The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
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Movie Reviews of The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
Movie Review: Love it!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a cute spin off! Alot of adult humor and it is funny & cute.Movie Review: Muppets Wizard if Oz
Summary: 5 Stars
Funny and fabulous for the whole family to watch and enjoy!Movie Review: Not Awful, Not Terrific, but Muppets Deserve Better
Summary: 4 Stars
I mainly wanted to write a review to counter the "Yuck or Yay" reviews already here. No, it's not downright awful, as some have said, but no, it's not terrific either, as others have claimed. It's certainly not terrific MERELY because of singer Ashanti (as one seemingly suggested).
I've got nothing against Ashanti, but she's one of those artists that make me ask, "Now remind me how you got famous, again... or why?" Don't get me wrong, she's not that awful, but like this movie, she's not that great, either. However, her opening song (the obvious "Over the Rainbow" pop-wannabe) was enough to drive my wife out of the room in the first minute of the film. On Ashanti's behalf, I will say (as the movie went on) they certainly could have done WORSE in picking a "name figure" in the realm of wannabe-actors, when it comes to sticking a potential pop-culture icon with famous funny characters. (Like I dunno, can ya say... Space Jam?)
Honestly, the whole "urban, modernized take" on Oz didn't bother me so bad. (We've seen that already with "The Wiz," though." ) But admittedly, I actually kinda like Queen Latifah and David Alan Grier, so I thought they made a reasonable choice for Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, if this is the path down the Yellow Brick road that's been chosen without fan consent.
The main "name cameo" I guess I had problem with were Quentin Tarantino as the most obvious. The fact that he's so out of place in a Muppet film sort of overshoots the attempted humor. I don't like him, and he's not funny. There. SOMEONE said it. Jeffrey Tambor falls into that category of, "Now remind me why I'm supposed to find you funny, again...?" Like Seinfeld, I suppose I kind of resent some unseen authority figure telling me I should find THIS person remotely amusing. There have got to be other deserving actors standing in a line somewhere wanting to work with the Muppets. That's my hunch.
Kelly Osbourne, just as out of place, was kinda funny, though. (You got me there.)
Oddly enough, I actually worked for an ABC station when this TV-movie premiered; heck, I even directed several TV spots promoting the film, (and as a former puppet-builder/performer, I even operated Kermit just for fun during our promo). And yet somehow, I forgot to watch the show when it came on.
Now let me say, I was a DIEHARD Muppet fan from age 9 (The Muppet Movie), and my career goal was to work with Jim Henson someday until my teens, when I decided I wanted to be a writer, and later an animator when I saw Roger Rabbit (which is what I finally arrived at). When Jim Henson died, it was like someone told me a member of our family had passed away.
One of the toughest things to get through my head when the primary performer for a famous character passes away is, "Yes, that performer may be gone, but that doesn't mean the character has to die." Like when Mel Blanc passed on, it was important that Bugs Bunny not die. Even though they've been through several performers, Joe Alaskey has done a fine job, most recently with the underrated "Looney Tunes: Back in Action." As far back as Roger Rabbit, when Mel was already unable to perform the larynx-cannon cameo voice of Yosemite Sam, Alaskey had me fooled until the end credits. The torch must be passed for these cultural icons to continue.
I was actually quite glad to see several Muppets in new appearances that I'd been missing. The first pleasant surprises were Scooter and Janice (her, more briefly), actually TALKING for the first time since Richard Hunt passed on. John Henson seems to be doing a fine job duty as Sweetums the Ogre (also a former Hunt character). And another late Henson character voice I'd been mourning has been the outrageous Dr. Teeth, who thankfully had at LEAST a line or two, during The Electric Mayhem song.
It was good to see Crazy Harry, the explosives-obsessed/pyromaniac ("Somebody say DYNAMITE?"), even though a face in the crowd of the Treasure Island pirate henchmen, now serving duty as the Witch's Flying "flunkies." I was glad to see them; they're some of the most creative original Muppet designs since Henson's passing.
And I begrudginlgy admit Frank Oz deserves to retire if he so chooses; he deserves to direct plain ol' live actors if he likes (Bowfinger is my favorite such Oz film). Eric Jacobson, the guy now doing Fozzie, Piggy, and Animal (my favorite, who could've used more lines here), is doing perhaps the best "replacement voice" job of them all. His Sam the Eagle made me think Frank was doing at least one voiceover, but... I still miss Frank!
And Steve Whitmire, a fellow Southerner (from Atlanta, where I currently reside) has done a great job with Kermit. Yeah, it's not Jim's Kermit. I know, and like Bugs Bunny, perhaps it's the most obvious replacement voice, but I think they made the best choice for an amphibious heir they could.
As for the computer effects, no they weren't Jurassic Park quality, but this isn't a Narnia feature, this isn't even a Disney feature, this is a made-for-TV family movie, folks! I enjoyed the Witch's floating castle, I enjoyed the four (plus) different creatures the Wizard made during his initial appearances to Dorothy and her friends, which was closer to the original Oz book than previous Hollywood versions. And I have to say, this was easily the most impressive interpretation of the Emerald City I've ever seen, even if only from the outer walls.
Unlike another reviewer, I think Muppet Treasure Island was one of the BEST post-Jim Muppet projects. It was a perfect vehicle for the Muppets, squeezing as many Muppet favorites into the storyline as comfortably possible. So it's natural that with as many people having as many different favorites, some are not going to get "enough lines."
