plot dvd review story This volume is firmly grounded in the musical variety of guest - playing on the guests' reputations and established images, whilst at the same time, subverting them, and giving fans something extra-special. But then, the Muppet Show always was something special - attracting some of the biggest names in showbusiness, and getting the straightest of performers to give an enchanting 25 minutes of screen time, and broading their appeal to the whole family. Few kids will completely appreciate the textual subtleties of the shows, but undoubtedly they'll appreciate the humour value and fuzzy creatures - all held together by compere Kermit the Frog. Kermit is the star of many a show, despite his dead-pan deliveries, and lack of direct involvement in many of the sketches. Under Jim Henson's mantle he would be the one who would steer the first Muppet films, only to be superceeded in the last couple of years by the narrative functions of the Great Gonzo, and foolishly replaced on tv in The Muppets Tonight by Clifford as compere. Kermit's also the kid's draw in as he is the Tv news anchor in educational Muppet offshoot, Seasame Street. The adults meanwhile, sitting down with their young ones, find something in the variety format, familiar popular songs, witty humour, and star attractions. Elton John has never seemed to me an
obvious guest for a kids show, but family entertainment
perhaps. Here, he is lumbered with the outrageous
costumes for which he was so famous in the 1970s, despite
wanting to settle himself in a more normalised image. He
gets to belt out rockers like Crocodile Rock,
with a hoard of snapping Muppet-crocs, and of course a
fantastic duet with Miss Piggy on Don't Go Breaking
My Heart. In between we get the usual range of back-stage
antics, Pigs in Space, and a very English music hall
number. Chaos indeed. Julie Andrews on the other hand is a charming, delightful and enchanting guest with a broad appeal to children, best known as the titular nanny in Disney's Mary Poppins. She works a dream with the Muppets, amidst the crazy shooting off of animals and Muppets across the stage, sharing an intimate revival of a song she wrote for Kermit once on her own tv show. Whilst the closing number is a little dull for me, her rousing rendition of songs from The Sound of Music is very welcome, and reminds us all quickly why she is so widely loved. The Jug Band, and Sam the bald eagle's McCarthy-style denouncement of Conservationists (read: Communists) are among the other highlights. Every now and then they do something just a little off-field, and with more depth than family entertainment should get. This is subversive, and satirical. Gene Kelly turns up as a guest on the show, to watch, only finding himself dragged before the audience (secretly willingly), and avoiding the famous Singing in the Rain song if he can help it. Kelly is aging, his voice begining to go - getting weak. And although a lot of the show is centred around the Muppet creations, Kelly manages to provide some real joy, and some poignancy. He teaches Kermit to dance (a great visual treat, as Kermit is seen in his entirety dancing beside Gene), and closes with a great medley of his songs, ending up on a replica set of the Singing in the Rain number. Its a tearjerker moment, and a beautiful way to end the show. transfer Design extras Brian Henson Intros The son of Muppet creator Jim Henson, and an established producer now himself, Brian introduces each of the episodes on the disc. Each intro is snappily edited with snips from the episode in question. Each lasts approximately one minute, but leaves the viewer wanting more behind the scenes info. His insights are welcome, but all too brief, more could be said on each episode. A separate longer piece is needed. Movie Mania : You've never seen frogs' legs like this before (1mins 02secs) A particularly amusing ident with Kermit and a bunch of other frogs doing a Riverdance spoof, entitled Flipperdance. The joke works particularly well here, and I wanted to see more. Non-anamorphic 16x9. Muppet Moments : dare to be funky (1min 02secs) Floyd and Kermit boogie it away to a slightly retro piece of music. Stylish and identifyable. Fullscreen. From the archive Jim Henson's original sketch for the Swedish Chef, from 1975.
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DISC: Feature length: 80
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Trailers