Rating: 
Summary: Henson Company Trying So Hard
Review: After 10 years of being shuffled back and forth between corporate gurus, the Jim Henson company is trying it's best to remain what it once was....a genuine entertainment company. This is getting harder and harder to do, since many of the Muppet trademarks have been sold off, piece by piece. I believe that this is a last-ditch effort to keep the Muppets alive in some form.As far as actual Muppets, the only one familiar is Kermit (with the exception of a VERY short appearance by "younger" versions of Statler and Waldorf). Most likely the reason for this is lack of original Muppet performers. Jerry Nelson, and Dave Goelz, once principal players, are reduced to 10 seconds with the old hecklers, and Frank Oz, Henson's one-time partner, has nothing to do with this film. Again, this seems like a sign that the Henson name is slowly slipping. As for the film itself, I very much enjoyed it. As for the people who did not approve of it's violence, they apparently never watched the original Muppet show (where Gonzo was routinely fired out of cannons and there was even a performer who literally beat little musical fur-balls senseless, all in the name of entertainment). This is what the Muppets are known for. And the creativity, although not quite as sharp as Jim Henson's, is still there (including a VERY clever reference to Henson is worth the price of the DVD alone!). In my opinion, while this is not quite what it could have been, it is still a great movie. It's the Muppets. How can you NOT like it?!
Rating:
Summary: Fun for (most) everyone
Review: As with most things Muppets this can be taken on many levels with lots of gags aimed primarily at adults while still being very entertaining for the little ones. It has rapidly become one of my 18 month old's favorite movies to watch and gives us a welcome break from Elmo/Sesame Street. The outtakes at the end of the movie and in the special features also give some "behind the scenes" insight into what goes into a muppet production. Pilgrim the dog is also the most lifelike yet expressive muppet I have ever seen. In many ways this movie is a muppets "Stand by me", a coming of age movie for Kermit and his buddies that isn't always pretty. If you are easily offended stay away, but otherwise step back and enjoy this little romp that gives us some insight into why Kermit became the frog he is today... To respond to the other posters who object to the "violence", it has to be said that the bully bullfrog ultimately learns the value of friendship, helping others and self-sacrifice. Most kids will meet real life bullies soone enough, and I hope they can learn something from how these frogs deal with that situation. The dissection-happy ninth grade biology professor also soon learns the error of his ways.
Rating: 
Summary: Not As Good As the Good Old Muppets... by FilmBoy
Review: Baby Kermit wants to go out of the swamp. His friends come along. Croaker (one of his friends) gets driven over by a car, but they keep on going. Then a bully toad and Goggles (another one of his friends) get caught by a pet store owner. And they get sold to a crazy science teacher and are about to get dissected. Will they survive????
This is a not-so-good movie. And the old Muppet movies are MUCH better. Bad script.
Rating:
Summary: Not As Good As the Good Old Muppets... by FilmBoy
Review: Henson fans weep.
A young Kermit the Frog tries to rescue a friend (and an enemy) from a sadistic science teacher who's planning to dissect them. Along the way, friends are made, everyone learns that dissecting frogs is only for pschycopaths (right!), and Henson fans will see that the Muppets appear to be going down the tube.
Almost none of the humor succeeds, and most is rather crude. The writers are going for bathroom/body-part humor, which is a far cry from the days of the Muppet Show, which was actually funny. The film also suffers from the fact that Kermit is the only familiar character in the whole movie. The soundtrack is a pain at times as well. Plus, since when have the Muppets ever firmly stood for a cause like "dissecting-frogs-is-mean"? The filmmakers are using Henson's fun Muppets as a platform for editorial... In Jim Henson's days, when a animal-rights cause or whatever WAS promoted, it was much more subtle and never pushed into your face. The outtake reel on the DVD gets many more laughs than the whole actual movie ever does. Barely worth the cost of renting, much less of purchasing.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Disappointing
Review: Henson fans weep.
A young Kermit the Frog tries to rescue a friend (and an enemy) from a sadistic science teacher who's planning to dissect them. Along the way, friends are made, everyone learns that dissecting frogs is only for pschycopaths (right!), and Henson fans will see that the Muppets appear to be going down the tube.
