’re in for a great show!…I’m doing a lot of free advertisement today…It’s the Muppets – I owe them! Thank you all for keeping up with these reviews! I’m sure I’ll post more later, but it’ll be a while. More poems will come out later. God bless you all, I love you, and HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY, MUPPETS!!!!!

MOVIE REVIEWS: The Muppets (James Bobin, 2011)

If you read my Top 10 Favorite Muppet Productions list, you know that I was not the least bit excited for this movie when it came out? Why? Because not only were the Muppets breaking up and being sold to different companies, but they also hadn’t been releasing good productions since the end of the ’90s. After The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, the Sesame Street Muppets sold to Sesame Workshop in 2000. Later we had the straight-to-video film Kermit Swamp Years (David Grumpel, 2002). Later that year, we got a TV movie, It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (Kirk R. Thatcher, 2002). In 2004, the Jim Henson Company sold the rights to the Muppets (Kermit, Piggy, and friends – not Fraggle Rock) over to the Walt Disney Company. (I will always rue the Muppets being owned by Disney!) In 2005, the Muppets released another TV movie, The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz (Kirk R. Thatcher, 2005). THIS IS THE WORST THING THE MUPPETS HAVE EVER DONE!!!!! Then there was Elmo’s Christmas Countdown Gary Halvorson, 2007), Studio DC: Almost Live (Kirk R. Thatcher, 2008), and A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (Kirk R. Thatcher, 2008). All of these productions were mediocre at best. They had nice moments, but as a whole they did not work at all. They were pretty bad. In 2009, the Muppets began producing YouTube videos to reintroduce the Muppets to the younger generation. Their most famous video is their rendition of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It was great, but I still wasn’t looking forward to this new film – I knew it would suck. It seemed as though I was the only one who felt that way, because everyone else was really hyped for this film! Everybody talked about it, all the critics praised it, and the Muppets were welcomed back to the forefront of mainstream. After I finally saw the movie over 7 months after its release, I must say…I fell in love with it as well. This film is AMAZING!!! I LOVE IT!!! This is one of my favorite films EVER!!! It is amazing how incredible and wonderful this movie is! Why do I love it so much? What makes this film so great? Let’s find out!

STORY AND THEMES & MESSAGES: The story is very engaging. One of the Muppets’ biggest fan, a young man named Walter, gets the opportunity to go to California with his brother, Gary, and Gary’s girlfriend Mary to see the Muppets Studio. However, he learns that an evil oil magnate, Tex Richman, is planning on tearing down the studio and drill for oil. Walter, Gary, and Mary find Kermit and tell him that the only way to save the studio is to raise $10,000,000. That means Kermit has to round up the gang, who has been broken up for a long time, and put on an old fashion telethon, Muppety style.
The story is good, but it’s very busy and full. There is so much going on in this story. (1) Walter wants to meet the Muppets. (2) Tex Richman has to make sure nothing comes in the way of his oil. (3) Mary wants to spend time with Gary, who is always looking over his brother. (4) Kermit has to round up all of the Muppets, that takes some time; especially when he has to convince Piggy to come back. (5) The Muppets have to convince a network to air their telethon, that’s a big deal. (5) The Muppets have to plan and rehearse their show, which is somewhat of a disaster. (6) Kermit can’t find a celebrity host. (7) The Muppets have to get the money they need to buy the studio back. It’s a lot! There’s is always something going on! It’s not necessarily bad seeing as how everything is so entertaining and they all have closure. However, it is a lot to take in. The earlier Muppet films were simple in their plots, and thus they had a lot of room to breathe. Here, the story is constantly moving.
That being said, however, the story isn’t bad at all. It gives us a lot of insight to our favorite characters. I like seeing what they’re doing when they’re not together. Gonzo owns a plumbing factory, that sounds about right. Piggy is the editor of plus-sized fashion in Paris, that’s perfect for her! Rowlf is relaxing and taking it easy in his home, duh! It all stays true to who these people are.
The entire movie stays true to who the Muppets are. I love that this film belongs to the Muppets. We see Gary and Mary in the beginning to sort of introduce the story, but we are ultimately looking at the Muppets. Unlike The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island, the Muppets don’t share the spotlight here. We are looking at Kermit. We want to see Kermit achieve his goals and learn something. I like watching Gary and Mary too, but the focus is not on them.
I think a lot of people were surprised by the number of emotional scenes in this film. There are a lot of tear-jerking moments in this movie! We’ll get to “Pictures in My Head” later. The nostalgia lies heavy when the Muppets sing “Rainbow Connection.” I read a comment when a lady said all the women and half the men were crying in the theater during this song. The other half of the men broke down when Animal began playing the drums. I always get emotional at the end, when the Muppets walk outside the theater to all of their fans cheering them on. It’s just wonderful to see people love and care for these wonderful characters! They’re so great to me, and I’m glad to see other people declare them as great too. As great as this moment is, though, my favorite moment is when they recreate the opening of The Muppet Show! From the time Scooter knocked on Jack Black’s door to the end of the theme song, I thought I was going to cry. It was so reminiscent of The Muppet Show, and it makes me smile wide! I love it!
I’d be lying if I said there weren’t a few things I didn’t like concerning this story. They’re not big, but they are things I want to address. First of all, some of my favorite Muppets don’t get too much screen time in this picture. Gonzo’s on screen for about 20-25% of the film, and I wanted to see more of him! He’s got a lot more time in front of the camera than Rizzo, however! Rizzo didn’t have any lines in the film! He was in 2 frames of the entire film: he was in the crowd when Kermit gave his speech to the Muppets, and he appeared with one of the groups of Muppets during the finale. ANGER! Unfortunately for me, Pepé does show up in this film. Thankfully he only has 3 lines, but that’s 3 more lines I’d like him to have. But my more serious problem occurs at the end of the movie. After Kermit’s speech, the Muppets are greeted by their fans, and the finale number, the movie says “The End.” But then, what happens? Tex Richman gets hit in the head and gives the Muppets their name and theater back! I’m not necessarily angry that he gave that stuff back to them. They definitely needed their name back if they were going to do more Muppet productions; they refer to their productions all the time. If the “Muppet” name was taken away from them, what would they had been called? I’m just disappointed with how they got their name and theater back. It’s rushed in 10 seconds as the credits are rolling. It’s funny, yes, but it still feels rushed and somewhat lazy, like it was a last minute thing. I just think the filmmakers could have been more clever in making that ending work better.
Since there’s a lot going on in the movie, you can imagine there are a lot of themes and messages too. I love Kermit’s speech toward the end about endurance and being strong is a great message. I love how Gary and Kermit learn not to let the love of their lives slip away from them. I LOVE the scene where Veronica shows the Muppets the type of TV shows that were currently popular, to show how crappy entertainment was. (I hated television in 2011.) My favorite lesson from the movie, though, is the one Walter learns. Gary tells him, “You always believe in other people, but that’s easy. Sooner or later, you’ve got to start believing in yourself; because that’s what growing up is, becoming who you want to be.” This was handled and conveyed with such care and delicacy. I was going through a little situation of my own when I first saw this movie, and that was the thing I needed to hear. I love that line, I love that moral, and I love how it was taught! Well done, movie! Well done!

HUMAN CHARACTERS, NEW MUPPETS, & CAMEOS: I love this cast! These characters, these actors – they’re all so wonderful! This movie is also unique because it introduces a new Muppet to the franchise! Let’s get into it!
1) Gary – He’s a fun guy. There’s not a whole lot to say about Gary. Like most live-action human stars in Muppet movies, Gary is not the most engaging character. He’s alright, but he’s not that entertaining. I italicize “that” because Gary is funny. He’s not as entertaining as the Muppets, but that’s because it’s not his movie. However, he does have a lot of likeability to him! I love the humor that comes from him. I love his heartfelt moments with Mary and Walter. I like how relatable he is. He’s a good guy!

2) Mary – I feel almost the same way about Mary that I feel about Gary. I do find her more entertaining, though. She’s funnier to me. I think that’s because of how Amy Adams is playing her. Mary is kind of a wide-eyed bland woman, but Adams puts a lot of the energy into the comedic moments. I love watching her sing. I love all of the jokes that involves her. They are all too wonderful!

3) Tex Richman – This guy is amazing! I love Richman! There isn’t much development to him, and you wouldn’t really understand why he hates the Muppets so much unless you’ve heard the soundtrack. But that’s part of the joke. Richman is an over-the-top bad guy. What is so ironic about this, though, is that Chris Cooper plays him pretty reserved for the most part. It’s not until toward the end of the film that he becomes bigger in terms of physicality and volume. But I love how deadpan he can be! I just love him!

4) Veronica – I don’t like this lady at all! Veronica is a rude, mean, cruel douche! I don’t like how she talks to Kermit! I don’t like how she disrespects the Muppets! I don’t like the show she airs on her network! And I don’t like the way she talked about Benson! She refers to it as if there’s a problem with it. What the crud is wrong with Benson? Crud you, Veronica! Crud you!

5) Jack Black – Jack Black’s role in this movie is incredible! I really want to find an interview where he talks about his involvement and enjoyment in this film. I love his first appearance in the film, and I love the surprise of having him come back during the telethon! He’s the celebrity that always second guessed being with the Muppets on The Muppet Show! I love how “Tuesday” is one of his trigger words! Why is “Tuesday” a trigger word? That’s a whole day of the week you can’t say! It’s great! This guy is wonderful, and it was wonderful seeing him in the film!

It was wonderful seeing a new character to the Muppets. Walter is a great addition to the group! I was surprised when a lot of people were confused how Walter, a Muppet, could be the brother of Gary, a live-action human. I wasn’t so surprised. Not only have the Muppets done a joke like this before (Kermit and Fozzie being twins), but in the Muppet universe we’re supposed to accept these creatures as real. Kermit is a frog. Fozzie is a bear. Miss Piggy is a pig. And now, Walter is a human. He’s a human in the likeness of a Muppet, but he’s a human nonetheless. Why can’t we believe he and Gary are brothers?
Walter has an innocence to him that is very refreshing. He’s very sweet and optimistic. He’s very much like a child in an adult’s body. From having stickers on his headboard to his belief that everything will be OK in the end, Walter is the child we all know and love. It’d be easy to have a strong annoyance or dislike for a character like this, a sort of man-child. I don’t know if it was Jason Segel and Nicolas Stoller’s writing, if it was Peter Linz’s performance, James Bobin’s direction, or some sort of combination, but Walter is a very loveable and endearing character! It’ll be interesting to see how the studio continues to use him in the future, but I’m excited to see him appear again! It’ll be fun! Walter is a great guy!

There are a slew of cameos in this film! You really have to be careful not to blink, otherwise you’ll miss someone. I like that these cameos sort of serve the same purpose they did in the first Muppet film – it’s a “who’s who” game with the audience. Who’s going to appear next? As always, it’s just great to see current stars interact with the Muppets! I will say that I don’t get as excited over all of these celebrities because I don’t know all of them. I don’t know all the cameo stars from the earlier films, but I’m familiar with more of them than I am with the celebrities in this film; I just don’t keep up with modern pop culture. But of those who appear, we’ve got Bill Cobbs, Alan Arkin, Kristen Schaal, Eddie Pepiton, Sarah Silverman, Aria Noelle Curzon, Donald Glover, Ken Jeong, Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo, James Carville, Rico Rodriguez, Selena Gomez, John Krasinski, Neil Patrick Harris, Leslie Feist, Emily Blunt, Dave Grohl, Judd Hirsch, Jim Parsons, Zach Galifianakis, Mickey Rooney, and Whoopi Goldberg! Goodnents gracious, this may be the most number of celebrities to ever have a cameo in a Muppet movie! But that’s not all – some of the celebrities’ cameo scenes were cut. Those celebrities are Wanda Sykes, Kathy Griffin, Sterling Knight, Billy Crystal, Sarah Hyland, Danny Trejo, Ricky Gervais, and Rob Corddry. In fact, the latter three would go on to star in Muppets Most Wanted (James Bobin, 2014). I must say, though, that I read that Elmo was supposed to have a cameo in this film. He didn’t because Sesame Workshop and Walt Disney representatives could not come on good terms. CRUDDED WHAT?!? I NEED to see a Sesame Street Muppet have a crossover/cameo in a Muppet movie! That would have been so perfect! And it would have been great to see Elmo featured seeing as how his fame has grown so much since The Muppets Take Manhattan and A Muppet Family Christmas! SHAME ON YOU, DISNEY AND SESAME WORKSHOP! SHAME ON YOU!!! All of that aside, my favorite cameo in the film is Jerry Nelson! In his last Muppet role, he is the announcer in the Muppet Theater! He’s the one who says, “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your host: Kermit the Frog,” and “The Muppet Telethon will be back after this break!” This is the last role he had before he passed away in 2012. This is the man who performed many of our favorite Muppets like Robin the Frog, Sgt. Floyd Pepper, Camilla the Chicken, Dr. Julius Strangepork, Pops, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, Uncle Deadly, J.P. Grosse, Count von Count, the Two-Headed Monster, The Amazing Mumford, Sherlock Hemlock, Herry Monster, Gobo Fraggle, Pa Gorg, and many, many, MANY more. Rest in peace, Mr. Jerry Nelson!

One more thing I have to say is it was great to see classic Muppets from The Muppet Show appear in the background AND foreground in this film! I’m talking about characters like Nigel, Lips, Wayne and Wanda, and Uncle Deadly! I was as familiar with that show as I am now when I first saw this movie. Imagine my surprise when I go back and watch The Muppet Show and I see many of the characters that fill the screen in this film! It is all too wonderful!

SONGS/MUSIC: Oh boy, here we go! The music in this film is fantastic! The score is composed by Christophe Beck, who we’ve talked about before. His music is outstanding here, it adds to the tone greatly. He really feels the emotions our characters onscreen are feeling. Most of the songs are composed by New Zealand performer, Bret McKenzie. His songs are absolutely fantastic! These wonderful songs, written with such hilarity and heart, makes McKenzie’s songs as memorable and great as Paul Williams’ songs! Let’s talk about them.
1) Life’s a Happy Song: What’s funny about this song – the whole opening of the film – is that it should be something that people hate. Listen to the words! The characters are singing about how great and perfect they’re lives are. Doesn’t that annoy you? Doesn’t that make you angry? Doesn’t that tick you off? Depending on how someone tells you about their perfect life that has no problems, you’d be upset. But that’s thing: it’s the way they do it. Here, this life seems pleasant. It’s actually quite encouraging. This song doesn’t make me wish I was in Gary’s and Walter’s world; it makes me look at my world and say, “it’s a happy song!” It’s so welcoming and warm, you can’t help but smile when you hear this number! I love it!

2) Pictures in My Head: This song was written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis, and Chen Neeman. I said in my review of The Muppets Take Manhattan that I was surprised when I heard that the “Saying Goodbye” number made people cry since I never cried when I heard it. THIS song, on the other hand, is a totally different story. Here’s the difference for me: in “Saying Goodbye,” I knew the Muppets would get back together in the end. My present was fine because I knew what was in the future. That movie also came out during a time when the world still went crazy over the Muppets. Here, Kermit’s singing about something that happened – something that really happened – very recently! It really felt as though no one cared about the Muppets, these characters we all knew and loved and wanted to see more of. My present was now gray and depressing because the recent past was sad. I felt the weight of emotion in Kermit’s voice and lyrics. I wanted to be one of those pictures on the wall so I could reach out and give him a hug! My goodness, this song is so sad! And didn’t you gasp and smile when you saw the pictures come to life and sing to him? And didn’t the smile quickly go away when you saw the portrait of Miss Piggy? MOST DEPRESSING MUPPET SONG EVER!!!!!

