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It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
MGM // PG // October 7, 2003
List Price: $19.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie
Isn't it ironic that being retro is always in style? That's been the case recently with the re-emergence of old favorites such as "Strawberry Shortcake" and "Masters of the Universe", as a new generation discovers these classic characters and Generation X'ers begin to feel really old. But, one classic group of characters which seems to make a comeback every few years are The Muppets. Ever since the lovable felt creatures achieved the height of their popularity back in the late 70s/early 80s, they have continued to appear in films and on TV. The latest offering from the spawn of Jim Henson is the made-for-TV holiday film It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, which aired last November on NBC and is now debuting on DVD.
As It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie opens, it's Christmas Eve, and The Muppets are celebrating the holiday. But, their leader, Kermit the Frog (voiced by Steve Whitmire) is at the end of his rope. It seems that, despite his best efforts, he wasn't able to raise enough money to pay the debt on the Muppet Theater, and now evil banker Rachel Bitterman (Joan Cusack) is going to take over the propery. Meanwhile, in heaven (?), angel Daniel (David Arquette) views Kermit's plight, and approaches "The Boss" (Whoopi Goldberg) about helping Kermit. Upon reviewing Kermit's case, we see everything which led up to Kermit's Christmas Eve depression, including the departure of Miss Piggy (voiced by Eric Jacobson) and Pepe (Bill Barretta) from the group, along with difficulties getting the Christmas Eve show together. Daniel is sent to Earth to help Kermit, and uses his angelic powers to show the famous frog just important his existence is the world.
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie marks the fourth time that The Muppets have tackled Christmas, following "John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together" (1979), "A Muppet Family Christmas" (1987), and the theatrical release The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), and it appears that they've run out of gas. It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is a Muppet vehicle, so it does have its share of cute moments, that's inevitable, but the story is appallingly unoriginal and the Muppet characters aren't their usual charming selves. This may have something to do with the fact that many of the more familiar Muppeteers, such as Frank Oz, did not participate in this production. For lack of a better term, the characters are simply trying to hard here, or they aren't trying at all, as many familiar faces simply blend into the background. As for the story, the tale of a group who is going to lose their theater is incredibly hackneyed, and then the movie reaches a low-point when it suddenly becomes It's a Wonderful Life. Granted, many of the Muppet films were able to survive on shoe-string plots simply by relying on the enchanting natures of The Muppets themselves. But, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie doesn't have that luxury. The most surprising thing about this movie is that there are a number of not-too-covert sexual innuendos here. These are out-of-place in any Muppet production, especially one made for TV.
As noted before, the movie isn't all bad. Even when they are in a bad movie, it's always great to see The Muppets in action, especially my two favorites, Kermit and Pepe. There are some funny lines here, and I always laugh when Kermit makes his fed-up face. The highlight of It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie comes during the Christmas Eve show when The Muppets stage a parody of Moulin Rouge, entitled "Moulin Scrooge", which perfectly mimics the "Can Can" scene from that famous film. The Muppets have always been adept at luring good human stars into their movies, and It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is no exception. The usually manic David Arquette is quite sedate here and is good as the well-meaning Daniel. However, Joan Cusack's villainous turn doesn't work out quite as well, as she seems out of place. Goldberg is playing herself, as usual, and there's a nice cameo from William H. Macy. But, it's Matthew Lillard, as an insane French artist, who steals the show. Given the talent and history involved, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is disappointing, even for a TV production. It's not The Great Muppet Caper bad, but it's still a let-down.
Video
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie hops onto DVD courtesy of MGM Home Entertainment. The film is presented in a full-frame format. Being a made-for-TV film, this would be acceptable, until one checks out the extra features on the DVD and finds that the film clips presented there are letterboxed at 1.78:1. Hmm... This may account for the fact that the image is quite soft at times, and there is some grain in a handful of shots. The colors look very good, and there is no oversaturation of color. Evidence of artifacting pops up at times, but not enough to be distracting. The transfer is OK, but knowing that we aren't seeing the OAR makes this a questionable release, even if it is a "family film".
Audio
The primary audio track on this DVD is a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, but it sound like a 2.0 track that has been re-mixed. The track offers clear dialogue and sound effects, and "Moulin Scrooge" musical number sounds great. But, the dynamic range isn't well-balanced and the music is far louder than the dialogue. There is a smattering of surround action, mostly crowd noises and musical cues, and the occasional burst from the subwoofer, but overall, the audio is quite lackluster.
Extras
The DVD offers a few nice extra features. We start with "Inside Pepe's Studio" (20 minutes), which spoofs Bravo's "Inside the Actor's Studio". Pepe, dressed in a suit and tie, interviews director Kirk Thatcher (famous for playing the punk-rocker on the bus in Star Trek IV) and they discuss the making of the film. There is a great deal of behind-the-scenes footage here, as well as comments from the cast, both human and Muppet. The highlight of this entire DVD (even taking the actual film into account) is the 5-minute blooper reel, which shows that even Muppets can blow their lines and miss their marks. There are seven deleted scenes included here, which run a total of seven minutes, but most of them are quite short and would have added little to the film. Finally, we have text bios for the main Muppets, with only Pepe's being humorous.
I've been a fan of The Muppets for as long as I can remember, but their recent efforts have shown a sharp downturn in quality, and It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is no exception. Aside from the "Moulin Scrooge" number and a few clever lines, there is nothing new here, and this will only appeal to the most die-hard Muppet fans.
