I grew up with the Muppets. I remember watching “The Muppet Show” when it was first run, and I even remember watching pre-“Muppet Show” specials like “Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas” on the television. When “The Muppet Movie” came out in 1979, I was the right age to enjoy everything it had to offer. Some of the jokes still went over my head, but I loved it as a kid does.

Now, Disney (the current rights-holder of the Jim Henson properties) is celebrating Kermit the Frog’s 50th anniversary. In his honor, they are re-releasing four of the five Muppet movies on DVD. (What happened to “The Muppets Take Manhattan”? I have no idea.)

Getting a chance to watch most of the Muppet movies over again, I’m reminded what a genius Jim Henson was. Still, by far, the best one is the original “The Muppet Movie.” Made in the spirit of films like “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” this film was loaded with cameos from Orson Welles to Big Bird. The music in this film is still the best, and the spirit of Jim Henson was alive and well even though he wasn’t directing it.

It’s sequel, “The Great Muppet Caper” got a little more gutsier. Henson took the reigns on this film, and it took place in England (where Henson pioneered the Muppets). Henson’s humor overstepped its bounds a bit, for example, making Kermit and Fozzie twins and winking at the camera a little too much. Still, it’s a solid piece of work.

There were fewer cameos in this second film, but when they appeared, they were great. One of the most memorable ones is with Peter Usitnov and Oscar the Grouch. Of course, the best human casting in this film was Charles Grodin as the scheming jewel thief who takes a shine to Miss Piggy. Even when I saw this film as a child, I thought this plot twist was genius and hilarious. Grodin plays it up to the hilt, and becomes the best thing in the film.

After Jim Henson died, his son Brian took over with the Muppets. They continued to make the films, but sadly they felt more like overblown television specials. They were still nice shows but they didn’t have the heart of the earlier Muppet movies. Instead of telling unique stories, the M.O. has been to revamp a classic story (whether it be “A Christmas Carol,” “Treasure Island” or “The Wizard of Oz”) and have the Muppets play second fiddle to a main human actor.

“The Muppet Christmas Carol” is still a lot of fun, and some of the best parts are with the Great Gonzo as Charles Dickens and Rizzo the Rat as his faithful sidekick. Michael Caine does a fine job as Scrooge, but he tends to overpower the Muppets, which isn’t great in a Muppet movie.

“Muppet Treasure Island” has the same flaws, focusing too much on Kevin Bishop, the young actor who plays Jim Hawkins, rather than the Muppets themselves. This last film was the worst of the bunch, featuring songs shoehorned into the story and weak plot devices.

I’d like to see a true Muppet movie made next, in the spirit of Jim Henson with humans in the supporting roles. Leave the classics alone and tell some original stories. That will bring the Muppets back to their former glory.

These four DVDs have very few special features. With the exception of “The Muppet Christmas Carol” (which has an audio commentary by Brian Henson as well as a feature on Christmas around the world, hilariously told by Gonzo and Rizzo), they only contain Pepe’s Profiles, in which the king prawn shrimp from “Muppets Wizard of Oz” does a wacky profile on each of the main Muppets – Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy and Gonzo.

Of course, each DVD does have both the widescreen and fullscreen versions of the film, so it’s not a total loss in terms of DVD functionality.

While the quality of the Muppet movies have gone down over the years, I still have a soft spot for them. I still mourn Henson’s death, and I’m proud to say “Happy Birthday” to Kermit the Frog.



Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Widescreen (1.85:1), enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Fullscreen (1.33:1). French language track; English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.