Review of Muppets from Space (1999) by Robert H — 26 Nov 2012

If you like the Muppets, you'll like the film... or at least should. Centering around Gonzo (of course) and a lot about Rizzo and Miss Piggy, Muppets From Space doesn't shy away from the rest of the cast that we so dearly love. Some have short cameos while others play very active roles. What's nice is some of the more lesser known characters do get a bit more screen time in this film.

Where the film doesn't quite work for me is the lame silly bad guys. I didn't like them as a kid, and as an adult, it's even worse. Don't dumb down your product for the kids. They're loving the Muppets anyways. All you end up doing is alienating the adults and insulting the kids.

My biggest problem with the film is that it finally identifies who/what Gonzo is. I liked him better as the unknown weird thing. Seems eventually, any series that has a weird unknown character, has an episode/movie where he goes on a quest to figure out who/what he is. And from that day forward... his/her mystery is often lost. This is the case with the Muppets post Muppets From Space. Gonzo is still the crazy muppet he always was but that depth of character is lost forever. Kermit used to sing about how it wasn't easy being green... guess he should have thought about the opposite side of things and maybe Gonzo wouldn't have had to go on this quest of his. Then again, Gonzos rock out to say hello so... bring on more Gonzos!!!!