Kermit's Swamp Years

Another childhood movie of mine that I enjoyed. It's more or less aged well though. I t may not be one of Henson's best, but it's still enjoyable. I like the movie because it's coming of age and shows Kermit (Steve Whitmire) before the Muppet's. It would've been cool if the rest of the gang got their own prequels. The reason I say it's a coming of age movie is because the film chronicles Kermit exploring the outside world for the first time to save his friends who are kidnapped by a pet shop owner despite the warnings of his folks who tell him not to venture outside the swamp as well as talk to humans. While doing so he starts growing up and begins to find a place for himself in the new world. Taking with him on his adventure are his friends a blue frog named Croaker and a spunky dog named Pilgrim (Cree Summer). What do I like about this movie? I like the chemistry between the main characters. They're likable, fun to be with and it's nice to see them talk about what their future will be and what they want from it. I also like the jokes and use of foreshadowing of Kermit's future. For example, there's a scene where Kermit's watching a movie, The Black Arrow, which makes him wonder if he could become an actor himself. As we all know he pursues a career in showbiz later on. Another's when he trips and is helped by a boy later revealed to Jim Henson. The sub-plot focuses on Kermit's other friends Goggles and Blotch who wonder whether to escape the Pet Store or stay and live the rest of their life as a pet. As they decide the latter they get taken by a mad professor who wants to dissect them in his class. I also like the style. Even though the budget is small since it's a direct-to-video, the main characters feel alive despite knowing they're puppets. The movie's well shot, directed and decently written. While some of the jokes don't always hit, they're pretty good. For one thing there's not a lot of toilet jokes which's a breath of fresh air. The scene where Kermit gets chased by a pig is hilarious. This foreshadows his love/hate relationship with Ms. Piggie. Some of the effects are cheap such as when Croaker hops inside a building after Kermit encourages him to but can you really blame them? The songs are enjoyable too. They may not be Grammy winners but they're still nice to listen to. I really like the song "Complicated" that plays during the chase scene. Even the cover of "The Rainbow Connection" you hear at the credits' is nice. I guess the downsides are that while it's enjoyable it hasn't really aged well and some of the scenes do kind've drag on. The jokes may or may not get a laugh but personally I think they're fine. It also retcons some of the events from the previous movies. Little kids may like it but adults probably won't get into it that much unless they're a Muppets fan. If you get the chance check it out and see for yourself. It's a cute movie.

source: Kermit's Swamp Years

My 3 year old daughter loves this movie. We've seen it too many times. It was hard to watch the first time. The acting is horrible! The puppets out-act the humans. I'm only to guess that the message is don't dissect frogs in science class. Lame unless you're really little. There is also something deeply weird about this movie. It's like it keeps changing its character. At first it's one style and then the next style. I actually feel bad for the actors and actress in the movie. It's like they sold out any chance of doing a future movie for this horrible creation. The music is weird too. Bits of 80s pop, sad hard rock attempts and other forms that just don't sound right in a children's movie. I also don't like the fact that they keep saying "shut up" and insulting each other. It's just not a good example. The animals are loving, the humans are not. Bad. You may wonder why I gave it a five. Um... well. I'm not 3 years old.

It is almost unfair to the movie makers who work so hard to produce an entertaining piece of art. I am asked to grade their work solely based upon what I saw on the screen. The key phrase here is "what I saw." If I choose the "see" the whole movie, then a fair opinion can be respected. But what if I cannot bear to sit through a poor opening; one where I cannot embrace the characters or situation enough to care? This is the problem with Kermit's Swamp Years. Because of this, I truly believe that no matter how the story begs to be told, movie makers better hook you in for the long haul or else. I am a big Muppet fan and could not get past the first 10 minutes. That is sad. Brian Henson, Frank Oz, where were you?

