View Full Version : HCR Rates The Movies #15: THE MUPPET MOVIE
So, our next film, Classic or Crud, Hit or Miss, what say you ALL?
Our next film open for discussion, and ultimately an Overall RATING by you all:
THE MUPPET MOVIE
HaZ9w7hemto
Let the discussions flow. Likes, dislikes, classic film or overhyped trash, and DONT FORGET to place an Overall Rating when youre done.
Its easy, just give a Rating from 1 (Jaws 4:The Revenge) to 10 (Jaws), and thats it. Course I'd love to have you all give reasons as to why you feel it deserves this Overall Rating, and more than encourage discussions with us all about them.
So, what say you all?
Next Film: ??????
hail_eris
11/21/2005, 12:50
Ah, we can all hope that we've aged as well as this gem. Never quite as subversive as Pee Wee's Playhouse, the Muppets were nevertheless designed from the beginning with a cross-generational appeal in mind. In-jokes like a psychedelic house band based on Fleetwood Mac and a parade of cameos from some of the greatest names in Hollywood history (just a sampling - Milton Berle, Orson Welles, Bob Hope, Mel Brooks, and Steve Martin in what is still one of my favorite of his performances) are aimed squarely at the adults in the crowd, while kids get to laugh at the funny puppets. From the incurably catchy soundtrack ("Rainbow Connection" deservedly gets respect, but let's also remember gems like "Movin' Right Along" and "Can You Picture That") to the technical wizardry of the Muppeteers (making a frog ride a bike more than a decade before the advent of digital technology was no mean feat), this movie simply feels good to watch. Passing on the potty humor that is so common (and so tiresome) in kids' movies today, The Muppet Movie succeeds with great characters, wonderfully witty dialogue, and the simple story of a frog and his dream. My rating: 9.75
hail_eris is right ... on everything but the rating. This movie gets a 10.00 from me.
hail_eris
11/21/2005, 17:00
Let's agree to agree. I'm not sure why exactly I felt the need to dock it a quarter point - it really is the perfect family movie. Let's make it a 10 from me as well...
Rokk_Krinn
11/21/2005, 19:01
I was going to write another long pompous review like I did for "Halloween" but I think Hail sums most of it up far more succintly. There is a point that I'd like to go into here though - how a movie that may initially seem "a product of its' time" to someone who's never seen it, is actually far more timeless. Unlike a movie such as "Shrek", the "time-oriented bits" of this movie are frequently still workable to future viewers because they rely on comedy and humour and not pop-culture zingers. Whereas current movies might make a jab at Tom Wolfe and think they're witty, the "Muppet Movie" - if made today - might instead have Tom Wolfe in the movie and have him in a totally hilarious role. We get "icons of the era" but they're not doing their shtick from the era but, rather, are part of the movie. Sure, most of them are cameos - like Cloris Leachman's - but they're funny bits. Steve Martin is enjoying a comeback these days but this is still a hilarious role for him that didn't rely on him being a "wild and cah-razy guy" (and thus capitalizing on his routine but, instead, the fact that he's a genuinely funny man - and an accomplished banjo player. :) ). The humour appeals to both children and adults without trying to cater too heavily to one side or the other: it figures adults can laugh at purely funny situations that will also make kids laugh (many current films use jokes that an adult might get but go above a kids head as it tries to balance - "The Muppet Movie" just makes pretty much all of it accessible to both demographics at the exact same time). Maybe not all the jokes - I admit one of my favourite jokes in the movie (the Hari Krishna running gag) wasn't immediately apparent to me as a young kid - but the vast majority which is a pleasant way of treating kids like able to keep up with adults and adults like they're still young and yet doesn't short-change either one of them and still allows them to be "themselves".
The music is also endearing and enduring. It still works - I often get "Moving Right Along" stuck in my head or make references to it, for example :) - and unlike a current film where the soundtrack would just be current pop icons trying to make a quick dollar by having their standard songs "advertised" (see: Smashmouth), these songs are original for the movie but can stand alone, plus the lyrics make sense (and are good for kids - there's some real wisdom in "Rainbow Connection").
While I was tempted to not give this the fully perfect rating, the fact is that while it's not a Godfather-classic, in it's own genre, "The Muppet Movie" is the epitome. It's what all family movies should strive to be and for that reason it gets...
10!
(In fairness I should note that having known Jim Henson I may be prejudiced here but, eh, deal. :) )
Not to disagree with any of your PERFECT ratings at all (I personally wish I remembered this film more so I could vote :)), but a few of you have mentioned that in its genre, as a family film, its a Perfect 10 and youve rated it as such.
Granted, though please keep in mind these threads are not simply us rating the film in its genre or class, but against any and every other film weve seen. Halloween shouldnt be given a rating solely against other Horror films, nor Raiders of the Lost Ark against other Action movies. We should be looking at this and every film and saying to ourselves "If I had to rate this film, comparing it to every other film Ive ever seen, what would it be"
Now this may very well be one of THE BEST MOVIES YOUVE EVER SEEN, but if its not......... Just remember to base it against every other film youve seen, not just the ones that are in the same genre/class.
Inbetweener
11/22/2005, 10:50
Like DTM, it's been way too long since I've seen this movie to give it a fair rating...sad to say but I'll be sitting this one out.
