The wizard of oz is coming to tv, plus a look at all the. Featuring most of the bestknown muppet show characters, the muppets wizard of oz. Muppets wizard of oz, however, is the sort of aimless dreck you would expect to feature hilary duff. The 1939 movie version of the wizard of oz was filmed, from october, 1938 until march 16, 1939. Well as a long time fan of the muppets, and especially classics like a muppets christmas carol this version of the wizard of oz is what can only be described as an utter failure. This produces moments where the film and the album appear to correspond with each other. The muppets wizard of oz is a 2005 americancanadian fantasy television film directed by kirk thatcher and starring ashanti and the muppets with supporting roles done by jeffrey tambor, quentin tarantino, david alan grier, and queen latifah. Jim janicek, creative promotion and marketing for networks, studios, and content suppliers.
One of the first major productions was the muppets wizard of oz, which was based on l. It marked the second television movie for the gang, but most importantly, it was also the first major production for the muppets after disney acquired the property in 2004. But when a tornado transports her and toto pepe the king prawn to the magical land of oz, dorothy meets the wizard, who promises to make her a superstar. In this version of the story, she is an aspiring singer who works at a diner owned by aunt em.
Be yourself and your dreams will come true, says the dimestore moral. Hensons death was confirmed by the jim henson company on saturday, which posted the news of his passing to the companys official facebook page. Also starring the voice performing talents from matt vogel, eric jacobson, dave goelz, bill barretta, david rudman, peter linz, kevin clash due to his resignation from. Frank baums classic tale into a musical, madcap adventure that shines brighter than emerald city in the muppets wizard of oz. When it aired on abc this past may, the muppets wizard of oz was presented in the 1. But it never stops reminding you that its only a movie, making mention that one of the top muppet talents is actually named frank oz. Join kermit the frog, miss piggy, and all the muppets as they turn l. The fun starts when the muppets team up with an allstar cast that includes grammy award winner ashanti, oscarr nominee queen latifah.
Dorothy gale is a young woman who lives in a trailer park in kansas, working as a waitress at her familys diner. The muppets wizard of oz 2005 directed by kirk thatcher genres childrensfamily, musical subgenres childrens fantasy, musical fantasy run time 120 min. Return to oz 1985 a sort of sequel to the wizard of oz, featuring fairuza balk as dorothy. The muppets wizard of oz also known as the muppets. Original title the muppets wizard of oz tv year 2005 running time 88 min. Dark side of the rainbow also known as dark side of oz or the wizard of floyd refers to the pairing of the 1973 pink floyd album the dark side of the moon with the visual portion of the 1939 film the wizard of oz. The album was an enhanced soundtrack titled best of muppets featuring the muppets wizard of oz as it was not a filmspecific soundtrack, but an album featuring the muppets best songs from the muppet show as well as songs from the film. Its evident shortcomings in casting, songs, writing tone, and humor all add up to an experience which is never more than mildly entertaining and always far short of the excitement promised in theory.
Oscar diggs, typically referred to as the wizard of oz, is the protagonist of the 20 disney film oz the great and powerful. Join kermit the frog, miss piggy, and all the muppets as. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. The film was produced by bill barretta and written by debra frank, steve l. The muppets wizard of oz is kermit and the gangs take on the classic girl from kansas tale. In the tale, these dangerous poppies bloom within the magical land of oz and are used as an obstacle of which involves the main characters and protagonist in the plot of the story, dorothy gale, her pet dog named. Feb 21, 2019 the wizard of oz 1939 for most people, their first real exposure to oz came through the wizard of oz as dorothy judy garland, of course, desiring to return to kansas, meets up with the. Dec 16, 2019 the muppets wizard of oz official soundtrack was released on may 17, 2005. The muppets wizard of oz is a film programme that first aired in 2005 and has been classified a u certificate you may also like. The muppets wizard of oz premiered on prime time tv in america, and the video box bears the curiosity of two sets of ratings. Ashanti dorothy gale, jeffrey tambor the wizard of oz. It had a lot of fun parts, but the missed opportunities are more memorable than the. The franchise includes eight feature films, and other television series.
