The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972)

Just perfect...

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

This story follows the lives of the four characters: Leroy the lazy donkey. T.R. the terrified rooster. Rover Joe, the old hound dog. And Catgut, the throaty singing cat.Leroy is owned by a Louisiana bayou-dwelling redneck by the name of Mordecai Sledge. In addition to being a farmer, Mordecai has another shady occupation: He is also a robber and he leads a gang of thieves.When a burglary goes wrong and the gang winds up with a bag of musical instruments instead of jewels, Mordecai blames Leroy and pulls out a shotgun. Leroy takes off with a tuba around his neck. (Known as a "devilhorn" to Mordecai.) Kermit the frog instructs Leroy how to play the tuba. Leroy decides to become a traveling musician.Next potential musician is T.R. which stands for Terrified Rooster. He is owned by an abusive and morbidly obese farmer known only as Old man Lardpork. Lardpork is furious that T.R. forgot to wake him up one morning. When T.R. makes a fresh comment about Lardpork's weight and causes Lardpork to drop his sandwich, it all hits the fan. Lardpork threatens to kill T.R. which causes the rooster to run away. On T.R.'s way out, he runs into Leroy. T.R. learns how to play the banjo.The third musical critter is Rover Joe, an aging bloodhound. Rover Joe is owned by a very nervous hillbilly named Mean Floyd. One night, Mean Floyd succumbs to paranoia and is convinced there are ghosts in his home. "Ghosts are coming out of the ground! I can hear 'em breathing! There's a ghost!" When Mean Floyd finds out the supposed ghost is none other than Rover Joe, he becomes furious and throws the poor dog out the window, causing the glass to shatter. Leroy and T.R. find Rover Joe and take him under their wing. Rover Joe learns how to play the trombone.The last is Catgut, a pretty female cat with long lashes with a raspy voice much like Carol Channing. Catgut was owned by a crotchety elderly man Caleb Stiles who lives in a big house. When Catgut refuses to kill the rats in the pantry, Caleb tosses her out of his home.Catgut joins the band and becomes the trumpet player.But then the four animals run into their owners again........what will happen? I'll let you see. Trust me, this is a great film! You will love it even if you are an adult like me!

This might be an odd review for a film (or video)but I have only heard the recording of this particular Muppet feature. My brother who was blind really enjoyed this one because the voice acting was so funny and fit the animals personality and the insturments they wound up playing. Even the less than savory humans (they were theifs) had good voices for bad people. The critters in question are Leroy (the mule) T.R. (the Rooster) Rover Joe (the Hound dog) and Catgut (the lady cat). Each one is old and mistreated by their owners. A chance theft of musical insturments by Leroys owner, starts the story out. He (Leroy's owner) is mad that Leroy is too old and slow to steal anything worth having and throws a tuba at the mule that lands around his neck (an interesting picture to be sure). Leroy, having had enough of the farmer runs off with the tuba around his neck and still attached to the cart (which is important to the story later on). As he is walking down the trail feeling sorry for himself he trys out the tuba and finds, after a few false starts that he plays it pretty good (for a mule). He soon meets T.R. the rooster who is also running away from a farmer who wants to convert the rooster into gravy and gnaw on his knee bone (from the song he sings moments later) He aquires a banjo from Leroy, and after a narrow escape from the farm (for T.R) they both set out down the road and find Rover Joe whose owner (also a thief) has thrown him out for not scaring off the ghosts that he is convinced are out to get him. Rover Joe also joins the others and picks up trombone and finds he is quite good at it. The last critter that joins is Catgut. She is seen by the others before she speaks and they remark "It's a lady cat and she's dead" to which Catgut remarks "No, I ani't" Which is followed by one of the funniest lines I have ever heared and still use for ridiculous situations. Rover Joe comments "You ain't?! You sure look like a lady cat" (What could be more understated than that?) Well, naturally Catgut joins the trio and transforms it into a quartet. I don't recall exactly what Catgut winds up with its either a harmonica or violin but either way she plays it well. The critters wind up later in a dark and spooky swamp and are a bit depressed about not having any food place to sleep. They eventually come across a house which they are convinced is the home of a loving family but is in reality the hideout for all their previous owners who meet there to split up the loot they have acquired by nafarious means. As the animals spin a fanciful tale of a loving father, mother, daugther and son amongst themselves, the theifs are arguing about Leroy's owners story about his donkey stealing the loot from the previous days work. To the animals the shadows on the windows represent everything they could hope for and decide to surprise the "family" with a song. To the previous owners sounds that they hear represent SAWMP DEMONS and they run off into the swamp and are never seen again. The critters decide to stay and take care of the house until their family returns. Like I said, this is from the record of this show. It's still very good, and funny. But my perspective is a bit different than most.If I could find this on DVD I would be very happy

I haven't seen this movie since it aired way back when and I was a little kid but it's still the best Muppet movie ever made! My brothers, sisters and I have laughed so hard over the years, remembering the wonderful storyline and insane animal owners, we have it memorized just from that one viewing and my sister's old LP! The character's are great, the script is hilarious and the movie should be put to DVD and reintroduced to a new crowd of kids who deserve to see a Muppet movie without the usual Muppet dopiness so common to their recent movies and with no Miss Piggy. Was this movie too harsh for the unsuspecting viewers who expected to see cuddly Grover and silly antics from Ernie and Bert? Was there horror at not having random, unnecessary characters show up for no reason and no love story with Kermit and Miss Piggy? This is a movie like no other Muppet movie. See it if you can find it.

I was saddened but not surprised to find that this film is not available any more.It seems like the favourite things from my life are slowly being eliminated. Besides foods disappearing from restaurant menus and store shelves, certain fondly-remembered movies are drawing blank stares from so-called movie experts. Meanwhile, garbage flicks fill the shelves, and the local cineplex. Some movies are more than just a film...they are a harbinger and a beacon. Here is a perfect example: "The Muppet Musicians of Bremen" is a film that opened the door for modern block-buster such as "Shrek" and "Toy Story". It proved that a format labeled as "kids-stuff" could delight and entertain people of all ages, simply by treating the subject AND the audience with respect. If you EVER get a chance to see this, drop your work, your lunch or your baby (well, maybe not THAT one), and rush to the screen. You will laugh, you will feel a little choked up, and you will never forget these Muppets.Jim Henson lives on, through works like these!