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Part of the fun of the The Muppets’ various adaptations (Treasure Island, A Christmas Carol) is the recasting of the Muppets as classic literary characters. The Muppets' Wizard of Oz affords the felt foursome of Kermit, Gonzo, Fozzie, and Miss Piggy with the roles of a lifetime. Kermit’s a natural as the Scarecrow; Gonzo is the Tin, uh, Thing; Fozzie Bear’s fretfully fun as the Cowardly Lion; and in a multi-role tour de force, Miss Piggy is the witches of the North (good), East (bad), and West (worse, outfitted with eye patch and biker garb). Actually, Miss Piggy might have made an endearing Dorothy, but that plum role went to pop starlet Ashanti. To be charitable, more accomplished actors than Ashanti have had trouble holding their own onscreen with the Muppets, but her singing will transport viewers over the rainbow. Her Dorothy is a disenchanted waitress at her Aunt Em's Kansas diner who sees an audition for the Muppets as her ticket out of town. It will take a twister and an eye-opening encounter with the Wizard of Oz (Jeffrey Tambor) to realize that becoming famous isn't as important as being happy with who she is. The Muppets have always been able to redeem the weakest of material, but here the straining-to-be-hip script presents a formidable challenge, with references to "Girls Gone Wild," a cameo by Kelly Osbourne, and other “Huh?” moments. Among these is Quentin Tarantino’s cameo, feverishly pitching Kermit on several Kill Bill scenarios for a Dorothy-Wicked Witch smackdown. There are, though, moments of pure Muppet inspiration, including a TV news "twister" report that takes its designations from the board game, and a winking reference to Dark Side of the Moon. This is not, to quote another joke from the film, "Oz for Dummies." Originally produced for ABC-TV, The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz is still a fun trip, but it could have used less nerve (Gonzo talking about his nipples?), more heart, and more brain. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

L. Frank Baum's enduring fantasy story gets a new and very funny spin in this made-for-TV comedy. Dorothy (Ashanti) is a young woman who works in a diner in Kansas owned by her Aunt Em (Queen Latifah) and dreams of one day making it big as a singer. When a tornado makes its way through the trailer park Dorothy and Em call home, the young woman is spirited off to a magical land known as Oz, where she accidentally kills the most wicked witch in the land. Dorothy, however, isn't so sure she wants to stay, and sets off to find a wizard who might be able to help her. As Dorothy searches for the wizard's castle, she makes some friends along the way -- a scarecrow (Kermit the Frog, voiced by Steve Whitmire), a cowardly lion (Fozzie Bear, voiced by Eric Jacobson), a combination robot and computer made of tin (The Great Gonzo, voiced by Dave Goelz) -- but she also has to fend off The Wicked Witch of the West (Miss Piggy, voiced by Eric Jacobson), whose sister fell victim to Dorothy upon her arrival in the strange new land. Featuring most of the best-known Muppet Show characters, The Muppets' Wizard of Oz also features guest appearances by Jeffrey Tambor, David Alan Grier, and Quentin Tarantino. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 786936283051
• Source: WALT DISNEY VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Language: English
• Time: 1:40:00
• Sales Rank: 14,581

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