Muppets' Wizard of Oz to Air 5/20 on ABC

[Luke]

And, if it isn't too much trouble, can someone post a list of all the Muppets movies on it?-preferably in chronological order?
-James

The Muppet Movie (1979)
The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
Muppets From Space (1999)

Made-for-TV:
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005)

[James]

Thanks for replying so quickly Luke!
-James

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

I liked the It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie! The gags were clever and the movie itself was enjoyable! Muppets In Oz was very similar when it came to humor and style but it just didn't have the magic of the classic muppets movie and show!

My favorite Muppet movie is Muppets From Space

[memnv]

The Muppet Movie was my fav- I was 11 when it came out and I thought it was great and we loved the sound track

[Isidour]

A new version of this movie, with muppets?

Do we really need all this muppet stuff?

[orestes.]

Of course, more Muppets the better.

I missed the new TV movie because cable is out which has me scrambling to find someone with a VCR so they can record '24' tomorrow. Doesn't anyone have VCRs anymore?!!

Some may say... "Well phone up the cable company on Monday so you can get 24."
I wish I could but it's Victoria Day... I like long weekends but ugh I missed the Muppet's Wonderful Wizard of Oz, SNL, will miss Sunday's toons and Trailer Park Boys. I can't miss 24 though...

Anyways off topic.


As for the new Muppet movies and their quality... well it's declined for sure but I still enjoy them and I've seen them all except for the new one and the direct to video storybook one a few years back. [just looked it up, 11 years ago it was released... can't believe it's been that long! (Muppet Classic Theatre)]

So I enjoy them all but my favourites are 'The Muppets Christmas Carol' and the TV special, 'A Muppet Family Christmas'.

[dvdjunkie]

Anyone who can say that this 'Muppet' movie was any better than the others is a sick person.

What were they thinking trying to muck up one of the greatest stories ever told. If they weren't going to use the basic story line maybe they should have done what the "Wiz" did, it didn't succeed either.

Ashanti is no Judy Garland and neither was Diana Ross.

Leave the "Wizard of Oz" alone, or just update it word for word and song for song.

I found no originality in this production and I am sure if Jim Henson were alive we would not have seen this poor a product from the Muppet factory.

The first Muppet movie was the best and set the bar pretty high for all the rest. "Muppets Treasure Island" has to rate right down there with this "Oz" debacle. What has happened to the entertainment factor in our movies?

[orestes.]

Hmmm let's hope they try better with the next Muppet movie. Muppet Robin Hood perhaps.

I'd actually like to see another movie like the original three movies.

[AwallaceUNC]

Anyone who can say that this 'Muppet' movie was any better than the others is a sick person.

What were they thinking trying to muck up one of the greatest stories ever told. If they weren't going to use the basic story line maybe they should have done what the "Wiz" did, it didn't succeed either.

Ashanti is no Judy Garland and neither was Diana Ross.

Leave the "Wizard of Oz" alone, or just update it word for word and song for song.

I found no originality in this production and I am sure if Jim Henson were alive we would not have seen this poor a product from the Muppet factory.

The first Muppet movie was the best and set the bar pretty high for all the rest. "Muppets Treasure Island" has to rate right down there with this "Oz" debacle. What has happened to the entertainment factor in our movies?

I don't see the need to compare this to the 1939 film. It wasn't a remake of that movie and didn't try to be anything like it (although a few scenes were obviously inspired by it).

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a book. The 1939 film was based on the book, and wasn't particularly faithful to it. In fact, the new Muppets adapatation was one of the most faithful to the original book that I've seen. They did use the "basic storyline," and gave it a twist, which is where originality came in. I agree that this was one of the Muppets' weaker excursions, but not on the basis of it falling short of a previous adaptation.

Also, in rereading my old posts, I worry that I concentrated too much on the negative. I do have to say that I laughed a lot throughout the film, so it was successful at least on that front.

-Aaron

[dvdjunkie]

I hate to argue the point, but this show billed as "The Muppet's Wizard of Oz" and was prepped to the public as the muppet version of the Wizard of Oz. And without sounding too chauvinestic, they could have gotten a better talent to play the Judy Garland part, Ashanti is no actress and not even a plausible vocal talent to say the least. I was totally bored with the whole presentation and the fact that Miss Piggy was given roles that were way over her head, I thought was stupid and silly.

My seven grandchildren, who range in ages from 7 to nine months, were totally bored and restless throughout the presentation. Maybe at an hour long and done like the usual Muppet Show, it would have been better.

I am sure Jim Henson is turning in his grave and screaming for someone to please never do this again.

