Movie Reviews: All 8 Muppet Movies
So for those of you who missed the big news at the end of last year, I got married. I know... I know... crazy! Anyway, my new wife
Kathryn and I have a mutual love of the Muppets, so we decided to revisit the entire theatrical canon.
The Muppet Movie (*****)
As children, we tend to latch onto the first few movies that really speak to us, and assume that they are well-regarded classics that everyone knows and loves. I did it, you did it, everyone did it. Then we grew up. I found out that many of the movies I assumed to be essential viewing were sometimes obscure (The Black Hole), poorly-reviewed (Return to Oz), or not very good (Pete's Dragon). Then, there's The Muppet Movie, that rare childhood treasure that actually gets better as you get older.
For starters, as an adult I marveled at the puppetry, which was clearly designed to make the Muppets appear as lifelike and flesh-and-blood as possible. Kermit rides a bicycle, sits in the middle of a swamp, dances on stage, and does a lot of things that make you wonder where the puppeteers could possibly be hiding. FYI, some questions can be answered at a local tourist attraction, the Studebaker Museum, where Fozzie's car is located.
Like most Muppet Movies, The Muppet Movie is a musical, and the songs are freaking fantastic. Though not quite as funny as later movies (Muppets Most Wanted might have the most humorous soundtrack), the songs are all beautiful, well-crafted, and carry surprising emotional weight. What works especially well is that all of the songs are cute and kid-friendly, but several have darker, bitter-sweet meanings that grabbed me in ways I wouldn't have understood as a kid. To a child, “I'm Going to Go Back There Someday” is just Gonzo reflecting on how much he liked being up in the sky (or perhaps foreshadowing Muppets from Space). To an adult, it's a deeper, soul-piercing poem about trying to find your place in the world. Similarly, we've got songs on gender conflicts (“Something Better”), romantic delusions (“Never Before”), and the dreams we may have lost (“Rainbow Connection”).
(BTW, I used this cover of Gonzo's song for the Mother/Son dance at my wedding)
And... let's talk about Doc Hopper. Will we ever get another Muppet villain who is so petty and nasty? In sequels, the villains were usually redeemed (Tex Richman, Ebeneezer Scrooge, Ed Singer), or were played mostly tounge-in-cheek (Nicky Holiday, Long John Silver, Constantine). In Hopper, we get a sociopath version of Colonel Sanders who is perfectly willing to gun down the entire Muppet cast over being slighted by Kermit. Jeez!
Flaws... well, a lot of the pop culture references are very dated (I still don't get why Karol Cane appearing as “Myth” is supposed to be funny), and the story doesn't entirely work without assuming a prior affinity for the Muppets. Kermit, Fozzie, and Miss Piggy have decent introductions and motivations, but everyone else's role is mostly arbitrary. I never had a problem with this as a kid, but as an adult I noticed it a lot, and imagined that the story would make little sense to a newcomer. The main characters crash into a plumber, so he joins them on their journey? That's random. And when did the hotel piano player decide to join? And what are two inventors doing in the middle of an otherwise abandoned town?
Putting aside those issues, The Muppet Movie is a near-masterpiece with great songs, great puppetry, and a surprising amount of heart.
The Great Muppet Caper (****)
The idea of the Muppet movies must have seemed like a weird concept in the 1970's. We must remember that they originated as a plot-less variety show, so trying to build any cohesive mythology behind Muppets is akin to turning Saturday Night Live or The Late Show into the next “shared universe” movie series. The Great Muppet Caper gets around this problem by somewhat subtly turning the Muppets into a troupe, acting out different stories that aren't actually about them. The same could be said for Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island. They aren't movies about the Muppets; they're movies cast with Muppets.
The Great Muppet Caper therefore casts Fozzie and Kermit as twin brothers (one of the movie's best running gags) who attempt to solve a jewel robbery in order to secure their name as investigative reporters. Again, since the Muppets are playing characters, any previous canon doesn't matter; Kermit hasn't met Miss Piggy or any of the other usual players, all of whom have different roles and jobs than they did before. The relatively simple heist plot is mixed with the usual Muppet comedy, cameos, and bits taken from old-school movie musicals.
The result of all of this is a damn fine movie. The puppetry expands on The Muppet Movie and further conveys the idea that the Muppets are real. The jokes are clever, and the dance numbers are crazy-elaborate, with special mention going to “The First Time It Happens.”
If there's any criticism of The Great Muppet Caper to be made, it's that the movie doesn't reach the emotional highs of its predecessor. It's funny, it's wildly entertaining, and it's polished to a mirror shine, but it's not really about anything. Then again, this is a movie inspired by a variety show, so perhaps that makes sense.
