Voices of Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and Phyllis Marshall
Directed by Jim Henson
Music and Lyrics by Joe Raposo
Our final Family Fun Saturday review returns to the Muppet well one more time. This is the last of the three Tales from Muppetland specials that Jim Henson developed before he started working on The Muppet Show. This one is slightly more realistic and less romantic, despite the talking animals. It almost seems like a comic preview for Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas five years later, which also had more realistic-looking animal puppets. How does the German folk tale of three unwanted animals who form a band, then accidentally scare off robbers look now? Let's begin with Kermit as he introduces us to our music-playing quartet, and that they weren't always as happy as they are now, and find out...
The Story: After years of faithful service, the old donkey Leroy (Nick Nichols) runs away from his owner, the grouchy thief Mordecai (Francois Klanfer), when Mordecai tries to kill him. The instruments Mordecai stole that he accidentally runs off with inspires him to become a traveling musician. Three other older animals, TR the Rooster (Nelson), Rover Joe the hound dog (Klanfer), and Catgut the cat (Marshall), also join him after their robber owners throw them out. When they come upon a little house in the Lousiana bayou, they think it's the home of a charming family...but it's really their former masters divvying up their spoils. The animals think they're saving a family, but they really end up scaring the thieves off and discovering they make a nice musical family on their own.
The Song and Dance: I give this one credit for going with a more unique and slightly more realistic story than the fantasy specials. The Grimm's fairy tale "The Musicians of Bremen" isn't often adapted for the screen in North America, even in animated or puppet form. Klanfer, Nichols, and Marshall are hilarious whether they're playing music, singing the blues, or dodging their obnoxious or less-than-brilliant owners, and Rasposo's music is almost a catchy as his songs for The Frog Prince.
The Numbers: We open with the animals briefly playing an instrumental Dixieland number under Kermit's narration before we meet Leroy. He sings the first version of "I'm a Traveling Musician," which is reprised and added to as he's joined by more animals. TD laments "The Cock-a-Doodle-Doodle Blues" to the chickens in the farm before he leaves. Catgut has similar complaints to the rats on the farm as she claims "You've Got to Know Your Friends." Leroy claims that the people living in the old shack are "A Family Together." The others think they see "A Family Together," too...but it's really the robbers fighting over their stolen goods.
Trivia: The animals would be used in other Henson projects, including the special Muppet Show: Sex and Violence and The Muppet Show.
What I Don't Like: This is a bit simpler than Frog Prince or The Muppet Show. It lacks the heartwarming sequences of Emmett Otter or the romance of Frog Prince. It also lacks the humans - this is an all-puppet project. Kermit is the only familiar face - no later Muppets appear - and unlike Frog Prince, he's only on in the beginning.
The Big Finale: If your kids love animal projects and/or the Muppets, they'll have a wonderful time with the four best animal musicians in the bayou.
Home Media: Alas, this is YouTube-only at the moment.
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