Muppet Treasure Island

• Directed By Brian Henson
• February 16, 1996
• Based on the 1883 novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

A Muppet take on the classic high seas adventure coming of age story.

In full disclose I have a perpetual soft spot for the Muppets. I like the corny humor and the cheesy jokes that the Muppets are known for. They never take themselves too seriously yet somehow manage more emotion at moments than one could think possible. Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie was especially moving despite being sung by a felt frog.

Having had some success a few years prior with their version of A Christmas Carol, the Muppets team set their sights on the classic Treasure Island. The Muppets take on various roles from the book with additional parts added as needed. And they get in just about all the major Muppet players. Even the Swedish Chef gets in on the action!

Sadly though there are not the number of random celebrity cameos that these films often have. If there is a human here, they are playing somebody connecting to the main story. Beyond the pirates in the opener, I can only really think of four people in this with all other characters being Muppets. Jim Hawkins (Kevin Bishop) is an orphan from the start and not under the care of his mother. While he does work at the Admiral Benbow Inn, it is owned by Mrs. Bluveridge (Jennifer Saunders) who has an uncanny ability to hear far-off conversations. Billy Connolly is Billy Bones who gets everything rolling and just great as Connolly always was before retirement.

Tim Curry takes on the role of Long John Silver and how could you ever really go wrong with casting Tim Curry in anything? His Long John Silver is charming yet dangerous and has a twinkle in his eye. He’s a truly evil man, but he finds it within himself to care about young Jim Hawkins. Curry conveys real feeling between the two.

Bishop’s Jim Hawkins is without family but seems kinda cool with that. I do not need him blubbering and in emotional distress, but he barely acknowledges being an orphan. Then again considering how close in the story he is to Rizzo and Gonzo, him being mournful of lost relatives would have undermined that whole relationship.

This clearly is not a faithful adaptation but rather it does give you a good idea of the story. It’s more like the Great Illustrated Classics version than it is the actual book. Not quite the story, but a good introduction to it. You get all the important points but not all the minutia.

The music for Muppet Treasure Island is good but then again in a movie with music by Hans Zimmer how could you expect anything else? I still have a hard time wrapping my head around Hans Zimmer being involved in the music here. And that opening sea shanty type thing they had was especially effective. It’s very Muppet in tone and summarizes the plot of the film.

While aimed at kids, it’s satisfying enough for adults that they won’t want to pluck their eyes out and stick them in their ears to shut things out. The jokes come pretty steady and some can even be enjoyed as a kid or an adult. There are things that adults will get that the kids won’t, but they still might find funny. Such is the magic of the Muppets.

Muppet Treasure Island, while not a classic story adaption like The Muppets Christmas Carol, is a very good family friendly version of a classic piece of literature. It’s got all the right humor and enough adherence to the original story that you will enjoy yourself. Whether by yourself or with your family, I sincerely recommend this one.