Muppet Treasure Island

Muppet Treasure Island
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Brian Henson
Produced by	Brian Henson Martin G. Baker Executive Producer: Frank Oz Associate Producer: Michael Jablow Vesco Razpopov Line Producer: Selwyn Roberts Producer of Visual Effects: Thomas G. Smith
Written by	Novel: Robert Louis Stevenson Screenplay: Jerry Juhl James V. Hart Kirk R. Thatcher
Starring	Kevin Bishop Tim Curry Jennifer Saunders Billy Connolly
Music by	Hans Zimmer Songs Composer: Barry Mann Cynthia Weil
Cinematography	John Fenner
Editing by	Michael Jablow
Studio	Jim Henson Productions
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s)	February 16, 1996
Running time	100 min.
Country
Language	English
Budget	$5 million
Gross revenue	$34,327,391
Preceded by	The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Followed by	Muppets from Space (1999)

Muppet Treasure Island is the fifth feature film to star The Muppets. It was released in 1996 and directed by Jim Henson's son Brian Henson. It was one of many film adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

Similarly to the earlier Muppet Christmas Carol, the key roles were played by human stars, with the Muppets in supporting roles. Kevin Bishop and Tim Curry played Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver. Muppet Kermit the Frog played Captain Abraham Smollett, Fozzie Bear was Squire Trelawney, Sam the Eagle was Mr. Samuel Arrow, and Miss Piggy portrayed the gender-flipped castaway "Benjamina" Gunn. Following their success as the narrators of The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Great Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat appeared in specially-created roles as Jim Hawkins' best friends.

Plot

While featuring the Muppet's usual good-natured slapstick humor, several musical numbers, and the occasional twist, the film stays fairly true to the familiar Stevenson storyline. Young Jim Hawkins (Kevin Bishop), the son of a first mate, working at an inn which caters to sailors, acquires a treasure map from seaman Billy Bones (Billy Connolly) and convinces Squire Trelawney's son (Fozzie Bear) to finance a voyage to recover the treasure. With Captain Abraham Smollet (Kermit the Frog) and First Mate Samuel Arrow (Sam the Eagle) in command, the Hispaniola sets sail for Treasure Island with a crew unwittingly composed of former pirates led by ship's cook Long John Silver (Tim Curry), who befriends Hawkins and gains his trust. On arrival, Silver kidnaps Hawkins and Smollet rescues the marooned Benjamina Gunn (Miss Piggy), his former fiancée. After many adventures Silver's pirate band is defeated, the treasure recovered, and Smollet and Gunn are reunited.

Cast

This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may only interest a specific audience. Please relocate any relevant information, and remove excessive trivia, praise, criticism, lists and collections of links. (January 2009)

*Kevin Bishop as Jim Hawkins: The protagonist, a good-natured orphaned boy who for most of his life has worked at Mrs. Bluveridge's inn but has always dreamed of nautical adventures. He is an incredible trusting boy, but this proves to be somewhat of a downfall for him.

*Tim Curry as Long John Silver: The antagonist, a deceptively charming pirate who befriends Jim Hawkins at first, until he is overheard by Gonzo, Rizzo and Jim as he reveals his dastardly plans to his fellow pirates aboard the Hispanola. During Silver's siege on Treasure Island it is suggested that Long John Silver and Miss Piggy share a romantic history. At the end of the film, Long John makes off with whatever treasure he can in what is later revealed to be a leaky lifeboat - but not before saying a rather touching goodbye to Jim Hawkins, where he declares he could "never hurt" Jim, because he is "honest and brave and true", something he himself isn't.

*Steve Whitmire as:

• • Kermit the Frog as Captain Abraham Smollett: A responsible, compassionate captain who is usually soft-spoken and forgiving, contrary to warnings that Samuel Arrow gives to Jim Hawkins.
  • Rizzo the Rat as Himself

*Dave Goelz as:

• • The Great Gonzo as Himself
  • Dr. Bunsen Honeydew as Dr. Livesey: An eccentric doctor who is fond of experimental treatments and who often tests these on Beaker.

