Like the rest of the Muppet movies my family and I have on video, I remember seeing them all as a kid, but there was a long period I didn't watch it for a while. My earliest memory of watching the movie was in the fifth grade. I thought it was OK. After a long while, I saw all of these videos on video again, during my high school years. I loved this film - it was my second favorite Muppet movie! Watching it now as an adult, I think it's good, but I don't think it's as good as I thought it was during my high school years.
First of all, it's hard for me to talk about this movie without comparing it to their last movie, "The Muppet Christmas Carol." They're almost the exact same movie, production wise that is. Think about it: they were made by the same film companies (Walt Disney Pictures & Jim Henson Productions); they're both based on classic books written by nineteenth-century English writers; the Muppets are sharing the spotlight with live British actors; and they're both made by almost the exact same people. Really! Look at the back of the video, DVD, or Blu-ray cases of these movies. They have the same writers, producers, director, editor, director of photographer, etc.!
In fear that his legendary treasure map will fall in the wrong hands, Billy Bones gives the map to young Jim Hawkins. He and his friends, Gonzo and Rizzo, go to central England to find someone to fund the voyage to the treasure. Once this happens, they load the boat and meet the colorful characters on board: Long John Silver, his pet lobster Polly, Samuel Arrow, and Captain Abraham Smollett. What they don't know is Long John and some other pirates on board are planning on committing mutiny and taking the treasure for themselves.
Like "The Muppets Christmas Carol," the movie follows the story pretty well. There are things that are changed around here (in fact I think this movie follows the book less than it does in the last movie), but you get the idea of the story. Another comparison between the two films is the Muppets share the spotlight with live actors, especially Tim Curry. Again, it's kind of weird, but it works OK. However, there is a difference between the two movies that makes me appreciate the other movie more than this one. The humor from "The Muppet Christmas Carol" created itself. It came based on the characters and situations as they occurred. Here, there are a lot of references to modern entertainment and pop culture. They reference the NBA, shopping networks, and Disneyland (or Disneyworld). For me, that's kind of annoying. The magic of "The Muppet Christmas Carol" is that they stayed in their time period. The story and the movie both are timeless enough to last forever; there's no reference to anything in modern pop culture - they just tell the story. Here, we're taken out of the magic because of the modern references. To be honest, that's my biggest problem with the movie. I think I'd enjoy the movie just as much as I did as a teenager if it weren't for those references.
What do I like about the movie? This is something I should have mentioned in my review for "The Muppet Christmas Carol," but I like the world that's created here for the Muppets. What I mean by that is the Muppets live right beside the live humans here. In the earlier Muppet movies, the Muppets were always together. It was as if they lived together as a group, and the rest of the world had live humans, as if the Muppets were the odd ones. Here, the Muppets live right beside the humans. They live with them, they live like them, they live and walk in the same communities, they work together - much like the world created on "Sesame Street."
I also like the relationship between Long John and Jim. It seems really genuine. You buy that these two are buddies. And, like in their last movie, I like that this movie has some dark moments (this one probably goes darker than the previous ones), and it's balanced with a some light-hearted moments. The songs are...OK. I love "Shiver My Timbers" and "Something More Than This." The other songs are OK, though "Love Led Us Here" seems really weird for this movie...or for the scene it was played in. I think it's very Disney-ish, as if the executives from Disney wanted this song to be in the film because there's always a romantic moment in Disney...That, and we need a moment between Kermit and Piggy.
In closing, I like this movie. I think it's a good movie that tells the story of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" pretty well. It's a nice way to introduce the story to kids, and see the Muppets take on this story. Take a look and judge for yourself. BOOYIKA!
First of all, it's hard for me to talk about this movie without comparing it to their last movie, "The Muppet Christmas Carol." They're almost the exact same movie, production wise that is. Think about it: they were made by the same film companies (Walt Disney Pictures & Jim Henson Productions); they're both based on classic books written by nineteenth-century English writers; the Muppets are sharing the spotlight with live British actors; and they're both made by almost the exact same people. Really! Look at the back of the video, DVD, or Blu-ray cases of these movies. They have the same writers, producers, director, editor, director of photographer, etc.!
In fear that his legendary treasure map will fall in the wrong hands, Billy Bones gives the map to young Jim Hawkins. He and his friends, Gonzo and Rizzo, go to central England to find someone to fund the voyage to the treasure. Once this happens, they load the boat and meet the colorful characters on board: Long John Silver, his pet lobster Polly, Samuel Arrow, and Captain Abraham Smollett. What they don't know is Long John and some other pirates on board are planning on committing mutiny and taking the treasure for themselves.
Like "The Muppets Christmas Carol," the movie follows the story pretty well. There are things that are changed around here (in fact I think this movie follows the book less than it does in the last movie), but you get the idea of the story. Another comparison between the two films is the Muppets share the spotlight with live actors, especially Tim Curry. Again, it's kind of weird, but it works OK. However, there is a difference between the two movies that makes me appreciate the other movie more than this one. The humor from "The Muppet Christmas Carol" created itself. It came based on the characters and situations as they occurred. Here, there are a lot of references to modern entertainment and pop culture. They reference the NBA, shopping networks, and Disneyland (or Disneyworld). For me, that's kind of annoying. The magic of "The Muppet Christmas Carol" is that they stayed in their time period. The story and the movie both are timeless enough to last forever; there's no reference to anything in modern pop culture - they just tell the story. Here, we're taken out of the magic because of the modern references. To be honest, that's my biggest problem with the movie. I think I'd enjoy the movie just as much as I did as a teenager if it weren't for those references.
What do I like about the movie? This is something I should have mentioned in my review for "The Muppet Christmas Carol," but I like the world that's created here for the Muppets. What I mean by that is the Muppets live right beside the live humans here. In the earlier Muppet movies, the Muppets were always together. It was as if they lived together as a group, and the rest of the world had live humans, as if the Muppets were the odd ones. Here, the Muppets live right beside the humans. They live with them, they live like them, they live and walk in the same communities, they work together - much like the world created on "Sesame Street."
I also like the relationship between Long John and Jim. It seems really genuine. You buy that these two are buddies. And, like in their last movie, I like that this movie has some dark moments (this one probably goes darker than the previous ones), and it's balanced with a some light-hearted moments. The songs are...OK. I love "Shiver My Timbers" and "Something More Than This." The other songs are OK, though "Love Led Us Here" seems really weird for this movie...or for the scene it was played in. I think it's very Disney-ish, as if the executives from Disney wanted this song to be in the film because there's always a romantic moment in Disney...That, and we need a moment between Kermit and Piggy.
In closing, I like this movie. I think it's a good movie that tells the story of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" pretty well. It's a nice way to introduce the story to kids, and see the Muppets take on this story. Take a look and judge for yourself. BOOYIKA!