Review(s): DVD Muppets Magic: From The Ed Sullivan Show
An essential dvd for any Muppet/TV fan
This DVD is a diamond in the rough. If you or anyone you know is a Muppet fan or simply loves classic TV, this DVD is a must. These Muppet skits are a precurser to the wonderful shows and characters we all know and love. Many of these skits were recycled into Muppet Show skits years later. My friend is always borrowing this DVD and both us watch it repeatedly and have yet to tire of it.
A Blast From the Muppet Past!
Sure the cover sucks, but who cares? Watching this DVD is a tour through time into the early days of Jim Henson's career for puppet sketches. Those of you real Muppet Aficionados should look carefully at the cover and try to identify some of the characters, and who they would evolve into later. Despite Kermit the Frog, an early Beautiful Day Monster design, and the obvious Sesame Street characters, watch the skits and try to notice any similarities.
One of the first puppet show appearances in SAM AND FRIENDS hosts memorable skits such as "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face" with a bewigged Kermit the Frog being taunted by the ravenous monster Yorick (who later became Cookie Monster), and the classic "Inchworm" sketch. No, not the song Inchworm, but the sketch with Kermit sitting on a bench and the worm taps him on the leg until he eats it, when the third worm appears, Kermit tries to eat it, but a giant monster appears and eats him. It was a classic sketch used later on THE MUPPET SHOW guest starring Rich Little, with Lennie the Lizard standing in for Kermit. There is also the "Java" skit from the Ed Sullivan Show, which later featured on THE MUPPET SHOW with Ethel Merman.
Many of these skits look great after being preserved for so long, and it's enduring to see how the characters have evolved over the years. Those of you real fans should recognize I FEEL PRETTY, MAHNA MAHNA, and BIG BIRD'S DANCE which would also be re-enacted in shows later. I, for one, would love to see flashbacks of the product commercials which were popular around the late 1950s which lasted six seconds during each skit to sell a product and tell a joke. Who can forget Wilkins Coffee, the La Choy Dragon, Claussens Bread, or Purina Dog Chow? For more information on these rarities, I recommend Danny's Tough Pigs website or Kaptain Kidshow Memories.
This is a great collectible, and I sense there will be more to follow.
Will Leave You in Stitches
Like I titled this thing, you watch this DVD, and by the end of it, you're rolling on the floor laughing your head off. These are some of the best Jim Henson Muppet sketches I've ever seen in my life. Some of them were re-done for the Muppet show, such as "Kermit's Friend" (also called "Inchworm"), and "Happy Girl Meets Monster," but they were much better on this DVD.
Some of the highlights of this DVD are "A Change of Face," where a doctor is rearranging a Muppet's face, "Happy Girl Meets Monster," where a girl is commenting on how nice the day is and a monster is doing all he can to ruin it, "Scrap Fiap" (and if you listen carefully, you can hear someone in the audience saying "oh boy!" towards the end of the sketch), "Kermit's Friend" (Kermit eating the inchworms and ends up getting swallowed himself), "Java" (a personal favorite), and "Octopuses Garden" where a diver is singing, and an octopus is cracking bad puns during the whole thing.
Any Muppet fan will delight in this collection. The quality is excellent, the sound is great, and the colors are spectacular!
Related DVD's Muppets Magic: From The Ed Sullivan Show
One of Jim Henson's finest hours was the Storyteller series that first aired on HBO in 1987. As with his other non-Muppet creations (Labyrinth), Henson fills the screen with wonderful creatures that have a wisp of a J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy. This collection of nine stories (it does not contain the Greek myths arc) were adapted by Anthony Minghella, who became an Oscar-winning filmmaker a decade later with The English Patient. Minghella weaves the narration of the storyteller (played with aplomb by John Hurt) with dialogue from the stories to beguiling effect; the storyteller doesn't simply introduce the tales.
A few of the stories have been available before on video, but this collection starts with the debut, the Emmy-winning "Hans My Hedgehog," the title role... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Steve Barron - Paul Weiland - Jon Amiel - Peter Smith - Jim Henson DVD Release Date: Released the 26 August 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The late John Denver was obviously a favorite collaborator of Kermit and company. Not only did the mellow singer-songwriter appear on the Muppets' celebrated television series in the 1970s, he hosted a Christmas special with the Henson gang, and, on another occasion, led them on a rare, fresh-air excursion in Rocky Mountain Holiday. It's a cute, unexpected idea: The celebrity outdoorsman takes the extended Muppets family up, up into the scenic Rockies, for a happy afternoon of fishing in crystal lakes followed by a night of camping in lush meadows. There are plenty of jokes along the way (Rowlf the dog seeks a wall socket for his TV set), happy moments of kite-flying and tromping along trails (yes, the Muppets go hiking), and lots (lots!) of songs, including a "Happy Trails" duet... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): John Denver - Muppets DVD Release Date: Released the 26 August 2003 This item is currently not available.
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Steve Martin, Carol Burnett, and Gilda Radner are the special guests in this delightful trio of episodes from the 1970s The Muppet Show. The Martin and Burnett installments are particularly interesting for their atypical formats. Instead of a variety presentation, the Martin show is organized as a series of auditions for new acts, including high-stepping rats, dancing cheese, and the extraterrestrial Four Fazoos. Into the mix comes Martin with his vintage balloon animals, banjo, juggling gear, and arrow-through-the-head prop. It's a truly original program, and even gets by without the series' usual canned laughter. Burnett's show is also built around a unifying concept: in this case, an episode-long dance marathon. Finally, Gilda Radner is paired with a snooty, 7-foot talking... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jim Henson - Frank Oz Director(s): Peter Harris - Philip Casson DVD Release Date: Released the 09 December 2003 This item is currently not available.
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Fans of Golden Age comedy are in good hands with this trio of Muppet Show episodes. Special guest George Burns sings old vaudeville numbers and dusts off vintage one-liners, all while Rowlf the dog (voice by Jim Henson) accompanies on piano. The legendary comedian also dresses down sleazy gossip columnist Fleet Scribbler after the latter presses Burns for details about Miss Piggy's private life. Dom DeLuise hosts an energetic show full of pratfalls, particularly in a hysterical sketch set among the fuzzy, babbling inhabitants of Planet Koozebane. There's also high drama when DeLuise grows incensed over Piggy's legion of admirers; their growing numbers force her to dress in the star's changing room, resulting in an epic exchange of ego-driven insults. Finally, Bob Hope finds Kermit... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jim Henson - Frank Oz Director(s): Peter Harris - Philip Casson DVD Release Date: Released the 03 February 2004 This item is currently not available.
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Kermit takes center stage in this hilarious, parody-laden celebration of Muppetry, pulsating with original music, a star-studded cast of human cameos, and a heartwarming story reminiscent of It's a Wonderful Life. Joan Cusack plays the deliciously villainous Miss Bitterman, a ruthless banker who succeeds in foreclosing on the Muppet Theatre only days before Kermit's Christmas extravaganza. As Kermit loses his livelihood, he plunges into the "I wish I'd never been born" mind-set instantly recognizable to George Bailey fans. It's going to take some Divine intervention (Whoopi Goldberg is cast as God, no less), plus a little help from a heavenly "Clarence." Despite some moments where the script seems adrift (how hard it must be to live up to the irresistible precedent set by the 1979... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Kirk R. Thatcher DVD Release Date: Released the 07 October 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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