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.
Statler: "I guess all's well that ends well."
Waldorf: "Doesn't matter to me as long as it ends."
THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER feels less like a fleshed out movie and more like three episodes of THE MUPPET SHOW put together. In fact, you can almost directly split the plot up into distinct episodes, "Muppets Go To London," "Muppets In the Fashion Industry," and "A Muppet Heist."
Of the original films, this one probably relies the most on slapstick and silly gags, with the characters breaking the fourth wall throughout. It doesn't have any classic songs like "Rainbow Connection" or "Somebody's Getting Married" and it lacks the pathos and character-driven moments of MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN. I think the reason that one…
I was definitely wowed by the technical achievements of the bike ride and water ballet numbers, but I was similarly impressed by the all-out chaos thrown into the opening scene for basically no good reason. Charles Grodin killed me (dancing by himself at the "supper club," lip-synching to Miss Piggy during the Berkeley scene) and more should be made of Peter Falk's hilarious cameo. Just overall timeless, cleverly insane goofiness.
That visual gag where we see Kermit and Fozzie's dad, tho.
Charles Grodin is having lots of fun in this.
This movie has everything I love:
-a hot air balloon
-incredibly meta, over the top humour
-old timey dance numbers
-an Oscar nominated song
-cute bike rides
-miss piggy saving the day by crashing through a window on a motorcycle
-THE MUPPETS
what more could you ask from a movie???
Perhaps the most superbly technically accomplished entry in the franchise. The shots of the muppets riding bikes through the park is nothing short of pure movie magic.
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