May 17, 2005 a bigger and better collection of muppets songs, along the lines of the muppet show. While the muppets do not score a home run with it, muppets wizard of oz is an okay movie. See more ideas about wizard of oz, jim henson and wizard of oz dvd. The macys flagship store offered muppets wizard of oz plush and a tshirt depicting the main cast during the promotional period. Ashanti and the muppet cast, mainly bill barretta and eric jacobson, contributed the vocals for each of the songs. He uses his charm, wit, and ingenuity to deceive others, typically acts only upon his best interest, and does not think of himself as a kind person. Still freaky as heck though, and perhaps a bit too much for the wee ones. The muppets wizard of oz tv is a film directed by kirk r. With ashanti, jeffrey tambor, quentin tarantino, david alan grier. Miss piggy makes a comment about dorothy being another groupie, which was not in the original version.
Thatcher with the muppets, ashanti, jeffrey tambor, quentin tarantino, year. Help me cute, but boring, silly, and not too funny. Ashanti, queen latifah, david alan grier, jeffrey tambor, quentin tarantino, kirk r. Sep 28, 2014 join kermit the frog, miss piggy, and all the muppets as they turn everyones favorite classic tale into a musical, madcap adventure that shines brighter than emerald city. While the audio and video are pretty nice and the extras are okay, muppets wizard of oz just doesnt rank up there with the best of the muppets films so far and in fact, its quite possibly the worst of the lot. Best of the muppets featuring the muppets wizard of oz.
Despite this, he has a surprising amount of empathy. The muppet musicians of bremen released on home video as tales from muppetland. The muppets wizard of oz is a 2005 fantasy television film directed by kirk thatcher and. The muppets wizard of oz official soundtrack was released on may 17, 2005. In the muppets wizard of oz, dorothy gale ashanti lives with her auntie em queen latifah and uncle henry david alan grier in a trailer park in kansas. Our 4year old was clear on her opinion of it when she had a chance to watch it a second time she declined which is extremely rare. Its not the worst movie ever, but it does not measure up to some of the other muppet movies. It is hard to believe that it has been ten years ago since the muppets wizard of oz aired on abcs the wonderful world of disney. The muppets wizard of oz originally aired on tv in 2005. Join kermit the frog, miss piggy, and all the muppets as they turn everyones favorite classic tale into a musical, madcap adventure that shines brighter than emerald city.
Thats a bit of an anomaly in this 16x9 digital age, particularly since muppet movies have always made use of the 1. It is directed and produced by the muppet s creator jim henson. In fact, with the new scenes inserted in, the muppets wizard of oz becomes one of the longest running muppet movies to date. Wizard of oz 1 and titled the muppets wonderful wizard of oz in prerelease advertising is a 2005 musical telefilm directed by kirk thatcher and starring ashanti and the muppets.
The muppets wizard of oz dvd muppet central articles. Tough pigs soapbox two things about muppets wizard of oz. However the average person doesnt really know the difference between a tv movie and tv special and really the technical definitions could be streached to call the muppets wizard of oz a 2hour special. The muppets wizard of oz wikimili, the free encyclopedia. The wizard of oz 1990 another shortlived animated tv series. Region 1 us and canada this dvd will probably not be. This is a list of productions based on the muppets characters and franchise, including films, television series and specials, and other media. Oscar is a selfish and greedy con artist who aspires to be great. John henson, the 48yearold son of late muppets genius jim henson, died of a sudden massive heart attack on friday. Starting right before preproduction began on muppets from space, actually. Jun 07, 2005 the muppets wizard of oz is an allnew movie starring the muppets with kermit as the scarecrow, fozzie as the lion, gonzo as the tin thing, pepe the king prawn as toto and miss piggy as all four. Every time there is something new released dealing with the muppets im always excited to be there, watch it, and celebrate it.
