Home Entertainment : Henson, Muppets Take on Fairy Tales

Brian Henson, son of the late Jim Henson, was looking for new territory for the Muppets to conquer. They’d done TV and movies but never a production geared strictly to video.

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So “Muppet Classic Theater” was born, the direct-to-video debut of Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and the gang. The tape, on Jim Henson Video and priced at $20, is just out, featuring lively Muppet spoofs of six fairy tales: “Rumpelstiltskin,” “King Midas,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Elves and the Shoemaker,” “Three Little Pigs” and “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”

“The nice thing about direct-to-video is that it’s so new that the rules aren’t set yet,” said Henson, who heads Jim Henson Productions and is also the executive producer of the video. “People don’t realize there’s a real structure to a feature film--a tight, three-act structure, making certain plot points. In making shows for TV, you need a sitcom quality. Saturday morning TV has its own rules too. But on direct-to-video, you have the freedom to virtually do anything you want, any kind of structure. In fact, future advances in kids’ entertainment may come in the direct-to-video format.”

These are elaborate productions, each featuring a new musical number, and they look different from the usual Muppets TV and film fare.

“This is experimental for the Muppets--making fun of the classic fairy tales,” Henson said. “The production has a look that makes it seem like it’s for younger kids but the material plays a lot older. So you have something for the 3-year-old but hopefully something for the 14-year-old too.”

Henson’s company already is planning its next feature film, “Muppet Treasure Island” for Disney. Is there another video project in the works?

“It’s not set yet but we’re talking about doing another Muppets tape,” Henson replied. “We’re thinking of redoing some kind of story--something we can bring absurdist humor to. We’re not sure of the subject matter. It could be anything from fairy tales to Shakespeare--but something we can have fun with.”

Satellite Update: Digital Satellite System (DSS), RCA’s mini-satellite dish, is easily the hottest new item in consumer electronics. Priced at $700, it would be even hotter except for one drawback: You can’t see your local TV stations with it.

The bad news is that local stations won’t ever be part of DSS. Explained Stanley E. Hubbard, president of USSB, which provides programming for DSS along with DirecTV: “For one thing, there are exclusive agreements between the networks and TV stations in each market that make it impossible for us to also show that programming.

“Also, there are more than a thousand local stations. To send them via our system would require more than 1,000 channels. Obviously the system doesn’t have that many channels.”

The good news from DSS is that a National Football League deal was set up sooner than expected. On Nov. 27, for $50, DSS customers can get all the NFL regular-season Sunday games through DirecTV--except for those blacked-out in their city. For instance, if the Raiders game is not shown on local TV, DSS owners in this area won’t see it either.

Special-Interest Videos: “Silverlake Life: The View From Here” is a graphic, heart-wrenching documentary about two gay men in Los Angeles who are dying of AIDS. Their courage and humor are a revelation. Arguably the best AIDS-themed film ever made. From New Video, the 99-minute documentary is priced at $40; (800) 314-8822.

There are some very amusing moments in “NBA Rewind: The Funniest & Finest Plays,” particularly the interview blunders. From CBS-Fox at $15.

With the holiday season just around the corner, “Learn to Make Beautiful Bows” is invaluable. This very well-designed instructional video is available through Picture Perfect Productions; (800) 395-2546.

What’s New on Video: “City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold” (Columbia TriStar): In this lame sequel, the urban heroes of the original, Billy Crystal and Daniel Stern, go West again, this time to follow a treasure map in search of lost gold. Jack Palance, who won an Oscar for playing the cantankerous Curly in the first one, is back, but as Curly’s twin--a ludicrous touch. Very disappointing, with hardly any of the charm or humor of the original. Jon Lovitz co-stars.

“Black Beauty” (Warner, $25): This classic horse tale is told from the point of view of the horse, with a narrator voicing the horse’s thoughts. Bounced from owner to owner, he gets treated cruelly by snooty rich folks but lovingly by a farmer (Sean Bean) and a cab driver (David Thewlis). Viewers older than 10 may be totally turned off by the horse’s narration (shades of Mr. Ed). But if you can tolerate the voice-over, this is an entertaining--and very sentimental--family adventure.

“Sirens” (Miramax): At a fancy country mansion in 1930s Australia, a prim preacher (Hugh Grant) and his staid wife (Tara Fitzgerald) visit an unconventional painter (Sam Neill) who works with three racy models--one played by Elle MacPherson. The fun is watching the stuffy couple loosen up in this sex-charged atmosphere. This modestly enjoyable comedy is better known for its extensive nudity rather than for its humor.

“The Hudsucker Proxy” (Warner): Directed by Joel Coen and set in the late 1950s, it’s a version of one of those frantic ‘30s screwball comedies. The Capraesque hero is a naive mail-room worker (Tim Robbins) who’s installed as a corporate president by a scheming executive (Paul Newman) in a stock manipulation scam. Expected to be a dunce, the mail-room worker, of course, makes one really shrewd move. Occasionally clever comedy but basically just so-so. Co-starring Jennifer Jason Leigh as a fast-talking reporter.

“Brainscan” (Columbia TriStar): Brainscan is an interactive CD-ROM game that lets you know what it feels like to commit murder. But virtual reality gets out of hand when a high school horror addict (Edward Furlong) tunes into a real Freddy Krueger-type slasher (T. Ryder Smith). After some riveting early sequences, this turns into a plain old slasher flick that’s saddled with an unsatisfying quirky ending.

“With Honors” (Warner): Another bad movie starring Joe Pesci, whose awful “Jimmy Hollywood” is also just out on video. In “With Honors,” he plays a sharp, spunky homeless man who develops a sort of father-son relationship with a Harvard student (Brendan Fraser). The character is only a little less irritating than the grating actor he plays in “Jimmy Hollywood.”

“Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” (New Line): An incoherent mess of a movie, starring Uma Thurman as a drifter who wanders into a desert resort where lesbian cowgirls revolt against a transvestite boss (John Hurt). Cameos by the likes of Roseanne and Sean Young don’t make director Gus Van Sant’s far-out satirical tale any more entertaining.

“Little Big League” (Columbia TriStar): A 12-year-old boy (Luke Edwards) inherits the Minnesota Twins, takes over as manager and--of course--turns a bunch of losers into winners. If you’re mourning the cancellation of the baseball season, you won’t find much comfort in this predictable, corny, feel-good movie.