1981 Directed by Jim Henson
Kermit and Fozzie are newspaper reporters sent to London to interview Lady Holiday, a wealthy fashion designer whose priceless diamond necklace is stolen. Kermit meets and falls in love with her secretary, Miss Piggy. The jewel thieves strike again, and this time frame Miss Piggy. It's up to Kermit and Muppets to bring the real culprits to justice.
Jim Henson Frank Oz Dave Goelz Jerry Nelson Richard Hunt Charles Grodin Diana Rigg John Cleese Robert Morley Peter Ustinov Jack Warden Susan Backlinie Joan Sanderson Peter Falk Danny John-Jules Erica Creer Kate Howard Della Finch Michael Robbins Peter Hughes Peggy Aitchison Tommy Godfrey Christine Nelson Valli Kemp
A few stray observations I noticed while watching The Great Muppet Caper.
1. This picture easily retains the meta comedy and movie within a movie subject of the first Muppets picture while giving some actual form to the musical numbers.
2. That form is heavily inspired by Busby Berkeley, and this films Ginger Rogers is Piggy. She is at the center of all these great sequences as dancers twirl and slide around her.
3. This is pretty much the most Piggy centric Muppets film which I greatly appreciate considering she is such a good character. She's not afraid to be unlikeable, vain and self centered. The creators of the Muppets never damn her for this behaviour as well which I…
Coming two years after 1979's fantastic "The Muppet Movie," Jim Henson's "The Great Muppet Caper" rates as a worthy and fizzy followup. Boasting the same lineup of muppeteered characters, groaningly hilarious quips, and meta moments, the film may not reach the highs notes of its predecessor, but it is a frothy and charming piece of work.
"The Great Muppet Caper" follows its team of Muppet protagonists to
London where they get caught up in a case regarding burgled diamonds. The mystery is not as important as the hijinks of the characters, so the caper conceit feels empty. This story does allow, however, for English cameos and an arched-eyebrow sense of humor.
Jim Henson's direction imbues the film with more visual…
The fact that Kermit and Fozzie are supposed to be identical twins in this is one of the most inherently funny things ever.
"Renoir!"
Circumstances pushed this up a bit in my informal Jim Henson study but man alive, I almost feel like I can just stop here - this is one of those perfect intersections between technical virtuosity and hilarious silliness, almost every scene features a Muppet doing something that on paper seems impossible, the bicycle number being only the most famous of many examples. And I mean come on, it's just so funny.
A wildly enjoyable, gloriously silly romp, The Great Muppet Caper is the exact kind of absurdist hilarity I am such a sucker for, with everyone’s favorite cadre of frogs, bears, pigs, whatevers, rats, dogs, chickens, and various other felt skinned creatures having a swirling caper through London which makes no sense... and that’s exactly why I love it.
Also functioning as Muppet master Jim Henson’s directorial debut, The Great Muppet Caper goes to a much more wild and epically insane scope than The Muppet Movie, while still keeping the franchise’s blend of wit and charm intact, all while wrapped up in a diamond robbery mystery in the London fashion world, and Henson, in his never ending pursuit to both entertain…
I love the muppets but I found this a bit boring. Mainly because it's essentially a golden age musical with some muppets. There's so much song and dance (all of which I found uninterested) that there was barely any room for silliness.
5/10
“Hey, how're you guys fixin' to pay?”
“What are our choices?”
“A: Credit card; B: Cash; C: Sneak out in the middle of the night.”
“We'll take C.”
“Very popular choice.”
I remember watching this very clearly in second grade in the theatre. Piggy on the motorcycle is iconic, the whole thing is fun, and I really do love it as much as the original.
It's tremendous Muppety fun all the way through, but it's hard not to notice now how it takes too long to get going, how it abrupt the ending feels, and how many jokes feel like setups to bigger punchlines that never pay off.
Also the songs aren't as good as the other two.
I give this my lowest grade: B plus.
Most people like the Muppets and well I like some of the Muppets movies. It’s just I was not interested in this one I found the plot not good
Jayce Fryman 17,440 films
This list collects every film from the Starting List that became They Shoot Pictures Don't They's 1000 Greatest Films. This…
NeverTooEarlyMP 4,822 films
Every film that has ever been nominated for an Academy Award in any category. Enjoy!
Buttersgreer 1,571 films
Excluding these because they are not in Letterboxd's library:
The Song of Love (1929) Great Day (1930) The March of…
