The Muppet Movie; The Muppets Take Manhattan

The first, and liveliest, of the late Jim Henson and Frank Oz's feature films starring the Muppets, The Muppet Movie finds the gang "movin' on down the road" at a brisk clip in Fozzie Bear's '50 Studebaker as Miss Piggie, Kermit, and Rowlf head for Hollywood, staying one step ahead of Doc Hopper (Charles Durning), a sinister restaurateur whose chain of fast food joints specializes in frog legs. There's plenty to enjoy for film fans, as it seems like half of Tinsel Town has a small speaking part or a cameo. While the DVD release contains one very cool extra (a funny camera test featuring Kermit and Rowlf), I've got some bad news for Muppet fans: image-wise, The Muppet Movie looks both excessively grainy and something less than vibrant--in fact, it's downright disappointing. The Muppets Take Manhattan (number three in the series) can't hold a candle to the dead-on witty writing of the debut feature, but it's still an enjoyable tale of the Muppets (fresh out of college) heading to the Big Apple in the hopes of putting on a Broadway musical, but finding New York to be a cold, hard taskmistress that puts starry-eyed dreamers in waiter's jackets quicker than in front of the spotlight. The extras include an interview with Jim Henson, but more importantly the techs have truly found the rainbow connection on this one as the image is fairly sharp and the colors bright. Even though The Muppet Movie is a must-have disc, I would seriously consider holding out for a better version; The Muppets Take Manhattan, on the other hand, is easily recommended. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Nov. 29, 2005—Walt Disney, 95 min., G, $19.99—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1979's The Muppet Movie sports nice looking widescreen and full screen transfers and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras include “Pepe Profiles Presents—Kermit: A Frog's Life” about the life and times of Kermit the Frog (7 min.) and trailers. Bottom line: the classic original, looking much better—although the extras package is disappointing.][Blu-ray Review—Aug. 30, 2011—Sony, 94 min., G, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1984's The Muppets Take Manhattan features a great transfer and DTS-HD 5.1 audio. Blu-ray extras are carried over from the previous DVD release, including an interview with executive producer Jim Henson (15 min.), “Muppetisms” featuring Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, Pepe, and Fozzie Bear (3 min.), and trailers, as well as a bonus DVD copy of the film, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a winning Muppets film makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]