tek's rating: ½

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, on ABC
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So, Ashanti plays Dorothy Gale, an aspiring singer who works in her aunt and uncle's diner, in Kansas. The Muppets are auditioning singers, but she misses her chance to audition, although she does give Kermit a demo she made. Then there's a hurricane, and she and her pet king prawn, Toto, end up in Oz. The munchkins are played by rats, Toto has gone from being a real prawn to being played by Pepe the Muppet, and Dorothy's trailer has landed on one of four witches. All four are sisters, all played by Miss Piggy; two are good, two are evil. Well, one is evil and one is dead...

Anyway, Dorothy heads off toward the Emerald City to see if the Wizard can make her a star. Along the way, she meets the Scarecrow (Kermit), the Tin Thing (Gonzo), and the Cowardly Lion (Fozzie). And of course, they run afoul of the Wicked Witch, who is the leader of a biker gang, the Flying Monkeys. And a diva, who, as much as wanting the shoes Dorothy took off her dead sister, doesn't want any competition as Oz's most famous singer.

Anyway, mostly the movie follows the familiar story, with some interesting alterations here and there. I don't want to give anything away, though. But I will say there's a lot less singing than I would've expected from either the Wizard of Oz or any Muppet movie. And what there was I didn't really think was that great. However, I found most of the jokes to be pretty funny, and some of them were actually rather risque, which was also cool. My favorite joke, though, was when the Scarecrow asked the Wizard if he was any relation to Frank Oz. Well... I guess that's all I can say. But I really enjoyed the movie...


Muppet shows
Wonderful World of Disney
musicals

Untitled Document The Wizard of Oz
movies: The Wizard of Oz * Journey Back to Oz * Return to Oz * Oz the Great and Powerful * Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return
TV: Tales of the Wizard of Oz * The Wizard of Oz in Concert * The Muppets' Wizard of Oz * Tin Man * Once Upon a Time * The Wiz Live! * Emerald City
web: Lost in Oz
comics: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz