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Muppet Treasure Island, 1996
In this Muppet-ized version of the classic novel, young Jim Hawkins (Kevin Bishop) finds himself aboard a ship that is host to a crew of pirates led by the nefarious Long John Silver (Tim Curry). Hawkins is in possession of a map that supposedly leads to a long-lost treasure.
It's probably not fair to compare this film to the Muppet Christmas Carol because that film just fires on all cylinders.
Muppet Treasure Island was enjoyable, but fell a bit short of the goofy good time I was hoping to have with it.
Bishop does a good job in his lead performance as Hawkins, and Curry brings some noise and bravado to his rakish pirate while at the same time conveying that he's cultivated a genuine affection for Hawkins. It shouldn't work that Silver gleefully talks about cutting everyone's throat and then twenty minutes later sincerely swears that he'd never hurt Jim, and yet it does.
The music is okay, though the two early songs ("Something Better" and "Sailing for Adventure") are far more fun and catchier than anything that follows. "Cabin Fever" was okay, and the love song at the end was very meh.
How are the muppets themselves utilized? Okay, I suppose. Who would have imagined that Sam the Eagle would end up being my favorite as an overly strict and literal first mate? Not me! Kermit felt underused to me as the mostly benign ship's captain. Gonzo and Rizzo, originally meant to be the film's leads are also pretty good.
On the negative side, I didn't love the film's portrayal of its indigenous characters. They are this weird mish-mash of Caribbean-type characters and a stereotypical American Indian portrayal. Of course they speak in stilted English, and when one of them said "I see you have boom-boom sticks" I just cringed. The characters feel like a lazy "exotic" soup.
I also have to say this: I do not care for the whole "Miss Piggy as bombshell" jokes. I don't want to see her kissing multiple male (human) characters. It creates this gross dynamic where all of the male muppets are sexually neutral and then the one female muppet has apparently slept her way through a third of the cast. Like, the whole thing of her being overbearing in their relationship and Kermit loving her anyway is whatever, but I thought that in terms of her character there was a weird vibe.
Again, I think that my bar was probably set too high for this film. But I can't help feel that a lot of the elements in it were just a bit off-center of where they needed to be for the film to flow and feel coherent.
Muppet Treasure Island, 1996
In this Muppet-ized version of the classic novel, young Jim Hawkins (Kevin Bishop) finds himself aboard a ship that is host to a crew of pirates led by the nefarious Long John Silver (Tim Curry). Hawkins is in possession of a map that supposedly leads to a long-lost treasure.
It's probably not fair to compare this film to the Muppet Christmas Carol because that film just fires on all cylinders.
Muppet Treasure Island was enjoyable, but fell a bit short of the goofy good time I was hoping to have with it.
Bishop does a good job in his lead performance as Hawkins, and Curry brings some noise and bravado to his rakish pirate while at the same time conveying that he's cultivated a genuine affection for Hawkins. It shouldn't work that Silver gleefully talks about cutting everyone's throat and then twenty minutes later sincerely swears that he'd never hurt Jim, and yet it does.
The music is okay, though the two early songs ("Something Better" and "Sailing for Adventure") are far more fun and catchier than anything that follows. "Cabin Fever" was okay, and the love song at the end was very meh.
How are the muppets themselves utilized? Okay, I suppose. Who would have imagined that Sam the Eagle would end up being my favorite as an overly strict and literal first mate? Not me! Kermit felt underused to me as the mostly benign ship's captain. Gonzo and Rizzo, originally meant to be the film's leads are also pretty good.
On the negative side, I didn't love the film's portrayal of its indigenous characters. They are this weird mish-mash of Caribbean-type characters and a stereotypical American Indian portrayal. Of course they speak in stilted English, and when one of them said "I see you have boom-boom sticks" I just cringed. The characters feel like a lazy "exotic" soup.
I also have to say this: I do not care for the whole "Miss Piggy as bombshell" jokes. I don't want to see her kissing multiple male (human) characters. It creates this gross dynamic where all of the male muppets are sexually neutral and then the one female muppet has apparently slept her way through a third of the cast. Like, the whole thing of her being overbearing in their relationship and Kermit loving her anyway is whatever, but I thought that in terms of her character there was a weird vibe.
Again, I think that my bar was probably set too high for this film. But I can't help feel that a lot of the elements in it were just a bit off-center of where they needed to be for the film to flow and feel coherent.