The Great Muppet Caper (1981) movie review - Sneak Previews with Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel

This is the original review of The Great Muppet Caper by Siskel & Ebert on "Sneak Previews" in 1981. All of the segments pertaining to the movie have been included.

[@thomasw3285]

That wasn't a restaurant, more of a supper club

[@Sparkledash1]

I don't know whats more shocking. Roger giving the movie a thumbs down or Gene not liking the Muppet Show?

[@kevinpauley-dadbodstyle2935]

See, for me The Great Muppet Caper is the very best film! I love how they are so integrated into regular society and, honestly, Charles Grodin's affections for Miss Piggy are brilliantly played! Plus, this one goes a bit meta with its humor, which I personally love! It's the single funniest, most clever film of the Muppets filmography, in my humble opinion!

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

I have good memories of this one. (Like the moment when Kermit, Fozzi and Gonzo are boxed up in the airplane luggage compartment in crates saying Frog, Bear and Whatever.) And I tend to like anything with Diana Rigg...

[@johnnietorch1598]

I agree entirely. I think they both kinda missed the boat on this one.

[@scottleonard8949]

I agree, and I loved the jewel thief plot. When I was a kid I watched this movie over and over and found the jewel thieves fascinating. Diana Rigg and Charles Grodin are hilarious.

[@toffeenut1336]

Absolutely agreed, this was my favorite of the classic muppets.

[@Nightfox18574]

Rare and I mean Rare Roger L

[@michaelj.r457]

Actually, Gene has it right. Looking back on the original trilogy. The first Muppet Movie was, of course, Kermit's story about his dream of going to Hollywood and the friends he makes along the way. Muppet Caper is definitely Miss Piggy's show. She has the big funny moments, the big dance numbers, the love triangle, and she saves the day. Muppets Take Manhattan is both Kermit and Piggy's story (to the point that the only issue I have with that film is that Fozzie, Gonzo, and the others take a real backseat in the movie.)

[@untexan]

Roger was right on this one. You could have put human characters in place of all of the Muppets and the movie would have been pretty much the same.

[@jasonbowser5754]

This was my favorite movie. As a kid, I had a taped vhs with a double feature of The Beastmaster and Great Muppet Caper😂

[@losttribe3001]

Now that’s a combo!

[@thewizboy]

I LOVE the GREAT Muppet Caper & the Muppets TAKE Manhattan!

[@joshuamarchant8420]

Muppet Caper is a lot of fun and very representative of Jim Henson (this being the only Muppet movie he directed) and his explosive 'Go-Big' sense of humour. Personally, I'm more of a fan of the original which let the Muppets sing their own songs without being crowded by hundreds of trained dancers.

[@mooman4798]

I agree with Siskel and Ebert on points that both made. The thing that I liked about the first Muppet film and the TV show was that while certain Muppets (i.e., Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie) got a majority of screen time to a point, there was still enough space for the other Muppets (i.e., Rowlf, The Electric Mayhem group, The Swedish Chef, etc.) to shine and show what they could do. There was a dynamic of the shows being about the Muppet group as a whole, focusing on all of their unique quirks and personalities, which made it special. But "Caper" was basically "The Miss Piggy Show" w/ Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo co-starring, and the rest of the Muppets were just sort of...."there." I do remember that after "The Muppet Show" became a smash, the media (TV, radio, etc.) focused way too much on Miss Piggy, and they acted like she was all that there was to The Muppets, which annoyed me. Okay, yeah, Miss Piggy was great, and her scenes in "Caper" were well done, but I recall thinking "What about the other Muppets? What are they, chopped liver?" I wonder if maybe Jim Henson and his peeps were taking a "give the masses what they want" approach in having Miss Piggy dominate, but overall, "Caper" felt more...contrived and generic to me than the first Muppet film and the TV show. So, to me: "The Muppet Movie" = Classic. "The Great Muppet Caper" = It's good--you won't be wasting your time watching it--But I don't think it's great. Just my view, though.

[@Mike-gl4wt]

Not my favorite one it’s kind of boring but some of the jokes are funny. My favorite one is Muppets Take Manhattan.

[@KevyNova]

What the hell? This is the BEST Muppet movie!

[@michaelperkowski641]

I like the great Muppet caper

[@DS8379]

Roger...you're breaking my heart. Love all the Muppet Movies

[@sha11235]

One other problem I had with GMC was that Lady Holiday didn't find out about her brother being the jewel thief. In the storybook she does and I think it was wrong to cut that out.

[@JAKECOT_CENTER]

Oh come on Roger, this is a best one!

[@andrewbyrne7321]

I fully respect both men's opinion

[@otakurocklee]

5:28, what is he talking about? When was Miss Piggy vulnurable? in the show? I missed that.