Just for the record, I am a big fan of the Muppets, The Muppet Show and Muppet Babies were part of my childhoods, and I love all their specials and movies, excepting Letters to Santa, Muppet Wizard of Oz and this. Kermit's Swamp Years is not terrible, it's just that I had a very lukewarm reception towards it. The costume and set design are splendid, the voice work is great especially from Steve Whitmire and Dave Goelz and there are some cute moments such as the outtakes. However, the songs are mediocre, especially the uninspired lyrics, the script and jokes fall flat due to a lack of comic timing with the human cast with little of the material coming across as memorable or quotable, the story is dull and very basic with too much emphasis on the comic elements consequently the wit and heart is gone and the human cast range from so-so(Drew Haggard) to quite bad(John Hostetter). All in all, didn't do much for me, as much as I do love the Muppets. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Another childhood movie of mine that I enjoyed. It's more or less aged well though. I like the movie because it's coming of age and shows Kermit before the Muppet's. The reason I say it's a coming of age movie is because the film chronicles Kermit exploring the outside world for the first time to save his friends who are kidnapped by a pet shop owner despite the warnings of his folks who tell him not to venture outside the swamp as well as talk to humans. While doing so he starts growing up and begins to find a place for himself in the new world. Taking with him on his adventure are his friends a blue frog named Croaker and a spunky dog named Pilgrim (Cree Summer). What do I like about this movie? I like the chemistry between the main characters. They're likable, fun to be with and it's nice to see them talk about what their future will be and what they want from it. I also like the jokes and use of foreshadowing of Kermit's future. For example, there's a scene where Kermit's watching a movie which makes him wonder if he could become an actor himself. As we all know he pursues a career in showbiz later on. Another's when he trips and is helped by a boy later revealed to Jim Henson. The sub-plot focuses on Kermit's other friends Goggles and Blotch who wonder whether to escape the Pet Store or stay and live the rest of their life as a pet. As they decide the latter they get taken by a mad professor who wants to dissect them in his class. I also like the style. Even though the budget is small since it's a direct-to-video, the main characters feel alive despite knowing they're puppets. The movie's well shot, directed and decently written. While some of the jokes don't always hit, they're pretty good. For one thing there's not a lot of toilet jokes which's a breath of fresh air. The scene where Kermit gets chased by a pig is hilarious. This foreshadows his love/hate relationship with Ms. Piggie. Some of the effects are cheap such as when Croaker hops inside a building after Kermit encourages him to but can you really blame them? The songs are enjoyable too. They may not be Grammy winners but they're still nice to listen to. I really like the song "Complicated" that plays during the chase scene. Even the cover of "The Rainbow Connection" you hear at the credits' is nice. I guess the downsides are that while it's enjoyable it hasn't really aged well and some of the scenes do kind've drag on. The jokes may or may not get a laugh but personally I think they're fine. It also retcons some of the events from the previous movies. Little kids may like it but adults probably won't get into it that much unless they're a Muppets fan. If you get the chance check it out and see for yourself. It's a cute movie.

With a friend being a fan of Family movies,I decided to search around for a title which she could watch during the Christmas period.Talking to a family friend,I was pleased to learn that he had picked up a Muppet film which I had some fond memories of,which led to me getting ready to pay a visit to the swamp. The plot: Heading back to the swamp where he grew up with his family,Kermit begins to think back to his childhood Years earlier: Spending their entire lives in the swamp,Kermit and his 2 friends Goggles & Croaker find themselves wondering about what lays beyond the swamp.Ignoring their parents advice,the gang sneak out of the swamp and enter an unknown world.As they head to the exit of the swamp,Googles accidentally starts a fight with a tough frog called Blotch.Driving past in his truck,a pet store owner notices Goggles and Blotch having a fight,which leads to the pet store owner kidnapping Goggles & Blotch,and taking them as new pets for his store.Originally planning for this to be an adventurous day soon,Kermit and Croaker realise that they must leave their comfort zone,in order to save their Goggles. View on the film: Whilst the screenplay by Jim Lewis and Joey Mazzarino shares more than a few similarities with the first Toy Story movie,the writers give the movie a nice fluffy atmosphere,thanks to the writers giving Kermit a real sincerity over his fears of entering the outside world.Contrasting the easy-going coming of age tale,the writers give the title a juvenile sense of humour,which despite offering 1 or 2 good punch lines,also suffers from one poo (h) joke too many,which never fully settle into Kermit's swamp life.

