Customer Reviews

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(44)

 

 

I'm the first person there would be to step up and defend the Muppets. I will not defend this movie. It is disgusting what has been done to this once great franchise. I was not dissapointed when I watched this movie when it first aired, I was angry. Jim Henson would never allow a movie this bad, this unimaginative, this unfunny to ever be made. The Muppets represented the greatest in all imagination. There in no imagination present in this steamer. Shame on you, Frank Oz, for participating in this film. You of all people should've known better. The Muppets mixed with the Wizard of Oz had so much potential but ended up being the worst Muppet project I've ever seen. Don't buy this movie. Don't buy this movie. Don't buy this movie. If you don't believe me, rent it first. When you do rent it rent something good that the Muppets did so you can wash that taste out of your mouth after you watch it.

This has got to be the absolute nadir of so-called "family entertainment". Hollywood these days, seems to be under the impression that children today want "hip", they want "edgy". Well I have news for these bozos; They want what they've always wanted; charming, witty and decent entertainment. If I sound a bit angry and annoyed over this P.O.S. I have a very good reason. This is not only unfunny, cheap and badly made, lacking any hint of the wit and charm of the Henson films, but it's vulgar to boot. Nipple pinching gags? There are so many things in this video that are unacceptable for small children that you might even find copies of this thing in the dumpster at a trailer park. Jim Henson and the Pixar people had the sensitivity and intelligence to realise you could entertain the parents of their intended audience with wit and charm. "Hipness" and sewer humor is a pretty pathetic substitute for quality.

OK, who do I think I am saying such a thing about a Muppet movie? Hey, I've watched enough Muppets to know what's good and what's funny. This ain't it, and it isn't even close. Hey, you know the saying about not judging a book by the cover. The same applies to flicks, because the cover of this alone invites you to an all new world of the classic we've loved for years. I seriously wonder how "Muppet Treasure Island" was so awesome and THIS was so bad. It sucked, plain and simple! I'm thankful that we were able to borrow this from our local library before dishing out our money for this. By the way, the extra star IS simply for potential alone. How does it manage to screw up? Hey, read on!

You think of the Muppets, you're thinkin' ha ha ha!! You watch this and your like eh heh heh, it isn't that funny, and it isn't that innovative. Freakin' Quentin Tarantino made it all the more horrific! But ok, let's take a look at all the potential that could've made this great. Here we go! The opening song with Dorothy was good. But where did it flop? I personally don't know, but it did indeed FLOP. Kermit the Frog is Scarecrow. And of course he has his moments, but it doesn't hit the bulls eye, and misses the mark completely. Gonzo the Great is Tin-Man. Hey, I said this sucked for a reason. Because when Gonzo can point to knobs on his chest and say, "Those are my nipples" with no humorous effect, I can say THIS SUCKS!! Yeah, that's a direct quote from this, I ACTUALLY WATCHED IT! OK? I'll continue. My daughter loves Gonzo, and she was gone by this point. Gonzo wasn't funny. Fozzy Bear as Cowardly Lion, and it could've been great. I'll spare you any details. It wasn't too pretty. I thought it might be tolerable when Statler and Waldorf finally made their intro with their crack or two. Statler and Waldorf's heckling MADE Muppets better every time. This time they made it worse. The biggest disappointment I thought was Miss Piggy, not just as the Wicked Witch, but as ALL THE WITCHES. Now for a little while, it worked. But after some time, she got crappy too! The monkeys were a disgrace in my opinion.

I always saw "The Wizard of Oz" as a thing of beauty, of wonder and enchantment. Of AWE most of the time! I saw this as sheer stupidity! Like I said, they made "Treasure Island" work, and it happens to be a BIG favorite of my daughter's. This just gave her reason to play with her toys. Hey, if we're going to watch The Muppets, give us what we're used to. And that's entertainment! The Muppets are all about the unexpected, and madness hilarity, but they tried WAY too hard this time. It sucks, and I won't waste my time and money on it. No apologies.