In spite of that statement, my greatest disappointment, I guess, was in the limited appearance of Animal. His presence lacked the "bite" it usually has, and I was surprised he took the "hit" from Piggy's witch. That's like the Tasmanian Devil allowing himself to be spanked with a newspaper. It just wouldn't happen. But I guess it wouldn't have served that moment in the storyline for him to retaliate.
Maybe that's what comes from longtime Muppet writer Jerry Juhl's passing, as well...
I'm glad I rented this film; I don't think I'd buy it. I've bought the first two Muppet films (Muppet Movie and Muppet Caper), which were the best. I still haven't brought myself to buy a copy of Muppets from Space or Muppet Christmas Carol. Even Muppets Take Manhattan, made during Henson's lifetime, wasn't downright terrific. (I got that DVD free with a box of cereal, if that tells you anything.) If I could give Muppets Wizard of Oz more than just a number of stars, I'd give it an 80%, or B-. Not a bad effort, but don't give up. (Disney, Muppets, whoever you guys are these days...) Please keep trying for those of us, the 70s Kids, who want Muppets around for our OWN kids someday.
As you can tell from my "ups and downs" comments, this wasn't the best Muppet vehicle in recent years. Overall, I guess I'm just glad to see they're still giving the Muppets work. But like a group of actors whose shiniest days may be behind them (for now), they still deserve better material than what's been given to them.
Movie Review: The DVD version is MUCH better than the TV version!
Summary: 4 Stars
The Muppets are a really touchy subject for a lot of people. After the show ended and the third film in the un-official muppets movie trillogy the characters and series never seemed to really be the same. Perhaps this is because of the loss of Jim Henson, but somewhere along the line the heart and soul behind The Muppets was lost.
That isn't to say the efforts were poor though. Christmas Carol and Treasure Island were decent fares into the Muppet franchise, and even the disappointing Muppets From Space isn't THAT bad. However, they all lacked the wit and charm of the original series and instead were reduced to movies made just for children.
Then we had the new muppets christmas special (either last year or year before..) which tried to do something new with the Muppets while also trying to bring them back to their more "adult" roots. In my opinion, this special is much better than "Oz" due to one main thing: the film's premise focuses on the muppets; not another story and not an r&b-pop star.
Everytime there is something new released dealing with the Muppets I'm always excited to be there and watch it and celebrate it. That said, I don't think "Oz" is the one star film many people are touting it as because it is generally entertaining. However, Ashanti's acting abilities are worse than bad and the pacing of the film is incredibly off. However, there are subtle Muppet touches which I loved to death; the fact that Toto is a king prawn was incredibly funny as was the one liner "Witch Slapped." Now I know that last joke isn't very kid friendly, but for a child who doesn't know the rhyming curse word, the joke is just funny because the character was indeed slapped by a witch.
That said, this film isn't the greatest, but it isn't an absolute piece of crap like some people say it is. In fact I think I liked this more than both Kermit's Swamp Years and Muppets From Space. Hopefully Disney is going to get rid of everything that didn't work with the film and when The Search for the Next Muppet airs we'll have a great take on Muppet reality TV. So, if anything, give the film a rental if you're a Muppet fan and see if you like it or not. It's definately not for everyone and probably long-time fans of the Muppets will enjoy it more. But as I said before, the best thing that can happen is for Disney to learn from it's mistakes.
Just a few edits now that I own the DVD. First, the extra 20 minutes added to the film actually help it out a lot I feel. Most of what was cut a cute little one-liner jokes and they really help make the movie feel all that more muppet-ish. Also, the movie comes with a 5 dollar rebate which is a nice little dealy! Also, the bonus features are all quite funny and make the dvd very well rounded considering it was a made for TV movie. Just a small complaint, I wish the release had been in widescreen.
Movie Review: Poor comparatively speaking, but still cracked me up
Summary: 4 Stars
I love the Muppets. I love Oz. Naturally I was excited to see this. I had seen the Muppet Treasure Island, Muppets in Space and so on and knew that this one wouldn't be as good as the classic Muppets when Jim Henson was still with us.
However, I was thrilled to hear that this movie would stay true to the original Oz story, not the musical. I caught little things within the movie that was in the books as well. The Wizard DID appear in four different forms. The brains the Wizard gave to the Scarecrow really WAS bran. The mice really DID help them out of the poppy fields. I've been waiting for years for someone to do a version of Oz that was faithful to the original novel by L Frank Baum. Even though Muppets in Oz was a comedy, it was truer than any other version.
Ashanti's acting qualities were severely lacking in this movie (I've seen her do better in other roles). However, that seems to be the M.O. among many of the other Muppet movies. The performances by the Muppets were better than those of the human actors. Remember The Muppets Take Manhattan? The human actors were horrible! But that's to be expected, because these movies are about the Muppets! Not the people who guest stars.
Even though Muppets in Oz wasn't anywhere near as good as the classic Muppets and their movies, it still cracked me up. I found many of the jokes hysterical. Like when the Cowardly Lion mentions being a "friend of Dorothy." I was in stitches. When the Wizard gives Scarecrow his new brains, I was rolling of the floor. Pepe the Prawn, although not as funny is the original Pepe, stole the show as Toto.
Overall, I think this was the best Muppets production in a long time. It was long overdue.