The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) (TV)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Kirk R. Thatcher

Writers (WGA):

Debra Frank (teleplay) &
Steve L. Hayes (teleplay) ...

Release Date:

20 May 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Music

Tagline:

Hit the Bricks this May!

Plot:

This version of The Wizard of Oz is played by the Muppets!

Plot Keywords:

The Muppets | Witch | Lion | Scarecrow | Goofy Holler

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Ashanti	...	Dorothy Gale
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Wizard
Quentin Tarantino	...	Himself
David Alan Grier	...	Uncle Henry
Queen Latifah	...	Aunt Em
Steve Whitmire	...	Kermit the Frog / Scarecrow / Beaker / Bean Bunny / Rizzo the Rat / Statler (voice)
Dave Goelz	...	The Great Gonzo / Tin Thing / Dr. Bunsen Honeydew / Zoot / Waldorf (voice)
Bill Barretta	...	Pepe the Prawn / Toto / Dr. Teeth / Johnny Fiama / Lew Zealand / Rowlf / Swedish Chef (voice)
Eric Jacobson	...	Miss Piggy / Fozzie Bear / Lion / Witches / Animal / Sam the Eagle (voice)
Brian Henson	...	Crazy Harry / Sal Manilla (voice)
Kevin Clash	...	Clifford (voice)
John Kennedy	...	Angel Marie / Floyd (voice)
Rickey Boyd	...	Scooter / Very Old Tom (voice)
Tyler Bunch	...	Janice / Old Tom (voice)
Julianne Buescher	...	Muppet Performer (voice) (as Julianne Buscher)

Runtime:

USA:120 min (including commercials) | Finland:88 min (DVD) | USA:100 min (dvd version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:TV-PG | Finland:K-3 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Cloverdale, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

When Kermit the Frog meets the Wizard of Oz he says "Hello Mr Oz. Are you any relation to Frank Oz?" This is an in-joke as Frank Oz was one of the real-life Muppeteers, best known for voicing the part of Miss Piggy. This was also one of the only Muppet projects Oz was not involved with.

Goofs:

Continuity: Towards the end, as Dorothy and Co leave the stage, the Wiz is holding his hand out to shake hands, and in the close up shot he has taken his specs off. When we zoom out, and Toto says something to him, he is still wearing his glasses.

Quotes:

[as the Wicked Witch of the West]
Miss Piggy: Hahahaha! I'm not melting! Ah nuts!
[begins to melt]

Movie Connections:

References Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Soundtrack:

Kansas

Not as bad as everyone makes it out to be....

I watched it, I laughed my butt off, I really liked it! The Muppets please me every single time! While I enjoyed it a lot, I will admit that it has its flaws (which I will get to in a moment) and can understand why it wasn't well loved by a majority of the fanbase. It was kind of twisted/creepy in a few scenes for a Muppet flick, and had a little extra adult humor than some people apparently care for.

Personally, I didn't have a problem with that at all.

I loved that the writers didn't shy away from that sort of thing, knowing that most of their fandom are teens and adults who have been fans for years! I loved the humor in this movie, loved the edginess it had, and loved how close to the book this wacky modernish adaption surprisingly was (much more so, oddly enough, than the famous Judy Garland film). When I wasn't laughing at the antics or jokes, I was marveling over the latest tidbit from the book I had noticed was snuck into the plot. As a fan of the book, this was quite pleasing to see.

Again, while I really liked this movie...I admit to having a couple of issues with it. Here are my gripes with this made-for-TV movie: The casting of Ashanti as Dorothy Gale was a huge let down. She's a pretty girl with a decent singing voice...but the girl is a horrible actress. Many of the human co-stars the Muppets have had in the past act like the Muppets are living, breathing, creatures. Like they're real. Ashanti failed miserably with this, and never really connected with her co-stars which really takes away from the movie IMO.

The use of CGI in this film was horrible, and I really REALLY wish they didn't go that route. I would have enjoyed the conversations with the wizard a whole lot more if they had used muppets for the different wizard appearances rather than cheap animation.

The Muppet American Idol (as part of the Kansas plot before and after Dorothy's trip to Oz) was really stupid, and was a poor excuse to have Ashanti showcase her not-that-fantastic singing...which I didn't really care to hear more of. I also didn't like the overly selfish/unkind Piggy in the real-world scenes either. We all know she's a diva, but her minor scenes in those parts of the movie are really overdone.

Overall: While this movie is inferior to all its predecessors, and is a bit too "grown up" for some fans to handle, I felt it was a pretty good movie and worth the watch. The uncut DVD version is much better than the shortened one that was aired on TV, which does make a big difference. At least, it did for me.