This film is not for kids (or adults), unless you wish your kids to be entertained by the following content that includes rude and crude behavior and lots of sexual inuendo: "Dorothy" acts rebellious toward her parents and society (life is boring, she wants excitement, not responsibility); "Dorothy" and her friends talk about things that make them "hot and sexy", repeatedly, within the first half hour--including the dead Wicked witch's shoes that make "Dorothy" look "sexy"; muppet crab "Toto" rubs the "nipples" on muppet "tin man"; "wizard of Oz" appears as a giant scantily clad buxom brunette and crab "Toto" asks this "wizard" to arrange a sexual encounter; etc., etc. etc. And this has NOTHING to do with the Frank Baum Wizard of Oz story other than to borrow a few images: A tornado, a young girl named "Dorothy", an emerald city, etc. The characters and plot are all "original"--but not creative or intelligent or sophisticated in the least. Utter trash. I'd rate this a 0 out of 5, or even -1 for "downright harmful" if I were allowed.

Old folks like me will recall that what made "The Muppet Show" great was its uniqueness. I recall episodes where Sylvester Stallone and Vincent Price actually sang. Clearly, the muppets were doing their own thing, they weren't interested in being "hip."

Fast forward to "Muppets Wizard of Oz." Singing flavor-of-the-moment Ahsanti stars as Dorothy, a Kansas waitress with visions of stardom. As the opening credits roll, she sings a forgettable song in music-video format (complete with a music video reference). Later, she tells her Aunt 'Em that she wants to go to Hollywood and learn Kaballa, a pop-cultural reference that was already dated by the time of the movie's release.

Soon, Dorothy is whisked off to Oz, a land where pop cultural references pile up like flying monkey guano. Among these is Gonzo explaining to Pepe that the buttons he is pushing on his chest are his nipples. This comment may be the last gasp of the edginess that once made the muppets great. Later, Dorothy steps into a make-over machine and comes out as the talentless daughter of Ozzy Osboune (she's been re-born, or rather, Oz-born, yuck yuck). I'm sure that joke will be twice as funny to new viewers in a year or two, right?

Dorothy eventually announces that she wants to go home, perhaps she was driven off by the staggeringly unfunny jokes that crop up on all sides (see the Osbourne joke above). Although her character elicits no sympathy, the audience wishes her to return home too, just so we can end the movie.

Once, long ago, the muppets succeeded because they made their own rules. This is why their show (season 1 recently released on DVD) and their early movies have retained their charm for the past several decades. "Muppets Wizard of Oz," by contrast, is too interested in being "hip" and "today" to focus on anything else, and will be justly forgotten tomorrow.

The Muppets have always been edgy in a way that played more to adults and teens than children -- just look back at the variety show. Parents who think otherwise are mistaken.

That's not what really bothered me about this one. What bothered me was the blatant corporate overtake of the Muppet franchise. This was a movie made by suits to try to justify the profitability of the franchise to other suits at Disney who had just bought the franchise.

I could put the old Muppet movies and shows from the 70s and 80s in today and they'd still be funny. Half the references in this one are already passe. It's as if the Muppets have lost their way and, like an insecure adolescent, are looking at what's cool today and trying to emulate it: "Hey, look at me! I'm hip and edgy!" No you're not. You're pathetic because you've lost who you once were and we all know it.

I have no problem with hip and edgy, but the Muppets are better than that. What made the franchise wasn't endless pop references. It was timeless humor. They don't have to stoop to the latest TV reference or pop tart singer to impress the new corporate bosses with high ratings at all costs for one night on ABC.

Muppets' Christmas Carol - now that's good, newer stuff.

Someone needs to step in and save this franchise before it jumps the shark for good.

Call me a prude if you will, but something very bad has happened in the Muppets creative department.

I was really looking forward to watching this with my daughter but I found myself very tempted to turn it off and not finish it. I decided to finish it and hope she doesn't remember any of it.

Dorothy has a 'tude as big as Kansas. There was so much inuendo it made me sick. This movie gives the Muppets a bad name.

When my 7 year old daughter came home from school today she burped and I said "ugh" she replied, "What do you smell it or something?" I was appauled and told her never to repeat that rude comment again, only to find out later she was quoting a line from MUPPETS WIZARD OF OZ!!!

