Muppet Fairytales / Muppet Classic Theater

[crabcakes]

I have it on video but my dad has put in the attic so I can't watch it. It was fantastic! There was the three little pigs, Rumpelstiltzkin (however you spell it), the one about Midas (whatever it's called) and another one which I have forgtotten!! Has anyone here seen it?

 

[travellingpat]

Yeah, I have it, its called Muppet Classic Theater and came out in 1994, its a good movie....

 

[minor muppetz]

Muppet Classic Theater is a good production, at least for the time it was released, when there'd only been one muppet movie since the death of Jim Henson (oh, and let's not forget about Richard Hunt), and before Muppets Tonight was broadcast.

I do wish that there were more familiar characters in this special, though, as opposed to newly created characters and generic rats and pigs. It was good to see Boppity and the frackle who looks like a green version of Boppity in the audience. But I think that the regular orchestra should have been there, as opposed to an all-penguin orchestra (I feel the same way about the orchestra in Muppet Vision 3D). The orchestra members didn't talk anyway, so Rowlf, Janice, and Nigel the Conductor, as well as Floyd, Animal, Zoot and Lips, could have been there. Statler and Waldorf should have commented on the plays.

There should have been some big backstage scenes, as opposed to soem scenes in the wings with the rats working. Beauregard should have been seen helping out, and maybe Beaker could have assisted him. Bean Bunny could have been among the townspeople in many of the stories. Dr. Strangepork could have played the father in The Three Little Pigs, and maybe he also could have played Piggy's father in Rumplestilskin (I'm debating over whether the personality would have been right). Speaking of Rumplestilskin, the Royal Advisor could have been played by either Sam the Eagle or Featherstone, though the personality wouldn't have been right for either character.

Sam the Eagle also could have been the character who arrested Rizzo and the rats in The Emperors New Clothes. While the intermission sequence was a little good, it could have been better. Instead of being a 20-second shot of a curtain with Gonzo and Rizzo doing voice-overs, it could have had some backstage action, perhaps showing Kermit and Miss Piggy's reactions to the show, and maybe also reactions from Fozzie Bear and some characters who didn't appear in the special, like Beauregard, Bunsen, Beaker, Sam the Eagle, Bean Bunny, Digit, Floyd, Animal, George the janitor, and Lew Zeland.

 

[Timotheus]

MM...it was just little a home video production, not TMS! Sorry, it struck me as kinda funny that you seemed to want it to become more like or favorite variety show; I mean no ill by what I say.
I need to go home and watch that again; seeing Fozzie standing there in boxer shorts in The Emperor's New Clothes was too funny, and needs another viewing.
Gonzo: "Can you make this quick? I left the bath water running."

 

[Ruahnna]

Loved this particular Muppet video! It's one of my daughter's favorites, and I costumes and hair for Miss Piggy are to DIE for. From the day we first watch the Muppet Classic Theatre video together, the three little pigs will forever by Randy, Andy and Sandy. (And the line about 'facial hair' is just classic!)

 

[Muppet Matt]

I saw about half of it. I thought it was pretty good.

 

[Gonzo14]

that was the first sighting of some Muppets Tonight characters like the Elvis Trio and Andy & Randy

 

[minor muppetz]

MM...it was just little a home video production, not TMS! Sorry, it struck me as kinda funny that you seemed to want it to become more like or favorite variety show; I mean no ill by what I say.

Just because it was a little home video production instead of The Muppet Show does not mean that it couldn't have had more recognizable characters (I'm sure that a lot of the newer characters had to be built for this production, and they could have saved money by using older, mre recognizable characters). After all, the Muppet movies weren't "The Muppet Show", and those had many of the same characters from The Muppet Show. Same with most of the specials (and I think this is more of a special than other made-for-video muppet productions).

Even when this came out, when I was ten, I expected to see Scooter, Dr. Strangepork, Link Hogthrob, Bunsen, Beaker, Dr. Teeth, Floyd, Animal, Janice, Zoot, Lips, Rowlf, Bean Bunny, Sweetums, Thog, Doglion, Statler, Waldorf, Droop, Sam, and even the blue wolf from the Sesame Street Newsflash segment where kermit interviewed the pig who built a straw house (I expected him to be the wolf in The Three Little Bigs and The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and I think I even expected him to host the video in a masterpice Theater-like setting, and at the time of this video's release, I didn;t realize that the blue wolf was actually the Herry Monster puppet decorated with some wolf features). I can't remember if I was expecting to see Digit, Beauregard, Lew Zeland, Crazy Harry, Pops, Bobby Benson, The Newsman, Louis Kazagger, Uncle Deadley, Digit, or George the janitor in this production or not.

Now that I think about it, it seems like a lot of made-for-video Muppet productions had a lack of recognizable characters from The Muppet Show. I know that Kermit hosted the Muppet Sing-Along Videos, and although I've only seen two of them, I'm under the impression that Kermit was the only familiar character in most of them. Clifford, if you want to call him a familiar character pre-Muppets Tonight, had a big part in It's Not Easy Being Green, and the main pirates from Muppet Treasure Island were featured in the sing-along video promoting that movie, but I don't think these videos had Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Rizzo, Bean, Robin, or any other well-known characters.

The Play-Along Videos also had a small number of recognizable characters. Kermit only appeared in three of them, and he seemed to have the same type of importance in these videos as he did on Sesame Street and many pre-TMS productions. Rowlf hosted Sing/Dance/Do-Along but I don't think he was in any others. Fozzie starred in hey, You're as Funny as Fozzie Bear! and made a cameo in Wow! You're a Cartoonist! but didn't appear elsewhere. Miss Piggy made a cameo in Wow! You're a cartoonist! and, I think, Sing/Dance/Do-Along, and Gonzo made a cameo in Wow! You're a cartoonist! Even Luncheon Counter Monster appeared in these videos, in at least three of them (Neat Stuff is the only one I haven't seen). Mother Goose Stories featured the cast of Mother Goose Stories, and Peek-a-Boo didn't have any recognizable characters (these two videos also did not have PJ or Kai-Lee, the kids introduced in them). I don't think Scooter appeared in any of these videos (I'm not sure whether Jerry Nelson or Richard Hunt performed in these videos, but I do know that Richard Hunt performed in one).

Finally, each of the Playhouse videos usually featured only one or two main characters in the linking footage, with a small number of cameos, usually by obscure characters. Rock Music didn't have any cameos, and I'm not sure whether The Kermit and Piggy Story or Muppet Treasures had any cameo appearances. I do know that Children's Songs and Stories had cameos by most of Jim Henson's characters, while Country Music had a lot of characters in the linking footage, and Rowlf's Rhapsodies had Rowlf, Gonzo, and Scooter, plus cameos by Miss Piggy and Fozzie.

 

[superboober]

Muppet Classic Theater

How good is this one? I've only seen the previews on other cassettes.

 

[MWoO]

It's decent enough for what it is I guess. I like it.