3) Me Party: I frickin’ love this song! This is the anthem for any person whenever they find themselves alone. I can’t help but sing and dance anytime I hear it! I know it doesn’t really have much purpose in the film, but that’s OK. It’s short, sweet, and entertaining! Again, it’s like the songs in The Muppet Movie! Let the disco music play, and enjoy your you party!

4) Let’s Talk About Me: I’m not going to lie, I really hated this song when I first saw this film. “Really,” I thought. “A rap number? There’s a stupid rap song in a Muppet movie – a stupid rap song that has nothing to do with anything?!” After time passed, I realized how wrong I was. First of all, much like “Me Party,” this song is short, sweet, and entertaining. Secondly, the Muppets have always been great at satirizing, and this song satirizes modern raps. Third, CHRIS COOPER IS RAPPING!!! That’s all I need! This song is hilarious, it’s wonderful, and it’s enjoyable!

5) Man or Muppet: Oh boy, here we are! I don’t know a person who saw this film that doesn’t like this number! This song was so great, it won McKenzie an Oscar!…Which was always confusing to me. This won an Oscar, but “Rainbow Connection” didn’t?…Oh well. This song is funny, genius, and catchy. It takes a hilarious spin on the traditional message of accepting who you are. The scale and the size of the production on this song is what makes it funny. I love this song so much!

6) The Muppet Show Theme Song: This song was, of course, written by Jim Henson and Sam Pottle. There’s not much to say about it except I love how they recreated this theme almost perfectly! Of course there are some differences between this and the original theme of the show, but look how close they were! And it’s wonderful to hear the voices of the original Muppet performers in this track! Listen carefully, and you can hear Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, and Richard Hunt! It’s wonderful!

7) It Smells Like Teen Spirit: What’s great about this film is that the Muppets are putting on sketches like they would on the original show. Here, they take a famous song and put a barbershop quartet spin on it! It’s funny!

8) Forget You: Chickens sing a CeeLo Green song? Golden!

9) Rainbow Connection: Oh, this will make you cry! Get the tissues ready!

10) The Whistling Caruso: This song was written and performed by Andrew Bird. It’s a very beautiful song. I can imagine hearing this in a classical opera. It just sounds so sweet and charming. It’s very lovely!

11) Life’s a Happy Song Reprise: For as much as I love the first rendition of this song, I love this version even more! It’s much more satisfying to hear all of the Muppets singing this song at the end after their happy ending! It’s endearing, it’s fulfilling, and it brings the story full circle. It’s just wonderful!

12) Mahna Mahna: Not only is it a great Muppet classic, but it’s still Jim Henson’s and Frank Oz’s voices on this track! The soundtrack to this film is awesome!

PUPPETRY: The puppetry in this film is really impressive! These characters look so alive and humanistic! Aside from the rats skating and scrubbing the stage in a montage in the middle of the film, there aren’t any scenes or moments that feature the Muppets pushing the envelope of puppetry like they did in their earlier films. However, just look at the way these guys move! The Muppets are doing things here that I’ve never seen them do before. To actually see the Muppets push a door open, pull a case open, or grab something is remarkable! Again, you have to remember these characters have rods on their wrists in order to really understand the significance of the work here. My favorite pieces of puppetry actually involve Walter. He doesn’t just part his lips to whistle – he actually puckers his lips! I loved watching him climb on the furniture and walk during the opening number. What really blew me away was him pulling the trigger on his water gun at the beginning of the film! Watch it – he’s pulling the trigger, and his hands aren’t built to do that! How was that accomplished?!? I don’t know, but it looks fantastic! I believe all of these characters are real!

COMEDY: There is no way I can talk abut the comedy of this film in its entirety. It is way too good! The comedy is so strong and so amazing! We’ve got a lot of great fourth wall jokes which, you may remember, the Muppets were always great at doing! When ’80s Robot suggested picking up the Muppets using a montage, Fozzie proposed driving by map, Gary referenced to the song and dance numbers he performed, or Mary made the comment that this would be a short movie – all of those were great and fantastic moments! They were appropriate! They were funny! They were always wonderful! I love the jokes that the characters said to give themselves a distinction. One of the best moments in the film (which is saying a lot) takes place whenever Tex Richman delivers a “maniacal laugh!” That is hilarious! How did Segel and Stoller come up with that?! It is so perfect! There’s no real reason for it, but gosh darn it if it’s not one of the funniest jokes I’ve ever heard in a movie! I also love the jokes that reference the other Muppet productions! When I saw Sweetums leaving Mad Mad Mooney’s to chase the Muppets in a car down the road, that was outstanding! I could not believe they put that in the film, but it worked so well! The only joke I don’t really get is the ’80s Robot. What’s the joke? Why exactly is that funny? I can tell that something is supposed to be funny about that, but I don’t get it. The things he does and says are funny, but the concept of ’80s Robot is confusing…Oh well, whatever! The comedic moments in this film are way too funny! The filmmakers clearly worked hard to make ALL of these jokes funny! There’s thought, there’s effort, and there’s talent! The filmmakers all knew that in order to make the heartfelt moments very emotional and powerful, they had to balance it all out with the lighthearted comedy that only a Muppet movie can bring! What can I say, folks? The comedy in this movie is top notch! It will have you laughing from beginning to end!

CONCLUSION: I am so glad I was wrong about this movie! I do not believe I have ever been more wrong about a film than I was when this picture came out. Sure, I have a few problems with it, but they’re all very, very, very minor. This film brought audiences all over the world back to the characters we love! It reminded us why we love them so much! Their personalities and their spirits are so endearing. These characters made out of foam and fabric can so wonderfully and perfectly convey human emotions unlike anything else I’ve ever seen! This film totally embodies the spirit of the Muppets – the spirit of Jim Henson! This does feel like one of the earlier Muppet films! It’s great! It’s obvious that there was a lot of great care in making this film. Segel, Stoller, Bobin, McKenzie, and the rest of the crew worked as hard as they could to make a wonderful Muppet film, and they more than achieved their goals! This film is funny, memorable, impactful, emotional, and relatable! I love it, and I can’t wait to watch it again later! Thank you so very much, filmmakers, for this most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational movie! God bless you all!

P.S. Here are some of the amazing parody teasers that came out for the movie:

MOVIE REVIEWS: The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (Gary Halvorson, 1999)

Oh boy, here we go. I know a lot of you were expecting to see my review of The Muppets (James Bobin, 2011) next, but I consider this a Muppet movie. It has Muppets in it, and it was even produced by the Jim Henson Company. I know I haven’t seen The Dark Crystal, Follow That Bird, or Labyrinth yet; and I know that a lot of people consider Muppets from Space as the worst theatrical Muppet movie, but…I give that distinction to this movie. Almost 15 years after the first Sesame Street movie, the Children’s Television Workshop (now known as the Sesame Workshop) decided to make a new one, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. Yes, this film focuses on Elmo. Unlike a lot of people throughout the nation, I love Elmo! He is my second favorite Muppet of all time! He’s funny, he’s energetic, he yearns to help, and he loves learning. He’s not the reason I think this is a bad movie. What is the reason, then? Let’s find out.

STORY AND THEMES & MESSAGES: Alright, here we are. The story is so stupid! Elmo’s best friend is his blanket (Elmo needs some friends), and he doesn’t want to share it with anybody; not even the person we thought he was best friends with, Zoe. It winds up falling in Oscar’s trashcan. When Elmo jumps in there to rescue it, both he and the blanket get sucked in a portal to Grouchland. Elmo finds out that his blanket, which was separated from him in the portal, was stolen by a mean man named Huxley who doesn’t like to share. He thinks he can take whatever he wants and make it his. Elmo eventually gets help from a young grouch named Grizzy, his Sesame Street family comes to Grouchland to try and save him, and the race for Elmo is on to save his blanket from Huxley.
OK, here’s what I don’t like about the story: IT’S STUPID!!! Both the story and the set-up is stupid! There’s a portal in Oscar’s trashcan that leads to a place called Grouchland?! WHAT?!?!? First of all, look at Oscar’s can. Does it look like it’s that big on the inside? How many times have people taken the can off that corner in the show? Second, there’s a portal that leads to a place called Grouchland? Is this where Oscar’s from? This is where he grew up? Does he have family here? Are there portals from Grouchland to other places around the country – around the world? This should be an Oscar-focused movie! You can’t give us a set-up like this and have it focused on the wrong character! We’re going to Grouchland for the first time, but we’re focusing on Elmo!?? We’re not learning anything about Oscar?!? What sense does that make?!!
The reason I dislike the story and the set-up is because they’re not realistic at all! There is nothing real about having a portal in a trashcan that leads to a whole different land. Yes, I know the show contains an 8’2″ tall bird, a grouch, and a bunch of monsters, a frog, and a vampire running all over the place. The thing, however, is that these characters, who are real to us, have encountered real situations. They’ve gone through marriages, childbirths, adoptions, deaths, and many other realistic events. They were displayed in a realistic way. Big Bird never had to travel to Monstropolis to learn about patience. We’ve kept it simple and real before; why can’t we do that now?
I don’t get the stakes in this film. I know that Elmo’s 3-and-a-half, but someone explain to me why it’s so important for him to get his blanket! Sure, he’ll be sad, but so what? Is there a more important reason for Elmo getting his blanket? And what about Huxley? Why does he need it so badly? What will he lose if he gives up the blanket? Why is it so important to him? What are the stakes?
Elmo is supposed to be the hero in film, obviously. However, the story caused him to do 2 things that kind of backfire against him. First of all, he committed the crime of breaking and entering. Yeah, he broke into Oscar’s trashcan! What’s up with that, movie? Why is Elmo turning to crime? Second of all, are we just going to look over the fact that Elmo ran away from home? Elmo ran away to fight an adult male for a blanket by himself…I CAN’T BE THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS A PROBLEM WITH THIS!!! (1) Elmo ran away from home (2) to fight and adult male (3) for a blanket (4) by himself. This is not the Elmo I know.
Let’s talk about the message. Obviously, the movie wants to teach kids about sharing our things with people. I have no problem with that message, but let’s look at how the movie conveys that. Zoe does pick up Elmo’s blanket without permission. He tells her to give it back to him, but she doesn’t. Elmo may not have been very nice to her, but she could have been more respectful. I’d like to see a children’s movie teach kids to respect the word “no.” Yes, it’s important to teach about sharing, but every kid isn’t going to share. Some kids are going to say, “This is mine. You can’t have it.” We have to teach kids to respect that and walk away.

CHARACTERS: I’m only going to focus on the main stars of the film. I’ll mention the other characters toward the end.
1) Elmo – As I said earlier, I love Elmo! Elmo is amazing! I love watching him on Sesame Street, and I really love watching him in interviews! Go to YouTube and look up any interviews with Elmo – they are hilarious! However, that charm doesn’t always come across in this movie. I actually do find myself being annoyed with Elmo here. Again, he ran away from home to go on some epic quest for a blanket. FAIL!!! What confuses me is that he went from being mean to Zoe and breaking into Oscar’s home to suddenly being nice to Grizzy. I don’t know – that just didn’t flow too well. I like the idea behind the things Elmo does: he figures out there’s more to him than he thought there was, he learns to be kinder to others, he goes on an epic journey, etc. I just don’t like the actions he does. They’re lame, and they don’t accurately represent Elmo.

With his cherished blue blanket at his side, ‘Sesame Street’s’ lovable red monster, Elmo, makes his feature film debut in the Columbia Pictures/Jim Henson Pictures/Children’s Television Workshop presentation, “The Adventures Of Elmo In Grouchland.” Photo by James Bridges/handout (Scanned 9/30/99)

2) Huxley – Huxley is your basic over-the-top villain. He doesn’t really have a reason for his actions – there’s no stake to what he’s doing. Think about it, villains are villains for a reason; they are evil because they have something important they want. In The Lion King, Scar didn’t kill Mufasa because he felt like it. He did it because he wanted to be King, and getting rid of Mufasa would make him King. Huxley takes everyone’s possessions because…he wants it. OK…why the crud does he want it all? He has no motivation to his actions. He’s just that awkward man-child you’d never let your children come near. That being said, I will say that I do enjoy this character. He’s the most entertaining person in the film! Mandy Patinkin’s performance is absolutely enjoyable. He’s funny! He’s clearly enjoying this moment, and I can’t blame him. He may be in a crappy Sesame Street movie, but he’s still interacting with the Sesame Street characters! I’d enjoy it too. Plus, the eyebrows are insane! I don’t know who came up with that, but treat them to dinner or something!

3) The Queen of Trash – What in the crud? Why is this character here? No, really, she’s not that big of a deal, despite the fact that the movie talks her up as one of the main characters. I guess her scene is important because Elmo learns he was a jerk to Zoe, but that’s it! Did we need the song, the trash Muppets, and the Queen of Trash? If you take her away from this film, what do we lose? I’ll tell you what we lose: a sexy Vanessa Williams! Yeah, how come no one ever talks about how sexualized this character is? Look at how she’s dressed! Listen to how she talks! How did Katy Perry’s appearance on Sesame Street get so much controversy and this never did?! And what was up with her raspberry?! The raspberry scene was already weird, but what was up with her raspberry?!? It was so sexy! Who the crud raised their hand and said “I want a sexy raspberry?!?” Who would think of a sexy raspberry?!? Who the crud warranted or green lit the sexy raspberry?!? Did Williams get in the mirror and practice the sexy raspberry?!? Why would Sesame Street want to be associated with a sexy raspberry?!? STUPID SEXY RASPBERRY!!!!!

I’m excited when I see the great Sesame Street characters in the film, both Muppets and live-action humans. I love seeing Gordon, Maria, Bob, Susan, Luis, Ruthie, Gina, Count von Count, Baby Bear, Ernie, Bert, Oscar, Grover/Super Grover, Cookie Monster, Prairie Dawn, Zoe, Rosita, Telly, Bert, Ernie, and Big Bird! I love seeing these great and wonderful people I’ve grown up with; which is why I hate it so much that they’ve been given a backseat to the story and characters I care nothing about! I don’t care about Bug or the Pesties! If I’m not seeing Oscar’s interaction with the other grouches, why am I looking at them? Give me more of the Count! Give me more of Rosita! Let me see Bob and Gina more! I love them, and I want to see them! Step on Bug and make way for the real stars of Sesame Street!

SONGS/MUSIC: The score was composed by John Debney, and the songs were written by…a lot of people. These songs don’t really leave an impact to the Muppet or Sesame Street franchise. When you think of legendary Muppet songs, you’ll more than often think of “Rainbow Connection,” “Movin’ Right Along,” and “It Feels Like Christmas,” just to name a few. These are great songs from the movies. The songs in this film…they’ll leave you humming for a little while, but they are not going to be the songs you think of when you try to name Sesame Street songs. They’re not as memorable, timeless, or charming. Let’s talk about them.
1) Together Forever: On the one hand, this is a nice and cute song. It describes a charming friendship between two people. It’s innocent. It’s almost even adorable. On the other hand, Elmo’s singing about a blanket. I’m sorry, I can’t get over that! Elmo, you have plenty of friends on the street – other monsters, a vampire, birds, humans, frogs, chickens, pigs, cows, snuffleupegases (I think that’s the plural form of that word), grouches! You’ve got so many friends to choose from, people who love you, and you hang out with your blanket?!? How does Dorothy feel about that? Whatever. If you can look beyond that, I guess the song is OK.

