Pre-Order "The Muppet Movie" coming to Blu-ray August 13, 2013

[Rugratskid]

The scene does not appear in the commonly-seen prints (but does appear in the extended print). However that doesn't technically mean it derived from the UK. For all we know, the extended scenes in the UK version were in the original theatrical release (in both the US and UK). Nobody's really kept a good track record of the earlier Muppet movies, so whether or not the original theatrical release had more footage is up in the air.

I would love to see the extended scenes, but I'm not exactly sure if anyone even has a 16mm copy anymore.

 

[Reevz1977]

Hi Folks,
I've just recieved my copy of "The Muppet Movie" on Blu and wanted to share my (unwelcome?*) thoughts...

Firstly, the positives. This is the Muppet Movie on Blu Ray...which is awesome. I have owned this movie in every incarnation so far. The menu for the disk is kinda nice. It has some Fuzzy Feltish quirky animations of Kermit on the banjo, Gonzo with the balloons and Kermit and Piggy in a boat. It's nice to see Disney creating something new for this release, although I really don't like the recycling of the Muppet Movie "logo" from the Sony release, it doesn't tie in anywhere and is a pointless inclusion (i'm a designer - stuff like this really grates on me unfortunately).

The picture itself is, well it's definitely the best it's looked I suppose. The previous version I owned is a region 1 DVD which looks horrendous when played on a UK player as PAL has more lines that create the image, so US discs always look poor and exceptionally soft. More good news to UK buyers, the disc, like the Muppet Christmas Carol, is region free and will work on all players

Now the bad-ish stuff. The level of noise is very distracting and certainly more than with The Muppets Take Manhattan Blu Ray. This is often the case with old movies but this does feel excessive in this release, it also breaks up the picture in in some scenes, in particular the swamp scene at the beginning where it makes Kermits skin(?) seem alive!! Daylight scenes tend to look better though and overall the colours are vibrant - Kermit has never looked greener!

What is sad, is that Disney have gone with the final credit sequence where you cannot hear the Muppets voices. I'll never understand this decision, it's pointless and serves absolutely no purpose. Why on earth this version ever surface is beyond my comprehension!

I also found the extras rather underwhelming. The intermission feature is nice. Sadly it features the new god-awful Fozzie puppet, though my thoughts on that are well documented (hate it!!). When you pause the disk, Kermit, Fozzie and Animal dance across the screen and "Can you Picture That" plays with some really nice and fitting graphics play. After that, the Rainbow Connection plays and again it has nice lyric graphics appear.

The Doc Hopper ad is great and quite funny, particularly seeing Hopper struggling to read off the cue cards. Best of all, the Jim Frawley footage is awesome. There's some brilliant new bits that I have never seen and theres also what has been available on YouTube for years. Definately a highlight of the disk!

The Frog-E-oke is just the intermission videos again - very pointless having the same feature appear twice!!

Other than the original trailers and the re-used Pepes profile, that's pretty much it. I would have loved to see more features on the release such as deleted scenes and a commentary. The one done on the Muppet Christmas Carol was absolutely brilliant and would have been welcome here.

Overall, I'm happy that I bought this release and there's definately some nice stuff but I can't help but feel that it's a missed opportunity. The picture, I personally feel, could have really been improved more than what is shown here. Anyone who wants to know how good a movie from yesteryear can look only needs to check out the awesome Jaws Blu ray. Sadly Disney did not feel that The Muppet Movie warranted that level of commitment here.

Also, the cover still suuuuuuuuuucks!!

*Unfortunately, Muppet Central is becoming a place where opinions are not welcome and any non pro-Disney flag waving is attacked.

 

[dwayne1115]

I like your review it has both pros and cons you seemed open minded to a point, and gave a clear picture or what is on the disk. Sure some of what you said is your honest opinon or likes or dislikes, but that happens with almost every review.

 

[Kermieuk]

Hi Folks,
I've just recieved my copy of "The Muppet Movie" on Blu and wanted to share my (unwelcome?*) thoughts...

