The Great Muppet Caper: Kermit's 50th Anniversary Edition DVD Review:

In celebration of fifty years being in entertainment, four of Jim Henson’s Muppet movies have been released on Anniversary Edition DVDs, even though the films have been around less than thirty years. The unique element to The Muppet movies is the fact that they make it known that they are making a movie. I never thought that The Great Muppet Caper would be the perfect example of a postmodern film, but the opening credits are all it really takes to prove it true. With a jewel thief mystery The Great Muppet Caper takes The Muppets on a journey to London, which means all sorts of fun cameos by British actors.

Kermit, Fozzie and Gonzo are in New York trying to make it as investigative reporters, but when they miss the crime of the century which happens right under their noses, they are forced to go to London in order to find the criminal and save their reputation and jobs. It turns out that the jewel thief is not finished, and he continues to steal jewels from a high fashion designer, Lady Holiday. Miss Piggy is framed for the thefts after she begins working for Lady Holiday as an assistant, and it is up to the entire gang to help break her out of jail and catch the real criminal in time.

The Great Muppet Caper is filled with the usual Muppet-style music numbers, with song, dance and large production big finishes. It also has humor, both for kids and adults, but this film seems to have more for the kids rather than adults. Charles Grodin is the villain and he would bring some adult appeal to the film, but the performance is hammed up quite a bit.

These four films which are all being released for Kermit’s fiftieth anniversary, have all been restored and remastered and they look and sound better than they ever have before. The visuals on this film which is nearly thirty years old are as sharp as can be, and the songs all sound great. The menus are fun, but rather simple. They are just of scenes in the film, but when options are chosen it has an effect on the scene. The DVD has both full screen versions as well as widescreen.

There is only one special feature, and it is the same as all of the other DVDs. They all have profiles of a specific Muppet character. The Great Muppet Caper has a profile of Miss Piggy. The profile is done like everything else with The Muppets, as a Muppet presentation. The profile is hosted by a Muppet and they all talk about Miss Piggy as if she and they are real.



Ryan Izay