La grande aventure des Muppets

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

The Muppets are in England and get involved with Lady Holiday (Diana Rigg), her brother (Charles Grodin) and jewel robberies. Who cares about the plot though. It's just an excuse to see the Muppets perform--and they're great. The script is fast and very funny--one-liners go flying all over the place and every single one works. There's a constant breaking down of the fourth wall with the Muppets addressing the audience and poking fun at their own movie! Also there are elaborate musical numbers! The songs are instantly forgettable but the dance in the restaurant and the water ballet (!!!) really work.

Also you see the Muppets walking, dancing (Miss Piggy's tap dancing looks realistic!), riding bikes, swimming AND riding a motorcycle! This was all done before we had CGI but it works. I can't figure out how they did it--and I don't want to know. Acting is very good. Rigg is having a whale of a time in her role and it rubs off on the audience. Grodin appears drugged but it DOES fit his character. A few other actors do cameos but you have to see the movie to find out who they are.

Ten stars may be excessive for this movie but I loved it. I was never bored and thoroughly entertained. Highly recommended.

The Great Muppet Caper is great family movie. They're are very good songs in this movie and it's just as witty as the others. Features several cameos (John Cleese, Oscar the Grouch). I love the seen where the Muppets are going over the check list of items. Priceless. One of the best.

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.

Jim Hensons' beloved Muppet characters again light up the screen in this, their second feature vehicle. Kermit and Fozzie play "twin" reporters who travel with photographer friend Gonzo to London. Kermit intends to interview fashion mogul Lady Holliday (Diana Rigg), whose precious jewels are being targeted by thieves. He gets distracted when he falls in love with Miss Piggy, a wannabe fashion model who agrees to take a receptionist job for Lady Holliday. The requisite villain is a hilarious Charles Grodin, playing Lady Holliday's ne'er-do-well brother Nicky. In order to foil him and his accomplices (all models), Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo must rely on the permanent residents of the extremely dilapidated Happiness Hotel.

As a lifetime fan of the Muppets, this viewer will admit that the movie does go on a bit long, and contains a few too many musical numbers. (Although the Esther Williams-style water ballet with Miss Piggy is indeed a hoot.) If anything, though, this movie comes off as even funnier to this viewer as an adult due to all the "meta" moments, where the Muppets acknowledge that they're in a movie. There are many inspired gags, such as Kermit "shaving" despite having no hair to speak of (there's no blade in the thing!). Even in 2018, an age when so many things are rendered digitally, the effects magic that makes the Muppets appear to ride bicycles is impressive.

The movie gets off to a great start, with Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo riding a hot air balloon while the opening credits play out. Kermit tells the worried Fozzie that they'll be over in a few minutes.

Many of the Muppet characters get a brief hysterical moment of their own, including some of this viewers' own favourites, like the Swedish Chef, Animal, Statler and Waldorf, and Rowlf.

Adding value to the shenanigans are a couple of cameo appearances: Jack Warden, Robert Morley, John Cleese, Peter Falk, and especially Peter Ustinov, who's one of the recipients of Miss Piggy's classic "Hi-YAAAAAH!" routine. And keep your eyes peeled for Jim Henson himself, at about the 43 minute mark as a restaurant patron.

Overall, good fun for Muppet fans, with a generous dose of genuinely funny lines.

Seven out of 10.