It has been many years since Kermit has been home so he gets on his scooter and heads back to the swamp. Driving down the road to the swamp Kermit reminisces about the first time he saw that road. He was only a small frog when he and his friends ventured out onto it for the first time – only for two of them to get picked up by a driver in a red truck. Kermit and his other friend were forced to set out after the truck to try and rescue their friends from the terrors of the outside world. Using the hook of the famous Muppet character in his early years, this film delivers a version of Toy Story where Kermit is forced out into the unfamiliar world to rescue his friends (although where this leaves Muppet Babies in the Muppet universe is beyond me). The plot is basic though and lacks any real emotion or intelligence in the way that Toy Story was and the total film is pretty basic. It has a few laughs along the way for adults but mainly this will appeal to younger children who will be amused by the puppets and engaged by the bad guy of Dr Krassman. I doubt very much though that such basic antics will appeal to older viewers – certainly not to adult viewers who have fond memories of the wit and energy of the Muppet Show. The voice work is all fine, with Whitmire doing a good job as Kermit, while Barretta, Goelz, Mazzarino and others all fill in well enough. The human cast are so-so; Haggard's not great and try as he might, Hostetter isn't that great a bad guy and can't pull of genuine menace and comedy – so he ends up doing neither particularly well. The tone of the film is overly comic and it does prevent it do anything of significance. Overall a so-so film that will please young children but doesn't do anything else well enough to be of greater value.

I had seen all the Muppet movies that went to cinemas and made for television, and this was the only one left that I hadn't, before the release of Muppets Most Wanted of course, I knew it was most likely going to be average, but I was still willing to try it. Basically Kermit the Frog (Steve Whitmire) is reliving memories whilst revisiting his swamp home, where he came from before becoming famous (not exactly the same one as in The Muppet Movie, but never mind), and the film flashes back to when Kermit was twelve years old and one of his earliest adventures. Young Kermit enjoyed life in the swamp, with his best friends Croaker the frog (Bill Barretta) and Goggles the toad (Joey Mazzarino), but he wonders what else is out in the world beyond the swamp. But then Goggles and bullfrog bully Blotch (John Kennedy) are kidnapped by pet shop owner Wilson (William Bookston), and sold to scientist Dr. Hugo Krassman (John Hostetter) and his assistant Mary (Kelly Collins Lintz), Kermit and Croaker are forced to venture out of the swamp to rescue them, but they also get the opportunity to see the world for what it is, good and bad. Kermit and Croaker are accompanied by stray dog named Pilgrim (Cree Summer) who is seeking a new owner, and after all kinds of small events along the way they reach where their friends are, and they realise Krassman's nasty plans for all toads and frogs he has kidnapped, they are all to be used in school for biology classes for dissection. In the end Krassman realises the error of his ways and lets all toads and frogs free, Pilgrim is adopted by Wilson who also turns out to be nice, and all four frogs head home to the swamp, where Kermit continues to live happily, with more freedom to get out and about when he feels like it. Also starring Steve Whitmire as Jack Rabbit , Bill Barretta as Horace D' Fly and Roy the Frog, Dave Goelz as Waldorf, John Kennedy as Arnie the Alligator and Jerry Nelson as Statler. This is about as good as you're going to get from a straight to DVD release, it's a pit they weren't able to get at least one celebrity cameo like other Muppet films, children watching this certainly won't have many complaints, and it is reasonably good fun, not a bad fantasy comedy. Worth watching, at least once!

Kermit's Swamp Years was something my 5 year old nephew enjoyed, but really didn't pay much attention to it. Having bought a series of Muppets movies the same day as this one (Muppets Take Manhattan and Muppets in Space) and having seen those before this one in that week, I was a bit disappointed at the quality drop. The human actors in this movie are terrible, terrible. Overacting and completely 2 dimensional, more so than the Muppets themselves. I enjoyed the behind the scenes with the Armadillo more than the actual movie, as well as the blooper reels and the end credits with more bloopers. But there is something gone in the post-Henson Muppet productions. There is a kind of innocence lost and some of the jokes mentioning poop are not what I would expect in a Muppet movie. There are also some tongue in cheek moments which do not add to the experience. There is a moment when scalpels are used in a kind of sword fight, and it doesn't seem very appropriate. especially for a kid's movie. Overall, a fun experience for the young children, but I have seen a lot deeper and much better stories from previous Muppet movies. This one feels watered down.