The Great Muppet Caper(1981) G
| Director: | jim henson | Runtime: 1 hrs 35 min ( 95 min) |
|---|---|---|
| kermit the frog/ rowlf/ dr. teeth/ swedish chef/ waldorf/ the muppet newsman/ zeke/ man having snapshot in restaurant | ..... | jim henson |
| miss piggy/ fozzie the bear/ animal/ sam the eagle/ gramps | ..... | frank oz |
| the great gonzo/ beauregard/ zoot/ dr. bunsen honeydew/ lobbuck lou | ..... | dave goetz |
| floyd pepper/ pops/ lew zealand/ crazy harry/ louis kazager/ slim wilson/ CB voice/ man in park | ..... | jerry nelson |
| scooter/ statler/ sweetums/ janice/ beaker/ bubba/ monster/ cab driver | ..... | richard hunt |
| nicky holiday | ..... | charles grodin |
| lady holiday | ..... | diana rigg |
| neville | ..... | john cleese |
| british gentleman | ..... | robert morley |
| trick driver | ..... | peter ustinov |
| mike tarkanian | ..... | jack warden |
| rizzo the rat/ lips | ..... | steve whitmire |
| anne sue pig/ lou | ..... | louise gold |
| chickens/ gaffer the cat | ..... | kathryn mullen |
| oscar the grouch | ..... | caroll spinney |
| marla | ..... | erica creer |
| carla | ..... | kate howard |
| darla | ..... | della finch |
| security guard | ..... | michael robbins |
| dorcas | ..... | joan sanderson |
| maitre d' | ..... | peter hughes |
| prison guard | ..... | peggy aitchison |
| bus conductor | ..... | tommy godfrey |
| girl in park | ..... | christine nelson |
| reporter #1 | ..... | suanne church |
| reporter #2 | ..... | ian hanham |
| prisoner #1 | ..... | patti dalton |
| prisoner #2 | ..... | mary mastead |
| tramp | ..... | peter falk |
| aggressive man in restaurant | ..... | trevor howard |
| street dancer | ..... | danny john - jules |
| doorman | ..... | rodney lovick |
| delivery man | ..... | david ludwig |
| fashion show photographer | ..... | cy town |
| woman having snapshot in restaurant | ..... | amy van gilder |
The movie opens with Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, and Gonzo the…well, Gonzo, floating through the air in a hot-air balloon as the opening credits appear in the sky around them. They are commenting on things that tell you they know very well that they are making a movie.
When they crash land in the middle of the street in the city, the whole city breaks into song. (What? You didn't see that coming? Gimme a break.)
While everyone on the street is singing and dancing, Lady Holiday (Diana Rigg), a famous fashion designer, has her jewels stolen literally right off her back. Well, her front, actually. As reporters, something like this happening right in front of them gets Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo fired. So they set off to London to redeem themselves by catching the thieves and returning the jewels.
Meanwhile, in London, Miss Piggy is trying to land a job as a model for Lady Holiday. Through conniving persuasion, she succeeds in getting the job…of secretary. Through mistaken identity, she meets Kermit, who thinks she is Lady Holiday.
When everyone finally realizes who everyone else really is, the three reporters, along with Miss Piggy and the residents of the Happiness Hotel (the place where Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo are staying) set out on an adventure around London to get back Lady Holiday's jewels. Along the way, we are treated to several cameo appearances by such celebrities as Peter Ustinov, Oscar the Grouch, and Peter Falk. Jim Henson even shows up for a brief second or seven.
The movie is also not so briefly interrupted for a 3½-minute, Esther Williams-style synchronized swimming sequenced starring Miss Piggy.
I'd like to say that the movie ends with a song-and-dance routine. However, the ending shows all the Muppets parachuting out of an airplane. So I guess it's just a dance routine. 😺
If you are or were a fan of The Muppets, especially, The Muppet Show (my favorite), then you will enjoy this movie.
Although I did manage to find a significant amount of material for the Memorable Dialogue
section of this review (with some help from another subscriber…thank you), this isn't really a movie for watching for such elements. Many of the jokes
are situational, and therefore, visual. The quotes that are concerned with dialogue, are often in tandem with the action on the screen.
The comedy is typical Muppet absurdity. Often (but not always) you will see a joke approaching, but even when it arrives, you are still caught making a double-take at the punchline; this is usually accompanied by the comment (or thought), I didn't see that one coming!
Other times, you aren't expecting a joke, but there it is. Regardless, you still find yourself spouting the same I didn't see that one coming!
When one of these moments occurs, remember to close your jaw, and don't dwell on figuring it out, lest you miss the rest of the movie.