[@sha11235]

Well, she had unrequited love for Kermit.

[@DaddyOfTheSugarVariety]

I kinda miss these critics. :p

[@sha11235]

I miss them period.

[@abagelmuppetstuff]

Do you have the full episode?

[@sha11235]

It should be on their website siskelandebert.org.

[@BlueGuy44]

The Great Muppet Caper is one of my favorites. But I respect Roger Ebert’s opinion.

[@sha11235]

I sort of agree with Roger. I didn't think this film worked.

[@thetreasurehouse1742]

The music is wonderful. The story is flat. In two years, from 1979 to 1981, what began as raw and exciting became overproduced.

[@sha11235]

@@thetreasurehouse1742 The songs are okay, but who cares about a caper plot anyway? Kids aren't going to care about that.

[@andrewbyrne7321]

My favourite muppet movie

[@sha11235]

Too bad they cut out Waldorf's comment.

[@pantherz9103]

I probably saw the Great Mupper Caper like 50 times on an old Beta tape. I think the Muppet Movie soundtrack is a little bit better but having seen the movie so much as a kid it’s hard for me not to like it.

[@GrinningAries]

I only saw this one once as a kid and I remember being bored. I also saw the original Muppets movie as a kid and I remember liking that one a whole lot more.

[@sha11235]

Yeah, the first film was more fun and I think because it was the first time they were doing this, it was entertaining. To keep doing it it wears thin.

[@alramone1]

Ebert was mostly accurate about the faults of this film. Muppets take Manhattan hits the sweet spot of muppet humor and is the best of the movie trilogy

[@sha11235]

Yeah, this wasn't as good as Muppet Movie, which is the best.

[@bovnycccoperalover3579]

Well, I liked and Diana Rigg , Charles Grogan and Jack Warden and Robert Morley were wonderful.

[@DementedDistraction]

Wow, these two wanted to pork Miss Piggy even more than Charles Grodin did in the film.

[@garyhunt8067]

Love The Great Muppet Caper.

[@cliffordshafran9250]

I loved the first 3 muppet movies. My only problem with this one is the fourth wall jokes got repetitive and went on too long.

[@bennylevine387]

How you gonna recommend this, but not Rocky III Gene?

[@sha11235]

One sequel doesn't have anything to do with another.

[@PaulSmith-qs1es]

I thought this was the worst of the Muppet Movies.

[@michaelpaoneproductions]

Clearly, you've never seen Kermit's Swamp Years

[@PaulSmith-qs1es]

@@michaelpaoneproductions I haven't.

[@sha11235]

@@michaelpaoneproductions That was direct to video.

[@michaelpaoneproductions]

@@sha11235 Dosen't matter

[@errolbourgeois8230]

YOU NEED TO SEE IT AGAIN. Its totally fun . The song "First Time It's Happens was nominated for a Oscar. The salute to Buggy Berkeley w/ Miss Piggy is one of the best dream segments in a movie .

[@keithforsay4204]

Jim Henson Evolved Into A Money-Hungry Greed-Monger At This Stage Sadly Instead Of Putting Out Muppet-Specials That Aired Around Xmas-Time He Made These Overstuffed-Bores. If You Look At 1 Of Those Muppet-Tv-Specials That Aired During The Xmas-Season Then 1 Of These Muppet-Movies You Will Find Out That The Tv-Specials Are Far More Enjoyable! They Were Easy To Follow. Some Clown Must Have Told Jim Henson You Just Can't Have A Movie Just About Muppets. People Can See Them On TV For Nothing. So As A Result The M-Movies Were Bogged Down With A Lot Of Unnecessary Cameo-Appearances By So-Called Name Actors. Jim Henson Probably Knew Deep Down That The Movies Really Sucked. But He Probably Said To Himself Hey If The General-Public Is Stupid Enough To Buy A Ticket To See It And Come Out Of The Movie-Theater Saying Something Like Boy Was That A Rip-off. Hey Who Am I To Say Otherwise Remember That Old Saying Nobody Ever Went Broke Underestimating The Intelligence Of The American-Public. When You Realize It. It Makes 1 Really Appericate Bob Homnee (The Friendly Giant) He Was Offered All Kinds Of Get Rich-Quick Deals Like JH Was But Bob Homnee Always Said NO! He Was Content With His Lot Jim Henson Should Have Been The Same Way Too Instead Of Turning The Muppets Into A Cash-Grab By Making Those God-Awful Muppet-Movies.

[@movieman104]

manhatten is best 1 then first 1 treasure island then christmas then this one,

[@robertwiegman1]

3rd was good too. Caper is lame.