I have loved the Muppets since I was a child and I was watching The Muppet Show. I have seen all of the Muppet movies and I’ll basically watch anything the Muppets are in. I was thrilled when a new Muppet movie, Muppets From Space, was released in 1999.
All of the Muppets were living in a large house with Kermit seeming to be in charge of things like paying the bills. Gonzo was feeling alone even though he was surrounded by all of his friends. He’d had a dream where Noah wouldn’t let him on the ark because he was the only one of whatever he was. Gonzo believed that he had been contacted by aliens through his cereal. Gonzo then became convinced that he was an alien and that his family was coming to see him.
K. Edgar Singer was in charge of C.O.V.N.E.T., a top-secret government agency that was trying to prove aliens existed. Singer, who seemed obsessed with finding an alien, discovered messages he believed were from aliens. Gonzo ended up in danger because Singer was convinced he was an alien.
When Jim Henson died, I was very afraid that it would mean there would be no new Muppet movies. I was very happy when new Muppet movies were made. Since Henson died, all the movies that featured the Muppets except for this one have been versions of other movies like The Muppet Christmas Carol or Muppet Treasure Island. I’ve enjoyed the Muppet versions of other movies but I would also like to see more new, original movies with them.
I thought that the plot for Muppets From Space was interesting and I enjoyed that it was focused so much on Gonzo. I’ve always wondered just what Gonzo was supposed to be and I liked that the question was finally really addressed instead of just being part of a joke. He’s always been around, just more in the background so I was happy that he received more attention. The plot wasn’t complicated and was easy to follow. There was a little bit of mystery added in that did make me wonder a bit just what would happen next without the movie being really suspenseful.
Many people will probably feel that this movie wasn’t as good as the earlier Muppet movies. In some ways I do agree with that, though I don’t think it is a bad movie. I did enjoy the plot, but it didn’t seem to be as strong as the ones from the first three movies. I did think the movie was fun and entertaining but there was a little something missing. I think the reason for that was because this was the only original Muppet movie that Henson hadn’t been a part of in someway. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t like the movie. It just wasn’t up to the standards of the earlier movies. I do think it is worth watching. The movie had a few sadder moments but was happy overall and did include a bit of a message that was delivered in a good way without getting preachy.
Muppets From Space made me laugh many times throughout the movie. Many of the things that made me laugh were connected to Gonzo in some way. He’s always made me laugh with the crazy things he says and does. It did seem like Gonzo might have been flipping out when he kept saying that his cereal was talking to him. It really made me laugh when Gonzo was driving a riding lawn mower. Pepe and Rizzo also got to say and do things that made me laugh. It has always made me laugh when Miss. Piggy has had one of her fits attacking people and it wasn’t any different in this movie. This time her opponent also knew some martial arts, which made the scene a little different. Even though I did laugh a lot and thought the movie was funny overall, I did think the humor could have been a bit stronger.
Music and singing had been an important part of all the previous Muppet Movies and The Muppet Show. All of the movies made before this one, even the two based on other movies, had original songs included in them that were performed by Muppet characters. That didn’t happen in this movie, which will disappoint some Muppet fans. It would have been nice if at least one original song had been included. There was some music in the movie in a few scenes that fit in well.
Most of the time, Kermit has been the main character or at least very important to what was going on in the Muppet movies. This time he was more of a supporting character and in the background a bit more and Gonzo received the most attention. I did like that certain things about Gonzo were explored. It was just too bad that so many of the other well known characters ended up with a lot less to do. Fozzie was very underused which was disappointed since I’ve always enjoyed him. Miss Piggy, probably my favorite character, ended up with little to do as well. Statler and Waldorf were just shown in one or two scenes, sitting in chairs in the living room. They were still grumpy, but they weren’t really heckling like they had always done in the past.
Rowlf the dog was actually considered to be Jim Henson’s signature character instead of Kermit. If I remember right, Henson created Rowlf before Kermit. After Henson’s death, Rowlf was basically retired for that reason. He was briefly shown in Muppet Treasure Island as a tribute to Henson but he didn’t have any lines. Rowlf was shown in this movie and he did say one word. Dr. Teeth, another character that Henson was well known for, also spoke for the first time since Henson’s death. Richard Hunt had been responsible for several other characters like Janice, Scooter, and Statler before he died in 1992. Scooter was given his first line since Hunt’s death in this movie as well. Scooter was performed by Hunt’s brother.
All of the Muppet movies have featured a mix of human and Muppet characters. The Muppet characters, with a few exceptions because of the deaths I previously mentioned, were voiced and performed by the same people who had been responsible for the characters for years. Steve Whitmire had taken over the part of Kermit after Henson’s death. The voice he did for the character was a bit different but still close enough that it sounded right. Brian Henson, son of Jim, performed as a few characters.
K. Edgar Singer was really the only human character that ended up with much screen time. The man was obsessed with aliens and seemed close to his breaking point. I did think Jeffrey Tambor was fine in the part. The rest of the human characters were really just cameos, something that had been done in the first Muppet movies. Those movies did get a better group of actors than this one did for the most part. Ray Liotta was really good in his small part as a guard at a gate. Rob Schneider, Andie MacDowell, David Arquette, and Kathy Griffin, were fine in their parts. I still haven’t figured out why someone decided it would be a good idea to have Hulk Hogan - oh excuse me, Hollywood Hogan because he was in his bad phase - in this movie. His part was one of the smaller cameos, but it was still a low point. Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson were in one scene as their characters from Dawson’s Creek.
Muppet Performers/Main Cast
F. Murray Abraham - Noah David Arquette - Dr. Tucker Bill Barretta - Pepe the Prawn/Bobo as Rentro/Johnny Fiama/Bubba the Rat/Cosmic Fish #2/Dr. Teeth/Rowlf (uncredited) Kevin Clash - Clifford Dave Goelz - Gonzo/Dr. Bunsen Honeydew/Waldorf/Swedish Chef Kathy Griffin - Female Armed Guard Brian Henson - Dr. Phil Van Neuter/Sal Minella/Talking Sandwich John Henson - Sweetums/Additional Muppet Performer Pat Hingle - General Luft Hollywood Hogan - Man in Black Adam Hunt - Scooter Ray Liotta - Gate Guard Andie MacDowell - Shelley Snipes Jerry Nelson - Robin/Statler/Ubergonzo/Floyd Frank Oz - Miss Piggy/Fozzie Bear/Animal/Sam the eagle/Swedish Chef (hands) Rob Schneider - TV Producer Jeffrey Tambor - K. Edgar Singer Steve Whitmire - Kermit the Frog/Rizzo the Rat/Beaker/Bean Bunny/Cosmic Fish #1
Tim Hill - Director
DVD Information
I own Muppets From Space on DVD. One side of the disc has the widescreen version of the movie and the other side has the full screen version. Some of the outtakes were very funny. There was a video commentary by Kermit, Gonzo, Rizzo, and director Tim Hill. There were also a few trailers and a music video included. I would have liked it if there had been something on the making of the movie like there had been for Muppet Treasure Island.
I really enjoyed Muppets From Space and thought it was an entertaining movie. It wasn’t quite as good as some of the previous Muppet Movies, but it was still very entertaining and worth watching. Muppet fans should give the movie a chance.
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