The Muppets are often a delight. I say that as an adult male- I still think they're great. The Muppet Movie (1979) is a classic and very funny. When The Muppet Movie VHS release was advertised, the second Muppet film, The Great Muppet Caper (1981), was trumpeted along with it. That set the bar high, and unfortunately, it didn't click with me well as a child.You might attribute that to drab scenery (the newspaper office and the Happiness Hotel) and costumes (Kermit and Fozzie are none too appealing in this), and themes of newspaper writing and jewel thievery that aren't going to attract every child. Having rewatched The Great Muppet Caper now, I've come around on it, or at least the first half. The film starts strong with numerous funny gags, but runs out of steam. We have some humorous self-references and Gonzo being reckless, and then as we get into the film we have dubious claims Kermit and Fozzie are identical twins, and much fun over how bad the Happiness Hotel is. The British couple who barely register Miss Piggy climbing their walls are a riot. After that, particularly when Miss Piggy begins her dancing and modelling scenes, the film begins to drag and the story isn't all that strong. There are still some laughs in it, but this isn't the Muppets' best showing.

Kermit, Gonzo and Fozzie are reporters who travel to Britain to interview a rich victim of jewel thieves (Diana Rigg) and help her along with her secretary, Miss Piggy.After more than thirty years, some of this film may be a bit dated. Not many viewers today, for example, might know who Diana Rigg is, and some might even find it hard to identify Charles Grodin. Peter Falk and John Cleese are still big names, but for a film that partially relies on cameos, this may take away its power.In general, it is pretty good, with a solid plot and plenty of musical numbers. There are some innovative ways of showing puppets swimming and riding bicycles. Maybe it is not as "edgy" as Roger Ebert would like, but it still has the charm of being something kids can watch without any adult humor creeping in.

My personal favorite in the "Muppet" series (before the films started miscasting the furry ones as characters in ill-conceived film versions of children's books--I'm looking at you, "Treasure Island"!), this follows up the rural whimsey of "The Muppet Movie" with a trip to London--and gives the incomparable Miss Piggy the star treatment she deserves. Everything the pink one does is memorable--her exuberance at landing a job as receptionist to fashion icon Lady Holiday ("I'll TAKE IT! I'LL TAKE IT!...I'll sit, I can sit, I'm very good at sitting."), her scaling a building in evening gown and heels ("Next time they want stunts, they get a double"), her tap dance (in glass slippers!) her dismissal of the boobish Charles Grodin ("You can't even sing! Your voice was dubbed!") her honest hurt when Kermit breaks character to accuse her of "hamming it up" ("I am TRYING to save this movie!"), and, of course, that climactic motorbike ride. Let film critics talk of Fellini and Antonioni; my never-to-be-topped moment of cinematic nirvana consists of Piggy, clad in white, crashing a motorcycle through a stained-glass window. Diana Rigg, as Lady Holiday, is a perfect foil; she suggests a human Piggy slimmed down and gone cynical. (She tosses off a long, irrelevant monologue, shrugging, "It's plot exposition. It has to go somewhere.") Grodin, recruited as Kermit's rival for the pig's affections, doesn't blink once at the assignment. There are numerous featured bits for the other characters, human and Muppet; John Cleese and Joan Sanderson are married (of course) and more reclusive and upper-class British than anyone in any season of "Masterpiece Theatre". Fozzie gets more good-natured sidekick lines than usual (toying with a glass of champagne, he remarks, "You put enough sugar in this stuff, it tastes just like ginger ale"--it doesn't, I tried), and the Dr. Teeth band also gets their due in the "Happiness Hotel" production number. All this movie wants to do is make you happy--and if that's "corny", go back to your Clint Eastwood movie essays in gloom and leave me alone.

I will begin to say that I do think that Muppet movies such as Treasure Island and Christmas Carol are just as delightful, but The Great Muppet Caper will always have a special place in my heart. From the hilarious opening credits to the rollicking finale, this is just a hugely enjoyable film, with just one or two minor discrepancies. The Muppets are great as usual, Jim Henson especially as Kermit. It was such a shame that he died, he was such a talented man, though Steve Whitmire is a very good replacement in the later Muppet films. Great to see Sam the Eagle, Fozzie, Wrolf and Rizzo. Out of the human cast, Charles Grodin and Diana Rigg are very good, Grodin with his charm and Rigg with her frostiness, though if anything I wish the two stars had more screen time. Not to mention the amusing cameos from John Cleese and Peter Ustinov. The songs were very pleasant, perhaps not as memorable as ones in other Muppet films but First Time It Happens is one of my all time favourite Muppet songs, and there are some clever jokes about British eccentricity and what have you. My favourite Muppet and the the best aspect of the film, or for me anyway, was the always wonderful Miss Piggy, who delighted in every scene she was in. She was particularly sensational in the musical numbers especially the restaurant and pool scenes, where the choreography is just dazzling. Overall, a great movie, that is definitely up there with the Muppets best. 10/10 Bethany Cox