We have a bootleg DVD of this for some reason. I've never watched it, but I distinctly remember hearing it playing in another room while I was working on something else, and hearing the Passion of the Christ joke
While yes, I agree that overall this was a lackluster entry into the Muppet oeuvre, the use of CGI isn't really an insult to the Muppets. Jim was pro-CGI, and viewed it as a new entry into the world of Puppetry. Look at his final project, Muppetvision 3D (or rather, look at bad Youtube captures of it, since it no longer exists), and it's use of the Waldo character.
The scene I remember most vividly from this movie was Kermit getting ripped limb from limb at one point and lying on the ground in a pile of straw and dismembered muppet parts. I think they cut right to an ad after... Yaaaaay
I can't believe I don't remember this movie existing. I had kids of the age to be interested in this at the time it aired- some details sound familiar though so maybe I blanked it out.
Yeah, but it worked with The Muppets Christmas Carol, I think, because of Michael Caine's performance and a strange faithfulness to the material. They weren't making Girls Gone Wild, and J. Lo jokes in that one.
Michael Caine's performance made all the difference in the world, and, weirdly, The Muppets Christmas Carol is one of the truest to the original Dickens text compared to other adaptations.
Great article, can't wait for more!
We have a bootleg DVD of this for some reason. I've never watched it, but I distinctly remember hearing it playing in another room while I was working on something else, and hearing the Passion of the Christ joke
While yes, I agree that overall this was a lackluster entry into the Muppet oeuvre, the use of CGI isn't really an insult to the Muppets. Jim was pro-CGI, and viewed it as a new entry into the world of Puppetry. Look at his final project, Muppetvision 3D (or rather, look at bad Youtube captures of it, since it no longer exists), and it's use of the Waldo character.
I was wondering if they made any Kato Kaelin jokes, and then I remembered that this was made a decade after OJ, and that I'm very, very old.
And casting Jeffrey Tambor ... sheesh. Surely there was a Muppet who could have played the Wizard? Sam the Eagle? Bunsen Honeydew? Oscar the Grouch?
The scene I remember most vividly from this movie was Kermit getting ripped limb from limb at one point and lying on the ground in a pile of straw and dismembered muppet parts. I think they cut right to an ad after... Yaaaaay
I can't believe I don't remember this movie existing. I had kids of the age to be interested in this at the time it aired- some details sound familiar though so maybe I blanked it out.
It was a TV movie on the Wonderful World of Disney, so it didn’t have the cultural footprint of their theatrically released films.
Very excited for this new column. Can’t wait to read more. Perhaps an exploration of the short-lived Jim Henson Hour.
Dunking the muppets into a well-known book rarely works. It’s so tough to get the Muppets done right.
Yeah, but it worked with The Muppets Christmas Carol, I think, because of Michael Caine's performance and a strange faithfulness to the material. They weren't making Girls Gone Wild, and J. Lo jokes in that one.
Michael Caine's performance made all the difference in the world, and, weirdly, The Muppets Christmas Carol is one of the truest to the original Dickens text compared to other adaptations.