Muppet Treasure Island (1996)

It was with great excitement that I began watching The Muppet Treasure Island. Many people I know and respect had said it was great, and I had vague memories of watching and enjoying it as a much younger man. So I thought I'd buy it and give it a whirl. However, I am sorry to say I was disappointed. Don't worry if you are one of those people who love this film, I am probably wrong (like I say, many of my friends have chastised me for my view), but I just didn't think that it was executed in quite as skilful manner as the other Muppet films. Indeed I think my main problem with it was that Kermit whilst being the captain of the ship, just didn't do enough, and he's (in my opinion) the heart and soul of the show.

The story follows that of Treasure Island, Long John Silver, Buried Treasure, betrayal, a young mate called Jim with a treasure map and Pirates; but you know, with a rat cruise holiday thrown in for fun. I said in my summary of The Great Muppet Caper that my issue with the film was the focus shifting from the Muppets to the human characters, well I think that this film suffers a similar fate, the two main characters being Long John Silver, and young Jim, neither of whom are Muppets. As previously stated I thought Kermit was incredibly downplayed also. He's the ships captain, and after his initial (admittedly very funny) introduction, he's reduced to simply being there rather than actually leading the crew to their destiny. One character who truly shines in this film though is Sam the Eagle, with his grim attitude to life and mean demeanour providing some early and hearty laughs.

Whilst we are introduced to Jim early on, and though he is paired with Gonzo and rizzo, it is a fair way into the film before we meet any more Muppets (namely Fozzy as an idiot son of a ship merchant). Thinking about it now,  I think that all the Muppets actually have pretty great introductions, that are then squandered with later incidents. I think that somewhere here there is a really great film looking to come out, indeed there are some great ideas. The fact that Rizzo organises the treasure expedition as a cruise liner for rats is a funny recurring joke that works very well. I just think with far too much focus on the treasure island side of the story and not enough on the Muppets this is a wasted opportunity, and unfortunately it will be quite some time before I revisit this film I think.