Based on the novel "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson; a young boy named Jim Hawkins (Kevin Bishop) and his friends Rizzo The Rat, and Gonzo The Great, work and live at an Inn in England, and dream of going off on adventures on the high seas. One night, a person staying at the Inn named Billy Bones (Billy Connolly) is visited by an old friend of his, who is a blind Pirate named Blind Pew, who comes to give Billy Bones the black spot as a message that the pirates are going to kill him and take the Treasure map, that he stole from them. Billy dies from a heart attack, but gives the trio the treasure map before he dies and warns them about a pirate called "The one legged man", and the trio escape from the deadly pirates. A Squire (Fozzie Bear) helps the trio embark on a journey to Treasure Island, on a ship captained by Captain Smollett (Kermit The Frog) and his first mate Mr.Arrow (Sam Eagle). However, the one legged ship cook Long John Silver (Tim Curry), who he and Jim quickly become good friends, happens to be a pirate along with the crew that he was given permission to hire, plans a mutiny and take the treasure once they've reached the Island.
Let's start with our Muppet friends, despite that they are the supporting characters. First, there's the comic relief team Gonzo and Rizzo, who are funny as always. Gonzo loves getting into danger and enjoys the coolness of nearly every situation that he's in, while Rizzo cowares and fears. Then there's Fozzie Bear as the Squire who's a ham as always; gets some hilarious stupid moments; and gets a running gag of a man living in his finger, which is funny here and there. It's mostly the reactions from the Muppets and people who find out about it that makes it so funny. He's also assisted by Dr.Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker, who are as smart, clever, and funny as they usually are. Of course you have Kermit The Frog, as the Captain who is serious as this Captain, but has a good heart, like how Kermit tries to keep "The Muppet Show" in order. While he has some funny moments, with his worried, frightened, or beat-up facial expressions, his best scenes are with him and Sam Eagle as the first mate. Kermit tries to calmly keep the peace, while Sam is demanding and harsh towards the crew, while at the same time fearing the Captain, even though he's not as threatening as Sam builds him up to be. And I just find it downright hilarious since it should clearly be the other way around! Then there's Miss Piggy who plays the Captain's ex-love interest Benjamina, who was marooned on the Island, but is worshiped by a huge Pig Tribe. Miss Piggy is always a riot in every scene she's in, and the chemistry between her and Kermit is indeed adorable, while crap your pants funny at the same time. There's such a huge cast of Muppets that I simply just can't name them all since it will ruin the fun for newcomers. You'll see plenty of Muppets playing the role as Pirates, A native Tribe (Not just Pigs), a tourist group of Rats, and plenty of Muppet cameos that will all make Muppet fans laugh. Despite The Muppets being supporting characters, they still have more than plenty of time to shine in this film!
The human cast, are they as good as The Muppets themselves. Kevin Bishop as Jim Hawkins is actually the only serious character in the film, nor does he get a funny moment, but that doesn't mean he's boring or not interesting. He actually plays the role of Jim Hawkins really well. He has the innocence, the spirit for adventure, the likability, and even the right amount emotion that the original character is known for. Some people find his voice annoying, or too whimsical, but I personally don't mind it at all. To me, it fits his character fine. Then you have Tim Curry as Long John Silver, and to be 100% percent honest, this is one of his best performances of all time. Like top 3! He's fun and as over the top as you would expect him to be; but he does have a good decent amount of subtle and serious moments. He's villainous as every fan of Tim Curry would hope for; but there's still a strong likability to his character. In fact, his relationship with him and Jim is treated just as well and effectively as all the other great adaptations of this classic story. There is a decent amount of time to fit their friendship into the film, it doesn't feel forced or shoehorned in, it fits in the film fine. Tim Curry is just perfect for this role, and every time when I see him on screen, he's literally the focus. To think that he was afraid of being upstaged by the Muppets, he was way off his numbers. Billy Connolly as the ex-pirate Billy Bones, is another fantastic performance that does indeed bring both the humor and drama, to both his character and the film itself. Finally there's Jennifer Saunders as the Inn keeper, and while her performance is not as memorable as all the previous human characters I've mentioned, she still gets one or two funny scenes, including a running gag, where she can hear what people are saying from a far away distance, resulting to the catchphrase said by the characters that she ease-drops on, "How does she do that?". With that said, I still think a Muppet would be more memorable then her, but it's still not a bad performance from what she was given.