Muppets Take Manhattan (***)
Growing up, I half-remember “Manhattan” being considered the bad Muppet movie, but couldn't remember why. Now... I kinda see why this one was poorly received.
Early in the movie, the Muppets appear before a producer who promises to make them stars. Wait a minute, didn't this already happen? Wasn't this the ending of The Muppet Movie, in which Citizen Kane gave them the “rich and famous” contract? Though the producer ends up being a fraud, this scene highlights a problem with the whole story: the Muppets already completed their journey to become stars, and repeating it again (minus the actual journey) doesn't give the story anywhere to go. Do the Muppets have an aspirations besides becoming famous stars? While The Muppet Movie featured a cross-country road trip and a menacing villain, the plot of Muppets Take Manhattan just sort of meanders until someone randomly gives them a contract, at which point the movie left-turns into a completely new plot in which Kermit has amnesia and joins a marketing firm.
So yeah... the plot of Muppets Take Manhattan doesn't work on any level, but a lot of the individual bits are pretty good. The puppetry for the Muppet Baby segment is some of the best in all the movies, and inspired a rather great Saturday Morning TV show. And then there's two dramatically poignant segments, “Saying Goodbye” and Kermit's wedding. “Saying Goodbye” is oddly positioned in the story but it's an interesting and sad song by itself. But the part that hit me hard, especially after my own wedding, was the ending. The wedding is somewhat surreal, leaving fans with questions about whether Kermit and Piggy actually married, or if that merely part of the show-with-the-show. Regardless, there's a profound sense that this means a lot to both Kermit, as well as the cavalcade of Jim Henson puppets (from different franchises) who attend. And oh dear, the song “You'll Make Me Happy” is such a tearjerker!
Muppets Take Manhattan is worth watching for the good bits, which are really damn good, even as you forget what the rest of the movie was about. It also started a fun inside joke with Kathryn and I: “Peoples is peoples.” Watch the movie again if you don't get it.
Muppet Christmas Carol (*** and a half)
Continuing the trend of the Muppets as a troupe, Muppet Christmas Carol is a surprisingly straightforward adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous novel, but with Muppets playing some supporting roles. Curiously, most of the lead roles are played by human actors or original puppet characters.
The result is the least “Muppety” of all the Muppet movies. It's a very good movie, but the extent of the Muppets' involvement is curiously small, and occasionally seems out of place. For example, it seems really weird when young Scrooge apprentices at Fozziwig's Rubber Chicken Factory. I didn't believe that the world of the film would have a dedicated factory for rubber chickens, let alone that Scrooge would ever work at one.
Putting aside expectations, however, the Muppet Christmas Carol is a very solid adaptation of the story, with a lot of emotional weight, occasional comedy, and an excellent performance by Michael Caine. Maybe I should think of this movie as a gateway for children to appreciate more substantive films; the puppets assure the younger viewers that this dark, classic fable is for them. As per tradition, the movie is also a musical. The songs are not the most memorable, but on re-visitation I found that a lot of them are pretty good, especially “Scrooge” and “One More Sleep 'Til Christmas.”
There are perhaps too many adaptations of The Christmas Carol, but for what it's worth, the Muppet version is probably the best kids-focused version.
(Slightly off-topic: Brian Henson has raised some eyebrows by directing a raunchy Muppet parody starring Melissa McCarthy. The trailer is pretty terrible, and I'm just scratching my head.)
Muppet Treasure Island (****)
I'm kind of sad that the trend of “Muppets adapting classic literature” didn't continue, because Brian Henson found a really good balance with Muppet Treasure Island. It's a decent adaptation of the story that hits all the major plot points while simultaneously giving the Muppets lots of room to do their usual shtick and anarchic comedy.
Some of the high points are the musical numbers, which rank among the best of the Muppet series. In particular, “Cabin Fever” is delightfully funny, “Professional Pirate” is a cheery and nuanced villain song, while the showstopping “Shiver Me Timbers” is possibly the only Muppet song that can be described as “epic.”
Meanwhile, Tim Curry gives his usual 90's zest as Long John Silver, and the Muppets are perfectly cast, especially Fozzie as the “half-wit son” of Squire Trawlaney, and Sam the Eagle as Mr. Arrow. Amusingly enough, the Pig Chief “Spa'am” prompted a lawsuit in which the judge ruled “one might think Hormel would welcome the association with a genuine source of pork. “
There's not too much to say about this one, but Muppet Treasure Island is a solid Muppet movie, and probably the best of the second trilogy.
Muppets from Space (** and a half)
I think the pattern has been set. For each trilogy of Muppet Movies, the first would be sentimental, the second would be funny, and the third would be a mixed bag. Often regarded as the worst of the Muppet movies, Muppets from Space was the last movie before the Muppets disappeared from the big screen for over a decade.
