onzo, the misfit Muppet who likes to be shot out of cannons, is having
that dream again: the one where Noah (Abraham) refuses him entry into the
Ark because he's all alone. "I don't want to be alone," the disconsolate
purple being tells his faithful roommate, Rizzo the Rat.
But amid the bustle of morning ablutions and breakfast in the Muppet
House, Gonzo's bowl of cereal delivers the first of several mysterious
messages from beyond: "Watch the Skies." No one will believe him--except
the paranoid government alien hunter K. Edgar Singer (Tambor).
When Gonzo proclaims on Miss Piggy's TV show UFOMania that he is
actually an alien abandoned on Earth and that his people are coming to get
him, Singer ("Call me Ed") and his Men in Black decide to abduct him.
Before that happens, Gonzo tries to convince his pals that he has gotten
more messages, some in the form of "cosmic fish" from outer space ("May the
Fish be with you," they tell the G-man.) But everyone, including Kermit the
Frog, disbelieves the incredible story. Rizzo and Pepe the Prawn even play a
trick on Gonzo: convincing him that his alien brethren want him to build a
jacuzzi in the backyard.
But before long, Gonzo's been spirited to the secret base of Singer's
COVNET (disguised as a cement plant), where the government operative wants
to suck out his brain. It falls to Kermit and his redoubtable clan to
muster the tools to find a way into the
government stronghold and rescue Gonzo, who still thinks the aliens will
show up any minute.
Muppet magic
This is the latest in the long-running series of Muppet films, and
unlike its predecessors, Muppets from Space is based on an original story with no new musical
numbers. But it's happily familiar to anyone who is a fan of the Muppet TV
show and the earlier feature films, though less antic.
The usual characters are back, if only briefly, including Kermit, Piggy,
Fozzie Bear, Animal and, of course, Gonzo. The story, such as it is, is
chock-full of sly SF allusions, to everything from E.T. and Close
Encounters to Independence Day and Men In Black. But
that's not really the point: the good-natured gags and gentle message are.
Some of the humor is clearly aimed over the heads of the young target
audience ("I had that dream again," Gonzo says. "You mean the one with the
dwarf and the goat and the jar of peanut butter?" Rizzo asks).
But all of it's in good fun, and even the X-Files-ish plot ends with
everyone happy and no one hurt and the moral that no one is ever alone if they
have friends.
Like earlier Muppet outings, this one contains an impressive array of
cameos and guest stars, with some showing up quite unexpectedly (Ray Liotta
as a security guard, for example). And Tambor is hilarious as the
demented bad guy Singer.
To make up for the lack of new musical numbers, director Tim Hill has chosen
to season the film with several 1970s funk tunes, including a climactic
"Celebration" by Kool and the Gang. That, and the day-glow color scheme,
give the film a soothingly retro feel, harkening back to the days of the
original Muppet Show itself.
One welcome new character is Pepe, a diminutive crustacean who speaks
with an Iberian accent and gets no respect. ("I am not a shrimp," he says.
"I am a King Prawn!") Throughout the film, the level of skill with which
the puppet masters handle their charges verges on the magical, and viewers
soon forget they're watching talking socks.
