Muppet Treasure Island

Rating:
Summary: "He DIED?!?! And this is supposed to be a KID'S movie!"
Review: I've seen all the muppet movies, but this one is my favorite. Granted, the first Muppet Movie had awesome songs by the great Paul Willaims, and the Great Muppet Caper was a terrific spoof on classic Hollywood films. But this movie is different.

I believe it was Brian Henson who said that the difference in this movie is the world that we see. In the previous muppet movies, the muppets were strange creatures living in the human world. But in Muppet Treasure Island, it's the humans who are the odd ones. This is a "Muppet World" through and through. The first clue as to the validity of this statement is the opening credits. The main characters are played by Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, the Great Gonzo, and the other muppets. Not by puppeteers. By muppets.

Despite the fact that the movie stays pretty true to the book Treasure Island in terms of plot, the execution of it is completely wild muppet madness. Anything and everything is made fun of in this movie (including the fact that it's a movie!) For instance, in several of the excellent songs sung by the muppets (and a wonderful Tim Curry playing Long John Silver), the characters make reference to the fact that it IS a musical number.

And speaking of musical numbers, the songs in this movie are absolutely great. My family bought the soundtrack, and they listen to the songs all the time (especially "When You're a Professional Pirate"). And let's not forget the excellent background music by Hans Zimmer, who still knows how to crank out a good old-fashioned film score.

This movie is filled with all sorts of wackiness, right down to the names of some of the charcters (old Tom, real old Tom, Dead Tom), and jokes made in the movie come back later to make them ever funnier ("Dead Tom's Dead! Long John shot him!"). But this movie is more than just great fun. It's a well scripted, well acted, and in general well made film. It's got everything. Action, adventure, romance. And of course, singing. It's great family entertainment, with a lot of heart and a wonderful message about friendship. If you love the muppets, definitely see this movie. Especially if you like the story of Treasure Island...

Rating:
Summary: A disapointing DVD of a great movie.
Review: I really liked both "A Muppet Christmas Carol" and "Muppet Treasure Island". I think the Muppets to a fantastic job adapting literature to the screen in an enjoyable manner and I sincerely wish that they would return to this type of work (especially after the abysmal "Muppets From Space").

HOWEVER -- unlike the first three Muppet movies, the DVDs for "Muppet Treasure Island" and "A Muppet Christmas Carol" contain the "fullscreen" version only. "Fullscreen" is a euphemism for the cropped image, instead of the "widescreen" image (also called "letterbox"). In other words you've lost bits of the image to the left and right of the parts you can see ... and with the Muppets there are always little interesting bits going on _everywhere_ in the image.

Kudos for the movies, but a BIG "shame on you" for not releasing the widescreen edition on DVD.

Rating:
Summary: The Best of the Best
Review: Having lived for the past 7 years watching the VHS version, I have not found a better adaption. Having read the real book once a year since third grade, I love the book. This movie is great. It keeps the plot together, and the original action of the book, but puts it in a whole new light. I love this movie, even when I'm at an age when liking the Muppets is considered "uncool". This is a must for anybody who wants to see a good adaption of the story. Ironically, you will not find a better adaption of the classic, at least, I think so.

Rating:
Summary: Our favorite
Review: After numerous viewings of all the Muppet movies this one remains our family's favorite. The storyline, characters and music are all excellent. Full of memorable moments.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite "kid" movie!
Review: My family must have 100+ kid movies, but this one is my favorite! This movie is good, clean fun with some great one-liners and toe-tapping songs to boot.

Rating:
Summary: great for any muppet fan!
Review: This is my all-time favorite muppet movie. AND! now it's on DVD which makes it even better. It tells the famous tale of treasure island, with a few additions by the muppet crew(like a rat cruise being part of the story, plus a talkng lobster as a pet, you know the usual muppet sillyness). The singing is great, the lyrics are great, and the acting is great...how could a muppet act badly?
The only thing which I would say is a bad thing about the movie (because nothing is all good or bad), is some of the jokes, I mean how corny can they get...even if this is a muppet movie. sheesh! but anyway, I HIGLY recommen it, and hey thats saying something when a teenager recommends a kids movie.

Rating:
Summary: Well Worth It
Review: Some people have been complaining that about the fact that this DVD does not show the movie in its original widescreen format. It is unfortunate, but pan & scan is the only way I've ever seen this movie, and I still enjoy it thoroughly. The story is fun (though it doesn't worry about adhering to Stevenson's book too closely). The performances and songs are mostly entertaining. However, the main reason that this DVD is worthwhile is that it offers the most quality extras of any Muppet disc currently available (Muppet Christmas Carol, coming soon, should be comparable). Muppet Treasure Island features a making of featurette humorously hosted by Gonzo and Rizzo. The same two muppets also contribute to an audio commentary track with Brian Henson. But--there's more! During the commentary, the film is periodically halted to share even more behind the scenes footage. Don't let a few annoying moments or a simple aspect ratio keep you from enjoying this DVD.

Rating:
Summary: It stinks
Review: I love the Muppets. This movie really wasn't funny and had forgettable songs (except for "Cabin Fever"). This was a very forgettable movie. The Muppets just aren't as funny as they used to be.

Rating:
Summary: I hope that somethin' better comes along
Review: I am in full agreement with all the reviews blasting the fullscreen, pan-n-scan version that this hilarious film has been chopped into. This is a 5-star movie that Disney's ruined by cramming into a 1-star format. I'll keep watching my VHS copy until they release the widescreen format, and then I'll be the first person in line to buy it.

Rating:
Summary: why no widescreen????
Review: Why does disney dis the muppets? I have seen this dvd. I personally will be waiting to see if they ever do it again in wide screen. Not gonna buy pan and scan copies. I hope Disney doesn't think poor sales means we dislike the muppets when it actually means we hate P&S.