The long running era of the Saturday morning cartoon has officially ended, but no one can stop you from fulfilling your true weekend calling. Cartoons and Saturday mornings were made for each other and no one can tell us otherwise. It is to that end that we maintain vigil, bringing you animated selections each Saturday morning until the internet dies, or until we run out, good thing there’s always reruns.
“Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies” Episode 3.11 “Around the Nursery in 80 Days” (8 out of 10) Created by Jim Henson and Jeffrey Scott; Directed by Ray Lee, Bob Shellhorn, and Bob Richardson; Written by Jeffrey Scott; Starring Greg Berg, Dave Coulier, Katie Leigh, Laurie O’Brien, Russi Taylor, Frank Welker, and Barbara Billingsley; Originally aired November 22, 1986.
“Muppet Babies” was a 30 minute animated series that ran from September 1984 to November 1991. The series is a reimagining of what might have happened had all of the Muppets grown up together. The concept was first introduced in “The Muppets Take Manhattan” during a dream sequence. A few months after the film’s release, “Muppet Babies” debuted.
Its popularity can’t be understated, evidenced by its long running time. During the height of the show’s popularity it rain in sixty or ninety minute blocks.
In the series all of the central muppets, as well as at least one who never appeared as a live action character, live together in a nursery and are looked over by Nanny, a human adult whose face is never seen. Nanny treats them like her own children, though their actual parentage is never addressed. Each episode focuses on the power of imagination and the young muppets imagine their way into and out of problems.
In “Around the Nursery in 80 Days” the kids overhear Nanny on the phone talking about leaving the children with someone else while she goes on vacation. Worried that Nanny is going to leave and never return, they imagine the babysitters they may be saddled with, including King Kong and Darth Nanny.
Archived movie footage is used to enhance the imagination sequences including Darth Vader and an Imperial Star Destroyer where the kids find themselves enlisted as Storm Troopers equipped with lightsabers. Or later while travelling the world when footage of an ATV race is used to enhance an imagining of riding an ATV across the Sahara.
They soon realize that there is no acceptable alternative to Nanny so they plot to give her an around the world vacation right here in the nursery. Using a Jules Verne picture book as a reference they build every important world monument, including the Eiffel Tower and the Pyramids of Giza, and acquire a balloon to carry them on their way.
After the completion of their worldwide tour the muppets reveal that they set this up for Nanny in order to convince her not to go on her trip. She promises that she would never leave them in the care of someone they were uncomfortable with and they agree she can go on her trip, left safely in the care of her sister, a cooler and more radical caregiver.
“Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies” earns eight stars out of ten, the writing is solid, the transition from animation to live action is flawless, and Jim Henson can do no wrong. Add into the mix cameos from “Star Wars,” “King Kong,” “Ghostbusters” and more and you’ve got a recipe for excellence.