Next, the songs, I mean, what's a Muppet film without the songs? Every single song in this film not only hold up since I saw it as a kid, but I find them extremely memorable. I haven't seen the film in years, and I still remember the songs. You have the opening number "Shiver My Timbers" with the Pirates burying the treasure, which always pulls me into the film. There's Jim, Gonzo, and Rizzo's dream song "Something Better", and while some may find it a little too whimsical, it's still a nice and cute number. There's the sailing song "Sailing For Adventure" sung by the whole entire crew, which is funny and does bring that adventure spirit. Does Tim Curry get his own song, yes he does; he sings the villain song "Professional Pirate", which gives the film it's epic pirate feel, along with "Shiver My Timbers". Kermit and Miss Piggy, also get a love song to sing together called "Love Led Us Here", as they are being dangled towards their death, which is both cute and emotional. By the way, when Miss Piggy enters the film, she gets a beyond catchy chant by the tribe and talking Pig statues called "Boom Shakalaka". There's a song played during the credits called "Love Power", which is a catchy reengage song, but sadly it's not only not as memorable as the other songs, but I feel like that it felt outplace to close the film. I was expecting something a little more epic as "Sailing For Adventure", "Shiver My Timbers", or "Professional Pirate". The last musical sequence that I'm about to talk about is perhaps the most random and pointless scene in the whole entire movie called "Cabin Fever". It starts out with the crew sitting in boredom with no wind or tide to move the ship forward; and all of a sudden, the crew breaks out in madness and sing an over the top musical about them getting "Cabin Fever", which is so wild, crazy, and over the top, that it's fun, catchy and entertaining. Once the song ends, all the characters who part take in the number are embarrassed and try to act as if nothing happened. Pointless to the story, but entertainingly awesome!
Now the film itself is as entertaining and fun as you would expect to get from a film starring The Muppets, I mean there are so many hilarious and funny moments that the list is endless. However, what I'm more surprised about from seeing this film, is not only does it treat the classic story with the same respect as The Muppets did with "A Christmas Carol", but also brought a dark and epic feel too it. Now don't get me wrong, "The Muppet Christmas Carol" did have some dark moments and a dramatic feel at times that you would get from the classic story too, but that concept has been done to death before, and most of the dark stuff in the film usually comes from the scares that the film brought. This film is a little more darker. The opening number "Shiver My Timbers" for example, not only has some dark lyrics, but it opens with the Captain killing off his Pirate crew. We don't see them get massacred on screen, but it's there! A trio of Muppet pirates, who are usually played out for laughs, love to torture people. They try to kill Rizzo with a flaming hot sword as he's tied up; and they actually sing about their love for torturing people, and while all that too is played out for comedy, it's still really dark and sadistic for a Muppet film. The look and feel of the film with its shots, sets, and music is what make the film so big and epic. It doesn't feel like a typical Muppet film, it feels like an actual pirate adventure film, like "Pirates Of The Caribbean" for example. In fact, I wouldn't be too surprised if "The Pirates Of The Caribbean" films, actually took some of the films style and atmosphere.
The fact that a Muppet film can look and feel epic, along with adding some dark material that wouldn't be considered kid friendly; while adding dozens of over the top humor, is quite an accomplishment for a Muppet film. The Muppets are great; the casting and performances from the human actors (Especially Tim Curry) is great; the songs are great; the humor is great; it's just an altogether great Muppet film and is an adventure with the Muppets that I plan to to set sail for, for many years to come.
RATING 5/5
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