Walt Disney Home Entertainment re-released the film on DVD on November 29, 2005, in conjunction with Kermit the Frog's 50th anniversary celebration; this time the DVD contained both full-screen and widescreen presentations. Muppet Treasure Island opened on February 16, 1996 in 2,070 venues and earned $7.9 million over the weekend, ranking third at the North American box office behind the second weekend of Broken Arrow and fellow newcomer Happy Gilmore. Similarly to its predecessor The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), the key roles were played by live-action actors, with the Muppets in supporting roles. The film was released on February 16, 1996, grossing $34 million on a budget of $31 million, and receiving generally positive reviews from critics and audiences. "[17], Roger Ebert, reviewing for the Chicago Tribune, gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four. ", John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together, Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular, The Muppets Present...Great Moments in American History, Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Treasure Island, Jim Hawkins and the Curse of Treasure Island, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Muppet_Treasure_Island&oldid=983725876, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2017, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, "Something Better" – Jim, Gonzo and Rizzo, "A Professional Pirate" – Silver and the Pirates, "Love Led Us Here" – Smollett and Benjamina, This page was last edited on 15 October 2020, at 21:53. Muppet Treasure Island Script I was Flint's first mate that voyage... three days east of Tortola in the Caribie. It is the fifth feature film to star the Muppets and is based on the 1883 novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. and Kermit's like "Him too? The trio takes the map to the half-wit Squire Trelawney (Fozzie Bear), who arranges a voyage to find the treasure. The pirates find that the cave in which Flint hid the treasure is empty, leading to a brief mutiny against Silver. She doesn’t. is probably the funniest line in that movie because it implies at various times during the voyage they practiced this giant musical number without being detected. [1], On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 73% based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. "[19], A video game based on the film was released for Windows and Mac OS in 1996 by Activision. Just then, an army of pirates attack the inn, destroying it, but Jim, Gonzo, and Rizzo escape with the map. To coincide with the film's theatrical release, a making-of documentary featuring the filmmakers and the Muppets aired on the Disney Channel on February 2, 1996. The crew of the Hispaniola sails away into the sunset, but not before sending some scuba-diving rat tourists recover the treasure from the sea, ending the film. The Muppet Treasure Island: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack features an instrumental score by Hans Zimmer, with additional music by Nick Glennie-Smith, as well as songs written by pop songwriters Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. Direct link that will play embedded via RES. When Tim Curry makes eyes at Miss Piggy and comments on seeing 'Old Acquaintances' and she replies "Hello Loooooong John." He'd leave both behind him that day. The film's ending includes the reggae number "Love Power" performed by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, which was released as a single and promoted with a music video featuring Marley and some Muppets with dreadlocks. Tim Curry is just incredible in that role. However, Mr. Arrow informs Jim and Smollett that the boat Silver used was not seaworthy, and Silver is stranded on the island with no gold. One night, Bones' crewmate Blind Pew arrives, giving Bones the black spot. Arriving at Treasure Island, Smollett orders the entire crew save the officers to go ashore, planning to keep himself and non-pirate crew aboard the ship and abandon the pirates on the island. "[18] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two stars out of four writing that the film was a "boring Muppet adventure that doesn't successfully meld the Muppets into a conventional buried-treasure story. [citation needed], The Muppet Christmas Carol: Original Soundtrack, "Interview with Muppet Writer and Director Kirk Thatcher Part 2", "Film to Team Up Muppets and Long John Silver", "SHOWS FOR YOUNGSTERS AND THEIR PARENTS TOO : New 'Oddities' on MTV; how to make a Muppet movie on Disney; TLC's hurrah for cheerleading? Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. The Muppet action blends seamlessly with the human actors, and adults will be kept giggling with wittily anachronistic jokes about codependence, water-skiing, and Henry Kissinger. "[14] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average rating of "A-" on an A+ to F scale. After reprimending the crew from using a page from the bible to deliver a death sentence, Silver and his crew capture Smollett and Benjamina. Smollett, Gonzo, and Rizzo land on the island in an effort to rescue Jim. When Tim Curry makes eyes at Miss Piggy and comments on seeing 'Old Acquaintances' and she replies "Hello Loooooong John." In a tearful standoff, neither can bring themselves to follow their threats and Jim allows Silver to leave as long as they never cross paths again, much to their disappointment. You know the story", "I get lonely on this island AND YOU LEFT ME AT THE ALTAR". Walt Disney Home Video and Jim Henson Video first released the film on VHS on September 10, 1996. On the island, Smollett and the rest of the landing party are captured by the native tribe of pigs, where Smollett reunites with his jilted lover Benjamina Gunn (Miss Piggy), the tribe's queen. Just before dying of a heart attack, Bones gives Jim the treasure map and begs him to go after the treasure and keep both it and the map safe from pirate hands. Following their success as the narrators of The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Great Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat were given specially created roles as Jim Hawkins' best friends. Long running joke with my wife is that anytime I have to wear a suit I tell her I’m going to go be a pirate. It’s great. The website's critical consensus reads: "Though less Muppet-centric than the original trilogy, Muppet Treasure Island is an energetic, cheerful take on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure, with typically solid gags. Jim listens to Billy Bones' tales about the pirate Captain Flint, who buried his treasure trove on a remote island and executed his crew so only he would own the island's map. "[22] When Spa'am later appeared as a racing boss in Muppet RaceMania, he was credited as "Pig Chief". While the film did not have a distributor at the time, Walt Disney Pictures did have a first-look deal. [15], Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised the playfulness of the Muppets as keeping "the story amusingly off-kilter. Filming was slated to begin in the fall in London with a tentative release date slated for spring 1994. The boys meet the cook Long John Silver, a one-legged man whom Bones warned them of, but Jim and Silver become good friends. "[16] Ken Tucker, reviewing for Entertainment Weekly, gave the film a B+ noting that "the film is notably handsome in a dark, foreboding way. The group engages the pirates in a sword fight until only Silver is left standing, but he surrenders when he finds himself outnumbered. The best place for video content of all kinds. It ultimately grossed $34.3 million domestically. Oz had already participated in a recorded read-through of the script; Clash used these recordings to help prompt his performances. ", "Dahl's Scary 'The BFG' Is a Home Video Treat", "Videocassette Business Still in Fast-Forward Mode", "Weekend Box Office Results for February 16-18, 1996", "FILM REVIEW;Those Muppet Puppets As Wacky Swashbucklers", "Muppet Treasure Island Movie Review (1996)", "Snappy Patter and Cusack Can't Save 'City Hall' From Unfocused Story", "Following Up – When Is a Wart Hog A Canned Pork Product?