Huh?
you say? Okay…case in point…the gang want to enter a museum. This museum (naturally) has an iron security gate (what'd they expect? A tollbooth?). As they approach, Kermit says to Rowlf, Rowlf, hand me the blowtorch.
To which Rowlf replies, Blowtorch? Who said anything about a blowtorch?
(This, disregarding the fact that they reviewed the trousse d'outils d'espionnage
(espionage tool kit) in a previous scene.) This does not prepare you for a joke, but one shows up anyway. Lew offers an alternative to said blowtorch for breaching the iron gate…I got some paper towels!
Thanks, but no thanks? How do you respond to that? You just smile and go on…while you are, as the young'uns say these days -- ROTFLOL. (A.k.a. laughing pretty hardily.)
Of course, most of the appeal of The Great Muppet Caper comes from Jim Henson in the form of the Muppets themselves. As I sat watching this movie (I think for the third time), I tried to imagine the characters as human actors. For lack of ideas as to which Hollywood celebrity was most like each Muppet, I chose personal acquaintances to fill in. There is, of course, no comparison, and the bulk of the humor is royally lost. My sister calling my friend from grade school Kermy
just doesn't have the same effect as when a talking pig says it to a timid cloth frog! And Oscar the Grouch…well, my Aunt Mary is not nearly as charming.
As for the storyline…it does not suffer as much as you might think. These types of movies are targeted towards children. I, myself, however, am 37 years old, and I am still a big Jim Henson/Muppet/Sesame Street/et cetera fan.
I find that when a joke is told
that is expected to elicit laughs from the adults in the audience, there is also an element in the scene that will spark at least a chuckle from the children as well. Note:I use the term chuckle
with hesitation, and only for rhetoric variety. I have rarely, if ever, seen or heard anyone under the age of six utter what I would consider a chuckle.
Perhaps that is why, when we get older, a chuckle
is about all we've got left in us?! Okay, back to the review…
I only did not give this movie a full ten meows because, as much as I am a Democrat, I do not like being too liberal with my laurels. Parts of my evaluations are relative. If I give ten meows to too many of my movies, I leave no room for anything better. Very similar to school teachers who never give 100% (A+) grade, claiming that, there's always room for improvement.
Note: I always thought that was a load of crap. Sometimes you really are doing the best that you can do. If you mess with it any further, you're trying too hard to please and as a result, you begin to make it worse!
Just one more thought before I sign off. I admire movies including cameos from forgotten
actors. We live in an era where, if it didn't come out yesterday, it's obsolete. This is mainly true for technology, but holds true for movies as well; and some great performers get dragged right along with them. When I was in the hospital back in 2012, I was chatting with a young intern while she was jamming sword-like needles into my arm. I came to discover that she had no clue as to who Humphrey Bogart was! I kid you not. She actually said, Was he in a band?
(Which surprised me even further, since the conversation we were having was centered around movies.) To not have ever seen a movie with Humphrey Bogart (and this applies to hundreds of actors and actresses from decades past) is believable (yet saddening), but to not have ever heard of him is sad and disheartening. Incidentally, this is one reason why I do this blog. Unfortunately, I fear that most of my followers are not included in the crowd just mentioned. (Knowing who they are, I would hope that is the case.)
Anyway, The Great Muppet Caper incorporates this only slightly, but a little is better than none at all. The best example is the brief appearance by Peter Ustinov. Peter who?
you say? My hopes would be, that between the child viewer and the accompanying parent (or other adult), the child would be alerted to the fact that this person is a very talented, well-known, and respectable performer from an era when it took a lot more than Justin Beiber-level talent to have such adjectives attached to your name.
Just as disappointing is realizing that the forgotten
celebrities are from that long ago. Some are even still alive and working today. Actors such as John Cleese, although at the time this movie was made, he was not a forgotten actor, today I am shocked to meet people who guess him to be a version of Billy Mays. (Oh, come on. My six-year-old nephew knows who Billy Mays was!)
And now, as always, I will end my review in order to give you the chance to GET AWAY FROM YOUR COMPUTER AND GO WATCH THIS MOVIE!!! 😼
Finally, a short list of quotes I think are worth repeating. You may recognize some, but these are my own picks (and some from a friend), not ones that are particularly famous:
- Gonzo :
Woo-wee! I'd like to try this without the balloon!
Kermit :Try what, plummeting?
Gonzo :Yeah.
Kermit :I s'pose you could try it once.
- [Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, and Kermit are flying through the opening credits in a hot-air balloon.]
Gonzp :Gee, a lot of people worked on this movie.
