Gripping story with well-crafted characters

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

I saw the "The Wizard of Oz" (the 1939 classic, which is clearly the most famous adaptation of L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz") many times as a kid in the 90's, and also got to see two "Wizard of Oz" school plays when I was in the early primary grades, so by the time this Muppets television film version was released, I had been familiar with the story for a long time. However, I don't think I ever heard of "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" until a while after it originally aired. After about 5½ years, I've finally seen this non-theatrical Muppet movie. A "Wizard of Oz" remake with the Muppets certainly didn't seem like a bad idea, but Ashanti playing Dorothy sure sounded like bad news, which it sure is.Dorothy Gale lives in a Kansas trailer park with her Auntie Em and Uncle Henry and works at their diner. She also has a pet prawn named Toto. Dorothy is not happy with her life and dreams of becoming a superstar. She has a chance when she gets to audition to be a singer for the Muppets, but arrives too late, just as they're leaving, and only gets to give them a demo CD. When she returns to the trailer park, the place is hit by a tornado, and her trailer is soon blown away with her and Toto inside! When they land, it turns out that Toto can now talk, and the two are now in the Land of Oz. They meet the Munchkins and learn that when the trailer landed, it crushed the Wicked Witch of the East. The Good Witch of the North then appears and gives Dorothy the Wicked Witch's magic slippers. The Good Witch tells the young Kansas woman that if she wants to become a famous singer, she must go to meet the Wizard of Oz in Emerald City, so Dorothy begins her journey along the yellow brick road.This 2005 TV movie already looks bad right at the beginning, opening with a music video for a song performed by Ashanti as Dorothy Gale. After this, the film still looks like it's going to be dull experience. For a while, we don't see the Muppets much, and the movie isn't very funny at all at this point. A notably unfunny character who appears briefly near the beginning is the Stage Manager, played by Edward Hibbert. When Dorothy and Toto arrive in the Land of Oz, it is pretty funny seeing Toto turn into Pepe. After this, I frequently smiled (I guess it's never COMPLETELY straight-faced with the Muppets), but most of the gags I did not find funny. When the Scarecrow (Kermit) first appears, he references "The Passion of the Christ", a reference which doesn't seem to fit in a Muppet film. There's also a nipple joke at one point, and I don't know if I would have gotten that sex gag as a kid, but I don't think it's funny. Ashanti's acting performance is certainly not that impressive, and I did not enjoy listening to her singing. Eventually, when the Wicked Witch of the West comes in, the film may just get a little too brutal for a Muppet movie, just for a moment.I'm giving this film the same rating as I gave "Muppets from Space", the last theatrical Muppet movie to date. Not only did I not find that 1999 release very funny, I also thought it was too dark and cruel for the Muppets. "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" isn't quite as dark as that film (or at least not as much of it is), but it's still mostly unfunny, and the casting of Ashanti is another problem. Apparently, Hilary Duff and Jessica Simpson also auditioned for the role of Dorothy, and I sincerely doubt either of them would have been any better than Ashanti. In fact, they might have been even worse! Now, by the end of this 2005 television film, I wasn't sure whether to give it a four or a five out of ten, as it didn't seem QUITE as bad towards the end. However, with the lack of laughs and the starring role played by one of the singers I've strongly disliked since I was a teenager, I can't say I think this film is up to Muppet standards.

What a disappointment! Though I will say that there are some redeeming qualities. Ashanti does give a very spirited performance in the title role as Dorothy, with a lovely singing voice, but it is one of the weaker interpretations of the character, the weakest being Diana Ross in the Wiz. If you want a wonderful characterisation of Dorothy, try Judy Garland or Fairuza Balk. I liked some of the contributions from Gonzo, Kermit and Miss Piggy especially,(I did like the Muppet's spoof on Ride of the Valkyries) but all of them have given better performances. There is also some nice scenery and costumes. Unfortunately the film is undermined by some very mediocre songs, and the script just wasn't funny, apart from the witch's line "I'll get you my pretty, and your little prawn too". Other than that, the jokes were contrived and overdone, and the film didn't have any of the magic of the original story. I agree with other commentators that it was an attempt to make the Muppets more contemporary, and because of the overall mediocrity of the film, it just didn't work. I absolutely love the Muppets, and I love most of their movies, especially Christmas Carol and Treasure Island, not to mention the surprisingly good Great Muppet Caper. But basically, Muppets Wizard Of Oz doesn't make the grade, some of it was very painful to watch, especially Quentin Tarantino's completely useless cameo, so I will give it a 3/10 for the Muppets. Bethany Cox.

Here's an idea of how bad this movie was ...we checked it out from the library and watched it in the early evening, and the first thing my young daughter said upon waking up the next morning was "let's take it back!" It was barely funny, and at times disturbing.As others have mentioned, the Quentin Tarrantino cameo was absolutely worthless!!! *spoilers, spoilers, spoilers* The idea of having Miss Piggy play all the witches was vastly underused ... a nice flashback of all of them "singing as a group" might have been somewhat interesting.There was a weird mishmash of having the Flying Monkeys being a biker group (The Wiz) yet controlled by a "magical biker cap" (the original story) Queen Latifah was sorely underused, did she even sing? That might have been nice at the very end during the reunion ...And the Toto/prawn idea ... wow, how lame.My favorite part was probably the appearance of Dr. Teeth and Electric Mayhem in the Poppy bar.And I had no idea that you could rhyme "Kansas" with "chances" ...

Some people commenting on here didn't like that, especially the gentleman from Texas. Honestly, i liked it. Its telling the familiar tale of The Wizard of Oz with a modern feel and a crowd of puppets. I will say its not in the same league as Muppets Christmas Carol which was out of this world, but it does hold up. There are less human characters in it and more muppets. Miss Piggy as the wicked witches - who else could do the parts???? (I'm at the point where piggy is the WW of the West and dressed as a biker in leather.) Kermit is Scarecrow, Gonzo the tin thing (20 years watching the muppets, im still wondering what gonzo is?), Fozzie as the cowardly lion and Pepe the Prawn as, Toto. Ashanti is so gorgeous as Dorothy. I saw her at the start and during the film and thought "WOW"This is a good one for the kids or to watch if you like the muppets. With all films that are using a basic theme, forget the others, judge this by itself and not against any others. you'll love it.