Der große Muppet Krimi

This film is definitely a comic masterpiece. A great improvement over the earlier MUPPET MOVIE, which seemed more like a faltering first step into feature film techniques; this has a strong plot, bright characters and keen timing. It also has great support from the comic greatness of John Cleese, Joan Sanderson, Jack Warden, Robert Morley and Peter Falk.

Diana Rigg and Charles Grodin (in his best movie) manage to hold the central human characters together, up against the bright lunacy of the Muppets. Lady Holliday's expression on seeing Miss Piggy enter in her swimsuit is worth the price of admission alone!

PS: My mum just loves the bit where Kermit does up his zipper!

The Muppets are often a delight. I say that as an adult male- I still think they're great. The Muppet Movie (1979) is a classic and very funny. When The Muppet Movie VHS release was advertised, the second Muppet film, The Great Muppet Caper (1981), was trumpeted along with it. That set the bar high, and unfortunately, it didn't click with me well as a child.

You might attribute that to drab scenery (the newspaper office and the Happiness Hotel) and costumes (Kermit and Fozzie are none too appealing in this), and themes of newspaper writing and jewel thievery that aren't going to attract every child. Having rewatched The Great Muppet Caper now, I've come around on it, or at least the first half. The film starts strong with numerous funny gags, but runs out of steam. We have some humorous self-references and Gonzo being reckless, and then as we get into the film we have dubious claims Kermit and Fozzie are identical twins, and much fun over how bad the Happiness Hotel is. The British couple who barely register Miss Piggy climbing their walls are a riot. After that, particularly when Miss Piggy begins her dancing and modelling scenes, the film begins to drag and the story isn't all that strong. There are still some laughs in it, but this isn't the Muppets' best showing.

The second theatrical outing of the popular "Muppet Show" TV characters relocates the action to London, as reporters Kermit The Frog and Fozzie Bear and photographer Gonzo are reluctantly sent by their editor Jack Warden to investigate the robbery of a famous jeweled necklace worn by unsympathetic fashion queen Diana Rigg. The culprit turns out to be her own obnoxious brother Charles Grodin and his trio of burglar-models; Grodin seems to have the hots for Miss Piggy (at one point singing his heart out to her but she puts down his effort by revealing that the actor's voice was dubbed!), a model wannabe engaged as Rigg's secretary and who ends up impersonating her boss to impress Kermit. The change in locale adds precious little to the table and, truth be told, the film tends to sag badly during its midsection (with too many schmaltzy songs for balance). However, when the film is funny, it's frequently hilarious: the in-jokey commentary by the trio of reporters accompanying the opening credits; their traveling to London in a plane's luggage compartment inside boxes denoting their species (Gonzo is a "Whatever") and their being thrown off the plane in mid-flight eventually landing at Robert Morley's feet; the eccentric and inquisitive guests at the Happiness Hotel; Miss Piggy's central musical number is an amusing pastiche of old Esther Williams aquatic routines; Miss Piggy's run-in with lorry driver Peter Ustinov (who complains, after being thrown into the garbage, that his is only a cameo), etc. Ex-Monty Python John Cleese also appears as a henpecked husband who thinks nothing of glimpsing a pig climbing the walls of his apartment building.

Anglophile that I am, I love "The Great Muppet Caper," and think I might like it even more than the original "Muppet Movie."

The gang find themselves foiling the plot of a group of crack diamond thieves led by Charles Grodin, and it's a hoot to watch the slick, professional thieves' preparations and actions juxtaposed to the loud, crude antics of the Muppets. There's a pretty funny musical number that finds Miss Piggy ripping off Esther Williams, and another lovely song performed while the entire group goes bike riding. Long before the days of jacked up special effects when anything can be done using a computer, I remember being astounded by the fact that this special effects team could make the Muppets ride bicycles. Ah, what a more innocent time....

Grade: A

For kids, this film is like a kind of methadone for the heroin that is known as Pokemon (in other words, watch the muppets to get off of Pokemon even though there is no comparison to the muppets). For some of us adults who grew up with the muppets, and this movie in particular, it's a kind of small-scale piece of homage heaven. This is a fun movie, plain and simple, which parents won't find too bad either. Story takes the trio (Kermit, Fozzie and the Great Gonzo) to London as journalists who have to investigate dastardly jewelry robberies. There's plenty of great gags, horribly awesome puns, the cool flavor of the 'Jewel of the North Atlantic', and a few cameos (John Cleese and Peter Ustinov notably) surrounded by the nut-house that is the muppet world make this a near must see. The musical numbers, by the way, are close to perfect. Jim Henson's first feature length film as director is close to being his best, though not quite.