2) Welcome to Grouchland: This song confuses me. I understand we probably need a song about grouchland to help explain to us quickly what kind of place it is. I understand it’s an entire world where everyone’s an Oscar. What I don’t get is if these people hate singing, why the crud are they singing. They’re not even happy when the song begins, but they keep going. It’s as if this number is their national anthem. Why have a song for your anthem if you hate singing? Wouldn’t it have made more sense in this world if their anthem was just a chant telling people to get lost? The song, I guess, is alright. It tells us about this world we’re in now, but I don’t know why the grouches would sing about it if they hate singing.

3) Take the First Step: My feelings for this song are almost the same as my feelings for the last song, but I do like this song a lot more. On one hand, this is grouchland. Grouchland is entirely different from Sesame Street. Back on Sesame Street, everything and everyone sings and they’re almost always positive. In this world, then, everything and everyone should hate singing and almost always be negative. So, then, why is this plant and these animals so happy? Why are they singing? Shouldn’t they be saying “scram” or “stop sitting on me?” On the other hand…this song is a lot of fun! It’s actually my favorite song in the movie! When I was a kid, I loved this song. I remember it the most, almost every lyric. I like the message of the song, I like the style of the music, and I do like the singers. My like for this song is probably strongly tied to the nostalgic feel of it, and I can admit that. Regardless, this is probably the best song in the movie.

4) Make It Mine: Eh…it’s just another weird song. We don’t really learn why Huxley’s a jerk. He just sing about what a jerk he is. “Then I take it and I make it mine.” Why does he think he deserves everything in the world? Why is he a bully? Why does he steal? Who knows? Who cares? He’s just the antagonist. But, of course, Patinkin is entertaining. I don’t know if he saves this number, but it is worth watching and listening to because of him…if that makes any sense.

5) I See a Kingdom: As I said earlier, the entire scene this song takes place in does not make sense. It feel like a different movie. And this song introduces the scene. It’s a nice song, it’s actually pretty good! But why is it in this movie? This mystical, other worldly song about one’s perspective of the world doesn’t belong in a movie with a three-and-a-half year old chasing a grown man who’s holding his blanket hostage. It doesn’t work! The song itself is fine, and Vanessa Williams performs it wonderfully, but it does not belong in this movie. It has literally nothing to do with anything!

6) Precious Wings: Crud, I don’t even remember this song…It has Tatyana Ali…Yay…

PUPPETRY: It’s…alright, I guess. There aren’t too many moments in this movie that makes me say, “Wow, this puppetry is amazing!” Nothing surprises me. Nothing impresses me. In fact, it’s almost like watching an episode of Sesame Street. We see Super Grover flying, that’s cool. We see a full-figured Elmo walking and dancing during “Take the First Step,” that was fine. Nothing else really stands out. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the hard work the Muppet performers are putting into this, I do! But there’s not really anything here that I couldn’t see in another Muppet production.

COMEDY: There’s not a lot to say about the comedy either. I didn’t find myself laughing that much. Ernie and Bert made me laugh in every other scene they were in. Huxley was so over-the-top that I couldn’t help but laugh at him. I like Big Bird trying to fit into Oscar’s can. The “When they take our goo, we gotta do” chant is awkwardly hilarious. Those are the main things I can think of that make me laugh. Everything else is just too confusing and weird for me to get into. The strange set-up is too strange for me to find most of these jokes funny.

CONCLUSION: I must admit, on one hand I do feel bad being so harsh to this movie. It’s clearly a film for children, and I did enjoy this movie as a kid…Then again, I also enjoyed Kermit’s Swamp Years (David Grumpel, 2002) as a kid. The movie means well, and a number of children do enjoy it. I guess I’m bitter with it for two reasons. Number one, Sesame Street is a lot smarter than this. This is the type of bad children’s film you’d see a lesser studio release. This wonderful franchise has given us fantastic, timeless characters who have taught us important lessons. Think of all of the wonderful, entertaining, and incredible moments Sesame Street has given us over the years. Do you think the same people who gave us those moments and that show would give us this movie? Secondly, I don’t think we should excuse the stupidity here simply because this is a children’s movie. Don’t children deserve good, smart, excellent entertainment? Shouldn’t we challenge a child’s mind and give them something that is lasting, something they’ll want to keep coming back to even when they’re older? That’s why I love Sesame Street so much! The show is made to entertain people of all ages; children can continue watching the show as adults because it has a lot to offer. This movie does not. If you or your children like this movie, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. However, I would strongly urge you to look into getting a film more challenging and engaging.

MOVIE REVIEWS: Muppets from Space (Tim Hill, 1999)

One month after Muppet Treasure Island, the Muppets brought a new show to television, Muppets Tonight (Jim Henson Productions, 1996-1998). It was a sort of updated version of The Muppet Show, but…it was bad. Very bad. It didn’t feel like a Muppet show, and the main Muppets we all know and love (Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, and Piggy) took a backseat to new Muppets who we can’t even name today…with the exception of a few. This introduced a dark time for the Muppets when their productions were…not very good. Mostly everything ranged from OK to HELP ME JESUS, HOW WAS THIS GREENLIT?!? I say most things because some of them were good. I hear Big Bag (Nina Elias-Bamberger, 1996-1998) was alright; I loved watching The Wubbulous World of Dr. Suess (1996-1997) as a kid; and Bear in the Big Blue House (Mitchell Kriegman, 1997-2007) was pretty popular among fans. But we also got Elmo Saves Christmas (Emily Squires, 1996) and Elmopalooza! (1998). But in the summer of 1999, it seemed as though the Muppets were due for another feature-length film. Enter Muppets from Space. This film came out during a time when a lot of sci-fi films were taking place. This was supposed to be the Muppets’ parody of that genre. By the sounds of that, this movie should be awesome, right?…Well, you’d think so. As a lot of you know, this movie is famous for being the worst Muppet movie ever made. Does it really deserve that title? Is it true? Well…let’s find out.

STORY: The story and the set-up are the most problematic elements of the movie. It just begs so many questions. First of all, who the crud wanted to know Gonzo’s species? Who was dying to know that? By the time this movie came out, Gonzo existed for over 30 years. That’s more than 30 years of us accepting him as a whatever. That’s his identity! That’s his character! We were all comfortable with that! We didn’t need to know his origins or his species! Second of all, this does, in all honesty, open the door for a mature set-up. Perhaps this could create some adult dialogue and situations with the Muppets. Gonzo wants to feel like he belong in a world where there’s only one of him – the conversations almost write themselves! So, what do we get here?…Gonzo is an alien…WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!? You choose to give us something a third grader could have thought of?!…I don’t even know what to say to that! Gonzo’s an alien. HUH?!?
As I said, this movie was supposed to be a parody to sci-fi movies. The problem with that is there doesn’t seem to be enough parody; and by enough, I mean none at all. This film seems to take itself way too seriously. We’re supposed to accept that Gonzo’s an alien. We’re supposed to believe there’s a government agency searching for Muppet extra terrestrials. Nothing in the film says that this is a parody or a joke. We’re just supposed to accept this story and that it exists within the Muppet universe.
It’s ironic that we’re supposed to take the story seriously because the script is a joke. The dialogue the characters speak is so strange. Listen to some of Edgar’s conversations with Rentro (Bobo the Bear). It’s too mature for children to understand, but it clashes with the story that is too juvenile for adults to take seriously. When Gonzo tells Kermit how he feels about being an alien, it sounds like a coming out speech. I can hear a closeted homosexual giving that same speech word for word.
I think the biggest problem is that this doesn’t feel like a Muppet movie. It feels like the Muppets attempting to make another kind of movie, a sci-fi/action-type of movie. There’s nothing wrong with those kinds of films, but it doesn’t feel very Muppety. If you’re going to make a movie for the Muppets, make a legitimate Muppet movie! Even though I have problems with Muppet Treasure Island, it still feels like a Muppet movie. This does not. The story takes itself too seriously – it is too absorbed in the genre it was supposed to parody – to feel like a classic Muppet movie.

CHARACTERS AND CAMEOS: This should be interesting. In addition to talking about the main human stars and cameo guest stars, I’ll briefly address the new Muppets that appear in this film.
1) K. Edgar Singer – Edgar, like the story, is nothing new or interesting. He’s pretty dry. On paper, he’s as bland, boring, and dull as damp paper. However, Jeffrey Tambor’s portrayal of him makes this character so entertaining to watch! I love him! That is what a great actor or actress does: they take a person’s character out of the pages and breaths life into them! Tambor is not just a great comic, but he’s a wonderful actor as well. I love watching the choices he makes – the expressions he makes, both subtle and unsubtle. Tambor really does make this character and this movie a lot of fun!

2) General Luft – This character frustrates me. Not only is he boring, but he’s ignorant. Why wouldn’t he believe Singer’s reasonings that aliens are coming to earth? Even if he need more evidence, the proof he provided would have made me suspicious. I certainly would have thought, “Hmm. I should look into this more!” How in the world could the same message, “R U There,” show up all over the world as a practical joke? At least look into it more! Crud you, Luft! Crud you!

This film does continue the Muppet film tradition of having celebrity cameo guest stars…As a whole, they don’t work well. In a traditional Muppet movie, you can have random celebrities show up for no reason. It’s a joke. It’s a funny joke. You can do that! Here, the story is too serious to have a joke like that work. Hollywood Hulk Hogan appearing out of nowhere doesn’t make sense! Kathy Griffin shows up just to be Animal’s new girl toy for the day. We’ve also got Ray Liotta, Josh Charles, Gary Owens (who lends a voice cameo), F. Murray Abraham, David Arquette, Andie MacDowell, Joshua Jackson and Katie Holmes from Dawson’s Creek, and Rob Schneider. You might call me crazy for this, but Schneider’s actually my favorite cameo in this movie. This is one of the few restrained and non-offensive roles he’s played. It’s actually rather nice to see him do something like this.

Some of the newer Muppets from Muppets Tonight appear in this film. We’ve got Johnny Fiama and Sal Minella, Dr. Phil Van Neuter, Bobo the Bear (as Rentro), and Pepé the King Prawn. All of these characters are played by Brian Henson and Bill Barretta. I won’t lie, I didn’t like any of the new characters on Muppets Tonight. They weren’t funny, they weren’t relatable, they weren’t interesting, they weren’t charming. For the most part they yelled and screamed all the time, and that was their character. The only new character on the show that had a full personality was Bobo – and even then, I didn’t like him on the show. I like him in everything else he’s in, including this movie, but that was not the show for him. The character I’m surprised by how big he became was Pepé. He had literally no personality on the show! How did he get such a big role in this movie?! How did people find him so likeable and fun?! I would have loved if people went that crazy over Clifford! Clifford was miscast as the host of Muppets Tonight, but I still love his character! He’s so cool! And Clifford originated on The Jim Henson Hour in 1989 – he existed while Jim Henson was alive! I wish we got more of Clifford today! He brings a different feel to the Muppets that they didn’t have before, a more urban coolness to him. I love it! I love him!…But I digress.

SONGS/MUSIC: The score composer of the film is Jamshied Sharifi. The song composer…is an unfulfilled role in this film. Yeah, there are no songs in this movie. Ain’t that strange! This Muppet movie does not have any songs in it! Why would the filmmakers produce and create a new Muppet film without including great Muppet songs! This goes back to what I said earlier: this film feels like the Muppets trying to make another kind of film, a sci-fi and adventure-type film. It doesn’t feel like a legitimate Muppet movie! What was the last Muppet production you saw that didn’t have any songs? Every straight-to-video production, television show, TV special, and movie the Muppets ever made all included songs. Muppet Babies had songs, and that was animated!
There are songs in this movie, but they’re not new and the Muppets don’t sing them. They’re neo-soul/funk/R&B songs from the 1970s. I don’t know how or why this genre of music fits with the sci-fi genre of film, but…I’m not going to lie, I like these songs! Your appreciation for the music in this movie is based on whether or not you like funk. Even though it doesn’t make sense to have this music in this Muppet sci-fi movie, I still love these songs! I love this tone and style the music is in. In fact, when I was a kid this film introduced me to great classics as “Flashlight,” “Brick House,” “Shining Star,” and the other songs that appear. I have a lot of fun listening to them. I actually can’t imagine a lot of the scenes in this movie without these songs.
I know there’s not much else to talk about and I can’t go through all of the songs in this movie, but here are notes on some of the musical moments.
1) Brick House: A lot of people have said that this is the best scene in the movie…Yeah, it is! If the Muppets were to live in the same house, this is pretty much how I’d imagine their mornings. This scene as a whole is the closest thing in this film to capturing the Muppet/Jim Henson spirit.

2) Celebration: This is the only time the Muppets sing in this film…unless you count Rizzo singing the Oscar Meyer Weiner song.

3) Shining Star: The Muppets have a music video! Not just a montage – a legit music video! That’s neat! I think the only other times we had ever seen a Muppet music video before this was on Sesame Street. That’s pretty cool.

PUPPETRY: The puppetry in this movie is really good if you pay close enough attention to it. In my opinion, it’s better than the puppetry in Muppet Treasure Island. The characters do simple human things that puppets cannot do on their own. Gonzo opens a drawer. Do you know how to get a puppet to do that while making it look simple and ordinary? Rizzo turns a key in the lawnmower. The Muppets open doors. There are penguins – full scaled penguins – diving into a bathtub. It looks so simple, but when you think about it you realize that the filmmakers and performers had to work very hard to make these actions look as realistic as possible. In the last Muppet movie, it sometimes looks like they’re trying to do something; the Muppets were trying to fight during the battle scene towards the end. Here, they’re just doing the actions as simple as anybody else can do it. I love that!

COMEDY: The comedy is OK. Often times, the jokes do not work. There are only 2 fourth wall jokes, and they’re not funny. You have to pay attention to them, or else you’ll miss them. However, when a joke does work it is very funny. Anytime the Muppets do or say anything that matches their unique spirit, the jokes are hilarious! Statler and Waldorf partake in their usual wise cracks, and they’re great! I like the silly and naive comments Fozzie makes (with the exception of him not knowing what scotch tape is). Sam’s short speech to the people on his front lawn is fantastic! And, of course, Bobo the Bear gives the funniest line in the movie!

It’s so odd and strange, but it’s so funny!
I can’t talk too much about the bad jokes because they don’t stand out as well as the good jokes. There are plenty of bad jokes, but the good ones are more memorable. As a whole, the comedy is OK. When something is done or said that matches the spirit of the Muppets, the jokes work well and they are absolutely funny!

CONCLUSION: OK, so you see that this movie has a lot of problems. The story is crap, the writing is weird, there are no original songs in this film, and the comedy is hit and miss. But there are good things about the movie as well. The puppetry is impressive, some of the jokes are really funny, and the Muppets still act like the Muppets. As a whole, this movie is OK. It’s not their best work, but it’s far from their worst. Believe me, the Muppets would go on to do much worse than this film. At least in this film, our characters still seem like themselves despite a faulty script. So long as Kermit is still himself and the rest of the Muppets are still themselves, I’m in a good place. Despite the problems this movie has, I still like it! I enjoy it a lot! The good stuff is more than likeable, and the bad stuff is fun to make fun of. If you don’t like this movie, I can understand why; the story and script are just too strange for the Muppets. However, it’s also understandable why you may like this movie. The Muppets are still the Muppets. They’re still entertaining, they’re still loveable, and they’re still relatable. Take it for what it is.

