The Great Muppet Caper (1981)

Jim Henson's feature film directorial debut is actually the Muppets' second silver screen effort, but follows the same formula that made their television show and first film a success. The Great Muppet Caper boasts crowd-pleasingly silly musical numbers which combine with clever jokes and sight gags that range from innocently goofy to relatively sophisticated, clearly taking into consideration the audience's wide range of ages. The Great Muppet Caper is, of course, populated by Henson's very cuddly and adorable creations, but is also smart enough to know that while cute can carry you a long way on a short T.V. show, a feature length film requires a little more effort. Thus, the film pokes as much fun at itself as it does at its setting ("Merry Old England"). The script could use a little tightening up, as the story sometimes stumbles in search of ways to hook the tunes and gags to a plausible plotline. Narrative flaws notwithstanding, Henson's cheerful and giddy film, which is packed with mostly quite amusing cameos by B-level movie stars, is in many ways a throwback to the goofy and mostly pointless comedies of the 1960's (Help, et al.). ~ Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide