Muppet Treasure Island

""Take a cruise," you said. "See the world," you said. Now here we are, stuck on the front of this stupid ship."
"Well, it could be worse. We could be stuck in the audience."

Jim Hawkins (Bishop) dreams of having an adventure and travel the world like his late father, but he is stuck working at a local inn with his friends Gonzo and Rizzo.  One of the guests at the inn, Billy Flynn (Connolly) regales the boys stories of his days as a pirate burying treasure.  But when his old shipmates mark him for death, Billy gives the boys the map to Captain Flint's buried treasure.  He tells to boys to beware of the one-legged man and dies,

"He died? And this is supposed to be a kids' movie."

With the inn destroyed by the pirates, the boys decide to sail the seas and find the treasure.

They convince Young Squire Trelawney (Fozzie Bear), a half-wit who listens to advice from Mr. Bimbo, the man living in his finger, to finance the voyage and find a boat and crew for the trip.  He agrees, and soon they set sail, with the boys serving as cabin boys.  But their excitement soon turns to fear when they meet the ships cook Long John Silver (Curry), a one-legged man, and realize the rest of the crew are pirates.  At Captain Abraham Smollett's (Kermit the Frog) suggestion, the treasure map is locked away.  Can they make it to the treasure, or will the pirates mutiny and kill them all?


Six years after the death of Muppet creator Jim Henson, the Muppets returned to the big screen under the direction of his son Brian Henson.  Muppet regular, Steve Whitmore takes over Jim Henson's characters (with the exception of Rowlf, who was retired after Henson's death, because that is the character that most resembled Henson's personality).  Like it's predecessor, A Muppet Christmas Carol (also directed by Brian Henson), this film puts the Muppet spin on the Robert Louis Stevenson's classic "Treasure Island."  Most Muppet characters replace characters from the film, Kermit is Captain Smollett etc., with a few exceptions, Gonzo, Rizzo, etc.

The film also sticks to the traditional Muppet formula: good story, many puns, original songs, absurd situations, etc.  Broadway star turned movie star Tim Curry shines in the role of Long John Silver.  He is charismatic and manages to steal the film from his Muppet co-stars (not an easy feat).  The rest of the human cast is functional, but not particularly memorable, with the exception of Billy Connolly chewing scenery as the perpetually drunk Billy Bones.  The songs are fun, with Curry's solo "Professional Pirate" ("remember this is my only number") standing above the rest.

I saw this film in theaters when it was released (I was in elementary school) and loved it.  Seeing it again as an adult, I still love it.  That is one of the great things about the Muppet feature films (the recent made-for-TV specials such as 2002's It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and 2005's Muppet's Wizard of Oz have been horrible) is the way they work for all ages.  They are clean and funny, without resorting to farting jokes like many other "kid" movies.  There are little moments and jokes that focus on the adult audience, but the entire film is enjoyable for all ages.  They also stand the test of time without feeling dated or quaint, how many children / family films can boast that?

The Muppet parodies directed by Brian Henson are brilliant... making the classic stories accessible to all ages without downgrading the stories, and keeping the plot close to the original story for the literature fans.  I would love to see Henson step behind the camera again and produce another Muppet parody, but I look forward to Muppet fan Jason Segel's The Muppets (in theaters in the US November 23, 2011, outside the US in early 2012).

Muppet Treasure Island (1996) 99 minutes
Director: Brian Henson
Starring: Tim Curry as Long John Silver
Kevin Bishop as Jim Hawkins
Dave Goelz as The Great Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, and others
Steve Whitmire as Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat, Beaker, and others
Jerry Nelson as Blind Pew, Mad Monty, and others
Kevin Clash as Bad Polly, Spa'Am, and others
Bill Barretta as Clueless Morgan and others
Frank Oz as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Sam the Eagle, and others