(The Disneycember logo is shown, before showing trailer clips and screenshots from Muppet Treasure Island)
Doug (vo): By popular demand, it's Muppet Treasure Island. Why are all the popular demands of this year films that didn't do financially well? Oh, well, whatever. This is the second Muppet film to be an actual adaptation of a literary classic, the first one being the previous film, Christmas Carol. And with Christmas Carol being such a big hit, you would think audiences would go and see this one as well. But, from what I hear, it didn't do so hot, and...I'd be lying if I said I didn't see why, but at the same time...
(Images of Tim Curry's character, Long John Silver, are shown)
Doug (vo): Look! It's Tim Curry! Tim Curry with the Muppets! He practically is a Muppet! This is a match made in heaven! Okay, well, let's look at the story, as if you don't know. It's pretty much the story of Treasure Island.
Story[]
Doug (vo): A young boy named Jim Hawkins comes across a treasure map. This leads to a giant expedition, only this time, the captain is played by Kermit the Frog. And the majority of the cast seem to be Muppets as well, that is, of course, [except] for the cook, Long John Silver, played by Tim Curry. By God, is this a match made in heaven. And, yes, it's just as entertaining as you'd think it would be. I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying this, but Long John Silver has an evil plan, and he's gonna mutiny the ship to find the treasure, and, yeah, come on. You've all read the book, you know it happens, and it sticks pretty close to it...eh, for the most part.
Review[]
Doug (vo): It still has a lot of Muppet-isms that, most of the time, are welcomed. The only strange thing is that one of the most popular Muppet characters, Miss Piggy, doesn't come in until the last third. In fact, the more I think about it, she didn't even get much of a role in Christmas Carol either, did she? I guess neither of these stories have that big a focus on women, so you can kind of understand why, but, come on. You're already taking so many liberties in other areas, why couldn't you get Miss Piggy in there, at least a lot earlier? But, much like Christmas Carol, it does try to really stick to the source material and kind of the feel, just, like I said, this time with Muppets in the part. They'll have little fourth wall jokes, they'll have songs that suddenly come out of nowhere, and kind of like Muppet Christmas Carol, it's...fine.
(Images of The Muppet Christmas Carol are shown)
Doug (vo): I guess people had a little bit more of a connection with Christmas Carol because, A: It's Christmas and it's already gonna be a sentimental connection. And B: There did seem to be a little bit more heart to it, maybe just because of the story it is.
(Back to Muppet Treasure Island)
Doug (vo): With this one, it just kind of feels like a longer Muppet Show sketch, at least, with the Muppets. When it needs to be serious with Jim Hawkins and stuff, it does it fine. I mean, it's not the best telling or anything, but it's totally passable. The songs are just as good as Christmas Carol, too. I actually love the intro song so much, I put it on my Top 11 Favorite Villain Songs list. And Hans Zimmer, who I swear can do no wrong, does the orchestrations for these songs, and they sound pretty badass...except...when they're not supposed to sound badass, I mean, you know how it works.
(Images and footage of Long John Silver are shown)
Doug (vo): And speaking of singing silly-ness, let's talk about Tim Curry. This is a guy who, even if he does a bad performance, it'll still be a good performance. There's just some kind of magic to him that makes it so much fun to watch. I can't even really decide if this is a good performance or not. It's just...insanely entertaining. Just seeing him look down to Kermit the Frog, give a salute and go "Aye-aye, captain!", I mean, how can you not fall in love with this guy? Though, to his credit, he does manage to get a nice connection with Jim Hawkins as well, as he's supposed to in the story. And, yeah, whether you want to see it as "it's so awkward, it's charming", or "it's so charming, it's awkward", he does really work in the role. I almost wouldn't mind seeing him in another rendition of Treasure Island where he is Long John Silver. Like, a serious one.
Final thought[]
Doug (vo): But that's not what this is. This is a bunch of hand puppets trying to retell this story in a goofy way with some serious moments, and, I think it just kind of depends on what mood you're in. There's nothing really spectacular about it, I mean, even Muppet Christmas [Carol] had more of a visual sense than this one did. But if you say the title out loud, "Muppet Treasure Island with Tim Curry" and you say to yourself, "Eh, that might be a little fun", that's exactly what you'll get. I get the feeling there's better renditions of this tale, but as one that has little Muppets going around, singing songs and such, it's totally fine. Shiver your timbers and find out for yourself.
(A scene showing Miss Piggy defeating a pirate by kissing him is shown)