Muppets From Space Review

by Chuck Schwartz (chuck AT crankycritic DOT com)
August 1st, 1999
Cranky Critic® movie reviews: Muppets From Space
Rated [G], 90 minutes
Starring Jeffrey Tambor, F. Murray Abraham, Ray Liotta, Andie MacDowell, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan
Written by Jerry Juhl and Joseph Mazzarino and Ken Kaufman
Directed by Timothy Hill
website: http://www.muppetworld.com

IN SHORT: Lug the little ones.

The Muppets are performed by Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire Bill Barretta
and Frank Oz. Created by Jim Henson.

Cranky must admit, he always did prefer it when the Muppets dropped
their personalities into literary classics, as in the riotous Muppet
Treasure Island. Then again, they've always had scripts that wrote humor
a couple of levels deep. With Muppets From Space, everything is much
simpler and will appeal mainly to the single digit kidlets, even with a brilliantly funny opening sequence; a fever dream of Biblical
proportions. Gonzo the Great, whatever he is, is tormented by nightmares
of being turned away from Noah's ark. F. Murray Abraham is Noah, in the
first of many celebrity cameos that the Muppets are known for.

No role playing here. We see the Muppets in their daily routines. Miss
Piggy goes off to work at a local television station. Kermit deals with
the everyday chores of running the rooming house they share. Gonzo's
cereal talks to him.

It's The Muppets, folks. Of course the cereal communicates. Andie
MacDowell challenges Miss Piggy for dominance of the teevee airwaves.
David Arquette plays the evil research scientist. Pat Hingle is a
military man who has no tolerance for aliens or felt. Simply, Muppets
>From Space is totally painless for us grown-ups. Then again, we ain't
the demographic target for this. As for kidlets, well, Cranky lugged his
niece Sherri, age 9, to a private screening. Then I stuffed her with
Chinese food and ice cream and put her to work.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Cutesy Critic ...

<BLOCKQUOTE>I thought Muppets From Space was funny, fun, hilarious and great. The show is about Gonzo and how he chooses if he wants to leave
Earth with the family he dreams about or stay with the friends he's
lived with for all these years. One of my favorite parts was the Oscar
Mayer wiener song, sung by Rizzo the Rat. I think Miss Piggy and Gonzo
were the best characters in the show. The best human character was Ed
the government guy (Jeffrey Tambor) who wanted to capture Gonzo because
he had to prevent an alien invasion of our planet. He thought Gonzo was
an alien. So did Gonzo. because he got messages in his cereal which told
him to look at the sky. When he did, he got hit by lightning and met two cosmic fish who told him to mow the lawn. Carefully. If that doesn't
prove that you're an alien, I don't know what. Meanwhile, Miss Piggy
gets her own TV show about UFOs and aliens. So Gonzo goes on the show
and Ed sees it, kidnaps him and tries to suck out his brain. So Kermit
and the rest of the Muppets must rescue Gonzo. Luckily they have the
help of Muppet Labs and an invisibility spray in Kermie's rubber ducky.
Do they make it without getting caught? Is Gonzo really an alien? Find out in this movie.</BLOCKQUOTE>

Right from the horse's mouth, people. The screening room had lots of
kidlets, most of 'em single digits, and all were wowed. More cameos,
keeping the adults entertained: Rob Schneider, Rob Liotta, Hulk Hogan,
and Kathy Griffin. As well, the entire film pulsates to some of the
great rock 'n' soul tunes of the long ago 70s -- Billy Preston, Earth
Wind and Fire, the O'Jays, Commodores and Isley Brothers.

On average, a first run movie ticket will run you Eight Bucks. Were
Cranky able to set his own price to Muppets From Space, he would have
paid...

$3.00

There are lots of flicks aiming at the teenkids, very few that a
parental unit can take the smaller younguns to. Muppets From Space fills
that bill nicely. So why is the rating at rental level? We rate for
grownups, and this flick is one we'll rent for the kids.

[and it's Animal. Did you even have to think about it???]

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