Almost none of the humor succeeds, and most is rather crude. The writers are going for bathroom/body-part humor, which is a far cry from the days of the Muppet Show, which was actually funny. The film also suffers from the fact that Kermit is the only familiar character in the whole movie. The soundtrack is a pain at times as well. Plus, since when have the Muppets ever firmly stood for a cause like "dissecting-frogs-is-mean"? The filmmakers are using Henson's fun Muppets as a platform for editorial... In Jim Henson's days, when a animal-rights cause or whatever WAS promoted, it was much more subtle and never pushed into your face. The outtake reel on the DVD gets many more laughs than the whole actual movie ever does. Barely worth the cost of renting, much less of purchasing.
Rating:
Summary: Blech.
Review: Henson Studios flails for the cash in a Disneyesque straight-to-video maneuver. Oh, Return of Jafar, what havoc you've wrought! Like every single one of Disney's "milk the cash cow til it drops dead" releases, Kermit's Swamp Years is low on original ideas (let's recycle every previous plot into one huge unimpressive "new" plot!), low on production value, and low on humor (at least relative to the original Muppet stuff). Seeing a young Statler and Waldorf is nice, and some of the "outtakes" are kind of funny, but even those feel so calculated. Finally, what's with all of the talk of killing and knife-fights? Since when was it cool for that kind of stuff to be so overt with the Muppets? Sure, I'm a diehard soldier of the nostalgia wars when it comes to Henson, but surely many people must agree that Jim would've never allowed a story like this to see the light of day. Bogus.
Rating:
Summary: This Movie Was Great!
Review: However, it is not bad on its own. I am glad they are attempting to keep things going. The guy running Kermit does a good attempt but he is not Jim H. The story has a simple theme and the villans really didn't interest me but I still watched the movie. I guess the true critic would be my two year old and she asked for it so much that I had to buy it to keep her quiet! ;-) For some reason she likes the Croaker as she keeps asking for the blue frog! Also to add to the violence defence. It is not that bad, my girl is rather sensitive to violence and she did not react at all. So it is not that bad.
Rating:
Summary: It is not old style muppets.
Review: However, it is not bad on its own. I am glad they are attempting to keep things going. The guy running Kermit does a good attempt but he is not Jim H. The story has a simple theme and the villans really didn't interest me but I still watched the movie. I guess the true critic would be my two year old and she asked for it so much that I had to buy it to keep her quiet! ;-) For some reason she likes the Croaker as she keeps asking for the blue frog! Also to add to the violence defence. It is not that bad, my girl is rather sensitive to violence and she did not react at all. So it is not that bad.
Rating: 
Summary: Kermit the Frog at 12 years-old.
Review: I am a huge fan of the Muppets and have been since I was growing up watching THE MUPPET SHOW. I've seen every Muppet movie and mourned on the day Jim Henson died. However, I wasn't sure what to expect with KERMIT'S SWAMP YEARS. I knew it was the Muppets, but it was a direct-to-video release and I haven't seen very many good direct-to-video movies. Well, I had nothing to worry about because KERMIT'S SWAMP YEARS is a great family movie full of the wit and humor that's so characteristic of The Muppets. The story is a bit cheesy, but much better than most other direct-to-video movies. The editing is great and the soundtrack isn't too bad. The film introduces several new Muppets who are friends from Kermit's youth, including Blotch the bully Bull Frog, Croaker the Frog, Goggles the Toad, Horace the Horsefly, and Pilgrim the Dog. Kermit returns to the swamp he grew up in and tells the story of the first time he left the swamp when he was 12 years old. Blotch and Goggles get in a fight and are amphibian-knapped by a pet store owner. Kermit and Croaker set out to free their two friends and along the way meet Pilgrim, are chased by a pig, and are almost captured by a mean biology teacher. The extras on the DVD are a real treat. They include an on set interview with Kermit, a behind the scene featurette, trailers, and a blooper reel. The blooper reel is particluarly hilarious and the behind the scene featurette is hosted by Joe the Armadillo and is really entertaining. Youngsters may not enjoy these extras as much, but older viewers will find them to be a real treat.
Rating:
Summary: Not very good
Review: I didn't really care for this movie at all. I guess it's worth watching just to give it a chance, but it doesn't have a spot in the line of Muppet movies. I couldn't believe they actually used CG shots in this movie!
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