The Great Muppet Caper

The Muppets are often a delight. I say that as an adult male- I still think they're great. The Muppet Movie (1979) is a classic and very funny. When The Muppet Movie VHS release was advertised, the second Muppet film, The Great Muppet Caper (1981), was trumpeted along with it. That set the bar high, and unfortunately, it didn't click with me well as a child.

You might attribute that to drab scenery (the newspaper office and the Happiness Hotel) and costumes (Kermit and Fozzie are none too appealing in this), and themes of newspaper writing and jewel thievery that aren't going to attract every child. Having rewatched The Great Muppet Caper now, I've come around on it, or at least the first half. The film starts strong with numerous funny gags, but runs out of steam. We have some humorous self-references and Gonzo being reckless, and then as we get into the film we have dubious claims Kermit and Fozzie are identical twins, and much fun over how bad the Happiness Hotel is. The British couple who barely register Miss Piggy climbing their walls are a riot. After that, particularly when Miss Piggy begins her dancing and modelling scenes, the film begins to drag and the story isn't all that strong. There are still some laughs in it, but this isn't the Muppets' best showing.