MOVIE REVIEWS: Muppet Treasure Island (Brian Henson, 1996)

It’s hard to talk about this film without comparing it to the last Muppet movie. I know they’re two different stories, but if you focus on the productions you’ll discover they’re almost the same movie. Both films were made by Walt Disney Pictures and Jim Henson Productions. They’re both based on novels written by English authors from the nineteenth century. The Muppets share the spotlight with a famous English actor. They both open the exact same way, with camera trucking backwards and zooming out of the sky as the credits role. Even the credits are the same – almost everyone from the last movie is back to reprise their role on this film. This movie has the same producers, director, production designer, director of photography, editor, writer – they’re all here! There’s certainly a lot to consider regarding this film, especially since it reminds me a lot of The Muppet Christmas Carol. If I can be honest now, I think the Christmas film is far better. I remember loving the mess out of this movie when I was in high school, but now I just see it as a good movie. It’s good, but not great or amazing. Even having that being said, I’d say this film is on the lesser side of good. It’s an enjoyable movie, but there are some elements that get in the way of the film being great.

STORY: The story is the Muppet’s version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale Treasure Island. Like the last film, the plot is based on one that had already existed for over 100 years. Unlike the last movie, this film isn’t as serious or dramatic. It does have a lot of darker themes and moments, but it doesn’t shy away from some lighthearted comedy. We’ll get to that later, of course. I’m not familiar with Stevenson’s story, but I understand this movie follows the book pretty closely.
There are 2 moments in the story that I do have to address, however. The first takes place after Blind Pew gives Billy Bones the black spot and leaves his tavern. I heard someone ask how come he didn’t come with his band of pirates the first time…Yeah, that’s a good question! Why didn’t Blind Pew have his gang with him the first time he went into the tavern instead of coming and leaving and coming again? Did he realize that by doing that, he gave Billy Bones a chance to run away? Unless he had a plan regarding that, I don’t know if he thought that all the way through. The second moment I wonder about is after Polly, Clueless Morgan, and Mad Monty broke out of the ship’s jail. Did anyone ever question how they got out? I’m pretty sure Captain Smollett did not intend to keep them in time-out for what they did. They didn’t break an expensive vase – they tortured 2 shipmates! I’m positive Smollett meant to keep them in jail for the rest of the voyage…And yet they’re walking and roaming as freely as they please after they get Mr. Arrow’s keys. No one questioned that? No one wondered why or how they got out? No one wondered if their release from jail had anything to do with Mr. Arrow’s disappearance?…No?…OK…
I think one of the biggest themes of this story is knowing what to value. Jim Hawkins valued honesty, purity, friends, family, and adventure. Because of that, he not only got what he wanted but he also gained more. He got the adventure he was longing for, and he got a much larger family. He and his new family also gained riches. They were able to row back home with a ship full of gold. Long John Silver, on the other hand, longed for the gold and riches. He was willing to kidnap a boy, take over the Hispaniola, and hang a frog and a pig over their death to get gold. Where did it get him? Jail. And when he broke out of that place, he nearly drowned and found himself on an island with no riches. If we value the purest and best things of life, the rewards will come to us. If we become selfish and greedy, however, we’ll be trapped and worse than we were before.

CHARACTERS: I know I won’t get to everybody. I’m only writing about those who played integral characters in the story.
1) Tim Curry as Long John Silver – A lot of people consider Curry to be the best live-action human star to perform in a Muppet movie…Yeah, that sounds about right! He’s over the top, he’s enjoyable, he’s entertaining, he sings, he has a soft spot that makes him loveable – he’s perfect for this movie! He basically is a live-action Muppet! What makes his character loveable is his connection with Jim. Yes, he uses him as a ploy to get the treasure, but he still genuinely likes Jim. He does care for him. He doesn’t want anything bad to happen to him. He protects him from harm. He respects him. He has fun with him. The two are friends, but Silver’s greed for treasure puts conflict between them. Curry conveys that so greatly. Throw in his always enjoyable over-the-top performance, and we are set!…By the way, did you ever notice he often rolls his eyes or looks up when he laughs? That’s hilarious!

2) Kermit the Frog as Captain Abraham Smollett – There’s not a lot I can say here. It’s Kermit acting like Kermit, but in a sea captain’s uniform. It’s not as charming as his performance as Bob Cratchit, but it works alright here. I think my favorite moment with Kermit comes toward the end of the movie when he fights Tim Curry. He has a tattoo on his chest – how is that not hilariously cool?!? I love it!

3) Fozzie Bear as Squire Trelawney – Since I didn’t talk about Fozzie in the last review, I thought I should mention him here. He’s…OK. Fozzie’s here to not only give our main characters a boat to set sail on, but mostly to deliver comic relief. I do find the things Fozzie says and does funny. However, I do have to admit that there’s not much logic to his humor. If his company deals with boats, why doesn’t he know what the ocean is? He refers to it as “the big blue wet thing.” And…how in the world did the filmmakers come up with “Mr. Bimbo?!” Fozzie has a tiny man that lives in his finger named Mr. Bimbo. WHAT?!? What the crud sense does that make? The obvious joke here is that Fozzie is funny because he’s stupid. While Fozzie wasn’t always the “quickest” Muppet, he wasn’t stupid. That’s a lesser form of comedy geared toward children…So, is it wrong that I find some of this stuff funny?…I don’t know, but I laugh anyway. Fozzie’s character does get me to smile, even though there is not much sense to his humor.

4) Sam the Eagle as Mr. Samuel Arrow – This may be one of my favorite Muppet castings ever! It’s so perfect! Sam the Eagle is already a tight, pompous stick-in-the-mud who demands order and dignity, and that is exactly what he does in this role. His attention to detail and making sure that everything is done right is spot on! I love the humor we get from him! His early dialogue with Smollett is fantastic, but we’ll get to that later. It’s great to see Sam the Eagle in a bigger role in a movie. We didn’t get that in the other Muppet films, so it’s really good to see him take up more screen time here! I love it, and I love him!

5) Kevin Bishop as Jim Hawkins – Bishop actually makes a good Jim Hawkins in this film. We see how honest and virtuous he is. We sympathize with his yearning for adventure. We understand his character. I also like how natural Bishop is when connecting with the Muppets. He makes it look so realistic, like they are all normal, everyday people. He never winks to the camera or gives the impression that this isn’t real. It’s as if Bishop has always known these characters – these people, and the chemistry he has with them is genuine. I love that!

SONGS/MUSIC: The music in this movie is memorable, but it doesn’t stand out in comparison to other Muppet songs. First of all, the score is composed by Hans Zimmer. You heard me praise his talents and contributions to The Lion King, and he does a good job here. This score isn’t as impressive or grand as it was in the other movie, but it’s good. The songs are brought to us by pop songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil…Oh boy. I’m not upset because of Mann or Weil, I’ve never heard any of their songs outside of this movie. It’s just that…They’re pop songwriters. Modern pop music is hit and miss for me…More so of a miss. Every now and then I hear a good pop song, but more than often I hear pop songs that remind me why I’m not a fan of that particular genre. But this isn’t modern pop music – this is ’90s pop music! So that means these songs will be better!…Right?
1) Shiver My Timbers: This is the best song in the movie, in my opinion! It opens the movie perfectly! It begins the story epically! It sets the tone! I love how dark it is. This is clearly different from your typical Muppet song. We’re not in the Rainbow Connection anymore, folks. We are in Dead Man’s Chest burying and killing for doubloons! Yes, we still see snakes and crabs tell the story, but at one point we see skulls! There are singing skulls in this number! YES!!! I love it!

2) Something Better: Ah, yes. The Disney song of Jim Henson/Muppet movies. Here we have our lead character singing about how he wants more out of life…Yeah, Disney did that for the Muppets before they even bought them. Really, this song is OK. It sounds grand and we learn what Jim wants. If it didn’t sound like every other Disney “I Want” song, I think I’d like this number a lot more.

3) Sailing for Adventure: This is a fun, campy number. It’s enjoyable and funny. My only problem with it is that it can be too kiddy friendly. The lyrics serve as entertainment to the kids. They’re lighthearted, they’re silly, they’re simple, and they’re silly. There’s nothing wrong with that necessarily, but the Muppets are not just kids’ entertainment. The Muppets are for everybody! When I hear this obviously kiddy song, I get annoyed. If you’re looking for a kiddy Muppet song, this number is for you.

4) Cabin Fever: …What in the world? I don’t know what to say…What does this number have to do with anything?! It comes out of nowhere and has nothing to do with anything! If you took this song out of the movie, what do you lose? The story still goes on, and we still understand and relate to these characters. It doesn’t match with the tone the film was originally going for. In fact, would you believe that this song and “Shiver My Timbers” were in the same movie? I don’t know that I do. As a stand alone song, it’s fun and silly – it’s OK. As a song in a musical version of Treasure Island…WHAT?!?

5) Professional Pirate: I feel the same way about this number that I feel about “Sailing for Adventure.” I do like this number more, though, because (1) it has a darker tone and (2) it features Tim Curry! Yeah, the other number did too, but for only one stanza. Here, Curry has an entire song, and he hams it up big time! I can deal!

6) Boom Shakalaka: I really like this number! I love how it builds and builds in production. Not only does the sound get bigger and bigger, but the visual grows more as well. It becomes quite the production number, and it’s kind of impressive how big it is! I enjoy it!

7) Love Led Us Here: I don’t like this song. At all. I can’t stand it. First of all, Kermit and Piggy are singing a pretty ballad about how love led them back to each other…as they are literally hanging over their deaths…HUH?!? That doesn’t work! It doesn’t match! What about the sequence of events prior to this moment said that this number was warranted? We don’t always need to force a love song in our movies if they don’t belong! Second of all, how come we keep cutting back from Kermit and Piggy hanging over a cliff to Long John Silver and the pirates burying themselves in treasure? What do those moments have to do with each other? Did love lead them to the gold? I DON’T GET IT!! Nope! I refuse to accept this song! I don’t like it!

PUPPETRY: The puppetry in this film is good. Unfortunately, there’s nothing groundbreaking or impressive like there was in the other Muppet films. We’re not seeing anything here that we haven’t seen before, and there’s nothing here to challenge our suspense of disbelief. This is something the other Muppet movies were so good at doing! Even The Muppet Christmas Carol gave us those incredible looking ghosts. This film doesn’t offer that much. Some of the Muppets made for this film can blink, but that’s about it…OK, Floyd could already do that, and so could a lot of the other Muppets. What’s the big deal. Along with that, I think I see a lot more rod in this movie than I’ve seen in any other Muppet movie. I can often spot the rods controlling the Muppets’ arms, and that keeps me from feeling as though these characters are alive and living. As a whole, I guess it’s not bad. I just wanted something that would continue to challenge us – something grand and amazing.

MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND, 1996, © Buena Vista Pictures /

COMEDY: I’ve been hinting at the comedy, but let’s finally talk about it. The comedy is…OK. When a joke is legitimately funny, it’s great. I hinted at some of the early dialogue Mr. Arrow had with Smollett:
MR. ARROW: …Any man caught dawdling will be shot on sight.
SMOLLETT: Uh, I didn’t say that.
MR. ARROW: I was just paraphrasing.
I LOVE that stuff! It’s dark, it’s ironic, and it’s funny! I also think the roll call scene that takes place after “Sailing for Adventure” is hilarious! When will you ever hear a name like “Big Fat Ugly Bug Face Baby Eating O’Brien?” That is so awesome!
Where the comedy dies is when it gets juvenile. When the Muppets are just being themselves and/or serving the story, the humor is fine. But when they do something especially for the little ones in the audience, it gets annoying. A great example of that is whenever the Muppets refer to pop culture. Gonzo makes reference to the NBA. Polly Lobster mentions Disney Land…or World. Piggy talks about the shopping channel – it doesn’t make sense. A lot of kids’ movies were doing this in the ’90s, making reference to modern pop culture if the story took place hundreds of years ago. It was clever in Aladdin (Ron Clements and John Musker, 1992) because it was unique and different. But when EVERYBODY started doing this in their children’s movies, it got old.
I’m torn here. The comedy isn’t bad. Even some of the juvenile jokes can get a laugh, like the stuff with Fozzie. But the Muppets should not focus on being merely for kids. When they do, their humor is awkward and bad. When they make a joke that supports the story or is consistent with the Muppet spirit, it’s great! It’s a treat to watch and listen to. So, yeah, the humor is OK overall.

CONCLUSION: I do like this film. It’s a nice movie. I do like the darker elements and themes that are explored in this film, and I love the Muppets. I love it when they do something that is consistent to the Jim Henson/Muppet spirit. Tim Curry is a perfect collaborator for the Muppets, and Kevin Bishop helps suspend our disbelief. But the songs can be too childish, the puppetry isn’t as sophisticated or adult as it has been in the past Muppet movies, and the comedy is lacking. If this film hadn’t relied on childish antics, it’d be a better film. As it is, it’s still entertaining. It’s fun, and it’s enjoyable. I just like other Muppet movies more. And, yes, The Muppet Christmas Carol is a much better movie. If you like this film better than the Christmas Carol, that’s fine. However, the Christmas film is better than this film. That film knew when to provide comedy and when to let a moment be dark. The songs supported the film and the story, and there was advanced puppetry along with the characters we all know and love. It was a more focused movie. This one kind of felt cluttered. As a whole, though, it’s nice. It’s a nice movie. I just have my own reservations about it.

MOVIE REVIEWS: The Muppet Christmas Carol (Brian Henson, 1992)

Happy Christmas in July, folks! Let’s keep the reviews going! After the release of The Muppets Take Manhattan, Jim Henson continued to keep himself, his team, and his Muppets busy. They made 2 more theatrical movies, Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (Ken Kwapis, 1985) and Labyrinth (Jim Henson, 1986). (Again, I consider both of these Muppet movies, but I can’t review them since I haven’t seen them yet.) They created television shows such as Muppet Babies (Jim Henson, 1984-1991), The Storyteller (Jim Henson, 1988-1990), and The Jim Henson Hour (Jim Henson, 1989). Their TV specials included The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (Peter Harris, 1986), A Muppet Family Christmas (Peter Harris and Eric Till, 1987), Sesame Street: 20 Years and Still Counting (Peter Harris, 1989), and The Muppets and Walt Disney World (Peter Harris, 1990). The latter was the first collaboration between Jim Henson’s company and the Walt Disney company. At the time, Henson was working on a deal to sell his company to Disney for $100 million. However, the very weekend that deal was going to go through, Henson passed away. He was only 53-years-old on May 16, 1990. As you can imagine, it was very hard and shocking for people all over the world to hear this – to this day people mourn over his passing.

