A Review of Every Major Muppet Movie
The Muppets – from 1979 to 2014
By MARK WILSON
The Muppets are an institution. Nothing I have to say here will be new. And yet, I love talking about the Muppets, watching new clips or media, and generally just taking in the jovial atmosphere they seem to create.
Recently I watched every major Muppet film, and needed somewhere to house my thoughts.
The good news? There isn’t a single dud in the bunch! Sure, some are stronger than others, and not every gag in each movie works. But on the whole, it’s impossible not to smile at the shenanigans, even as the gang occasionally touch on more poignant or deeper topics. But usually just shenanigans, let’s be honest.
Anyway, enjoy!
The Muppet Movie (original) (1979)
The movie as a whole has probably the worst excuse for a plot of any of the films. To say it’s just a loosely connected series of setpieces and gags is being generous. But the wordplay is on point, showcasing the wit that typifies the best Muppet moments. It’s all feel-good and funny, so the fact that it’s not really tied closely together doesn’t really matter. Movin’ Right Along is incredibly catchy and The Rainbow Connection has since become the unofficial theme song of the Muppets, and it’s easy to see why with this poignant intro to Kermit and his musical charm.
The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
The musical numbers are pretty good. The rest…meh. There’s a weird “Fozzy and Kermit are twins” gag that they not only repeat far too often, but they include into the more emotional and dramatic scenes. It’s not just a forgettable gag; it’s a plot point. But it should only have been the former, and even then used only sparingly. I’m also not sure, for example, if they expect me to laugh at Gonzo snapping photos everywhere. That seems to be his primary personality trait (well, that and enjoying self-harm). The John Cleese cameo is excellent comedy, as is Charles Grodin crooning over Miss Piggy in a musical number, but it exists in probably the most forgettable of the Muppet movies.
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
Remarkably solid execution, which builds steam as it goes along. “Let’s put on a show” is never going to be a bad premise for a Muppet film, as it plays to the strengths of the various cast members and how they complement one another. Many of the other films flounder a bit either because they don’t know what to do with the whole ensemble of characters, or it’s hyper-focused on a particular muppet who struggles to carry the film in the same way that the group does in these. But with The Show as the backdrop, everyone slots into place in ways that feel organic.
Kermit and Piggy get the most screen time by a fair margin, which is good. The musical numbers are solid (the backdoor Muppet Babies pilot is particularly amusing). Piggy’s scene with Joan Rivers is put in entirely for laughs, but it does just that, working brilliantly. The cameos outside of this aren’t immersion-breaking, and are woven in more cleverly than in many.
Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Michael Caine has famously said that he went into this film intending to play it completely straight (in the comedic sense), as though he were in a serious period drama with human actors. The results are spectacular; he turns in a classic performance.
I have some qualms with A Christmas Carol as patient zero in the “spirit of Christmas conquers all” movie genre, which has extended far beyond Dickens’s touching parable and entered territory that’s both cloying at best and, at worst, harmful to the realities of holidays and the stresses that often come with them. But it’s hard to fault such a heartfelt adaptation.
Importantly, the film knows not to undercut itself during the more dramatic moments. Gonzo and Rizzo, the tale’s narrators, actually bow out during the entirety of the sequence with the final ghost. This lends the scene some gravitas, and creates greater contrast with the jokes, which may not always be spectacular, but hit the right notes to spread warmth and humor throughout the story.
Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
A masterpiece. The humor is there, but like Muppet Christmas Carol, it’s not riddled with cameos that are immersion-breaking. Despite the merely semi-serious plot, the movie takes itself seriously enough to hold up as more than just a vehicle for Muppet shenanigans.
The musical numbers are great. And Tim Curry turns in one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. His character is wholly villainous, but Curry infuses enough charisma into the role that you feel a bit of empathy for him. It would have been easy to play Long John Silver as a flat, one-note villain, but there’s depth in the portrayal. That his performance is opposite, well, the Muppets makes the whole thing sublimely surreal.
Muppets From Space (1999)
The best use of Gonzo in Muppet history. I’ve always struggled to understand his appeal, since he’s not as charming or as funny as many others. Even here, the best comedic bits go to Pepe the King Prawn and Rizzo, but as an emotional core, Gonzo carries the thing.
The Muppets (2011)
We all have a mental concept of The Muppets, but until this film, I’m not sure a prototypical Muppets movie/show existed. Sure, you could argue the first movie is the “purest,” but it’s little more than loosely connected vignettes. The music in this one is heartfelt and probably the most well-polished, and there’s even a heartfelt throwback to The Rainbow Connection that opens and closes the 1979 original. The (muppet) character of Walter is a mirror for the Muppets; he’s new, and not particularly distinctive in his everyman-style charm. But he’s also a reliable stand-in for the audience of Muppets fans, without being too on the nose in that role since he’s, ya know, one of the puppets instead of human.
The humor works, the cameos are great, and callbacks to the original are poignant but never forced. The whole thing feels like a labor of love from writers and performers who respect what has made the Muppets so enduring.
Muppets Most Wanted (2014)
Interrogation Song is an absolute banger. One of the catchiest they’ve ever done, and there are plenty of character moments woven into the otherwise-silly tune. The plot is…fairly coherent, but on the heels of the excellent 2011 movie (it literally begins with the final scene of the 2011 film), it has some big shoes to fill that it never fully does. Getting the band back together, so to speak, is more Muppet-y than anything that’s going on here. Still, there’s some heart here. Enough of the gags work that it holds together, despite an onslaught of European stereotypes that don’t really work except for the basest of American audiences. None are strictly offensive; it’s all rather harmless, if reductionist. But neither do they deliver true comedic moments.
Muppets: Final Thoughts
- Sweetums is both nightmare fuel and delightful every time he’s on screen. Impeccable character design.
- Statler & Waldorf and the Swedish Chef are always spectacularly funny, but I think a big part of the secret is that they’re rarely overused.
- I have a theory that serious performances opposite the Muppets create a spectacular contrast that makes both the drama and silliness more profound. Michael Caine and Tim Curry’s performances are Exhibits A and B. No one ever phones in a lead role in a Muppets movie, but most others play their roles with enough winking self-awareness, or ham it up a bit to match the insanity of the puppets surrounding them. Those are natural tendencies, and it works fine, but doesn’t juxtapose quite as well as the completely straight-laced performances.
Tier 1
- The Muppets (2011)
- Muppet Treasure Island
- A Muppet Christmas Carol
Tier 2
- The Muppets Take Manhattan
- The Muppet Movie (Original)
- Muppets From Space
Tier 3
- Muppets Most Wanted
- The Great Muppet Caper