Tales from Muppetland: The Muppet Musicians of Bremen

I felt very compelled to reading the first commentary about this Muppet special. While it wasn't as good as the other "Tales from Muppetland" specials, it was pretty good. It had puppeteering, full body characters, and something I never noticed on any Muppet program marionettes. Maybe I saw it before somewhere, I don't know. But still, this was a great special.

I noticed that one of the other reviewers for this Jim Henson special said they wish that you could buy this. Well, I couldn't find it for sale either, though it is currently posted on YouTube. The downside is that there are no captions and the print is pretty blurry. But, it is a neat old show....and I'll take what I can get!

I looked for this show because I remember loving it as a kid...and was curious if it's as good as I remembered it. Is it worth seeing?

Well, the show begins with Kermit narrating and introducing the characters. I think this was wise, as it begins at the end...and younger kids will know because of this that the animals will all be fine. This is important because the humans in the show are very frightening....and for young kids they would be terrified if they thought the animals might die...as the humans DO threaten to kill them or mistreat them!

The story is about four unwanted farm animals, a donkey, a rooster, a cat and a dog. The four hate their lives on the farm and as they meet up, they decide to join up and head to the big city to make their fortune singing. However, their plans turn out a bit different than they expected...and they have to deal with some very nasty people in the meantime.

The puppetry in this one is amazingly good. I didn't think that Jim Henson and his muppeteers did such complicated creatures back in 1972. Long before audiences were wowed by seeing Kermit and Miss Piggy riding bicycles in "The Great Muppet Caper", you see an entire walking, talking donkey! You also have some amazing 'humans'....enormous costumes of very well made muppet magic. You just have to see all this to take in how well made and beautiful it all is.

So what did I think of the show now that I am a heck of a lot older? Well, I thought occasionally the songs were a bit too long and too often. Also, the story a bit scary for very young kids (at 8, I loved it...I am talking younger...perhaps 2-5). I warn you, the humans in this are pretty cruel and awful! So, you might just want to watch this with them and keep reassuring them that everyone will be okay...which, of course, they will. A truly unusual and beautiful show....as pretty as anything the Muppets ever made...and one that really SHOULD be on DVD or, perhaps, on Disney+.

Disney owns the muppets now for a while,right?why in all that is holy don't they release this, hey Cinderella and the frog prince?... the mouse isn't too terribly smart....

Everything seems a bit off in this one. The puppetry is an innovative blend of hand puppets, full-body costumes and marionettes, but the presentation is just too bland to stand alongside other more impressive 'Tales from Muppetland' specials.

Everything is just a bit muddy and off, even Kermit seems a little odd here (although I love his little dance at the beginning).

Never liked this one as a kid, thought I might have a newfound appreciation for it now as a Muppet fan and all, but no dice. I found myself bored and disappointed. Check out Henson's much better Muppet fairy tale specials from this era, like "Hey, Cinderella" or the masterpiece "Frog Prince". "Musicians of Bremen" however, probably won't hold the attention of you or your child very well.

I can't remember for the life of me how I saw this special. I think Nickelodeon used to show some old muppet specials on during the day or as special events (they also played the Muppet Show for a while I believe). I remember this clearly as Kermit the frog appears briefly at the start, and talks to a donkey who's on his way to "fame, fortune, and gogolala" (that last part isn't entirely correct quote, but it's close). For kids, it's an entertaining slice of obscure muppet-mania, as there is a host of regular farm-like muppets (not the usual assortment, so try not to be too disappointed by that), loaded with songs and some morals too with the story. It's also very 'old-school' as a TV production, but with the skill and charm that we all know and love from director Henson and writer Jerry Juhl. If you're a parent and you can find a copy- and have the courage to show it to such a child who didn't grow up properly on most puppets (save, hopefully, for Sesame Street)- it's worth a shot, and I'm sure it'll be a good collectible for Muppet fanatics.