The Jim Henson Company believed, however, that they should continue making more productions. After releasing The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (Don Mischer, 1990), the Muppets, who stayed with the Jim Henson Company, promised they would keep making more Muppet stuff. They made some television shows such as Dinosaurs (Michael Jacobs and Bob Young, 1991-1994) and Dog City (Jim Henson Productions, 1992-1994), and they opened an amusement park movie at Walt Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Muppet*Vision 3-D (Jim Henson, 1991). (This was the last Muppet project Jim Henson worked on, but he passed before it came out of post-production.) But it was time to have Kermit and his friends make another appearance on the big screen. Enter The Muppet Christmas Carol! This film was unique for the Muppets at the time because it was the first time the Muppet characters were appearing as people other than themselves. They still embodied the spirit and personality of our favorite characters, but the idea was that they were playing other people. Kermit is playing the role of Bob Cratchit; Miss Piggy is his wife, Emily; et cetera. This is definitely a favorite of mine! As I said in my Top 10 Favorite Muppet Productions list, my family and I watch this every Christmas. The songs are great, the characters are wonderful, the adaptation is good – it is an overall great movie! It was made in the memory of Henson himself, as well as late Muppet performer Richard Hunt. Hunt, who passed away in 1992, performed a lot of the famous Muppet characters such as Scooter, Janice, Statler, Beaker, and Sweetums on The Muppet Show; Gladys the Cow, Don Music, and one of the heads of the Two-Headed Monster on Sesame Street; Junior Gorg on Fraggle Rock; and many others. But I’ve gone on long enough – let’s finally get on to the review!

STORY AND THEMES & MESSAGES: The story is…the story of A Christmas Carol. There aren’t too many differences between this film and the original Charles Dickens novel. The Muppets tell the classic story in a respectful and truthful way. There are some changes, of course. For example, Jacob Marley is joined by his brother Robert, allowing both Statler and Waldorf to be in the film. Ebenezer Scrooge didn’t worked for Fezziwig; he instead worked for Fozziwig, played by Fozzie Bear (a pun executed at just the right time). We never see Scrooge’s sister in the film. Rather than waiting to show his new redemptive spirit to Bob Cratchit the day after Christmas, Scrooge goes to Cratchit’s house on Christmas Day. The Ghost of Christmas Present isn’t grim like he was in the novel, but is jolly, cheerful, and joyous instead – he’s like Santa Claus. These changes don’t hurt or disrespect Dickens’ tale at all, though. The story and themes are still present, and the Muppets do not shy away from the dark elements.
There are a couple of scenes that could have been better, however. These are moments that are key moments in the story that could have been better in the film. The first is the Marley’s telling Scrooge about the 3 spirits. This is one of the most important scenes in the story because it sets the rest of the tale in motion. Jacob Marley tells Scrooge (1) that unless he changes his ways his fate will be much worse than Marley’s, and (2) 3 spirits will come to haunt him. This is a big and important scene, and should not be rushed. However, it is rushed in this movie. Jacob and Robert Marley get this information out in 36 seconds! The most important plot device of the story is rushed and jammed into 36 seconds! I love the “Marley and Marley” song, as you’ll see later, but it shouldn’t take the front seat to the plot! The other scene is probably more important than this one, and it shows Scrooge’s new perspective of life. It’s the scene where he walks in the cemetery and sees his name on a tombstone. I don’t know if I believe his breakdown. It sounds like an actor trying to be sad. I don’t know if I understand what led him to say these things to the ghost. One reason I feel this way is because I don’t think this scene is big enough. Think of other adaptations of A Christmas Carol. Usually we see Scrooge being forced into his casket 6 feet under. Here, he just cries and grabs ahold the ghost. I’m not saying that can’t be emotional, but it’s not that effective here. It’s just not big or powerful enough for me to be invested in his change. Those are really the only two scenes regarding the story that could have been better.
It is interesting to see the Muppets share a spotlight with someone here. In the earlier movies, the Muppets were the stars and live-action human actors would be in the background. Here, the focus is on a live-action human star, Michael Caine, and the Muppets are in the background. That’s not a bad thing, though. It works. In all honesty, I can’t think of a Muppet who could accurately play the role of Scrooge.
The world created in this movie is also something to admire. The filmmakers worked hard to make the audience believe live-action humans and Muppets could live together in this environment. It totally works! I love it! I love seeing them walk side by side together and live in the same neighborhoods. It’s a world where literally anything can happen. When all of the supernatural elements with the spirits take place, I believe that can happen in this world. It’s a great compliment to the hard work and attention to detail the filmmakers invested.
One of the messages I get from A Christmas Carol is redemption. It is never impossible for anyone to change. This story conveys that message so wonderfully and beautifully. It does not matter how a person may appear or how cruel they are – anyone and everyone can change. I also like the theme of gratefulness. Bob Cratchit and his family do not have much at all, but they’re still happy and content with life. We don’t ever hear Bob, Emily, Tiny Tim, or the other children complain about not having enough or wanting more. That’s quite uplifting and inspiring.
Another thing I love about this film and its story is that it is simple. It is easy to follow. The Muppets don’t try to tell the story of A Christmas Carol with big and flashy musical numbers or lights. The production is simple. The execution looks simple. There isn’t such thing as a simple Muppet movie due to everything that goes into making one, but the fact that it looks simple and genuine and pure causes me to get sucked into the Christmas spirit the film is trying to convey. This is something earlier Muppet Christmas specials used to do excellently: convey the spirit of Christmas through simplicity. I love it, and it works so well!

CHARACTERS: Since the Muppets are retelling a classic story, I thought it’d be best to talk about the characters they play.
1) Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge – A lot of people consider Caine to be one of the best Scrooges that ever came to film. I don’t know if that’s because they view him as a great actor or because he was one of the first Scrooges they saw. I think Caine makes a good Scrooge. He can convey the heartless side of him and his intimidating presence alright. However, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think some of his performance was phoned in. There are a lot of times I watch him and think to myself, “He’s not trying.” I don’t know why that is – maybe he didn’t take the role or the film seriously since he was acting alongside Muppets. Maybe he didn’t want to be in a film that was viewed as a children’s film. I don’t know why, but I can’t buy him as Scrooge throughout a lot of the film. The other times, however, he does win me over. I often am able to look at the screen and say, “I don’t see Michael Caine. I see Scrooge.” He could have been better, but he’s not awful.

2) Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit – Kermit did capture me as a perfect Bob Cratchit. This had to have been the easiest casting choice for the filmmakers. Bob Cratchit actually does remind me of Kermit. They’re both so humble, honest, loving, truthful, reliable, and caring. I don’t know who else in the Muppet universe would have been more fit and more perfect as Bob Cratchit.

3) Miss Piggy as Emily Cratchit – Piggy must have enjoyed being able to play Kermit’s wife in this film! Of course, we do see Piggy in the role, so we’re still able to enjoy this character. I guess my only complaint is that she was not on screen very long. I know there probably isn’t anything that could have been done to extend the role if the filmmakers wanted to create a faithful adaptation of the story, but Miss Piggy is one of our favorite fictional leading ladies! I’d like to spend as much time with her as possible! Again, this isn’t a problem they could have fixed, and I am glad I got to see her. I just wish I could have seen more of her.

4) Gonzo the Great as Charles Dickens – A lot of people think the casting of Gonzo as Charles Dickens was a wonderful attribution to the story because it’s one of things that makes this version one of the most faithful adaptations of the original novel. I feel the same way. I love that Gonzo recites the narration Dickens wrote. However, that’s not what I think of first when I see Charles Dickens in this movie. I see a more reserved Gonzo. At times he takes part in crazy stunts and silliness, but most of his time on screen is spent keeping order and balance of the story. He’s the storyteller, and he focuses more on being the serious and omniscient ruler of everything. I find that quite fascinating. Also, his pairing with Rizzo is amazing! The two bounce off of each other perfectly! I don’t want to talk about Rizzo much since he doesn’t play a character from the book, but just know I think he’s cool.

5) Robin the Frog as Tiny Tim – Robin is just a gem! I don’t know what all to say about him, but that’s just because he’s too good! Like Kermit as Bob Cratchit, I can’t see anyone else perfect for the role of Tiny Tim than Robin. He refuses to frown or look at the downside of life. He has so much joy and passion for life even though his life may soon come to an end. He is so inspiring and perfect for the role, it’s impossible to find a better Tiny Tim anywhere!

It’s also quite clever that there are quite a few Muppet cameos in this film. Rowlf is playing the piano at Fozziwig’s party. The Electric Mayhem is also playing at the party. We see the Swedish Chef for a brief moment, the baby band, the snowman from A Muppet Family Christmas, and we even see Sprocket from Fraggle Rock! He may be my favorite cameo.

SONGS AND MUSIC: The score was written by Miles Goodman, and the songs were written by Paul Williams. Williams, if you remember, co-wrote the songs for the first Muppet movie. The music in this film is absolutely perfect! I can’t think of another movie that has music that perfectly sounds like Christmas! It literally sounds like Christmas as soon as the music plays. And these songs left a permanent and memorable stamp in the history of Muppet songs! They all work so well! Let’s talk about them!
1) Scrooge: As you can guess by the title, this song introduces us to Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge. It’s a good introduction to his character. Since this film introduced a lot of people to the “Christmas Carol” story, this song introduced a lot of people to Scrooge. We hear how mean and nasty he is. What’s interesting is that the music can sound a bit intimidating, in the sense that you can tell this is a bad man, but it never gets too dark. The music is still somewhat enjoyable and pretty. Perhaps it indicates that this bad man will have redemption later…Maybe. Who knows? I don’t care. I love this song!

2) One More Sleep ’til Christmas: This song accurately expresses how all of us feel the night of Christmas Eve. Let’s face it, Christmas excites us all, and we anticipate that day the most on Christmas Eve. We can’t wait for the goodness and laughter and cheer and joy and everything that the blessed holiday engulfs. Kermit sings that so wonderfully here, and it gets us all excited for the holiday. I enjoy this song. It’s good.

3) Marley and Marley: THIS song is awesome! First of all, it has Statler and Waldorf singing! YES!! Second of all, this number is the darkest song in the film. You have ghosts talking about a man’s mortality and his upcoming death unless he changes. The tone makes this song great! The lyrics are also clever and memorable. I can sing these words all day long! “As freedom comes from giving love, so prison comes with hate!” “So have your fun, when life is done a nightmare waits for you!” Those lines stick with you! I also love how it fits the spirit of Jacob Marley’s character. Marley is warning Scrooge that he’ll end up dead and bound in chains like him if he doesn’t turn his life around. The Marleys tells him what kind of men they were and what consequences they faced in the afterlife. This song embodies that so perfectly, and I love it so much for that!

4) When Love is Gone: I don’t like this number. It’s not that I think it’s a bad song. I do think this number is actually clever; Scrooge’s former love is telling him their relationship is over because he put material things over her. What I don’t like is the singer. Why the crud is Meredith Braun singing this so pretty? She’s ending a relationship with someone she was in love with. Shouldn’t that make her sad? You wouldn’t know that looking at her, though, because she smiles throughout the entire song! Why the crud is she smiling?! Did she think Belle didn’t really like Scrooge? Was she secretly cheating on him and looking for an excuse to leave him? SHE SHOULD NOT BE GLAD ABOUT THIS!!! If it wasn’t for the performance of this song, I’d like it more. I do respect it, but Braun’s performance of it isolates me.

5) It Feels Like Christmas: If the rest of the music in the movie sounds like Christmas, this song sounds like Christmas is hugging you! I don’t know if I have ever heard of a song that sounds more like the wonderful holiday than this song! I love that this song celebrates Christmas and talks about the unbelievable impact the holiday has on all of us. It is a delightful and joyous song. It puts a smile on my face, and it gets me excited for Christmas!

6) Bless Us All: This song is a gem! Its smooth melody and humbling lyrics make this song so precious and beautiful. It has such an overwhelming amount of peace to it. What I find most interesting about the song is that it’s a prayer. The Muppets are praying for God’s blessing over their lives and their family. I love that! I love the seriousness and dignity they give this moment. I also love the simplicity to this musical number. If this song were written for a modern Christmas special, the filmmakers would have tried to make it flashy and spectacular, or they would have tried to make it super serious. Here, the filmmakers don’t go over the top. They create simple staging and let the song speak for itself. That is film at its best. I love this song!

7) Thankful Heart: “One More Sleep ’til Christmas” celebrated the anticipation of Christmas. “It Feels Like Christmas” celebrated the holiday and the impact it has. This number celebrates the themes and emotions of the Christmas season. This celebrates the wonderful feelings we all get around Christmas: gratefulness, joy, love, compassion – it’s just great! All in all, these songs in their own unique way helped us realize and remember why this time of year is so great. They embrace the holiday season so much, there is no way you can deny it is Christmas whenever you watch this film – no matter what time of year it is!

PUPPETRY: The puppetry in this film is pretty good. There aren’t too many scenes or moments that push the envelope or challenge the audience’s suspension of disbelief, but the puppetry is still very good. The characters move with humanistic grace as always, and we do have a scene with the rats that reminds me of the rat scat scene from The Muppets Take Manhattan. However, the places the puppetry really shines is the appearance of the 3 ghosts. The Ghost of Christmas Past was achieved through green screen and water. She looks like something from another world, but I love her because of that. The Ghost of Christmas Present was performed the same way the gorgs from Fraggle Rock were: one performer was in the suit of the Muppet controlling the body, while Jerry Nelson performed his voice and controlled his mouth and face by radio control. I wish they made more Muppets like this nowadays – I don’t mind the technically advanced Muppets. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come…is something I have no idea how they achieved. I don’t dare guess how they made that one work, but the character looks great! These guys look fantastic!

COMEDY: For a lot of people, this film doesn’t feel like a traditional Muppet film because there isn’t as much comedy. Rather than make an outrageous version of A Christmas Carol where the Muppets’ personalities got in the way, the film has a serious and dramatic tone. That doesn’t “bother” me as much as it does other people since I grew up with this film and accepted what I was given early on. I do put quotations around “bother” because while I know people compare the amount of comedy in this film to the comedy in the other films, I don’t know anyone who hated the film because of it.
All of that being said, there is still some really good comedy in this film. Most of it comes from our narrators, Gonzo and Rizzo. I don’t know whose idea it was to pair these two together, but it works so wonderfully here! Their comic timing and execution is all too perfect! I love the moment where Rizzo jumps over Scrooge’s fence. I can still recite “Light the lamp, not the rat!” I love watching the two of them travel with Scrooge and the first ghost to the past. Most of the time these two are together, know that it’ll be a funny scene!
Gonzo and Rizzo aren’t the only ones to deliver the laughs, though. I like watching to Piggy’s reaction to Ebenezer Scrooge’s confrontation with Kermit toward the end of the film. Statler and Waldorf…What can I say? It’s frickin’ Statler and Waldorf – you know they’ll deliver! My favorite joke in the film, however, has got to be the joke with Sam the Eagle, who portrays Scrooge’s old schoolmaster. When he tells the boyhood Scrooge about business, he says, “It is the American way!” Gonzo whispers in his ear to correct him, only for Sam to respond with, “Oh. It is the British way!” That is hilarious! I don’t know why it look me until now to figure out that it’s almost the same joke I mentioned in my review of The Great Muppet Caper, but it is absolutely wonderful! When the movie needs to be funny, the filmmakers and the Muppets know just what to do, when to do it, and how to do it!

