Customer Reviews

Muppets From Space

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great movie. I owned it on VHS when was a kid and I still enjoy watching the movie.

Muppets From Space (not to be confused with the original Muppet Show's Pigs in Space) is one terrific movie. The Muppets redefine themselves on the cutting edge of entertainment, put together a film of nonstop action and hilarity, pull off a rather touching ending, impart an important lesson about life to children as well as adults, and really bring their own special magic to the viewing audience. Feature films permit the Muppet universe to expand in altogether new ways. For one thing, you get to see full-body shots of Muppets doing extraordinary things (rather than having to settle for the old above the waist only shots). More significantly, in relation to this movie, there are some pretty good special effects that really make the Muppet world seem more believable than ever. All of the Muppets look great, and some relatively newer characters are nothing short of hilarious (Pepe the Prawn in particular).

Muppets From Space centers around Gonzo, the little guy with the big nose and no real history. He's tired of being a one-of-a-kind creature and yearns to know where he came from. First things first, though. The film opens with the start of a new day in the Muppet house; everyone gets up out of bed and quickly gets down with their bad selves to the funky music of "Brick House." The Muppets have definitely found the funk, and this makes for a really happening, memorable soundtrack. Just when Gonzo is really down about being alone in the world, he receives a communication from outer space (via his alphabet-shaped breakfast cereal). Soon, he is convinced that he is an alien and, what is more, he claims his alien family is on its way to earth. A certain secret agency picks up signs of the aliens and comes after Gonzo, thinking he can tell them what the aliens want and where they will land. The leader of this secret group, played by Jeffrey Tambor, is a little bit out of his mind, and Gonzo falls right into his pending trap by showing up at the local news studio to announce that the aliens are coming. The other Muppets don't really believe Gonzo's claims, but they are eager to help rescue him when he falls into the evil clutches of the Men in Black. The conclusion of the movie is a real hoot indeed, delivering a close encounter of the truly unique kind.

All of the Muppet characters are great; Kermit and Miss Piggy don't get as much screen time as usual, but that may well be a good thing. Gonzo and his roommate Rizzo the Rat (another fantastic, relatively new character) are more than capable of carrying the movie by themselves - of course, they don't have to do it alone because many of the Muppets play important parts. Pepe the Prawn absolutely steals the show, if you ask me; he may be the funniest Muppet yet created. As usual, a number of famous stars make cameo appearances in the film, including Andie MacDowell, Ray Liotta, F. Murray Abraham, Kathy Griffin, Hollywood Hogan (as his NWO self), and an always annoying David Arquette. Kids as well as adults should love this movie. Older viewers will appreciate some of the subtle nods to popular culture; for example, you will find parallels to big movies such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek, Men in Black, Independence Day, and The Shawshank Redemption.

This is as funny and enjoyable a Muppet movie as you will find. Don't let the kids get all of the enjoyment out of Muppets From Space, though; there are plenty of things incorporated into the plot and script to make adults smile and laugh, as well.

this is such an unexpected movie. This is my kind of humor. Its definetly worth watching, especially if you are a muppets fan.

After being disappointed by Muppets Treasure Island (which had so much potential) we were reluctant to see this movie. What a pleasant surprise! This movie is really fun, funny, and the soundtrack rocks. This movie turmed my significant other into a muppet lover. We love the MST2K version with the muppet commentary too. Lots of neat extras. No disappointments!

This movie has some big shoes to fill. The original Muppet Movie, Muppets Take Manhattan, The Muppet Christmas Carol and the Muppet take on Treasure Island are classics in my mind. Muppets from Space ranks about fourth of the six, but these are six films at the top of the list of all time favorites. This film holds more tru to the earlier films, where our favorite fuzzy friends play themselves and the cameos fly fast and furious. Gonzo (The Whatever) decides that he is tired of being the only Muppet that is specialy challenged. A series of dreams and a sequence lifted directly from Contact help him to realize that he is actually from ?Out there?. Not only that, but his family is finally ready to come get him. From here the movie does what Muppet films do best- Vaudeville type gags and pop culture references that sometimes fly over children?s heads, but help keep parents entertained. I originally saw this film with my wife, brother, sister in law and 6 year old niece. We adults (all raised on The Muppets on TV and at the movies) laughed longer, harder and more often than the moppet. References to contemporary science fiction films and TV series abound and are among the more clever gags peppered through the movie. Be sure to keep an eye open for a reference to Brent Spiner?s appearance in ID4 once Kermit and friends get into the secret lab. It?s a riot. The ending of the film is the only place it really misfires. It can be seen from a mile off and we all knew what would happen before we even entered the theater. Bu that?s OK. We need the happy ending for the kids. The first 90 minutes were for us.

