So what do I find myself doing? The same thing I tend to do every time life gives me a good beating; curling up in bed with a mug of hot ribena and delving into the world of Jim Henson,
The Muppets have always been a source of comfort to me. Maybe it's from the huge amount of Sesame Street I was plonked in front of as a baby. Perhaps it's that Muppet Babies is one of the first non-Disney cartoons I can remember religiously watching as a pre-schooler. Then there's Fraggle Rock; one of the few eighties TV shows that actually lived up to its theme tunes...
Side note: Seriously, we all remember TV themes from the eighties; Turtles, Captain Planet, Thundercats, but save for Disney's entries into the eighties/early nineties oeuvre (Rescue Rangers, Ducktales, Gummy Bears, Darkwing Duck, all of which had stellar intros, matched by equally awesome shows) how many of these cartoons were actually good? Put the nostalgia aside for a moment and watch an episode of Ulysses 31 and you'll realise what absolute dross was being smothered by an amazing piece of synth rock. Anyways...
When I was six I was given the choice of going to see Jason Donovan playing Joseph, or going to the pictures to see A Muppet Christmas Carol at the pictures. Looking back, I've always had the most outstanding taste.
I think the major turning point, however, was when my family and I uprooted to Durham the week of my tenth birthday. I have vivid memories of being sat around the television on that first Friday night, hundreds of miles from my erstwhile home, watching in comfort as the premiere of (the sadly short lived) Muppets Tonight aired on BBC1. I realised then how much the Muppets meant to me. Had I known at that point that in my late twenties I'd still be finding solace in their fuzzy hides, I may well have made some very different life choices. But ho hum.
So as I sit watching Muppet Treasure Island, mouthing along to the entire script and yet still laughing my pants off, I figured it was time to give celebration and thanks to the merry band that have kept me company so very well thoughout the years.
How to do that? Why a countdown of my favourite Muppet movies of course! And hey, there's actually ten Muppet movies! A comprehensive top ten indeed!!
10. The Muppets Wizard of Oz
The most annoying thing about this film is that it should and could have been amazing. But it isn't. It's not funny, it's not heart-warming, and it's a good thing so few people have seen it, as it genuinely besmirches the Muppets' good name.
9. The Muppets Take Manhattan
The main problem with Take Manhattan? I must have seen it a dozen times, but can only remember Piggy's Muppet Babies dream sequence. It's kind of like only remembering Happy Days for the Mork and Mindy episode, that'd be insane!
8. Kermit's Swamp Years
Actually not that bad a film, but suffers immensely from a lack of Muppets. Indeed, aside from Kermit and a brief cameo from a young Statler and Waldorf, there's not a single recognisable character. Hmmmmm...
7. It's a Very Muppet Christmas Movie
Admittedly, we're already starting to get into the golden goodness of Muppet-dom, though this is the weakest of a great bunch. It's It's a Wonderful Life with Muppets. What more do you want from a Christmas film? Well... More on that later...
6. The Great Muppet Caper
Kermit and Fozzie play identical twins. Nuff said.
5. Muppets From Space
A really underrated film, this is probably the funniest Muppets movie to date. The pop-culture references are spot on, the idea of Gonzo actually being an alien, guided by cosmic wish fish, is hilarious, and Pepe's line "I have some green jello mmmkay?" Is simply priceless.
4. A Muppet Christmas Carol
I'll probably get some flack for putting this in fourth, and yes, it is my (and everybody else's) favourite Christmas film. It has Michael Caine in genuinely one of his finest performances ever (seriously, the conviction he puts into the role is astounding), some wonderful music, and always manages to put me in the Christmas spirit a'proper. No buts. Just I think these other three have higher merits...
3. The Muppets
The most recent entry to the canon is a love letter to Muppets fans of all ages; young Walter represents every fan from every country across the globe and as such helps to deliver us exactly what we needed; great music, a tear-jerking ending, just enough of each Muppet to keep us satisfied ("priceless!"), and the feeling that we have always, and will always need more Henson in our lives.
2. Muppet Treasure Island
Probably the most quotable Muppet film, with the catchiest tunes and Tim Curry being ruddy amazing. Fact.
1. The Muppet Movie
I couldn't not put this in first place; it truly is a classic. A road movie with a difference. From the opening credits and that Oscar winning song, I always had a rainbow connection (see what I did there) with this film, and still laugh every time someone mentions a fork in the road. Oh, and also it introduced Steve Martin to the world, so without this film, we could never have had The Man With Two Brains. And what kind of a world would THAT be???
So there we have it. A big thank you to Mr. Henson for brightening my life for pretty much as long as I remember, and kudos to his team for continuining his legacy in some equally wonderful films in the years that have followed. Unfortunately, come May, I get the feeling Wizard of Oz will be disappearing from the top ten as Muppets Most Wanted hits our screens. But that's probably not such a bad thing. Seriously. Disney, what the hell were you thinking?
No comments:
Post a Comment