There is a new Muppet movie coming in November ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1204342/ ). In anticipation, my girlfriend and I decided to watch all previous Muppet movies. I will post brief reviews (Yes, I am going from the Hulk to the Muppets! )

Stay tuned!

First review:


The Muppet Movie (1979) ****1/2 (out of five)

This was a blast!

The plot is simple. One day, Kermit the Frog is sitting in his swamp when a Hollywood agent (played by Dom DeLuise) happens to row by in a boat. The agent puts a bug in Kermit's ear, and Kermit decides to head west for a shot at stardom. Along the way, he meets the other Muppets, who join him on his quest. He also tries to avert the villainous Doc Hopper, owner of a fast food chain that specializes in fried frog legs.

The Muppet characters are fun, and there are a lot of puns, musical numbers and cameos by various human celebrities (most of which are now dead, sadly.). Some jokes are quite clever, and there are lots of quotable lines ("A bear in his natural habitat...a Studebaker!").

The Muppets exist in a sort of separate reality, and I bought it completely. I love the part where Kermit and Fozzie go for ice cream. Fozzie orders a honey flavored ice cream for himself and a "dragonfly ripple" for Kermit. The ice cream man - played by Bob Hope - produces the desired selection as if bears and frogs frequent his establishment every day! Similarly, the human characters never question the notion that a pig can win a beauty contest or that a dog can play the piano.

I recommend this film for young and old alike.

Next: THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER

I love the scene in The Muppet Movie when Kermit talks to himself in the desert. Beautifully realized.

The first one, The Muppet Movie, is the only one I ever saw. I saw it at the movies in first run.

A shame the soundtrack isn't available on CD. I remember "Movin' Right Along" getting plenty of airplay on WJR in Detroit back in the day.

It was released on CD but had been OOP for years. Original copies can go for big bucks.

The first Muppet Movie is one of the most rewatchable movies out there. So many memorable scenes, lines and songs. I still laugh at the cold way Miss Piggy breaks up with Kermit after the call from her agent. "Umm..... Bye!" and how Fozzie is none too happy when she tries to rejoin them later - those two never had much interaction since Frank Oz did both voices.

I saw the movie in the theater on its initial release and was totally taken in when they had projection problems with the movie-within-a-movie. It was such a relief when I realized what was going on. And having the Swedish Chef as the projectionist trying to explain what went wrong was one of the funniest parts of the movie.

ALL of the Muppet movies? Including the John Denver special?

No kidding? I should try to dig mine up.

I love all the theatrically released movies -- even the worst one I still love a li'l bit -- but the original remains the gold standard.

Steve Martin is my favorite of the celebrity cameos. "Would you like to smell the bottlecap?" [sniff] "Smells good."

I'm still annoyed that they stopped the Season DVD sets of The Muppet Show with year three. I want the rest of the seasons!

Uh...no.

Wikipedia lists the following Muppet movies under "Theatrical and Telefilms":



(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muppets#Th ... _telefilms )

The last one on that list - THE MUPPETS - will not be released until November. That leaves eight films. The first six were theatrical releases and the next two (A VERY MUPPET CHRISTMAS MOVIE and THE MUPPETS' WIZARD OF OZ) were made-for-tv movies. I think that eight films is very doable, so that sounds good to me.

Wikipedia lists the John Denver, etc. stuff under "Television Specials." I'm okay with neglecting anything on the "Television Specials" list.

The John Denver one was an hour long Christmas special, if memory serves.

A Christmas Together: John Denver & the Muppets. The music has been reissued on CD numerous times, but for some reason the TV special itself has never been available on (legitimate) DVD or even VHS, AFAIK.

I think I took my kids to see Muppet Treasure Island which was about pirates (pre-Johnny Depp). Don't remember much about it.

I had the John Denver one on vinyl when I was a kid.

about $59 dollars these days.

The Great Muppet Caper (1981) ****1/2

In this outing, the Muppets go to England to find and capture some jewel thieves. Naturally, hijinks ensue.

THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER is a British production. That explains the English setting and the presence of British performers such as Diana Rigg, John Cleese and Peter Ustinov (the latter two only appear in cameos.). It might also explain the somewhat absurdist humor on display.

Example: In one scene, Kermit faces a mirror. He has shaving cream on his face, and he is shaving. "Sometimes, I wish I actually had whiskers," he says, "...but then, if I did, I'd have to use a blade." He turns his razor around, and we see that it is only a razor handle with no blade attached!

There are other examples. In one running gag, Fozzie and Kermit are identical twins. The other characters can only tell them apart, because Fozzie wears a hat. Yet, Kermit is consistently identified as a frog, and Fozzie is consistently identified as a bear! I also loved one veddy British scene in which John Cleese and a woman playing his wife are eating dinner at home. They are completely unfazed by the pig (i.e. Miss Piggy) who is climbing up the outside of their house!

THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER is my girlfriend's favorite Muppet movie. I haven't seen all of the Muppet films, so I can't make that assessment. I did find it funnier than the first one, but I suspect that it's a little less accessible. If the Muppets weren't considered "children's characters," then I could easily see THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER becoming a cult film. This is something that college-age stoners might watch on a Saturday night!

That said - at the end of the day, this is still a Muppet movie, and it's enjoyable at that level, too. I suspect that it's one of those "children's movies" that a child will appreciate more when he or she gets older.

Definitely the Golden Age for Muppet movies. The two best, by a league.

The Great Muppet Caper is the one I have seen the least...perhaps twice in my life. Yet it is also the one I remember most fondly too for some of the jokes you mentioned. I am going to have to see if I can grab it on my way home soon.

I KNOW, RIGHT?!?!?

But seriously, yeah, that is really frustrating. And it doesn't sound like there are any plans to release those seasons any time soon. (Or so a Muppet-phile friend of mine told me.)

Listening to that album has been a Christmas tradition with my family for 30 years.