MUPPETS FROM SPACE
(directed by Tim Hill, 1999)
*** (out of 5)
.
> I continue my quest to see all the feature length Muppet movies, which began after seeing 2011’s charming musical whimsy THE MUPPETS.
. That one was just so damn good, it pried my mind open despite itself. Unfortunately, I am beginning to think that was the apex of the franchise.
. This mildly amusing throwaway flick is far removed from the ecstasies of THE MUPPETS. In this funk-fueled fantasy, poor Gonzo becomes self-aware enough to realize that he has no identity- no past, or clan. He doesn’t even know what species he belongs to. Then, he begins to get cryptic messages from unexpected sources like sentient breakfast cereal and a talking baloney sandwich: Prepare! Your tribe is traveling across the cosmos to retrieve you. It starts out spectacularly, as a new morning dawns on the house where all the Muppets live under the same roof, in a lively opening sequence that makes a promise the rest of the film cannot deliver upon.
. MUPPETS FROM SPACE has the usual cameos, but none of them really shine much: Jeffrey Tambor trying too hard as a rogue agent in a top-secret government agency, Rob Schneider as a vapid TV producer, Kathy Griffin as an armed Guard, David Arquette in smock as an M.D., Andie MacDowell as Miss Piggy’s rival newscaster, Ray Liotta as an unwittingly helpful gate guard and F. Murray Abraham as… Noah! And all this complimented by vocals from notables like Kevin Clash (BEING ELMO) and Frank Oz himself, playing characters we have come to know so well through the decades.
– MUPPETS IN SPACE is middling Muppets. Certainly better than no Muppets. It’ll do.
*
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