The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005)

This is a fun Muppet take on the classic story. In this movie The Muppets take on The Wizard of Oz in a great parody that is both charming and smart. Ashanti plays Dorothy Gale a farm girl who dreams of becoming a singer. One day she is swept away to the magical land of Oz. Toto is here replaced by prawn played by Pepe the King Prawn. Rizzo the Rat plays the Mayor of Munchkinland and all the Munchkins are played by his rat family. Kermit the Frog plays the Scarecrow and he is great as Always (You can't help but like Kermit the Frog). The Great Gonzo is the Tin Man and Fozzie Bear is Cowardly Lion/Bear.This movie is closer to the book than the 1939 movie including elements like the wizard telling Dorothy to get the wicked witch of the west's magical eye rather than her broom and and there being four witches instead of three. Miss Piggy plays all the witches and she is one of the best parts of the movie.This is high-quality family entertainment.But what else can you expect from Disney.The film is full of clever jokes and lovable characters. This is a film that both young and old will like and can be rewatched many times. This movie comes highly recommended ! and look out for a surprise cameo.

I saw the "The Wizard of Oz" (the 1939 classic, which is clearly the most famous adaptation of L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz") many times as a kid in the 90's, and also got to see two "Wizard of Oz" school plays when I was in the early primary grades, so by the time this Muppets television film version was released, I had been familiar with the story for a long time. However, I don't think I ever heard of "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" until a while after it originally aired. After about 5½ years, I've finally seen this non-theatrical Muppet movie. A "Wizard of Oz" remake with the Muppets certainly didn't seem like a bad idea, but Ashanti playing Dorothy sure sounded like bad news, which it sure is.Dorothy Gale lives in a Kansas trailer park with her Auntie Em and Uncle Henry and works at their diner. She also has a pet prawn named Toto. Dorothy is not happy with her life and dreams of becoming a superstar. She has a chance when she gets to audition to be a singer for the Muppets, but arrives too late, just as they're leaving, and only gets to give them a demo CD. When she returns to the trailer park, the place is hit by a tornado, and her trailer is soon blown away with her and Toto inside! When they land, it turns out that Toto can now talk, and the two are now in the Land of Oz. They meet the Munchkins and learn that when the trailer landed, it crushed the Wicked Witch of the East. The Good Witch of the North then appears and gives Dorothy the Wicked Witch's magic slippers. The Good Witch tells the young Kansas woman that if she wants to become a famous singer, she must go to meet the Wizard of Oz in Emerald City, so Dorothy begins her journey along the yellow brick road.This 2005 TV movie already looks bad right at the beginning, opening with a music video for a song performed by Ashanti as Dorothy Gale. After this, the film still looks like it's going to be dull experience. For a while, we don't see the Muppets much, and the movie isn't very funny at all at this point. A notably unfunny character who appears briefly near the beginning is the Stage Manager, played by Edward Hibbert. When Dorothy and Toto arrive in the Land of Oz, it is pretty funny seeing Toto turn into Pepe. After this, I frequently smiled (I guess it's never COMPLETELY straight-faced with the Muppets), but most of the gags I did not find funny. When the Scarecrow (Kermit) first appears, he references "The Passion of the Christ", a reference which doesn't seem to fit in a Muppet film. There's also a nipple joke at one point, and I don't know if I would have gotten that sex gag as a kid, but I don't think it's funny. Ashanti's acting performance is certainly not that impressive, and I did not enjoy listening to her singing. Eventually, when the Wicked Witch of the West comes in, the film may just get a little too brutal for a Muppet movie, just for a moment.I'm giving this film the same rating as I gave "Muppets from Space", the last theatrical Muppet movie to date. Not only did I not find that 1999 release very funny, I also thought it was too dark and cruel for the Muppets. "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" isn't quite as dark as that film (or at least not as much of it is), but it's still mostly unfunny, and the casting of Ashanti is another problem. Apparently, Hilary Duff and Jessica Simpson also auditioned for the role of Dorothy, and I sincerely doubt either of them would have been any better than Ashanti. In fact, they might have been even worse! Now, by the end of this 2005 television film, I wasn't sure whether to give it a four or a five out of ten, as it didn't seem QUITE as bad towards the end. However, with the lack of laughs and the starring role played by one of the singers I've strongly disliked since I was a teenager, I can't say I think this film is up to Muppet standards.

One's first reaction after reading this film's cast list is: what is Quentin Tarantino doing in a Muppet movie?! Find the answer at the bottom of this review. This, then, follows on from the vastly superior MUPPETS Christmas CAROL (1992) and MUPPETS TREASURE ISLAND (1996) in adapting classic children's stories to suit the popular Jim Henson creations. Its relegation to TV – where it was even shorn of some 20 minutes – suggests the enterprise's intrinsic poverty: Kermit, Gonzo and Fuzzy are cramped inside the pre-ordained figures of Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion respectively (and the same goes for Rizzo as the leader of the Munchkins), while Miss Piggy is all over the place by playing all four Witches in L. Frank Baum's tale! Toto the dog is here incarnated in the prawn character from The Muppet Show: though it seems a highly unlikely choice, his laidback personality and hip quips prove the film's highlight in the long run. Dorothy, too, is a black wannabe entertainer (played by real-life 'superstar singer' Ashanti, with Queen Latifah as her aunt) – didn't they know the tale had already received a Blaxploitation makeover with THE WIZ (1978)? In keeping with the overall blandness of the thing, the songs are no great shakes but tolerable enough in themselves. To get back to that 'genius of modern American cinema', Tarantino appears briefly as himself (he seems to have resigned himself to the fact that the only way he can give a convincing interpretation is by playing Tarantino!) – still riding high on the wave of his KILL BILL success, he enthusiastically 'sells' a producer his personal (and typically flashy) approach to the climactic showdown between Dorothy and The Wicked Witch Of The West.

First let me say, it is no "Muppet Movie." But you did not have to pay 7 dollars for ticket for this either. Jim Henson was a genius and his input on the muppets is notable, but being a father that has tried to show my kids the early muppet shows, I appreciate people still making muppet shows for a new generation. 70s humor is lost on my children. I do not fault anyone for trying to make the muppets up to date. They must of done a good job too because my son LOVES this movie. He knows the songs, knows the story and thinks Quentin Tarantino is hilarious (even though he does not have a clue who he is). Let me give them credit by saying they actually followed the book a lot better then the famous Judy Garland movie. Putting adult references like Pink Floyd and Empire strikes back into in is fine by me too. If you hate them doing that then you hate almost every animated movie that has come out in the last 10 years (with the exception of Pixar). Queen Latifa and David Allen Grier were fun and Ashanti was fun although she was not as strong as her supporting cast. This is a fun movie for kids that introduces old stories with old characters to a new generations. The songs are catchy and they do a good job and recreating the muppets voice and movements without Jim Henson. I am glad I did not pay 7 dollars for it, but for a good time with a small child feel free to rent it or watch it if they rebroadcast it.