Muppet Movie


As I described earlier, I didn't see many cartoons growing up, but one thing I watched to death were the Muppets. Every single freaking episode and a lot of Sesame Street too(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 do do do do do do). Gonzo, Fozzie Bear(Wakka Wakka Wakka!), and the two hecklers were probably my favorite. Least favorite were probably the guy pig and Scooter. I never saw the Muppet Movie during its theatrical release, or at least I don't remember, but i do remember watching it quite a few times through my youth. Let's see if it holds true to my hearts delight.

The Muppet Movie is the origin movie of how the muppets came to be. It starts out with Kermit in the swamp, who due to his own desires and Bernie the Agent's(played by Dom DeLuise)pushing decides to trek out to Hollywood. On the way there of course he meets other muppets like Fozzy, Piggy, Gonzo, and Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem band(Animal eat drums...no no Animal, Animal beat drums). During this he tries to get away from Doc Hopper(played by Charles Durning)who wants Kermit to be the spokesperson for his frog legs franchise. I won't spoil the rest if you are one of the 20 people who has never seen the Muppets and spend your time in a dark cave with no lights and a bear named Billy who likes to cuddle.

The first Muppet Movie is still the best. It has all of the funny moments designed for the kiddoes but has the wit and nods to the camera for the adults. It includes a couple dozen cameos from all of the recognizable people of the late 70's, from Milton Berle to Bob Hope to Richard Pyror to Madeline Kahn to Mel Brooks(plays the hysterical Professor Max Krassman). I have seen this movie roughly a dozen times, and nothing can entertain me like the Muppets.



This is the first time I've seen a Muppets DVD, wasn't really sure what to expect. I mean the movie is twenty years old, back when mono was popular(the sound mix, not the disease(come here baby, I got something for ya)). But it comes up with a rather solid package. The film is presented in both Anamorphic Widescreen(thanks Tristar!)and Fullscreen presentations. The movie looks great, and hardly shows any age at all. Its crisp and the colors look terrific. The sound is wait a sec...do my ears deceive me, a 20 year old movie sporting Dolby Digital 5.1? Well lemme clarify that for a moment, it was remastered to 5.1 which is fantastic, but it has a lot of mono elements still trapped in the soundtrack. With that being said, it's still a joy to listen to and does make a little use of the rear speakers.

Extras

Jim Frawley's Camera Test-An interesting lengthy piece of old footage that shows Kermit, Fozzy and Sweetums acting out some weird scenes. All I know its partly with sheep, that's all I know.
Muppetisms--Three little TV spotesque shorts with Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and the team of Pepe & Rizzo. I'm not sure where these orginated from, I'm guessing around the time from when Muppets in Space was being produced. Pretty cute stuff.
Bonus Trailers--Trailers of the following movies:Muppets from Space, Jumanji, Buddy, The Muppets Take Manhattan, and the Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. All pretty good trailers, about half of them 5.1, half 2.0. I definantely want Muppets from Space :).


Muppets are timeless, and so is this DVD. Their first and their best. The cameos, the musical numbers, the nods to the camera, and making us laugh each and every time we see it. The sound has been improved some, and the picture could not be better. Furthermore its a cheapy(can be found for $15 most places), and will do nothing but make you and your children laugh. Highly Highly recommended, unless a puppet beat you when you were 6 years old(not 5, not 7, and not Aunt Del).

Story: 4 3/4 of 5
Video: 4 of 5
Audio: 3 of 5
Extras: 2 1/2 of 5

Overall: 4 of 5