Not the best of the Muppet movies but not the worst either, "Muppets From Space" is an enjoyable comedy that finally answers the age-old question, "Just what the heck is Gonzo, anyway?" Some of the older Muppets, like Piggy and Fozzie, take a back seat in this one while we get more of a spotlight on Rizzo and Pepe -- but Gonzo still steals the show in this flick. My biggest complaint about the movie itself has to be the music -- no new Muppet songs! All of the songs they sing are old rock n' roll, which is all well and good, but when I see the Muppets, I want to hear new music as good as "Rainbow Connection" and Together Again."

The great DVD makes up for the small inadequacies of the film, though. Unlike SOME Muppet DVDs, this disc has both fullscreen AND the far superior widescreen versions (are you listening, Disney?), plus a bevy of extras including deleted scenes, music videos and a fantastic commentary track. Not only is director Tim Hill joined by Kermit, Gonzo and Rizzo for the commentary, but they all appear as "shadows" at the bottom of the screen, not unlike an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. It's a great technique, and I'd love to see it done more often (especially with movies like this), although I do wish that turning this feature on didn't disable the subtitles. I usually watch subtitles when I have a commentary on to compensate for the diminished volume of the movie itself.

All in all, probably the best Muppet DVD there is. Fans should love it.

I grew up watching Muppet Movies and even saw the "Muppet Christmas Carol." I've always liked the Muppets. However, let's face it. Someone says Muppets and you instinctivly think kid's movies. "Muppets in Space," was the exception.
I first saw it when I was over at a friends apartment in college and a bunch of people wanted to watch it. I was initially confused as to why a bunch of 20-year-olds would want to watch a Muppet movie. I quickly found out why. This movie is hilarious! Why still being a movie for kids, the writers filled this movie with sophisticated humor that entertains adults as well.
I was happy to see that the focus was finally taken off Kermit. Don't get me wrong, he's still the original Muppet. But this movie proved who the real star of the crew is. The Shrimp. I forget his name, but my gosh is he hilarious. Watch as he delivers the best line in the movie, "You do that. And I will smack you. I will smack you like a bad bad donkey." The way it's done leaves people rolling.
All I can say is give this movie a chance. Even if you've forgotten about the Muppet movies or passed them off as kids films. You'll adore this one and quickly add it to your collection.

There is not a Muppet move that I don't own, and this is by far one of (if not) the best. We watch it over and over again with our 15 month old. It is incredibly entertaining for all of us, and has some good one-liner's for adults. It's just AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME - mark my words!

I remember when I was little I used to watch this movie all the time with my parents. I'm glad it's on DVD now so I can watch it with my little sister. The Muppets were great back then and now. It's not as great as the other Muppet movies, but this one is still definitely worth watching and having.

I love the Muppets...have since I was a kid. I've seen four of the feature films, having yet to watch A Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island (the idea of reacting famous fables was not that appealing). I recently watched Muppets From Space to see how a Muppet movie from 1999 stood up against the three movies from the early 80s (made when Jim Henson was still alive). Henson was an absolute genius...few would debate that and he is sorely missed. Muppets From Space should be categorized along with the aforementioned features because it retains its own unique Muppet story line. However, when up against these earlier films, it lacks something magical that we as Muppet fans were given before. Of course, ANY Muppet movie is better than NO Muppet movie and Muppets From Space is cute and entertaining in its own right...just not sharply satirical like the others. Nor is it a rousing musical like the others, replacing original Muppet numbers with an oldies sound track. This aspect is disappointing. Also disappointing is the absence (or near absence) of some our favorites, like the other members of Electric Mayhem (besides Animal), Rowlf, Scooter and others. Some new characters are fine, like Pepe the Prawn. Others, like Clifford the rastafarian catfish, are annoying and are distracting because of their obvious attempt to update the Muppet cast. Why fix what was never broke? The earlier movies satisfied kids and adults on equal levels. This time around, kids were clearly the target audience. In fairness though, there are a handful of clever jokes in the movie, reminiscent of the old days. It's too bad such moments are few and far between. Muppets From Space is worth the watch, but I hope film makers are able to make future Muppet projects and rediscover Henson's wonderful magic.