Barnes & Noble

For their second movie, Kermit and company are literally dropped (that’s what you get for flying “ninth class”) into a Hollywood caper involving the theft of London’s grand Baseball Diamond. Intrepid investigative reporters and twin brothers Kermit and Fozzie Bear (don’t ask) must solve the crime to save their jobs. Good luck. For starters, the Muppet ensemble is just having too much fun making a movie, as witness Gonzo, Fozzie, and Kermit’s running commentary during the opening credits (“Gee, a lot of people worked on this movie”) and the fantastic production number “Starring Everybody…and Me.” What self-respecting crime movie takes time out for a Busby Berkeley-style water ballet -- featuring a synchronous-swimming pig, no less? A Muppet movie, of course. That said, The Great Muppet Caper is not as rousing a success as The Muppet Movie. The London location is underutilized, and the pacing is off, with some scenes and songs going on too long. But the smart script and the game human cast keep things moving right along. Ravishing Diana Rigg costars as Lady Holiday, a fashion designer, and Charles Grodin steals scenes as her feckless brother, who has designs on both his sister’s diamond and Miss Piggy, an aspiring model who becomes the unwitting fall-pig in his scheme. As with the first film, there are fun and fleeting cameos. Among the most memorable are John Cleese, Peter Falk, and Oscar the Grouch. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

The Great Muppet Caper is the second Muppet film and it is considerably more complex than its predecessor, The Muppet Movie, which was essentially just a road movie. As the film begins, Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear are reporters who have failed to bag a story of a London jewel heist, which happened under their watch. The real criminals managed to escape and frame Miss Piggy as the thief. Kermit, Fozzie and the Great Gonzo set out on a mission to solve the mystery and track down the criminals who stole the Baseball Diamond. There are fewer star cameos and songs in The Great Muppet Caper than in The Muppet Movie, although appearances from John Cleese and Charles Grodin are particularly memorable. Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

• UPC: 786936287820
• Source: WALT DISNEY VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Editions: Anniversary Edition
• Time: 1:38:00
• Sales Rank: 13,053

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