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…
Girl: Look, Dad. There's a bear.
Father: No, Christine, that's a frog. Bears wear hats.
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.
"You can't even sing! Your voice was DUBBED!"
Much like the first Muppet movie, I found lots to enjoy with this one while feeling that it was getting pretty bloated as things went on. Once again the opening act is superb and most of the best jokes appear here. After that I found my attention wandering thanks to the generally sedate pace and overuse of long musical interludes.
I probably preferred this one a bit more to the original. It's more of an adventure, definitely more ambitious and the fact that it's set in England warmed my heart. The John Cleese scene was fantastic.
The puppet work is truly outstanding. This is due to a mix of the puppeteers being…
Girl: Look, Dad. There's a bear.
Father: No, Christine, that's a frog. Bears wear hats.
A human on a stunt bike dressed as Miss Piggy is the scariest thing ive ever seen
Not as good as the original movie or the recent ones, but still fun and a few nice cameos. Still can't work out how they show them riding a bike.
Laidback in its madzannery, the jokes that excel above the rest of the dialogue almost feel like an indulgence since the bedrock for every scene, character, and jaunty number is, at the very least, infectious.
I misremembered this one: it's great, so funny and with fab musical numbers in an English as tuppence London with a varied live-action cast (Robert Morley! Diana Rigg! Joan Sanderson! Peter Ustinov!).
This is what the Muppets are all about, and this is beautifully done with puppets which feel lifelike, and a lot of bounce in a convoluted plot in which Kermit and Fozzie have to solve a mystery.
These, and not Star Wars, are the true great special effects fantasy epics of the '70s and '80s.
Put me in the camp of those who enjoyed this more than the first one!
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Film #19 of the November 2018 VHS Collection Challenge
letterboxd.com/warrensm/list/november-2018-vhs-collection-challenge/
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The next movie in my ongoing November 2018 VHS Collection Challenge is a childhood classic of mine: 1981's The Great Muppet Caper. This is the second feature film centered around Jim Henson’s Muppets, taking place just 2 years after The Muppet Movie. Interestingly enough, this is actually the first feature film that Jim Henson ever directed.
Score: 88/100
#4 Favorite Movie of 1981
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