CONCLUSION: This is a fantastic and wonderful movie! I don’t know too many people who would disagree with me on that. It’s not the best adaptation to Charles Dickens’ classic tale, but it’s certainly a good one and one of the most memorable versions. It’s allows the spirit of Christmas to breathe throughout the entire film due to the simplicity the film achieved. The story is the same as the tale we all know and love. Our favorite characters do a marvelous job recreating and being faithful to the story. The songs are perfect. The puppetry has not lost its touch. The comedy is still memorable and enjoyable. I don’t know how it was perceived when it was first released in theaters, but being almost the same age as this film I can say I love this film just the way it is. There may be a few problems here and there, but I really would not want this film changed any other way. It’s the Christmas special we all get sucked into year after year, and thus it’ll live on forever. Thank you, you wonderful and blessed movie! Merry Christmas!

MOVIE REVIEWS: The Muppets Take Manhattan (Frank Oz, 1984)

Hello family! Please forgive me everyone; I know I’ve been on a long hiatus, for which I apologize. But I am back and ready to continue reviewing movies! Where were we?…Oh, yes! Muppet movies! Well, the Muppets continued producing great productions after The Great Muppet Caper. From their TV shows like Fraggle Rock (Jim Henson, 1983-1987) to TV specials like The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show (Jim Henson, 1982) to movies like The Dark Crystal (Jim Henson and Frank Oz, 1982), Henson and this team kept the Muppets busy. I do consider The Dark Crystal a Muppet movie, but since I haven’t seen it before I can’t review. However, it seemed as though Kermit, Piggy, and the gang were due for another movie when 1984 rolled around. The Muppets Take Manhattan was definitely a different tone a Muppet film. This is because this film was under the direction of Frank Oz. Even though Oz was Henson’s closest collaborator, there are distinct differences in how they create comedy. You’ll see more of that throughout this review.

STORY AND THEMES & MESSAGES: The story, in my opinion, is fine. I don’t really have a problem with it. It’s kind of like the story of The Muppet Movie, only more realistic and fuller. The Muppets are trying to make it big on Broadway with a musical called “Manhattan Melodies.” They realize, however, that breaking into Broadway is no easy feat (which is interesting – it’s much easier to get a Hollywood contract than getting on Broadway…Hmm…). Kermit feels the stress and pressure of trying to make a dream come true as well as taking care of his friends. The other Muppets notice this, and agree to leave and ease Kermit’s stress. Kermit remains in New York to try to get “Manhattan Melodies” produced. Eventually, it is picked up by a producer, and the gang is able to come back and put on the show!…Oh, and Kermit gets hit by a car and winds up with amnesia…OK.
The story isn’t what I have a problem with. The set up, on the other hand, doesn’t rub me the right way. Why the crud are the Muppets recent college grads? At the top of the film, they’re all in their senior year of college. HUH?!? Kermit’s been around since 1955; Rowlf has existed since the early 1960s, and the other characters came into existence in the 1970s. Are we really supposed to believe these characters who were so adult and mature and lived for a long time were really young enough to have graduated from college in 1984?! No? Then why give us that scenario in this film? That’s just so odd! I can’t believe these characters are all in their early 20s! That’s so bizarre!
On top of that, do Kermit and Jenny have sort of a love connection here? There are two reasons this is so weird. One, of course, Kermit and Piggy are already in a relationship with each other. Two, Jenny supposedly just got out of high school! True, she doesn’t look 18 (a product of 1980s and early 1990s films), but she says she’s applying to college which implies she’s out of high school. If Kermit just graduated college and Jenny graduated from high school, doesn’t that make their love interest…disturbing? I don’t feel good about it!
What really baffles me, however, is the message! There are a number of themes in the film. One is the importantance of being true to yourself. All of the steps we saw of Kermit’s 3-part plan made him change his personality. When he had to pretend to be something he wasn’t, things did not work out for him. When he was himself, his situation got better. This message works well enough, but I want to address the big one mentioned toward the end of the film. Right before the Muppets go onstage, Fozzie asks Kermit if their new friends can watch the show from backstage. Kermit responds by having them perform in the show instead, saying, “That’s what’s been missing from the show! That’s what we need! MORE frogs and dogs and chickens and bears and WHATEVER!” Of course, it’s cliché and ridiculous to have people perform in a show they’ve never seen or rehearsed, but let’s look at something else. Is that the message we’re supposed to get from the film, that we need to include more people (especially a diverse group of people) in our work? It’s a nice message, but how did the movie support it? Why did Kermit need MORE people? And he said there was something wrong with the script; this issue is just a production or a company problem. I don’t get it.

HUMAN CHARACTERS AND CAMEOS: This should be quick.
1) Jenny – There’s not much to say about her. Jenny is not an interesting character. She’s nice and kind, but there’s not much character to her. Aside from being a fashion designer and having a possible love connection with Kermit, I hardly remember anything about. She does help the plot and moves the story along, but she bores me.

2) Ronnie – Ronny is kind of like Max from the first movie, but without the comedy. He’s weak and puny, and he always has to answer to someone. He does get more power than Max had, though; he actually gets to have his way. He does have more of a character than Jenny had. He’s not entertaining or that memorable, but there’s more to him then there was to Jenny.

3) Pete – THIS guy is hilarious! I love Pete! He’s just so entertaining to watch and be with! I don’t know if that’s because of how Pete was written or because of how the actor portrayed him, but Pete is great! What I love most about him is his speeches that have nothing to do with anything! They are so funny, and everyone’s reaction to them are funny as well! Go Pete!

The cameos are sort of a blend between the cameos in the first Muppet film and the second film. Some of the cameo stars have a purpose, and some of them don’t. Dabney Coleman, for example, is the con artist who tries to rip off the Muppets. Art Carney is Bernard Crawford, a Broadway producer and the father of Ronnie. The rest of the cameos include Brook Shields, Frances Bergen, John Landis, Joan Rivers, Liza Minnelli, Linda Lavin, Elliott Gould, James Coco, Mayor Edward I. Koch, Vincent Sardi, Jr., and Gregory Hines. Hines is probably my favorite cameo star in the film. His scene with Kermit and Piggy is funny – his lack of knowledge in this situation is amusing; plus, he’s a great performer working with my favorite characters. I do love that we see most of the Muppets from Sesame Street! Big Bird’s there, Ernie and Bert and there, Cookie Monster’s there, Oscar and the Count are hiding in the background – most of those characters are there! Even Travelling Max from Fraggle Rock is sitting in one of the pews!…Though, why are they all sitting on the bride’s side? Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock support Miss Piggy? Hmm. OK.

SONGS/MUSIC: The music is one of the best elements in this film! The score was composed by Ralph Burns, but let’s discuss the musical numbers. I love these songs! They are so fun, so catchy, so witty, and so whimsical! They were also nominated for an Oscar! The songs in this film were written by another Sesame Street songwriter, Jeff Moss! Moss contributed other songs from your childhood playlist, like “Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood,” “I Love Trash,” and, of course, “Rubber Duckie!” Let’s go through these songs.
1) Together Again: It’s hard to talk about this song in the context of the story. We don’t know why it’s the finale of “Manhattan Melodies,” and it opens up the movie. What I can say, however, is that this is a very nice song! This is the type of song you’d want to sing or hear when you’re reuniting with old friends. It also sounds like a song from an old and classic type of Broadway musical. I love how the song begins. It starts out very simply with just a piano and Kermit’s vocals over the opening title sequence, followed by a moderate tempo and a mezzo pianissimo volume when Kermit appears on camera. I like the sound of this song.

2) You Can’t Take No for an Answer: I love the style this song is performed in. I love hearing Dr. Teeth’s gruffy voice singing throughout this number. I even love the background vocalists – who the crud even are they? This song does match the spirit of the montage we’re seeing in this scene. This is another song about endurance. The idea is to always pursue your dream despite the obstacles and nay-sayers. Kermit and the gang continue auditioning and trying to sell their musical on Broadway despite all the producers who tell them no and the fact that they’re broke and hungry. It works.

3) Saying Goodbye: I like this song a lot, as it shows the emotional side and heart of the Muppets. I didn’t know, however, that this song made a lot of people sad when they first heard it! Some people even cried! I didn’t cry or get sad when I first heard it, but I can understand why other people did. Folks didn’t want to see their beloved Muppets depart from one another! And the music and lyrics never lighten up, either! This entire song is just a depressing drag. It sounds as sad as it wants you to be! The song achieved exactly what it was aiming for.

4) Rat Scat: Let’s be real, this musical moment has no purpose to the story. There aren’t even any lyrics to this piece! The only reason it’s here is to show off some amazing puppetry (which we’ll get to later). I will say, however, that the music is great! It’s a lot of fun to listen! The jazz music here is more than catchy and memorable. I love the scat that Rizzo does. I don’t care if it doesn’t serve the story; it sounds great and I enjoy it.

5) I’m Gonna Always Love You: Much like “Rat Scat,” this song does not serve the plot. It shows off some outstanding puppetry, and it paves the way for the upcoming television series, Muppet Babies (Jim Henson, 1984-1991). But this song is, again, so great! It is entertaining! I like that a baby Piggy sings about doing adult things from the innocence of an infant. She says she’s “gonna climb the Matterhorn, but only after all [her] children are born, ’cause [she’s] going to be a good mommy too…” She also wants to practice neurosurgery on your brain! The lyrics are clever, the music is great at mimicking 1950s music, and this is just an all around enjoyable piece!

6) Right Where I Belong: Much like “Together Again,” I love how this piece begins. Kermit sings this number with such gentleness and innocence. Kermit not only recognizes his friends again, but he values them and has so much love for each of them. It is very loveable. After the tempo picks up, it continues to be another enjoyable toe-tapper like the rest of the songs in this flick. It’s good.

7) Somebody’s Getting Married: I think of this song as the anthem of engagement songs – whenever someone gets engaged, this song should play! I consider this song a celebration of weddings! The characters are all excited about this important ceremony taking place. Everyone is the town is talking about this wedding. It’s actually quite beautiful to see how much everyone supports weddings. Yeah, this is a great piece!

8) He’ll Make Me Happy: This is such a beautiful piece! If the last song celebrates weddings, this one praises marriage. The message is pure and sweet: there’s no telling what’s to come in the days and years ahead, but so long as these two have each other they’ll be happy. That’s all they need to know. It brings a smile to my face and my spirit. It’s such a lovely song, and I’ll be singing it myself when I get married!

PUPPETRY: I have mixed feelings about the puppetry in this film. It’s not bad, but there are some instances where either the puppeteers, the camera operators, or maybe even the editor become…lazy. I often spot some sign of the puppeteers in this film. After the tempo picks up in “Together Again,” you can see the top of Frank Oz’s head under Miss Piggy. When Fozzie hugs Rowlf and Scooter during “Saying Goodbye,” you see his third arm. When the Muppets first walk into Murray’s office, you see Kermit below his waist and notice he has a sleeve and not legs. When Gonzo gives Camilla CPR, you can see Dave Goelz’s hands operating the arm wires. The other movies were so good at hiding all of that as best they could, and I see these little mistakes throughout the film. Now, that being said, let’s talk about the amazing puppetry that does take place in this film. I already gave them away, but they are worth talking about in more detail. The first is the “Rat Scat” scene. Seeing the rats cooking all over the kitchen is incredible! I know they’re controlled by radio, but it still looks amazing. One rat is skating on a grill with butter, another is pouring pancake mix on the stove, and watching all of them work without any rods or performer under them is an impressive feat. The only other scene to top it is the “I’m Gonna Always Love You” number, featuring the Muppet Babies! This is absolutely mind blowing! I have no idea how the performers pulled this off! This film was released over 30 years ago, and it still blows me away! Sure, Kermit was radio controlled when he rode his tricycle, but I have no idea how they did everything else! They don’t look like they’re being radio controlled when they’re in the crib, when Fozzie’s sitting on the window sill, or when Rowlf is playing with his Big Bird toy. How in the world did they do all of this? This is what I love about these earlier Muppet films – they challenged us with their limitless creativity. I love that! It is outstanding!

COMEDY: The comedy in this movie is good. It’s not as good as the jokes from the first 2 films, but it’s still entertaining. This is obviously due to the fact that Frank Oz was in charge of this project. His humor is more subdued and reserved than Jim Henson’s. I’m more used to Henson’s sense of humor and style of comedy when it comes to the Muppets, so I prefer the humor of the first two movies. That being said, I know that Oz’s comedy style influenced the Muppets early on, but the humor under his direction is different than humor under Henson’s direction.
There aren’t any fourth wall jokes in this film, which I find distracting. I know it seems like a small thing to harp on, but think about it. When the Muppets reminded us we were watching them in a movie, the Muppets became apart of our world. It was as if they were in the theater or the living room with us. Here, we’re creepily watching their story and their lives through a screen or a fourth wall. For a Muppet movie, that’s so odd to me.
The movie does have a lot of jokes in it, but the emphasis isn’t put on the comedy here. In The Great Muppet Caper, the whole film was about making the audience laugh. Here, the emphasis is put on the story, and the jokes support the story. The jokes, like I said, are more reserved than the jokes from the last Muppet film. It’s like the difference between shouting and whispering. One of the jokes in this film, for example, takes place at the beginning of the film after the Muppets tell Kermit that “Manhattan Melodies” should be on Broadway. Gonzo replies, “Broadway of what city?” He says it quick, the other respond quickly, and they move on. Rather than cutting to a close up of Gonzo, this scene is done in a wide shot and in one take. In the last film, a lot of the jokes took their time more. They received more attention, and, again, the emphasis was on those jokes. That’s not to say we don’t have some lengthy jokes with attention in this movie or that we didn’t have quick jokes in the last movie. It’s just that we have more quick jokes here and lengthy jokes in the other film.
I will share some of my favorite jokes in the film, though: (1) Pete’s speeches. Anytime he tells someone “Peoples is peoples,” I can’t help but laugh and smile! (2) “3-D” Fish. When Lew Zealand goes to the 3-D movie, he throws his fish to have the audience think they’re jumping out the screen and into the theater. It looks like a horror scene, but it’s so funny! (3) Janice’s second nude joke. Janice made a reference to being naked in the last movie, and she does it again in this flick. After the gang returns to New York, everyone stops talking only to hear Janice tell Gonzo, “I said to him, ‘Look, I don’t take off my clothes for anyone – even if it is artistic…'” I love that joke so much! (4) Kermit’s rant toward Piggy. Right before “Manhattan Melodies” begins, the Muppets are still trying to get Kermit’s memory back. Piggy tells him he wants to marry and have children with her. Kermit’s reaction to this is outstanding! I love it! You will NEVER hear Kermit say anything like this to Piggy or anyone again, which is part of the reason it’s so funny. The other reason is just because of the words coming out of his mouth. I just can’t help but admire the puns and sarcasm they contain! It is too wonderful!

CONCLUSION: I like this movie. It’s sort of a different tone for the Muppets, but it’s not bad. I’m just too used to the tones set in the first two films. This is a good movie. The story is interesting, the songs are delightful, the puppetry really shines at moments, the comedy is good, and Kermit even has an arc in this film; I like that he has more depth here. I do enjoy watching this movie; it’s just not as good as the some of the other films. But my favorite characters are here to make me laugh, sing great songs, and convey human emotions. So long as I get to see that, I’m in a good place. This is a good movie!

