The Frog Prince (1971)
Nearly 3 decades before the Princess and the Frog came the Muppets’ version of the classic tale. A favorite of mine as a child, but do I still agree with my younger self?
Brief Backstory
Prior to the Muppet Show and the Muppet Movie, Kermit and his froggy pals starred in Tales from Muppetland, which was about retelling two fairy tales, known as “Hey Cinderella!” and “The Frog Prince” in the early 1970s.
Story
Sir Robin the Brave has been cursed by Aunt Taminella, the king’s sister (or so she says), into becoming a frog, and must find his way back to being human. A wonderful princess named Melora has also been cursed by her with the inability to talk correctly.
Random Facts
Unless you have a VCR, you will not see this. You can still find it on Betamax or CED (RCA Selectavision) if you even HAVE players for those… but otherwise you’re out of luck. Cinemassacre had a video on CED players so if you’re interested in hearing about that go take a look.
It used to be on Disney Channel from what I heard but that was probably 30+ years ago…
Instead of Richard Hunt, Carl Banas (who voiced the Head Elf from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer) voices Sweetums. Here he’s more murderous.
Both Sweetums and Robin the Frog would later show up on The Muppet Show (most famously, Robin the Frog would sing “halfway down the stairs” which was parodied in an awful Family Guy episode).
Random Opinions
The audio quality is amazing for 1971. How the hell did it sound so good without the Dolby Stereo system that was popularized by Star Wars and A Clockwork Orange? My only assumption is that television material got better sound quality before film.
I’ve preferred Carl Banas voicing Sweetums.
Yeah yeah yeah I know this was a television movie. Nevertheless, it still fits in the Film section of my reviews.
Hey Taminella – I’m trying to lose weight – don’t be making me hungry with popovers!! Son of a bitch now I need to go make some after seeing this; all three of us men in my family are kings of something in culinary material my brother’s king of making steaks and my father’s king of grilling in my family whereas I’m king of the bakery.
And speaking off, Taminella’s head reminds me of prunes. I ate prunes a lot as a kid (hell man I preferred prunes and raisins over M&Ms and Hershey’s kisses – I’ve got filmed footage to prove that) and liked them; I wasn’t like my mother who had a love of candy when she was a child.
It’s been a while since I saw Mister Rogers, but King Rupert somewhat reminds me of the king from the make believe kingdom.
Pros
- Epic villain song by Sweetums.
- Really funny scenes, such as Robin and Kermit tricking Sweetums into wearing himself out.
- Kermit is intoxicated; one of my first exposures to intoxication along with Dumbo, The Great Mouse Detective, and Robin Hood.
- Taminella (when she isn’t making me hungry) is a great villain.
Cons
- Exactly why did Sweetums end up singing in the end with the commoners? I thought he was a bad guy.
- Not sure if this would count as a con, but this is way overdue for a Blu-ray release; either that or put it on Disney+. It deserves to be seen by others.
Rating: 9/10 – Amazing
You’re never too old for the Muppets. Anyone who disagrees with that statement needs to get therapy. Check out the Muppet Movie and the Great Muppet Caper after seeing this, and of course watch some of the Muppet Show after seeing this.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to break out my mother’s old Betty Crocker cookbook and find a recipe for popovers. Thanks Taminella. You really are a villain, trying to sabotage my weight loss attempts.
One response to “The Frog Prince”
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I never saw The Frog Prince. Only ones I saw are The Muppets Movie, Muppet Treasure Island, Muppet Christmas Carol & Muppets 2011. Good review though.
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