*Frank Oz as:

• • Miss Piggy as Benjamina Gunn: Captain Smollett's former fiancee who was accidentally left by Smollet at the altar on their wedding day. She lives on Treasure Island and is worshipped as "Boom Shakalaka" by a tribe of primitive boars. She makes a notably inept entrance which does nothing to cement her reputation as a sex symbol.
  • Fozzie Bear as Squire Trelawney: The half-witted but loyal son of the real Squire Trelawney who has trouble grasping the concept of what the ocean is. He also says he has an imaginary man in his finger named Mr. Bimbo, who tells him everything. In reality, Kevin Clash performed Squire Trelawney; Frank Oz later did a voiceover.
  • Sam the Eagle as Mr. Samuel Arrow: A pompous and rather melodramatic First Mate on the Hispanola who is extremely loyal to Captain Smollet. He is believed to have drowned at sea when Silver tricks him into going out in a lifeboat to test for potential leaks, but returns unharmed to the island where Jim is held captive, and even helps scare the rogue pirates off of the ship by posing as his own ghost.

*Jennifer Saunders as Mrs. Bluveridge: A plump, loud lady who owns the inn Jim and his friends work at. She has an uncanny ability to know when people are not doing what they should be doing, which leads to various characters to exclaim "How does she do that?!". *Billy Connolly as Billy Bones: An ex-pirate, previously one of Captain Flint's first mates on the voyage to Treasure Island and tells Jim he still has the map to the treasure before he suffers a fatal stroke.

• • Beaker as Himself
  • Waldorf as Ship Head: Similar to Waldorf.
• Jerry Nelson as: The Purple Guy
  • Statler as Ship Head: Similar to Statler.
  • Lew Zealand as Himself

Soundtrack

Track listing

1. "Treasure Island"
2. "Shiver My Timbers" (Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Brian Henson, Frank Oz, Kevin Clash, Bill Barretta, and John Henson)
3. "Something Better" (Kevin Bishop, Goelz, and Whitmire)
4. "Sailing for Adventure" (Curry, Bishop, Nelson, Goelz, Whitmire, Brian Henson, Oz, Clash, Barretta, and John Henson)
5. "Cabin Fever" (Nelson, Goelz, Whitmire, Brian Henson, Oz, Clash, Barretta, and John Henson)
6. "Professional Pirate" (Curry, Nelson, Goelz, Whitmire, Brian Henson, Oz, Clash, Barretta, and John Henson)
7. "Boom Shakalaka" (Nelson, Goelz, Whitmire, Brian Henson, Oz, Clash, Barretta, and John Henson)
8. "Love Led Us Here" (Oz, Whitmire)
9. "Map"
10. "Captain Smollett"
11. "Land Ho"
12. "Compass"
13. "Long John"
14. "Rescue"
15. "Honest Brave and True"
16. "Love Power [As Used in the Film Muppet Treasure Island]" (Ziggy Marley, Melody Makers)
17. "Love Led Us Here" (John Berry, Helen Darling)

Scores not on soundtrack

1. Isn’t That a Story Worth the Hearin’
2. Lighting the Lamp (Segues into "Something Better")
3. Blind Pew
4. The Hispaniola
5. Many a Dark-Hearted Scoundrel/One-Legged Man
6. This Voyage Has Begun (Seuges into "Sailing For Adventure")
7. Moonlit Dance (Played by Electric Mayhem Band)
8. Waiting to Pounce
9. Give Me the Map/No Wind
10. Mutiny
11. Never Get Involved in Politics (Electric Mayhem Band)
12. "A Professional Pirate" (Full version, with instrumental interlude)
13. Benjamina Gunn
14. Treasure Hunting
15. You Dare to Give ME the Black Spot?
16. Return of Mr. Arrow
17. The Pirates Attack/Sneaking Aboard/Where’s the Bloody Treasure?!
18. Long John Escapes
19. Sailing for Adventure (Finale)

Reception

Muppet Treasure Island received positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 67% of critics gave positive reviews. The film was also a commercial success grossing $34,327,391 during its theaterical run surpassing the grosses of The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Muppets Take Manhattan and The Great Muppet Caper. The film has been considered a major cult hit^{[citation needed]}.

Lawsuit

Hormel Foods Corporation, makers of Spam, sued the film production company for using the name "Spa'am" for one of the film's wart hog characters.^[1] Their suit was defeated on September 22, 1995. The judge dismissed it after a trial for failure to prove damages, noting, "one might think Hormel would welcome the association with a genuine source of pork."^[2]

References

External links

• Muppet Treasure Island on Muppet Wiki, an external wiki
• Muppet Treasure Island at the Internet Movie Database
• Muppet Treasure Island at Box Office Mojo
• Muppet Treasure Island at Rotten Tomatoes
• Muppet Treasure Island at Allmovie