Isn't it ironic that being retro is always in style? That's been the case recently with the re-emergence of old favorites such as "Strawberry Shortcake" and "Masters of the Universe", as a new generation discovers these classic characters and Generation X'ers begin to feel really old. But, one classic group of characters which seems to make a comeback every few years are The Muppets. Ever since the lovable felt creatures achieved the height of their popularity back in the late 70s/early 80s, they have continued to appear in films and on TV. The latest offering from the spawn of Jim Henson is the made-for-TV holiday film It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, which aired last November on NBC and is now debuting on DVD.
As It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie opens, it's Christmas Eve, and The Muppets are celebrating the holiday. But, their leader, Kermit the Frog (voiced by Steve Whitmire) is at the end of his rope. It seems that, despite his best efforts, he wasn't able to raise enough money to pay the debt on the Muppet Theater, and now evil banker Rachel Bitterman (Joan Cusack) is going to take over the propery. Meanwhile, in heaven (?), angel Daniel (David Arquette) views Kermit's plight, and approaches "The Boss" (Whoopi Goldberg) about helping Kermit. Upon reviewing Kermit's case, we see everything which led up to Kermit's Christmas Eve depression, including the departure of Miss Piggy (voiced by Eric Jacobson) and Pepe (Bill Barretta) from the group, along with difficulties getting the Christmas Eve show together. Daniel is sent to Earth to help Kermit, and uses his angelic powers to show the famous frog just important his existence is the world.
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie marks the fourth time that The Muppets have tackled Christmas, following "John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together" (1979), "A Muppet Family Christmas" (1987), and the theatrical release The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), and it appears that they've run out of gas. It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is a Muppet vehicle, so it does have its share of cute moments, that's inevitable, but the story is appallingly unoriginal and the Muppet characters aren't their usual charming selves. This may have something to do with the fact that many of the more familiar Muppeteers, such as Frank Oz, did not participate in this production. For lack of a better term, the characters are simply trying to hard here, or they aren't trying at all, as many familiar faces simply blend into the background. As for the story, the tale of a group who is going to lose their theater is incredibly hackneyed, and then the movie reaches a low-point when it suddenly becomes It's a Wonderful Life. Granted, many of the Muppet films were able to survive on shoe-string plots simply by relying on the enchanting natures of The Muppets themselves. But, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie doesn't have that luxury. The most surprising thing about this movie is that there are a number of not-too-covert sexual innuendos here. These are out-of-place in any Muppet production, especially one made for TV.
As noted before, the movie isn't all bad. Even when they are in a bad movie, it's always great to see The Muppets in action, especially my two favorites, Kermit and Pepe. There are some funny lines here, and I always laugh when Kermit makes his fed-up face. The highlight of It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie comes during the Christmas Eve show when The Muppets stage a parody of Moulin Rouge, entitled "Moulin Scrooge", which perfectly mimics the "Can Can" scene from that famous film. The Muppets have always been adept at luring good human stars into their movies, and It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is no exception. The usually manic David Arquette is quite sedate here and is good as the well-meaning Daniel. However, Joan Cusack's villainous turn doesn't work out quite as well, as she seems out of place. Goldberg is playing herself, as usual, and there's a nice cameo from William H. Macy. But, it's Matthew Lillard, as an insane French artist, who steals the show. Given the talent and history involved, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is disappointing, even for a TV production. It's not The Great Muppet Caper bad, but it's still a let-down.
Video
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie hops onto DVD courtesy of MGM Home Entertainment. The film is presented in a full-frame format. Being a made-for-TV film, this would be acceptable, until one checks out the extra features on the DVD and finds that the film clips presented there are letterboxed at 1.78:1. Hmm... This may account for the fact that the image is quite soft at times, and there is some grain in a handful of shots. The colors look very good, and there is no oversaturation of color. Evidence of artifacting pops up at times, but not enough to be distracting. The transfer is OK, but knowing that we aren't seeing the OAR makes this a questionable release, even if it is a "family film".
Audio
The primary audio track on this DVD is a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, but it sound like a 2.0 track that has been re-mixed. The track offers clear dialogue and sound effects, and "Moulin Scrooge" musical number sounds great. But, the dynamic range isn't well-balanced and the music is far louder than the dialogue. There is a smattering of surround action, mostly crowd noises and musical cues, and the occasional burst from the subwoofer, but overall, the audio is quite lackluster.
Extras
The DVD offers a few nice extra features. We start with "Inside Pepe's Studio" (20 minutes), which spoofs Bravo's "Inside the Actor's Studio". Pepe, dressed in a suit and tie, interviews director Kirk Thatcher (famous for playing the punk-rocker on the bus in Star Trek IV) and they discuss the making of the film. There is a great deal of behind-the-scenes footage here, as well as comments from the cast, both human and Muppet. The highlight of this entire DVD (even taking the actual film into account) is the 5-minute blooper reel, which shows that even Muppets can blow their lines and miss their marks. There are seven deleted scenes included here, which run a total of seven minutes, but most of them are quite short and would have added little to the film. Finally, we have text bios for the main Muppets, with only Pepe's being humorous.
I've been a fan of The Muppets for as long as I can remember, but their recent efforts have shown a sharp downturn in quality, and It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is no exception. Aside from the "Moulin Scrooge" number and a few clever lines, there is nothing new here, and this will only appeal to the most die-hard Muppet fans.
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