Muppet Treasure Island (1996)

The original Muppet Movie can never be replaced in the panoply of Muppet cinema heartwarmers, but for pure polish and pizzazz, Muppet Treasure Island is my favorite Muppet movie, hands down. It stands 17 years beyond the 1970s in the sophistication, pacing, and focus of its storytelling and cinematography so it has more in common with Disney's Dinosaur (2000) than Sid and Marty Kroft's Land of the Lost (1974) -- even though it's most comparable with Jim Henson's Dinosaurs (1991-1994). Directed by Brian Henson, Muppet Treasure Island is built around a coherent literary tale yet it is besotted with the mugging Muppet characters (old and new) that we know and love. It's packed with funny, memorable lines and songs. Tim Curry and Billy Connolly are at their schmaltziest as live actors and Steve Whitmire, though uncredited, voices a completely creditable Kermit and Rizzo. Fozzie Bear, as the half-wit son of Squire Trelawny, introduces us to Mr. Bimble (the man who lives inside his finger) and finances the ship's voyage on "the big blue wet thing." Of course, Muppet Treasure Island has pirates -- scurvy swaggering pirates with names like Blind Pew, Easy Pete, Old Tom, Real Old Tom, Dead Tom, Short Stack Stevens, Clueless Morgan, and the scurviest pirate of them all -- Long John Silver. Tim Curry's scene-chewing scalawag is shameless in one of his favorite roles and I can never get enough of his tune "A Professional Pirate." Kermit and Miss Piggy's love song, "Love Led Us Here," is even a sentimental favorite. Gonzo has great lines ("Off to Zanzibar to meet the Zanzibarbarians!" and "He's got demons? Cool!") as does Miss Piggy ("You're a frog. You're supposed to have cold feet" and "I'm a pig! I need commitment!"). What's not to love? 5 stars. (2-5-09)