If you found pleasure in this tripe, then good for you, but I wouldn't want to see your video film collection, it would probably be boring.

I was just hoping for something original and good, not original and so-so. I am and always will be a Muppets fan, and until they can come up with something as well done as the Muppet Show or the first Mupper movie, I will just bide my time and wait, knowing that something better has to come from the Jim Henson factory.

[AwallaceUNC]

I hate to argue the point, but this show billed as "The Muppet's Wizard of Oz" and was prepped to the public as the muppet version of the Wizard of Oz.

It is is a version of the Wizard of Oz... just not the 1939 movie.

And without sounding too chauvinestic, they could have gotten a better talent to play the Judy Garland part, Ashanti is no actress and not even a plausible vocal talent to say the least.

Well I agree with you there, though I don't see how that's chauvinistic.

I was totally bored with the whole presentation and the fact that Miss Piggy was given roles that were way over her head, I thought was stupid and silly.

Roles that were over her head? That's the whole point, to give the main roles to muppets, save for one human lead role... same as all their other adaptations. What should Piggy have played?

-Aaron

[Luna]

I watched The Muppet Wizard of OZ on Friday night....While I don't think the new movies are as good as the first three or The Muppet Show,I still enjoy watching the Muppets...I liked their version of Wizard of Oz,I thought it was funny(I've never really liked the character of Pepe the King Prawn,but as Toto,he made me laugh several times)...

[Mr. Toad]

David Allan Grier annoying?

[Luke]

Well the ratings were solid!

From Variety:

Of note Friday was a solid perf by ABC's "Wonderful World of Disney" original telepictelepic "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" (prelim 2.2/8 in 18-49, 7.6 million). It placed second from 8 to 10 in 18-49 and led its slot in adults 18-34 (2.0/8), teens (2.6/13) and kids (5.2/19), with the net's best perf in the time period in these younger categories in more than two seasons.

[AwallaceUNC]

That's great! It was important that they do well so that it sends a message of their viability to Disney, so I'm quite happy about that. Of course, knowing Disney, they'll probably interpret it as the viability of Ashanti.

-Aaron

[Mason_Ireton]

I saw Kermit's verison of the classic and I found it pretty good, but not too great either, it's about 15/20 % good. Couple of the jokes were good and worked well with the plot and some were just there for old times sake. The songs were kinda good but the song with Dorthey and her friends in the forest needs to be worked on alot, I noticed that Disney tried to insert some sex appeal to the story too, fore example Dorthey's makeover, Pepe's comments bout him being sexy, it was just wrong. But the characters were loveable, now if only Disney would make a proper verison of "Wizard of OZ"

[Disney Guru]

I missed it, I had forgotten that the family had a camp-out planned for Friday Night. But I heard from a few people that it was a fun tv movie.

[Disneykid]

I thought the movie was pretty cute, but not much more than that. Aaron's feelings about it pretty much sum up mine. Ashanti was a bad choice as Dorothy. I've read that Disney wanted Anne Hathaway to play the lead, but she turned it down because she no longer wants to be type casted in children's films. It's a shame, too, because she would've been phoenominal (she even looks like Judy Garland, somewhat). One thing that I was rather impressed with is the fact that the filmmakers obviously read the book and didn't just rely on the MGM film as a basis for this version. Things that weren't in the MGM film that were in both the book and the Muppet one were the silver shoes, the witch's magic eye, the cap that controls the winged monkeys, the multiple incarnations of the Wizard (yes, he did appear as a hot woman in the book, though it was to the Scarecrow, not the Tin Man), and showing both the Good Witch of the North (unnamed) and the Good Witch of the South (Glinda). Things in this film that weren't so good, though, were Ashanti, Toto (he was actually rather funny at times, but I would've preferred if Toto were played by Rowlf the piano player who failed to show up at all in this film), the songs (which weren't bad, but just unmemorable), and the whole "become a star" thing. If Ashanti hadn't landed the role, I have a feeling the star element would've never been a part of the film. It just felt shallow to me. All in all, though, it was a nice way to spend two hours, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again especially now that I know what to expect.

[JiminyCrick91]

I've read that Disney wanted Anne Hathaway to play the lead, but she turned it down because she no longer wants to be type casted in children's films.

what types of thing does she want to do? Perhaps Sin city 2 or something vastly diffrent from her other roles.

[Fidget1234]

Saw it on Fri when I got to my dads. I fell asleep during it. Which usually never happens to me. I dunno-something was diff about this movie. I would like to see the whole movie, i might buy it on dvd just cuz im a muppet fan-but I fell asleep right as they come across Statler & Waldorf-thats the last part I can vaguely remember.