Kermit :This is nothing. Wait'll you see the end credits.
Fozzie :Kermit. Are the credits over?
Kermit :Uh, not quite.
[Jim Henson's name appears as director.]
Fozzie :Nobody reads these names anyway, do they?
Kermit :Sure. They all have families.
- Gonzo : [Gets hit by a car]
It's okay. I landed on my head!
- Kermit :
They don't serve food in ninth-class.
- [Sitting in a ritzy restaurant]
Fozzy :Boy, a costly place like this, you'd think they'd have pretzels on the table.
- Waldorf :
Look ma, no brains! Hehehehehe.
- Miss Piggy :
Kermy! No wonder he hasn't come by to see me. He had to finish law school.
- Dr. Bunsen :
I suggest we jump.
Fozzie :Are you crazy? That's about a hundred feet!
Dr. Bunsen :I didn't say it was a good suggestion.
Beauregard :Maybe we could jump partway.
- Kermit :
Rowlf, hand me the blowtorch.
Rowlf :Blowtorch? Who said anything about a blowtorch?
Lew :I got some paper towels!
- [Miss Piggy is stranded by the roadside]
Miss Piggy :It's nearly midnight. What am I going to do?
[A 'Super Wheels Stunt Team' van drives by]
Miss Piggy :Hey! Hey, you!
[A motorbike flies out of the back of the van and rolls over next to Miss Piggy]
Miss Piggy :What an unbelievable coincidence!
- Waldorf :
Would you believe it, Statler, they're heroes. Now they're gonna be obnoxious.
- Gonzo :
Woo-wee! I'd like to try this without the balloon!
Kermit :Try what? Plummeting?
Gonzo :Yeah.
Kermit :I s'pose you could try it once.
- British Gentleman :
Whoever you are, whatever you are, welcome to Great Britain.
Kermit :Great Britain. We're actually in Great Britain!
Fozzie :Oh, no. We'll never get to England now.
- Fozzie :
Hey, Kermit. Are bears allowed in those fountains?
Kermit :No. I don't think so.
Fozzie :I need a bath.
- Pops :
How're you guys fixin' to pay?
Kermit :What're our choices?
Pops :A, credit card, b, cash, c, sneak out in the middle of the night.
Fozzie :We'll take c.
Pops :Very popular choice.
- Miss Piggy :
As you can see from this small sampling, modeling is my life. It is my destiny. I shall accept nothing less.
Lady Holiday :I can offer you a job as a receptionist.
Miss Piggy :AHHHHHHHH!! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! OH, THANK YOU! Oh, ah, ah, ah! Oh, you won't be sorry, I promise. I can type, I can take shorthand, I can make coffee, oh, I can do it all!
Lady Holiday :Sit.
Miss Piggy :I can sit. I am very good at sitting.
- Miss Piggy :
Why are you telling me all this?
Lady Holiday :It's plot exposition. It has to go somewhere.
- Kermit :
Where do you live?
Miss Piggy :Umm…guess.
Kermit :Probably some high-brow street somewhere.
Miss Piggy :Highbrow Street. Absolutely right. Highbrow Street. How did you guess? Are you psychic? But now, guess what number.
Kermit :I don't know…um…number seventeen?
Miss Piggy :Yes. Alright, seventeen Highbrow Street.
- Dorcas :
What is it, Neville?
Neville :Um…pig…climbing on the, um, outside of the house.
Dorcas :Oh.
- Neville :
If I was bored, I'd go out and buy something, wouldn't I?…cheese or, or, or quail eggs.
Dorcas :Yes, I suppose you would.
- [Neville discovers Miss Piggy and Kermit hiding in his closet]
Neville :Uh, don't think me rude, but is there anything I can do for you at all?
Miss Piggy :Um…Yes. Yes, yes, you may suggest a nice restaurant.
Neville :Ah, well, there's the Dubonnet Club. Actually, it's not as much a restaurant, it's more of a supper club.
Miss Piggy :Ah, thank you, Jeeves. No time for cocktails.
Kermit :Good evening.
- Fozzie :
You know, if you put enough sugar in this stuff, it tastes just like ginger ale.
- [Miss Piggy throws the Truck Driver (Peter Ustinov) out of his truck and into a pile of trash cans. Out of one of the cans pops Oscar the Grouch]
Truck Driver :Oy, what're you doin' 'ere?
Oscar :A very brief cameo.
Truck Driver :Me too.
- Rowlf :
Woof woof! Woof woof! It helps to know a second language.
- Gonzo : [After closing credits, takes a flash picture towards the camera]
I'll send you all a copy!
9 /10 
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