However, I must give some credit to the premise. Out of the 8 Muppet movies, Muppets from Space, is actually the only one in which the Muppets play themselves, and don't have a plot revolving around them doing a show. The premise is that Gonzo receives a message from space, supposedly from his alien brethren. This kicks off a quest to reunite with Gonzo's race, and a battle against government agents. Honestly, that's not a bad plot. It's just handled poorly. The human actors all seem lost, with the lone exception of David Arquette (who went on to star in the delightful TV special “Very Merry Muppet Christmas”). On top of that, the bad guys prove to be largely toothless. There's a chase sequence near the end which had potential to be wild and anarchic (think the “Baseball Diamond” fight from Great Muppet Caper), but ends up just being a boring montage of guards running around while providing no threat at all.
Muppets from Space is OK. Some of the jokes are really funny, and some parts are cute. The movie actually starts off quite strong, with a clever and compelling dream sequence followed by a completely chaotic segment that shows all the Muppets living together in one house. By the end, however, the film has veered dramatically off-course, with lazy sci-fi homages, a brief crossover with Dawson's Creek (of all things!), and a disappointing ending in which Gonzo's race turns out to be generic-looking pink puppets who sing 70's pop songs. Really?! We finally get to learn Gonzo's origins, and that's the best they could come up with?
The Muppets (*** and a half)
I'm tempted just to copy-pasted my original review from when the movie first came out, but... actually, I'll start with that:
“Is The Muppets a return to form for the characters? Sort of. The movie is more of a tribute to the Muppets as a collective group rather than the individual characters. Aside from Kermit and Miss Piggy (who get a rather solemn subplot concerning their separation/divorce), the rest of the moppets each get a cameo appearance and then just become a piece of the ensemble. On its own terms, the movie's character-handling works fine, but if you're looking for significant time with Fozzie, Gonzo, or Rolf, you might be a little disappointed.
Where you will not be disappointed, however, is with the humor. The Muppets is easily one of the funniest movies of the year. It lives up to the tradition of Jim Henson by including a lot of silly kid-friendly gags, but also a lot of little jokes and references that go completely over kids' heads (erg. Bunsen and Beaker working on the Large Hadron SuperCollider, or new character "80's Robot" serving New Coke). My little sisters liked it a lot, and even recognized some of the actors from "The Office" and "Big Bang Theory". The celebrity cameos, silly songs, and fourth-wall-breaking gags are nonstop, but still leave some room for sentimentality. A particularly stunning sequence happens at the end of the first act, when Kermit wanders through his mansion alone looking at painted portraits of all the friends he's lost track of.”
All of that still holds. However, on re-watching The Muppets (and also having seen Muppets Most Wanted), I became irritated with the amount of importance given to the character of Walter. Basically, Walter is a Muppet fanboy. That's pretty much his entire character, so it doesn't really work when the film sidelines the real Muppets to have the fanboy take charge and constantly scream “You're the Muppets, you should be doing such and such!” Someone really needs to give this twerp a stern talking-to. In a strange way, Walter is a Mary Sue, which is a bit uncomfortable knowing that Frank Oz was excluded from this movie.
Overall, The Muppets is one of the more solid Muppet movies, against all odds. And I swear that someday I will make it through “Pictures in My Head” without crying.
Muppets Most Wanted (***)
On second viewing, I feel like this movie could have been significantly improved with some extra cutting...
You see, Muppets Most Wanted is less than the sum of its parts. Its parts are really, really good, but the movie as a whole fails to leave the same impact. The songs are outstanding, the jokes are funny, and they finally figured out what to do with Sam the Eagle. So why didn't this one succeed as well as its predecessor?
Some blame can be placed on the human cast, or at least Ricky Gervais, but I think the larger problem is a lack of focus. The Muppets almost get upstaged by the villains, who embark on a long Davinci-Code search for a lost treasure. It's not the worst subplot, but we the audience aren't invested in it, so it feels unneeded. The same could be said for Tina Fey's Russian guard character. She works fine as a secondary antagonist, but dead-end subplots about her wanting to sing and being obsessed with Kermit mostly amount to nothing, and could therefore be cut.
But, OK, that's focusing on the negative. The rest of the movie is pretty much a joy, with some of the funniest punchlines in any of the Muppet movies. My favorite interchange is this:
Walter: Dominac Badguy is paying off the critics!
Fozzie (slaps head): Bribing critics? Why didn't we think of that? *beat* I mean, oh no, how terrible.
Well, that's it for the 8 Muppet movies. Will there be more? Are pop culture properties even allowed to die anymore? I guess we'll have to wait and see!