Firstly, the positives. This is the Muppet Movie on Blu Ray...which is awesome. I have owned this movie in every incarnation so far. The menu for the disk is kinda nice. It has some Fuzzy Feltish quirky animations of Kermit on the banjo, Gonzo with the balloons and Kermit and Piggy in a boat. It's nice to see Disney creating something new for this release, although I really don't like the recycling of the Muppet Movie "logo" from the Sony release, it doesn't tie in anywhere and is a pointless inclusion (i'm a designer - stuff like this really grates on me unfortunately).

The picture itself is, well it's definitely the best it's looked I suppose. The previous version I owned is a region 1 DVD which looks horrendous when played on a UK player as PAL has more lines that create the image, so US discs always look poor and exceptionally soft. More good news to UK buyers, the disc, like the Muppet Christmas Carol, is region free and will work on all players

Now the bad-ish stuff. The level of noise is very distracting and certainly more than with The Muppets Take Manhattan Blu Ray. This is often the case with old movies but this does feel excessive in this release, it also breaks up the picture in in some scenes, in particular the swamp scene at the beginning where it makes Kermits skin(?) seem alive!! Daylight scenes tend to look better though and overall the colours are vibrant - Kermit has never looked greener!

What is sad, is that Disney have gone with the final credit sequence where you cannot hear the Muppets voices. I'll never understand this decision, it's pointless and serves absolutely no purpose. Why on earth this version ever surface is beyond my comprehension!

I also found the extras rather underwhelming. The intermission feature is nice. Sadly it features the new god-awful Fozzie puppet, though my thoughts on that are well documented (hate it!!). When you pause the disk, Kermit, Fozzie and Animal dance across the screen and "Can you Picture That" plays with some really nice and fitting graphics play. After that, the Rainbow Connection plays and again it has nice lyric graphics appear.

The Doc Hopper ad is great and quite funny, particularly seeing Hopper struggling to read off the cue cards. Best of all, the Jim Frawley footage is awesome. There's some brilliant new bits that I have never seen and theres also what has been available on YouTube for years. Definately a highlight of the disk!

The Frog-E-oke is just the intermission videos again - very pointless having the same feature appear twice!!

Other than the original trailers and the re-used Pepes profile, that's pretty much it. I would have loved to see more features on the release such as deleted scenes and a commentary. The one done on the Muppet Christmas Carol was absolutely brilliant and would have been welcome here.

Overall, I'm happy that I bought this release and there's definately some nice stuff but I can't help but feel that it's a missed opportunity. The picture, I personally feel, could have really been improved more than what is shown here. Anyone who wants to know how good a movie from yesteryear can look only needs to check out the awesome Jaws Blu ray. Sadly Disney did not feel that The Muppet Movie warranted that level of commitment here.

Also, the cover still suuuuuuuuuucks!!

*Unfortunately, Muppet Central is becoming a place where opinions are not welcome and any non pro-Disney flag waving is attacked.

Where did you get the blu ray from so early in the UK?? I wanna order one too.

Chris

 

[Reevz1977]

Movietyme is the best (but most expensive) place to get US blu rays. Generally you receive them up to a month in advance

 

[muppetlover123]

Man i cant wait! Does anybody know if you perorder from walmart or amazon do they have it at your door the day its released or before?

 

[Duke Remington]

Movietyme is the best (but most expensive) place to get US blu rays. Generally you receive them up to a month in advance

Did you remember to search the DVD menus for the hidden Easter Egg outtakes?

 

[JonnyBMuppetMan]

This isn't really related to the movie, but personally, I don't get why some people on this forum hate the new Fozzie puppet. I wasn't too big on the cone-headed Fozzie from the late 2000's myself.

 

[muppetlover123]

First unboxing video:

They still used out of date stock photos from like 2000-and on....

 

[dwayne1115]

I wish I had a job and money to buy this. You would think that us memberes woh have been on the site for a long time, and have really made a diffreence in the Muppet fan communituy would get a free copy.

On a side note Muppetlover123 your the first peroson I have even seen open a blu ray box with one hand! nice video!