Current HCR Member Rating:
THE MUPPET MOVIE - 10 / 10
While I admit that it's charming, funny and clever, it is not the perfect movie, and should not have a higher rating the the Godfather. I give this movie a 7.5
Rokk_Krinn
12/04/2005, 11:00
While I admit that it's charming, funny and clever, it is not the perfect movie, and should not have a higher rating the the Godfather. I give this movie a 7.5
So really you're not making a vote on the movie so much as working to give it a score that'll drop it below the Godfather? :confused:
While I admit that it's charming, funny and clever, it is not the perfect movie, and should not have a higher rating the the Godfather. I give this movie a 7.5
I assume you have seen this movie recently enough that this rating is a fair and unbiased score from you? I mean, while I agree that I dont remember The Muppet movie being in the realm of The Best Movies Ive EVER Seen, I havent seen it recently enough to give it an accurate rating, so no vote from me.
Gentlegamer
12/04/2005, 13:24
Ah, we can all hope that we've aged as well as this gem. Never quite as subversive as Pee Wee's Playhouse, the Muppets were nevertheless designed from the beginning with a cross-generational appeal in mind. In-jokes like a psychedelic house band based on Fleetwood Mac and a parade of cameos from some of the greatest names in Hollywood history (just a sampling - Milton Berle, Orson Welles, Bob Hope, Mel Brooks, and Steve Martin in what is still one of my favorite of his performances) are aimed squarely at the adults in the crowd, while kids get to laugh at the funny puppets. From the incurably catchy soundtrack ("Rainbow Connection" deservedly gets respect, but let's also remember gems like "Movin' Right Along" and "Can You Picture That") to the technical wizardry of the Muppeteers (making a frog ride a bike more than a decade before the advent of digital technology was no mean feat), this movie simply feels good to watch. Passing on the potty humor that is so common (and so tiresome) in kids' movies today, The Muppet Movie succeeds with great characters, wonderfully witty dialogue, and the simple story of a frog and his dream. My rating: 9.75hail_eris is right. 10.
After having re-watched it, I will upgrade it to an 8, for it was better then I remembered. It is still however, no where near the perfect movie.
Current HCR Member Rating:
THE MUPPET MOVIE - 9.6 / 10
d_knight7
03/31/2006, 18:01
10/10, if you're lost have you tried Harry Christna? Try the Muppets movie instead.
Gargantua
04/19/2006, 23:21
Yeah, I'm going to have to give this one a 10. And I don't give 10s easily. It just works beautifully on so many levels. Perfect for kids? Check. Adults can enjoy it too? Check. Characters that you can really care about? Check. A good story? Check. Delightful music? Check. Technically marvelous? Check. Awful puns and running gags? Check. There's a reason everybody who was anybody made a cameo in that movie, from Bob Hope to Richard Pryor. Because Jim Henson had shown himself to be one of the 20th century's greatest entertainers with his unique brand of feel-good, heartwarming yet slightly subversive wackiness and they trusted him to pull it off with this movie as well. Their faith was not misplaced.
I'm sorry if I gush, but I'm of the first generation that learned from Ernie, Bert and Cookie Monster, and looked forward eagerly to the new episode of the Muppet Show every week. I'll admit that part of my feeling for this movie is sentimental, but I don't think that lessens the fact of what a great, great movie this is.
10/10. All the way, baby.
coyotejack
04/20/2006, 13:30
The Muppet Movie. I LOVE the Muppet Movie. There's something for everyone in this flick and anyone that doesn't find something to enjoy in it should be slapped with a herring.
I give it:
9.75/10
Why are there so many songs about rainbows,
and what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it.
But I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers, and me.
Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that and someone believed it,
and look what it's done so far.
What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing?
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers, and me.
All of us under its spell, we know that it's probably magic ...
Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.
I've heard it too many times to ignore it.
It's something that I'm supposed to be.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers, and me.
La, la la, La, la la la, La Laa, la la, La, La la laaaaaaa
now I have to go rent this one. I vaguely remember it..... but that was from the theater so I need a fresh viewing before I comment.
I'll be back(said with bad Austrian accent) :)
Yeah, me too. I mean I dont think Ive seen this film since the movies as well (do remember getting their Burger King glasses, along with those from the Great Muppet Caper though :)), which is why I havent voted here as yet. Not sure Id give it a perfect 10 in relation to all other films, but its sure to get a healthy score from me (9+ Im sure) nonetheless.
Muppets rock! I give it an 11!
Or 10.0, on DTM's scale. ;)
monkeyshines
05/14/2006, 05:51
A perfect 10 movie for its category. We just don't get enough muppets anymore.
A perfect 10 movie for its category. We just don't get enough muppets anymore.
Keep in mind MS youre not just voting on these movies in their genres alone, but as a whole, in your entire list of where you would rate all movies, where would they all fall. Ill keep this at a 10 for you until I hear otherwise, nonetheless.
iameleveneight
10/01/2007, 16:41
10/10 The Muppets at the height of their genius. Its just a wonderful movie.
I never could stand the muppets for more then 5 minutes. 5/10
I loved this film as a kid but I haven't watched it in years.
7/10
vBulletin® v3.7.0, Copyright ©2000-2012, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.