MOVIE REVIEWS: The Great Muppet Caper (Jim Henson, 1981)

The Muppet Movie was amazingly popular. It was the tenth highest grossing movie in 1979, making over $65 million, which would be nearly $217 million today. But the Muppets didn’t stop there. The Muppet Show continued another 2 years on television, Sesame Street was still going strong, they kept producing albums and television specials, and the Muppets continued making special appearances on talk shows. Two years later, it seemed as though the Muppets wanted to make another movie. This picture, directed by Muppets creator Jim Henson, is known as The Great Muppet Caper. I know I said that The Muppet Movie is the best Muppet movie, but this film is my favorite Muppet movie! Not only that, but this is also one of my favorite comedies ever! This film is hilarious! It’s mind blowingly (yes I just made that up) incredible how funny this is! Whereas the first movie had heart and even an artistic edge to accompany the comedy, this film focuses mostly on the comedy. That isn’t to say this film isn’t artistic either, but anyone who watches this will bet the filmmakers wanted to make all of the jokes they could in this film. Let’s get into it.

STORY: The story’s OK. Much like The Muppet Movie, this film has a simple plot. There’s more going on here, but it’s relatively simple. Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo, reporters for a newspaper, fly to England to cover a story surrounding the robbery of fashion designer Lady Holiday. Upon their investigation, they discover that the person behind these robberies is Holiday’s brother Nicky. I don’t think I’m ruining anything when I say that because the movie gives that away pretty early…Actually, that’s kind of my problem with the story. I understand it’s a caper and the story focuses on the heroes figuring out the mystery the audience already knows the answer to. But it takes a while for the heroes to figure out the mystery, and the story drags. Fortunately, the movie is filled with other great and entertaining things to keep the audience interested, but the story does drag and isn’t that captivating.
One of the interesting things about Muppet movies, beginning with this one, is they aren’t connected. They don’t follow a consistent story line; they don’t even really follow the lives of the Muppets. These movies have set a tone where literally anything can happen. If you’re expecting this to be a sequel to the last Muppet film, think again! Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo are reporters for a newspaper, as I said earlier, and they fly to England where they meet the other Muppets at the Happiness Hotel. Piggy meets Kermit in London, where she flew to model for Lady Holiday…What part of that reminds you of the plot of the first movie? The Muppets are meeting for the first time in this film, with the exception of Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo. If you find yourself thinking this is a sequel and demand to know how the Muppets continue to meet over and over again, you’ll be confused and aggravated. However, if you accept the fact the sky is the limit for their films, you’ll have a good time. Really, that’s what these films promise us anyway: a good time. The stories don’t have to be consistent; they focus more so on being entertaining and fun for the audience. That what this story is, and so it’s fine.

HUMAN CHARACTERS AND CAMEOS: There’s not a whole lot to say about the live action human stars in this film, so let’s just hurry up and dive in.
1) Lady Holiday – Lady Holiday is OK. She’s not the most interesting character. There’s not really that much to her character; she’s snoody and pompous because of her riches and title. That’s about it. She’s just not that exciting to be around. With that being said, though, I honestly do like her. I know that sounds odd, but let me explain. First of all, the human characters in a Muppet movie are never supposed to be more compelling or entertaining than the Muppets. We’re not here to see Lady Holiday – who the crud even is she? Bring on the frog! Second of all, there are some moments Lady Holiday stands out a little. She often throws out a very funny line. I laugh at her early in the film when she reviews the outfits for the fashion show. Why in the world did she pour ink on someone’s clothes?! I do like how snoody and pompous she can be. She’s never too mean to the point that you want something bad to happen to her. She’s quite reserved in her pompousness, but it’s played up enough so the audience can enjoy her. Actress Diana Rigg portrayed her well. I like her.

2) Nicky – I actually find Nicky interesting. I love how unsubtle this guy is! Of course we learn within the first 5 minutes that he’s the villain, what with his attire and the music. But when you spend more time with him, you find yourself loving how over the top he is. I enjoy Charles Grodin’s portrayal of him! I love the way he said “And me” at the beginning. I love the way he speaks to his sister in the supper club – mainly when he says, “Thieves aren’t breathing down your neck!” I ADORE how he goes nuts over Miss Piggy! But my favorite part of his performance comes when he frames Piggy after her dream sequence! Listen to his response when Piggy figures out what he’s doing! It’s a riot! I can’t help but love this guy! I can’t really say this is a bad performance necessarily. In fact, you could argue that this is the way the character is supposed to be played. Like I said before, Muppet movies are very aware of themselves, and Nicky comes out and says, “I’m a villain” in the film. He eats up his villainy like candy! We enjoy it because he does!

There aren’t as many cameo guest stars in this film, but they serve more of a purpose here than they did in the last movie. Jack Warden, for example, is Mike Tarkenian, the editor of the newspaper Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo work for. Robert Morley is the British gentlemen by the pond; he’s the one who tells Kermit about the Happiness Hotel. John Cleese refers Piggy and Kermit to the supper club for dinner. Peter Ustinov drives the truck Piggy uses to help get her to the Mallory Gallery. Peter Falk…is just a man who strikes up conversation with Kermit; he’s pretty worthless to the plot. Although, I do like him trying to figure out the story behind the glass slipper Kermit’s holding. Also, Oscar the Grouch makes a quick cameo here! He has 2 lines with Ustinov after he’s thrown in a pile of trashcans. My favorite is either Falk or Oscar – their dialogue is hilarious!

While you may or may not recognize those celebrity guest stars, have you ever noticed any of the other cameos in this film from the Muppet performers? Yes, some of the Muppet performers make quick appearances in the movie without a character on their hand. Richard Hunt can be seen driving Kathryn Mullen in a taxi during the opening number. Frank Oz makes an appearance somewhere behind Gonzo in the office of the Daily Chronicle. Jerry Nelson was the one walking with his daughter in the park when they passed Kermit holding Piggy’s slipper on the bench. And, of course, Jim Henson is in the supper club when Gonzo approaches him and asks to take his picture for $10.

SONGS/MUSIC: The songs in this movie are really good! They serve more of a purpose to the situations here than they did in The Muppet Movie. It’s important to mention that the writer and composer of the songs and score is the late and the great Joe Raposo (1937-1989). In addition to writing music for shows like Three’s Company and The Electric Company, Raposo may be most famous for his musical contributions to Sesame Street. In addition to writing the show’s theme song, he also wrote “ABC-DEF-GHI,” “Bein’ Green,” “C is for Cookie,” “Sing,” and many, many more. Oh, yeah! This guy wrote part of your childhood playlist! Let’s go over his songs for this film.
1) Hey A Movie!/(Reprise): I think Gonzo described this song best at the beginning of the film, “What a fantastic beginning!” This song lets us know we’re in for a good time. We can just focus on being entertained. We all know what kind of film we’re watching. The sole purpose here is to laugh and be entertained. I love it. I love this song!

2) Happiness Hotel: This song is hilarious! Who in their right crudded mind would ever agree to stay at a hotel so awful? The guests stay there like it’s their home? There’s no kitchen or food? The elevator doesn’t work? The building doesn’t even have the right address?! This is the worst place to lodge, and no one is hiding that fact. Yet their blunt honesty and friendly personalities somehow makes this the best place to stay. How in the world this becomes the worst and the best place to stay simultaneously, I don’t know. I love the irony in that, but I mainly love the humor that comes from the lyrics. The song itself is simply funny as crud. It’s a great number!

3) Steppin’ Out With a Star: There’s not a whole lot to say about this number. It’s fun, it’s funny, and it’s catchy. Is it wrong I think of this number as the Muppets’ equivalent to “Movin’ On Up to the East Side?” Maybe, but who cares? I could say more, but I don’t think I need to. This is just an enjoyable Muppet song, and those hardly ever fail. It certainly doesn’t fail here! This song is great!

4) Night Life: I have mixed feelings about this song. It’s not very memorable. This is one of the last songs I think about whenever I name Muppet movie songs. To be fair, though, I don’t think it’s supposed to be that memorable. The song doesn’t draw as much focus and attention as the other songs in this film. In this scene, we’re mainly focused on watching the Muppets get to the supper club. Despite all that, however, this is still a fun song. This is exactly the type of song the Electric Mayhem would perform. The music rocks hard, and Dr. Teeth’s vocals are rough. It’s a nice song, but it’s not the best Muppet movie song.

5) The First Time it Happens: This is such a lovely number. Every element of the song makes it great: the lyrics, the music, the main and background vocalists, the tempo, the progression – everything about the song is delightful. It’s very regal and romantic. I like that; and give this song credit for being nominated for an Oscar. There’s not much else to say except if you haven’t heard this song yet, look it up. The first time it happens, you won’t be disappointed.

(This is the best version I could get.)
6) Couldn’t We Ride: This song is so beautiful to me. If “Movin’ Right Along” is the song we sing when we go on long drives, this is the song we all need to sing when we ride our bikes. It’s just a lovely, peaceful song. It’s like the song you want to sing when you want to forget about your worries for a moment. I love this song in the movie, and I love it just as much as a stand alone song. Raposo really outdid himself!

7) Piggy’s Fantasy: This song, and the scene it’s shown in, teaches us how to fantasize! It’s over the top! It’s big! It’s gorgeous! It’s fancy! Really, it’s played up as one big joke. Even so, the song still sounds amazing! If you took Miss Piggy, the context, and the lyrics away, you would think this music was taken from a ballet or an opera. Based on how these songs sound alone, I’m surprised only one of these songs was nominated for an Oscar. Regardless, this song is just great!

(This is the best version I could get.)

PUPPETRY: It is amazing to me what lengths Jim Henson and his team will go to in order to make these characters real. The puppetry in this film rivals that from The Muppet Movie! There are amazing feats of puppetry performed throughout the entire film, but let me share the two moments that stand out to me the most: (1) The Muppets climbing up the side of the Mallory Gallery. I’m surprised I’ve never heard people talk about this scene. I accepted it as a kid because I knew these characters were real. Now as a young adult, I keep asking myself how this happened whenever I see this scene. Were the characters radio controlled? Were they marionettes? How in the world was this stunt accomplished? Whether I get to figure it out or not, I love that moment! (2) The bicycle scene. Like everyone else, I am blown away by the bicycle scene! It’s so amazing! It’s so incredible! How in the world did the filmmakers think of this? How in the world did they pull it off? Rather than just having the Muppets ride bikes like they had Kermit do in the first movie, now we have Kermit and Piggy riding in circles around each other and Kermit standing up on his bike to perform stunts. That is incredible! This is the type of genius creativity that makes us love the Muppets so much!

COMEDY: I can easily declare the comedy the best element of this film! These jokes are not only funny, but they’re creative and smart! Watching this film as a teenager, I realized the difference between comedy directed to children and adult comedy. Kids don’t often understand everything that’s being said, so most of what they laugh at in family films come from what they see. Youth and adults, however, can understand a lot more, thus they laugh at both what they see and hear. There’s no way I can talk about the comedy in this film without giving some of the jokes away. I’ll only talk about a few of them, but they are hilarious and I am in love with them!
– Kermit and Fozzie are twins. That’s right! In this film, Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear are twins – not just twins, but identical twins! The best way to see the resemblance is when they both wear hats! This joke is so strange and surreal, you can’t help but laugh! It is a creative and hilarious joke! I don’t know how the filmmakers thought of this or made it up, but it works so well!
– Lady Holiday’s rant about Nicky. After Piggy gets hired as a receptionist (which is a totally different joke), Lady Holiday delivers an unwarranted monologue about her brother Nicky. After she’s done, Piggy asks her, “Why are you telling me all this?” Lady Holiday replies, “It’s plot exposition, it must go somewhere. Anyway…” I LOVE IT!!! Not only is that a fantastic and subtle fourth wall joke, but it’s also a great punch line for a speech that had nothing to do with anything! I wish all dialogue in movies that were unrelated to the plot ended in some hilarious joke.
– Sam’s proud heritage. After Piggy get arrested, the rest of the Muppets gather together in the Happiness Hotel to discuss what to do. Fozzie makes a patriotic speech about how they all need to help bring Piggy justice. After everyone begins agreeing with him, Sam the Eagle (who wasn’t already in the room) leans in and says “It’s times like this I am proud to be an American.” On the surface, the joke is funny because Sam came in out of nowhere and because the moment was very patriotic. However, I thought of another reason why this joke really works. The Muppets are currently in England! Who the crud cares you’re proud to be an American? I find humor in the irony of that!
These are just a few of the tons of hilarious jokes that are found throughout this film! The movie is full of joke after joke – they’re all on top of each other. It’s clear that the focus of the movie was on the entertainment and humor, and it did not disappoint at all!

CONCLUSION: I love this movie! The story lags a bit, but the movie more than makes up for that with all the other elements! The live-action human characters are likeable and entertaining. The songs are wonderful! The puppetry is outstanding! The jokes are hilarious! It’d be wrong of me to say this is the best Muppet film – again, I think that title belongs to The Muppet Movie. However, this is not only a strong Muppet film, but it’s also my favorite! The comedy alone is worth watching the film, but it has wonderful characters and songs to support it as well! I look forward to watching it more and more in the future!

MOVIE REVIEWS: The Muppet Movie (James Frawley, 1979)

YEAH, BABY!!! After reviewing some of the Disney animated films, I wanted to take a look at the films from my most favorite franchise ever: the Muppets! There’s no way I’m letting these films go untouched! I said it before, and I’ll say it again: people always associate the Walt Disney Company with magic and dreams come true. After finally giving the company a chance, I can see where people are coming from. However, it was Jim Henson’s Muppets that made me believe in all of that. A large part of the reason for that comes from this film, The Muppet Movie! When you watch the imagination and creativity that was put forth in this film, you can’t help but believe in dreams or magic all over again either!
Here’s some quick background regarding the Muppets: Henson and his company had already made a name for themselves on television. After the success of the very first Muppet production, Sam and Friends (Jim Henson, 1955-1961), the Muppets went on to guest star on late night talk shows, they produced a number of commercials, they had a hit with Sesame Street (Joan Ganz Cooney, 1969-Present), they starred in their own television specials, and they were featured in the first season of Saturday Night Live (Lorne Michaels, 1975-Present). In 1976, Henson’s real dream had finally come true: he wanted his Muppets to star on their own show. It was The Muppet Show (Jim Henson, 1976-1981), and it became the Number One show in the entire world! However, Henson found a new playground for his characters: the movies! Enter The Muppet Movie in 1979!
Since this is my first Muppet movie review, here are the categories I’ll be judging these films by: story and themes & messages, human characters and cameo stars, songs, puppetry, and comedy. Anyway, let’s shut up and get to the review!