There is no reason to tear apart the acting, the script was to blame for most of the trouble.

I not only don't recommend watching it, I recommend avoiding exposing your children to it.

I'm a huge Muppet and Jim Henson fan. HUGE. The first movie I ever saw in the theater was The Muppet Movie. They were such a huge part of my childhood. I loved all the Henson Muppet Movies, Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, etc. The television show. Fraggle Rock. The one-off specials (such as the Easter one that introduced the character of Bean the Bunny). The Storyteller The NEW Muppet Show that Henson did before his death where half of it was the Muppets running a television studio, and the other half was more serious stuff such as the story of the boy who's brother helps him with his problems by making him think the dragon that his FX company was making was actually alive and communicating with him (one of my favorite Henson creations EVER). I do enjoy the Post-Henson films despite them not having the same flawless rhythm as MM, Great Muppet Caper, or Manhattan.

I know what I'm taking about when it comes to Muppets.

They stumbled, greatly, when they made "The Muppet Christmas Movie" which took the shrimp (who was hilarious in "Muppets In Space") and completely ruined him by creating an almost sleazy sexual subtext to his scenes. It was also bloated and sluggish, in dire need of editing. But even that special had it's charming moments.

Muppets' Wizard of Oz, however, is first Muppet project that I HATED. HATED!!! The most glaring problem, or perhaps explanation, is that the creators of this drek have a complete lack of understanding of what made the Muppets such iconic figures. The bizarre sexual subtext is no longer an undercurrent, it's out there in the open. Such as Gonzo's "nipple" joke which actually made me cringe. Stupid pop-culture jokes which are already now outdated. An American Idol gag? How cutting edge. *sigh* Not one iota of the charm and magic and wit which graced the projects that Henson oversaw. The writers don't even understand WHAT the Muppets are!!! David Allen Grier's character says the line, "The Muppets are the most famous puppets in Hollywood." THE MUPPETS ARE NOT PUPPETS! Kermit is a frog. Piggy is a Pig. Fozzie is a bear. And Gonzo is a whatever. They are not puppets. They are real. If you don't get that, you just don't get the Muppets. I tivo-ed this film since I was at work when it originally aired and I found myself fast forwarding through large sections of it, the atrocious musical numbers mainly, because it was that bad. I literally could not stand to watch the desecration.

If this project is a signal of where the Muppets are going then I, a lifelong Muppet fan of 25 years, will be hard pressed to follow.

My son was so excited to see this at the video store last night. We love the muppets, so we gave it a try. There were several comments throughout the first 30 minutes that seemed inappropriate, and after 30 minutes we finally had to turn it off.
First off, it did have a few cute spots. Instead of having Toto as a dog, Dorothy has a shrimp named Toto. Dorothy is still in Kansas, but instead of dreaming she is exploring outside the farm, Dorothy is a waitress in a small-town diner, dreaming of a career as a singer. Cute concept, and I really thought this movie had great potential.
The part that gets to me is that there are SO many inappropriate, adult comments, I don't know why this is marketed as a children's movie, or why the muppets were even involved. Just as one example, Dorothy refuses to wear the witch's magic shoes and starts a bratty little tirade, until Miss Piggy explains they are from a top-name designer. Dorothy jumps at the chance to wear them then, and exclaims they make her feel SEXY. Are you kidding??? I was watching this movie with a 5-year old! The first 30 minutes of the movie were riddled with such comments. I am completely disgusted.

Disappointment doesn't even begin to describe my reaction to the film. It all starts with the writing, obviously this was written by someone who knows little about the Muppets and their humor. There is absolutely no charm or class in this entire film. Ashanti is passible at best, the muppets have no real personality, the effects are an atrocious mix of bad lighting and "Sesame Street" like sets. It also would have been nice to have the music composed by someone who knew what they were doing. If you're going to make a musical, get someone who can do some catchy tunes. Bottom line, if you're an Oz fan or a Muppets fan...give it a once over, but no promises. Chances are, you won't be too happy.