Dorothy arrives at the bus just in time to meet the muppets. Henson, like his father, jim, and mother, jane, was a puppeteer. His credits include work on the muppets wizard of oz. The muppets return to oz the muppets wizard of oz sequel. Walt originally wanted to make the wizard of oz after snow white, but mgm owned the rights to the book. The fun starts when the muppets team up with an allstar cast that includes grammy award winner ashanti, oscarr nominee queen latifah, david alan grier. Muppets wizard of oz is a dull, repetitive rehash of young adult plot points with only the barest minimum of the daring, didhejustsaythat humor of the original show and the better of the feature films. Frank baums novel, the wizard of oz, played by ashanti in the muppets wizard of oz. Greg james august 1, 2005 i found myself enchanted by the muppets wizard of oz. The franchises main work is the muppet show, a syndicated television series which ran from 1976 to 1981. Frank baum s original book rather on than the musical film. The muppet musicians of bremen is a 1972 television special that is an adaptation of town musicians of bremen, featuring the muppets. Disney released the madefortelevision movie, the muppets wizard of oz on dvd and vhs with a special extended cut of the film. All the charm of the original story is jettisoned in favor of a formula.
Walt disney home entertainment released the muppets wizard of oz on vhs and dvd three months after the telefilm initially aired on the magical world of disney. As dorothy searches for the wizards castle, she makes some friends. Frank baums first oz book titled the wonderful wizard of oz, published in 1900 and appear in the eighth chapter of the novel the deadly poppy field. Oct 31, 2015 the wizard of oz not a new version of the oz stories, but a new interpretation of the 1939 film classic, the wizard of oz was presented onstage in 1997 at madison square gardens paramount theatre.
What is the running time of the wizard of oz answers. Ashanti, queen latifah, drew massey, kelly osbourne, steve whitmire directors. As a film it could have been better, but this was far from the bomb many including i feared it could be. Wizard of oz is a decent introduction for kids who are just discovering the magic of the muppets through this movie. Disney would later go on to make the semisequel return to oz 1985, the somewhat farcical the muppets wizard of oz 2005 and oz the great and powerful 20. You cant cross the street with a muppet fan without hearing a couple dozen opinions. The story of the wizard of oz has been destroyed beyond recognition with this. Dorothy wants to leave kansas to be on muppets star hunt, the wicked witch of the west has johnny and sal tape her every move for broadcast, and the wizard of oz has his own propaganda machine running in full force giving the residents of oz his own version of fox news meets tacky game show. Even if youre a big time muppets fan, youll probably want to rent this one as it does have a few shining moments but as far as. Both the vhs and dvd included an extended cut of the film. Muppets wizard of oz now that weve seen the muppets wizard of oz, everybodys got their opinions. Probably the worst the muppets ever associated with. The fun starts when the muppets team up with an allstar cast that includes grammy award winner ashanti, oscarr nominee queen latifah 2002, best. This version of the wizard of oz is played by the muppets.
Aunt em background information feature films the muppets wizard of oz portrayed by queen latifah character information occupation owner of aunt ems diner alignment goodneutral relatives uncle henry husband dorothy gale niece likes running her diner dislikes dogs source aunt em appears in the muppets wizard of oz. Along with her husband uncle henry, em runs aunt ems diner, a kansas. The title of the music video mashuplike experience comes from a combination of the. Frank baums original novel rather than the 1939 mgm film. The leading role of dorothy has been turned into an unlovable character whose only motivation in life is being a famous singer.
The muppets wizard of oz 2005 tv movie alternate versions. The muppets wizard of oz is a musical television film that is a modernized adaptation of the wonderful wizard of oz, but it adapts a fairly close retelling of plot elements from l. In this incarnation, dorothy is played by ashanti, and has been updated to have grandiose dreams. The 25th anniversary collection, might be better for already converted fans, but the muppets. Return to oz is to be an upcoming muppets television sequel installment to the muppets wizard of oz, starring keke palmer succeeding from ashanti respectively, david alan grier, queen latifah and jeffrey tambor. Having worked with the muppets since 1989 and under jim hensons direction, thatcher understands hensons vision and knows what works well for the muppets. The muppets wizard of oz provides sporadic amusement, but certainly fails to live up to the highly pleasing standards of the muppets past films. The muppets wizard of oz 2005 tvpg adventure, comedy, family, fantasy, musical. It got crucified when first released, but has aged exceptionally well and really captures the spirit of baums books.