STORY AND THEMES & MESSAGES: The story contains one of the simplest plots I’ve ever seen in a movie: the Muppets are going to Hollywood…Yeah, that’s it. Literally, that is our main story. Yeah, there are other things that happen, but the main focus is on the Muppets trying to get to Hollywood. That is so unbelievably, yet refreshingly simple. I’m glad the filmmakers knew not only to keep the focus here, but also knew better than to pad the film with a lot of other unnecessary subplots. There is one subplot involving a man named Doc Hopper chasing Kermit in order to get him to become the spokesperson for an aspiring restaurant chain, Doc Hopper’s Frog Legs…This does beg a few questions: (1) You’re opening a restaurant chain, and your main dish is frog legs? (2) You spend so much time hunting down one frog. Why not ask another frog to be the spokesperson for your restaurant? (3) You pull guns on Kermit, you hire a mad scientist to brain wash him, you gather a band of men (including a professional frog killer) to take him down…Are you sure you want to go in the restaurant business?! This doesn’t sound like the profession you should be pursuing. Heck, we don’t even see you cook anything!
One thing I keep thinking about whenever I watch this film is that half the things that take place contribute nothing to the story. I find that fascinating. The montage of the Electric Mayhem painting the car, the whole sequence of the Muppets trading Fozzie’s Studebaker, the Muppets staying at the fair for 6-7 minutes, Gonzo’s ride on the balloons, Kermit and Piggy’s trip to the restaurant – what did any of that have to do with their getting to Hollywood? How did Gonzo’s balloon ride help the gang get to Hollywood any sooner? I know there are arguments for some of the other things I mentioned: “The Electric Mayhem painted the car to help Kermit and Fozzie hide from Doc Hopper.” But if they were spotted immediately after that scene by Max and Doc Hopper, what was the point of it? Really, a great number of these sequences have nothing to do with the plot. Does that make it bad? No, not at all! Despite the fact that they don’t move the story along, they do work for the film! I can’t explain it, but there’s something about all of these sequences that just work really well for the movie. There’s a charm and likeability to them. They fit the tone of the film! I love it!
I really appreciate the satire in this film! There are a lot of unsubtle moments that take place, but it’s never accidental! The ad in the paper at the beginning of the film says, “World Wide Studios announces open auditions for frogs wishing to become rich and famous.” At the end of the film, Kermit and the gang walk in Lew Lord’s office, and Lord just gives them the Rich and Famous contract! Of course none of these things would happen in real life! However, part of the fun of the film is over the top satire. I love it! It works really well!
There are a few messages in this film when you stop and think about it. Be happy with your life. Don’t let anything or anyone hold you back from your destiny. Embrace diversity. The actions and behaviors from your youth were practice for what you’d do with your life. These are some great messages for both kids and adults! There are two other lessons that stand out the strongest for me, though. One is to base your dreams on selfless ambitions. I know that throughout the movie Kermit said he wanted to become “rich and famous,” but really think about it. That’s not what initially struck his attention when he spoke with Bernie the Agent. He was more focused on “making millions of people happy.” Hopper wasn’t concerned about that at all. We know this because he was willing to chase a frog across the country and kill him unless he agreed to be a spokesperson. And what happened to him in the end? He was nearly devoured by a verbally-challenged, mad drummer. But it goes even deeper than “making millions of people happy.” Kermit wanted to make it to Hollywood because he made a promise to himself. “I guess I was wrong when I said I never promised anyone,” he said. “I promised me.” It’s not so much a selfish ambition, but he is looking for something that will satisfy him. Performing is what he was created to do, and he won’t be happy unless he does it on the highest level he’s able to do it. Of course he wants to make people happy, and of course he wants the other Muppets to live out their dreams. However, he’ll feel empty and lost if he doesn’t get to live out his dream – his purpose. That’s something that we can all relate to! Live out your dream to the fullest! It’s such a simple message on paper, but it carries so much weight to it in the large scope of things. This is one of the best conveyances of that moral I’ve ever seen! I love that moment where Kermit talks to himself. It is so heartfelt and impactful. It may be one of my favorite scenes in all cinema!

HUMAN CHARACTERS AND CAMEO STARS: It would be pointless to talk about the Muppet characters! What could I say about them?! We already know and love these guys; they’ve appeared in a countless number of productions we’ve all seen them in! What I will do, however, is talk about the live-action human stars and the cameo stars in this film.
1) Doc Hopper – Doc Hopper is played by Charles Durning. I already talked about Doc a little earlier. I am amazed at this guy’s persistence! It takes some real dedication to track somebody down and follow them half way across the country just for promotion! Wow! To be fair, I agree with Kermit. Hopper’s not a bad person. He’s not evil or malicious or anything. He’s just confused. He doesn’t know what it truly means to be happy. You can’t be happy by making other people miserable. I do have fun watching him and seeing how he will be foiled again. He’s an enjoyable antagonist.

2) Max – Max is played by Austin Pendleton. This guy is a funny character! I don’t know how many people look back on this movie and come to that conclusion, but it’s true! Max is really funny! The reason we don’t often think of this is because Max isn’t over the top. He doesn’t go out of his way to get his humor across. His humor comes from the things he says. As kids, we often missed them or didn’t quite understand what he was always saying. As an adult, I quite impressed with how funny he’s been all along. And poor Max! All he wants, really, is to get the job done right and make sure that everyone’s safe and living. He’s a sweetheart.

This film introduced the great Muppet movie tradition of having a number of celebrity guest stars appear as cameos! I love the stars we get in this film! You have to watch out for these celebrities; if you blink, you’ll miss them. They all clearly love interacting with the Muppets, and they enjoy every second of screen time! All the stars don’t necessarily serve a purpose to the plot, but it’s great seeing them with the Muppets! Some of them have purpose, though. Dom Deluise is the agent who convinces Kermit to leave the swamp. Mel Brooks is the mad scientist who tries to fry Kermit’s brain. The great Orson Wells is Lew Lord, the man who gives the Muppet their Rich and Famous contract. Another famous cameo in this film is Steve Martin as the sarcastic and rude waiter – he gets a lot of laughs! We’ve also got Edgar Bergen and Charlie, Madeline Kahn, Richard Pryor, Bob Hope, Milton Berle, James Coburn, Paul Williams, Elliot Gould, Carol Kane, Telly Savalas, and Cloris Leachman. My personal favorite, however, is Big Bird! I LOVE his line in this film! “I’m on my way to New York City to try and break into public television!” That is so awesome!

SONGS/MUSIC: This film has the best songs to ever come out of a Muppet movie…EVER!!! All of these songs are memorable and tons of fun! The songs and score were written and composed by Kenny Ascher and Paul Williams. These two clearly knew how to make some fun-tastic songs. I can’t speak for Ascher much, but Williams, who, again, had a cameo in the film, knew how to make a wonderful Muppet soundtrack. He wrote songs for a number of Muppet projects, including another movie (which we’ll get to later). The songs and soundtrack were nominated for a Golden Globe, an Oscar, and won a Grammy! Again, though, these songs don’t really serve the plot much, but it’s OK. They work for this film. Let’s go through them.
1) Rainbow Connection: What can I say that hasn’t been said about this song before? This is as perfect as you can get with a Muppet song. I tie this number with “Bein’ Green” as the greatest Muppet songs of all time. In this number, we hear Kermit singing about something grandeur than life, something more than he’s able to comprehend. It’s sooth melody and beautiful lyrics always puts a smile on my face whenever I hear this song. It’s truly a song for the lovers, the dreamers, for me!

2) Movin’ Right Along: What song is more fitting to sing on a road trip? Hasn’t this song become the ultimate stamp in road trip adventures? The song is just so positive and upbeat, we can’t help but get invested in it. I love the jokes the lyrics contain:
“Hey, I’ve never seen the sun come up in the west?”
“We’re stormin’ the big town.” “Yeah, storm is right. Should it be snowing?” “Uh, no, I don’t think so.”
“Though, sadly, we just left Rhode Island.” “We did what?!” “Just forget it.”
And, of course, where else will you get a literal example of turning left at the fork in the road?!? Genius!

3) Can You Picture That?: My WORD, what a great song! This has got to be the best song the Electric Mayhem has ever performed! But aside from the rocking music and great vocal talent, what does this song have to give us? Well, this is basically the perseverance song. “You can do anything you set your mind to,” the song is basically saying. “There’s nothing you can’t do.” If you were able to pick that up the first time you heard the song, kudos to you. However, one problem I have with the song is that it’s very wordy. The words go by so quickly, I often have a hard time understanding what’s being said. It’s not bad, though. You are able to make out what they’re saying, but it’ll take your concentration. You can’t just sit down, give part of your focus to the song, and expect to know what the song is about. It’s fun, it’s clever, it’s rocking, it’s the Electric Mayhem doing what they do best!

4) Never Before, Never Again: This is one of the most…interesting Muppet songs, to say the least. Piggy picks out Kermit in a crowd of people, immediately falls in love, and begins singing. I know I’ve gone on in the past about the short romance cliché, but, like I said earlier, this movie is very aware of itself. Because of that, the song is really funny! Piggy sings about how the rest of her life is going to be spent with someone she just saw out of a crowd. She doesn’t even know what his voice sounds like, let alone his name, and she has a romance montage about their love life! That is hilarious! To be honest, I never stopped to figure out whether or not this song is actually beautiful. The music sounds beautiful. I never really paid attention to the lyrics because of the montage. The song itself may be a sweet love song. However, let’s be honest. What the song is supposed to be is one big joke. The joke is Piggy immediately fell in love with Kermit, who was standing in a large crowd of people, and sang a song about it. It works great here!

5) I Hope That Somethin’ Better Comes Along: By this point, the film has introduced one of my favorite pianists in the world! This song is basically the equivalent of two friends drinking in a bar and discussing their problems. The only difference here is these two aren’t drunk and there’s a piano. What I find interesting about this number is that Jim Henson performs both Kermit and Rowlf. While, of course, he’s not physically operating both of them at the same time, he does provide both of their voices. I could be reading too much into this, but I almost see that as someone struggling with him or herself to figure out what to do about a hard situation in their life. They keep wrestling with themselves, “I know this is bad for me, but there’s something about it that I’m drawn to.” I find that fascinating.

6) I’m Going to Go Back There Someday: This was one of Jim Henson’s favorite songs, and I love this piece too. It is so beautiful and so heartfelt. I think people forget the Muppets do this, and have done this, more than often. Yes they are silly and goofy, but they are also passionate and emotional. They are very artistic and smart, and you hear it in this song. If you give it some thought, this could be Gonzo’s “Rainbow Connection” song, or his “Over the Rainbow” piece. He’s singing about returning to the place he feels the freest. There’s something about the sky that is so majestic, so welcoming, so rich, and so liberating. That actually fits the idea of what Kermit was singing about earlier in “Rainbow Connection” too, doesn’t it? They both want to go where they belong. The difference, however, is Kermit is looking for that place of belonging – that connection, and Gonzo has found his in the sky. That’s actually pretty deep when you think about it.

7) Finale: The Magic Store: There’s not a lot to say about this number. It’s wonderful to see the Muppets’ dream come true. It’s great to see everything come full circle. It’s wonderful to hear those last lines Kermit sings. The best way I can describe this piece is it’s like a dream. It sounds like a dream, but it’s happening right in front of you. Thus it becomes a dream come true. What a perfect way to end such a beautiful movie!

(This was the only really good and full version of this song I could get.)

PUPPETRY: The puppetry in this film is spectacular! It blew people away the first time they saw it! We don’t even see the rods that control the puppets’ arms! It sucked us into the illusion – we believed these characters were real! It was a critical point in this movie to show Kermit, Fozzie and the rest of the gang from head to toe throughout the film. We see Kermit and Fozzie dancing in the café. We saw them stand and turn their heads in the church. We see the characters stand, sit, and play instruments in the desert. These characters come to life like never before! There are a few moments when the puppetry really stand out to me. (1) The Big Crowd Muppet Scenes. Pay attention to the screen anytime you see a large crowd of Muppets. There’s nothing too groundbreaking or technically impressive about it. What amazes me is thinking what must be going on behind the scenes – or, rather, under the scenes. Pay attention when all of the characters are at the private screening, or watching ALL of Jim Henson’s Muppets in the musical finale. How many puppeteers did they need for that?! In fact, famous producers/directors Tim Burton and John Landis were operating some of the Muppets for the last scene. Landis said he was controlling Grover from Sesame Street. (2) Kermit playing the banjo. Kermit sitting on a log in a real swamp is already impressive, but did you see Kermit playing the banjo? His right hand really moves on the fret. His left hand really strums the strings. That is incredible! (3) The Muppets driving. It’s one thing to see Kermit the Frog sitting up on a log in the swamp, but to see Fozzie Bear drive a car is incredible! The way the filmmakers accomplished this was by controlling the car with a remote. The people controlling the car are in the trunk watching a monitor, while the Muppet performers and the puppets are in the seats of the Studebaker. That’s quite amazing. And the best piece of puppetry in this film is: (4) Kermit rides a bicycle. This is one of the most amazing feats the Muppets have ever accomplished! To see a full puppet ride a bike with no strings attached and with no performer underneath was unthinkable! That only compliments the sort of excellence and creativity this movie possesses!

COMEDY: Comedy is one of the most important elements in any Muppet production. The comedy in this film is really smart! The filmmakers aren’t just throwing random things in front of the screen, calling it comedy, and patronizing the audience’s intelligence. There was actual thought put behind these jokes. It’s obvious that the jokes were funny to the people working on the film, which is why they are funny to us as well. The characters will of course say funny things and do funny things, but there are 3 main forms of humor you’ll get in most Muppet production: irony, puns, and fourth wall jokes. Here’s an example of each of them in this movie.
Irony: MAD MAN MOONEY: But seriously, friends, Mad Man Mooney doesn’t believe in all that dealing and wheeling. No, the price that’s on the sticker is the price you pay, and never more and never less! (Sweetums swats a fly on a price sticker of a car) KERMIT: We’ll take that one for $11.95.
Puns: SECURITY GUARD: Private screening, Room B. STATLER: Private screening? WALDORF: Yeah, they’re afraid to show it in public.
Fourth Wall: FOZZIE: Kermit was living in a swamp, and then a fisherman came along… KERMIT: Fozzie, you can’t tell them the whole story. You’ll bore the audience. FOZZIE: Oh, sorry…But, uh, Kermit, the band here wants to know. KERMIT: Well, let them read the screenplay.
These jokes are genius! I love them! They’re smart, they’re creative, and they’re a huge part of the Muppets’ identity! The only joke I don’t get involves Carol Kane’s cameo. Whenever Kermit said “Myth! Myth,” Kane would come out of nowhere and ask, “Yes?” It’s funny because of the randomness and surreal factor, but what the crud does that mean? All these years, and I still don’t get it!

CONCLUSION: I love this movie! This is easily the best Muppet movie ever! This film goes far beyond being just a cute children’s movie. There’s an artistic edge to this film. There’s intelligence here. This film is timeless. It is unbelievably creative. Every aspect about the film is likeable and inspiring. It inspires us to dream. It inspires us to bring that same happiness and joy to other people. It inspires us to be bold and daring in our gifts and talents. It’s incredible how much this film still holds up. A lot of people can look at this film and may think, “It’s just another Muppet film. It’s cute. It’s funny. It’s friendly.” I, on the other hand look at this film and say, this is one of the best family movies (not kid movies – family movies) I have ever seen! It entertains both children and adults. It takes both of them seriously. It speaks to both of them on the same level. The more I look into this film, the more I determine how deep it actually is. Whether you agree with me on this or not, one thing that a lot of people agree on is that this is the best Muppet movie ever! The other films are great, but this is the best one of them all! I smile every time I watch it! God bless you, you wonderful and beautiful movie!

Reviews!

Hee-lo!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to analyze entertainment. There are a lot of current and nostalgic movies and television shows. I love analyzing to find out why they are good or why they are bad. Because of that, I will be publishing some reviews! With that being said, let me say right now that I am by no means a critic! I have some understanding of cinema as an art, but I don’t study it like I study other art forms, like theatre. However, I do have my own opinions about these pictures that I’d love to share. If you disagree with any of my reviews/opinions, that’s fine! That doesn’t mean either of us are stupid, it just mean we don’t share the same opinion. That’s what makes us different and unique. With that being said, be on the lookout for some reviews!
—Bro. B.I.B.
—BOOYIKA!