MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 5 out of 5

Rated:

Young Jim Hawkins lives the life of a servant in the Admiral Bilbo Inn on the coast of England. He has always yearned for adventure, to follow the life his father lead as a midshipman. But for the present, it appears that he's stuck tending the bar and enjoying the companionship of his friends Rizzo and Gonzo. Until one day, when a sea-faring, storytelling occupant of the Inn gives Jim a map and tells him that it leads the way to buried treasure.

Okay, up until now the story has sounded familiar, hasn't it? Well, the Muppets have done it again... taken a reasonably sane and serious adventure classic and transformed it into a hilarious romp of wit, irony, and excitement. Kermit the Frog plays the formidable Captain Smollet. Miss Piggy is the castaway Benjamina Gunn, his long lost love interest. Throw in a cast of pirate crew from "Big, Bad, Baby-Eating, Bug-Faced O-Brian" to "Young Tom, Old Tom, and Dead Tom," a truly cold-blooded Long John Silver (played excellently by Tim Curry), and you have a bran' new spankin' adventure that the whole family will enjoy. Determined to find this treasure after pirates destroy the Inn, Jim and his friends take it to Squire Trelawney, whose "half-wit son" finances the voyage. Warned against "the one legged man," Jim is horrified to learn that their cook is none other than Long John Silver... with one leg. He is swiftly won over by the charm and humor of the shipman and settles down for an uneventful voyage, little knowing that trouble is brewing below decks. But when they learn of mutiny, it's too late to prevent disaster and Jim is taken captive by the pirates.

Following on the highly-successful heels of A Muppet Christmas Carol, this film pulls out all the stops. Anyone who turns their nose up at it is out of their mind. The puppet animation is absolutely incredible, the sets realistic, the characters comical. There's enough romance (even if it is between a frog and a pig, in Muppet tradition!) and adventure (wait until you see Miss Piggy hanging by her ankles off the side of a cliff!) to give it a hearty thumbs-up. Tim Curry has fairly defined the word "villain" and this is no exception. He is only slightly outshined by the newcomer, Keven Bishop, who plays our young hero. And if you think the laughs stop at period pieces, think again. We're given just enough modern twist to keep the irony running, gags that only grown-ups would get. The musical sore is excellent, as well. "Muppet" title aside, this is really a fun fest for the adults. But it's clean and comical enough for children as well. (Minor concerns are a matter of opinion -- one "hell," and several uses of "bloody.")