July 12, 1999

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE MUPPET KIND

By ROGER ANDERSON Scripps Howard News Service

If you have kids, obviously you would be insane not to take them to see "Muppets from Space." After all, what other current films are you going to treat them to? "Eyes Wide Shut"? "Summer of Sam"? “The General's Daughter"? "Austin Powers"? "South Park," for crying out loud?

"Tarzan," sure, but they've already seen it eight times.

Viable cinematic fare for the younger set is so hard to come by that reasonable parents should never fail to expose their children to the latest "Muppet" offering. The most recent one, "Muppets from Space," maintains the generally high standards of earlier Muppet movie outings. Still, wise parents will keep a couple of caveats in mind.

First, "Muppets from Space" is - not unlike "South Park" - essentially subversive.

Which is a redundant statement, since all worthy children's entertainment is subversive - just ask Maurice Sendak, Peewee Herman or Mark Twain.

Here, for instance, the characters all live in a state of anarchy in what appears to be a hippie crash pad - a faded old Victorian pile filled with strange creatures and dotty old men. One of the creatures, a fellow named Gonzo who struggles with the loneliness of being the only one of his kind, engages in patently manic-depressive behavior prompted by the belief that he's related to mysterious beings from outer space.

This fixed idea puts him on a collision course with, a sinister, secretive government agency headed by a sinister, neurotic bureaucrat (Jeffrey Tambor) under the orders of a sinister, autocratic military leader (Pat Hingle). Falling into their grips, Gonzo also runs afoul of sinister scientists conducting unethical lab experiments on hapless animals.

There you have it - in one stroke, the traditional family, the U.S. government, the military and the scientific-industrial establishment fall under withering indictment.

Of course, it's all in good fun and good cheer. Your children won't likely be frightened. But it may give them certain ideas.

The other caveat is that you should pay close attention to the wording of the title. Remember, it's “Muppets from Space," not "Muppets in Space." Think of it as a golden opportunity to review with your children the subtle magic of prepositions and the fine semantic distinctions they embody. Because if kids go to the multiplex thinking they're going to see Muppets in an extraterrestrial setting, they'll mainly be disappointed.

Instead, Gonzo's blood relations descend from space in search of their lost boy. This they accomplish in a big finale featuring impressive spacecraft and a cast of hundreds, to say nothing of an extravagant musical rendition of Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" played by a bunch of outer-space Muppets.

Adults, whose attention spans are notoriously abbreviated by years of watching wrestling matches and soap operas, may become a bit restless during some of the movie's typical Muppet back-and-forth. Let them take a nap. The kids will be having a fine time while learning once again that adults really mean well, they just need to be reminded sometimes of the importance of qualities like decency and friendship.

Roger Anderson is arts and entertainment editor at Scripps Howard News Service.

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