Benjamin Black OK, let's get this out the way. I said in my past reviews that the Muppets put on Christmas specials really well, showing the heart and spirit of Christmas...That is not the case at all here. This parody of Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" isn't nearly as charming or wonderful as any other Muppet Christmas special.Apparently, the Muppet Theater was owned by a businessman named Mr. Bitterman, and everything went over to his wife when he passed away. Instead of being kind and understanding like her late husband, Mrs. Bitterman is evil and greedy. She tells the Muppets to pay what they owe by midnight of Christmas Eve, or else she'll own the theater and will tear it down. The Muppets plan an extravagant show on Christmas Eve to bring in money for the theater. None of them know, however, that Bitterman changed the contract, having the Muppets pay by 6:00 p.m. instead of midnight. They attempt to take the money to her on time, fail, and Kermit feels bad about keeping a dream for so long and wishes that he was never born.There are actually a few good things about this movie, so let's start with those. There are a few good jokes in here. I have to admit I do find myself laughing a couple of times while watching this. Kermit and Gonzo share a song called "Everyone Matters" that's a pretty nice song. It's not the Muppets' best song, but it's a good one. And I like the message they have here, that anyone can make a difference because, as the song says, everyone matters.Now that that's out the way, let's talk about why this film sucks. First of all, it's not timeless. The only things preventing the Muppets from being 100% timeless in their past productions were the popular songs they sang and their celebrity guests. Here, they make a number of references to pop culture: "Fear Factor," "Crocodile Watcher," the crap 2000 movie version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," and more! Secondly, the Muppets also had a tradition of appealing to both adults and kids. You'll remember in my last Muppet review, "Kermit's Swamp Years," I said that wasn't too good because it appealed just to kids? This one tries to appeal to just adults! They make a number of sex jokes, Kermit finds himself in a nightclub, and even the language the characters often use is for adults! They don't cuss or anything (actually, there is a hidden deleted scene on the DVD where one of the characters does cuss...IN A MUPPET MOVIE!!!!), but they talk a lot of business stuff that kids wouldn't understand. Why would you do that? You know that kids are going to watch this movie; my siblings and I watched this when it first came out! COME ON! Also, again, I don't like some of these characters. OK, I'm not that big a fan of Sal and Johnny, but I swallow them OK. No, my least favorite character is all over the place in this movie: Pepe! In case I didn't make it clear before, let me do so now: I FRICKIN' HATE PEPE!!! I am boggled by the fact that so many people love him; he sucks! How can I say such a thing? I'll tell you: Number one, he's selfish. When he has the option to stay with the Muppets and help them save the theater, he blows it by going with Bitterman because she has money and he finds her attractive! What a jerk! Secondly, he's lustful. I never wanted to hear a Muppet character use the term "sexy," but Pepe says it as naturally as he breathes. Third, what's the point of him? I mean, what's the point of his character - his existence - as a whole? He doesn't add anything or contribute much. In this movie, yes, he does has his redemption at the end. But I wonder if he did that just to make people like him or to give him something to do. And I still don't understand how he got so popular in the first place! UGH, I just don't like him.This just feels like another Muppet project that is trying to conform to the current way of entertainment. I watch it every now and then just to remind myself of it, but this is one I can definitely advise you to skip. Now I know what you're thinking, "For as much as you talk about this, could this be the worst Muppet production?" The answer, sadly, is no. Find me over by "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz," and I'll be the one crying in the corner. BOOYIKA!

mike48128 In 2011, Disney released a movie called simply "The Muppets". It got mixed-reviews for a number of reasons. This little gem from 2002, is often shown around Christmastime on cable stations. It is a lot like the newer film. In both movies, the Muppet Theater is about to be foreclosed because some evil scrooge-like person holds the mortgage. All the Muppets want to do is put on a show to raise enough money to save the theater.In, typical typecasting, Whoopie Goldberg plays God! Kermit does a really short version of "It's a Wonderful Life-frog style". In this film, the (2002) "Molin Rouge" remake is spoofed and the Salvation Army ends up with all the money! The Muppet Theater is almost turned into a Disco with "Beaker-on Steroids" as the bouncer! Gonzo sings a duet with Kermit on a park bench. It's cute and often overlooked, as it was made for TV and not released to theaters.Plays like a good Muppet movie should. The human stars stay in the background. Joan Cusak really does make a good villain and she is quite funny. "Pepi the Prawn" makes a great "hunch-shrimp" and looks absolutely ridiculous in a suit! Shorter, because it was made for TV. More fun than the recent 2011 Muppet "revival" film.

jasongibbonsxxx The Muppets are always great, I have loved them ever since I was a kid when we would watch all the muppet movies again and again that my mom would show us, probably to keep us from fighting or tearing the whole house apart when she was trying to do something :) I didn't even see the TV show the muppets did until the last couple of years and it is great too, it obviously holds up well because the characters and jokes are so good but also now that I am an adult I still enjoy it and not just because of nostalgia from watching it as a kid, I still think these shows are good! They maybe aren't quite as good as they used to be, I guess that's expected when the creator Jim Henson passed away so long ago, but still awesome and worth buying!

bob the moo On Christmas Eve Kermit sits alone on a park bench - a broken frog. His lost cries reach the angels but they can do nothing, until one of them, Daniel, takes the case to God herself and shows Her what brought Kermit to this state in the hope that She will send an angel to help him.While the TVM status of this film might suggest that it is a lesser product that the Muppet movies that used to be cinema draws, let me assure you that this is not the case and that this film actually benefits from being on TV and keeping the humour of the show rather than having the pressure of becoming a big screen outing. The overall plot is `It's A Wonderful Life' however the back story watched by the angels and us holds spoofs of Moulin Rouge and Scrubs as well as references to A Beautiful Mind, The Grinch, Entrapment and lots more. The downside of this is that the plot is very episodic, but the plus side is that the film is funny and will easily engage adults as well as children.Opening with the stage manager removing a snowman narrator by calling him a `Burl Ives wannabe' the film keeps this sense of humour that you've come to expect from the TV show. My favourite line from the whole film is Bunsen replying to Beaker with `thank you Beaker - I think you have a beautiful mind too'!The cast of muppets are very good - with all the new characters from the television show having a bit of time, including Pepe, Risso the Rat, Johnny Fiama and his monkey etc. The voices are not done by the original cast for a variety of reasons but they are still very good - I had to look at the credits to spot that it wasn't Frank Oz doing Fozzie (and Yoda!). The human cast is amusing even if it doesn't all work. The cast of Scrubs are wasted and not funny apart from showing up but cameos from Arquette, Macy, Goldberg and Lillard are all amusing and Cusack seems to enjoy herself.Overall this was a fun festive film, it has the usual message to it and it has moments that just don't work and the plot really is just a salvage job from other films, but it still works and is surprisingly funny with lots of film references. The downside of this I suppose is that the film won't stand the test of time as the topical references get forgotten over time, but that's why it was a TVM I guess, cause that won't matter.