The Muppet Movie: 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. After years of success with The Muppet Show, Henson finally brought the gang to the big screen in 1979 with The Muppet Movie. The Muppet Movie takes us to the imaginary beginning of all of the legendary characters, and how they found their way into show business. It is a magical film that manages to escape seeming at all dated, even with a few tunes that are apparently influenced by the times in which the film was made. Mostly it is a fun and enjoyable film that has plenty for adults and children alike to enjoy.

The movie is set up as a movie within a movie, so it begins with all of The Muppets gathering in a studio screening room to watch the film they have just finished about the very beginning of The Muppets. The audience is then brought back to the beginning, when Kermit the Frog was just a frog on a log in a swamp. It isn’t until a Hollywood agent just happens to pass by in a canoe and tell Kermit that he should be in show business that Kermit decides to leave the swamp. As he travels towards Hollywood, he finds himself meeting all sorts of other animals and creatures that also have a dream in Hollywood, so they form a group as they make their way. The group gets larger and larger, and Kermit is also being pursued by a fast food mogul who wants Kermit to help promote his fried frog leg chain.

With danger, dancing, show business and songs, The Muppet Movie is filled with entertainment. Kermit has a very sophisticated sense of humor, and he often tells one-liners directly to the audience. Many of the jokes are incredibly sophisticated and only adults are likely to understand them, but there is plenty of other stuff for the children to enjoy as well. It was also incredible how some of the scenes were done with the puppets at the time the film was made, and to a certain extent the same remains true today. There were not the easy digital solutions which would be used today, so it is all about camera tricks and great puppetry.

Another perk for adults will be all of the great cameos by huge stars. As impressive as the guest stars were on The Muppet Show, they are even better in the movie. Among the most memorable are Steve Martin as a irritated waiter and Mel Brooks as a mad German scientist.

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 DVD itself is somewhat simple and bare, but even though the menus are not incredibly exciting that doesn’t make the film a bad buy. There is one special feature, which is a profile of Kermit the Frog, with interviews by all of The Muppets.



Ryan Izay