Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Film / MuppetTreasureIsland

Go To

1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/muppets_treasure_island_3.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} Set sail for Muppet mayhem!]]]]
3
4->''"True friendship and adventure\
5Are what we can't live without\
6And when you're a professional pirate,\
7That's what the job's about!"''
8-->-- "Professional Pirate"
9
10Brian Henson's 1996 take on the classic ''Literature/TreasureIsland'' story by Creator/RobertLouisStevenson, featuring the old cast favorites of ''Franchise/TheMuppets'', and Creator/TimCurry playing Long John Silver.
11
12In the English seaside in the 18th Century, Jim Hawkins, played by Kevin Bishop, is now given two friends... Gonzo and Rizzo, who are [[Film/TheMuppetChristmasCarol once again]] paired together as a comedy team and are the focus for much of the movie. When sailor Billy Bones (Creator/BillyConnolly) warns of a treasure that legendary pirate captain Bernie Flint hid, and Jim's harridan-employer's inn is burned down by Flint's surviving pirate crew, Flint's treasure map ends up in Jim's possession. Fozzie Bear (playing rich-dolt Trelawney) confirms the map's authenticity, so they all set sail on the ''Hispaniola'' to find the treasure. Bunsen Honeydew plays Dr. Livesey, Kermit the Frog plays the ship's master Captain Smollett, Sam the Eagle is Mister Arrow, the first mate. Miss Piggy plays a [[GenderFlip gender-flipped]] version of Ben Gunn; a castaway marooned on the relevant island.
13
14Followed by ''Film/MuppetsFromSpace''.
15----
16!!This film contains examples of:
17* AccidentalTruth: As a way to get rid of Mister Arrow, John Silver convinces him that jolly boats can be unsafe, as John finds out the hard way at the end, he was right.
18* ActorAllusion: AnimatedActors version. While Lew Zealand is never identified by name and gets barely any lines, he plays a more prominent role in the "Cabin Fever" musical number, where he's shown brandishing a fish, a reference to his trademark boomerang fish act in ''Series/TheMuppetShow''.
19** Mr. Samuel Arrow wears a red-and-white striped shirt under his blue coat, referencing Sam the Eagle's American patriotism.
20* ActuallyPrettyFunny: When they see that the new captain is a frog, Jim expresses disbelief that Smollett is a "raging volcano." Rizzo quips, "Maybe he gets hopping mad." Despite themselves, Jim and Gonzo start chuckling. 
21*  ActuallyQuiteCatchy:
22** Clueless Morgan was listening to the "Cabin Fever" number within the jail cell. He sings the last part of it. Monty and Polly think that he's going "crackers". 
23** Despite the angry natives planning for them to face their queen, Gonzo likes their chant. He joins in while tied to a stake. 
24* ActuallyThatsMyAssistant: After Mr. Arrow talks up Captain Smollett as a disciplinarian with a raging temper, Smollett's carriage pulls up and out steps a large, grim-looking man who looks every inch the way Arrow has described -- who then steps aside to reveal the actual Smollett, a small mild-mannered individual played by Kermit the Frog.
25* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: In the book, the heroes return to Bristol, Captain Smollett retires from the sea, and Jim has no more desire for adventure, admitting in his narration that he still has nightmares about Treasure Island. The ending here is ''much'' more lighthearted, with Jim and friends still happily sailing on the Hispaniola [[AndTheAdventureContinues in search of new adventures.]]
26* AdaptationalComicRelief: Blind Pew. In the book, his blindness made him more menacing and threatening. Here, he makes one BlindMistake after another and HilarityEnsues. That said, he's ''still'' a competent fighter and a legitimate threat.
27* AdaptationalContextChange: In the book the incident with Silver getting the Black Spot takes place before they find the missing treasure, while here it occurs afterwards, leading into the film's original ending.
28* AdaptationalDumbass:
29** Squire Trelawney was slightly foolish in the book, but his counterpart here is a self-admitted half-wit who believes a little man lives in his finger.
30** Tom Morgan was a minor pirate in the book, and although Silver remarked that he was stupid he wasn't a ditzy CloudCuckoolander like his equivalent Clueless Morgan.
31* AdaptationalHeroism: Samuel Arrow is a foolish drunk in the original novel, while Sam the Eagle as Mr. Arrow is a little stiff and obsessed with the safety of the ship, but receives SparedByTheAdaptation treatment and is vital in recapturing the ''Hispaniola'' at the end.
32* AdaptationalKarma: In the book, Long John Silver escapes with his life and a few hundred pounds from the treasure, and presumably makes it back to civilization and to his wife. Here, however, as he's escaping his dinghy sinks, forcing him to swim back to Treasure Island with only a talking statue for company, and the treasure he stole is recovered from the ocean by the Hispaniola's tourist rats. Unusually, he's actually more sympathetic here than his book equivalent.
33* AdaptationalNameChange: Captain Smollett's first name is changed from Alexander to Abraham. Presumably this was taken from the book's minor character Abraham Gray, who is AdaptedOut.
34* AdaptationalNiceGuy:
35** Abraham "Kermit the Frog" Smollett is far more affable than the GoodIsNotNice Alexander Smollett from the book. That said, he [[BerserkButton still has quite a temper when provoked enough to display it]], even if Mr. Arrow exaggerates how bad it is.
36** While he is still a villain through and through, Silver is notably less ruthless than he was in the original book, seen best in the non-lethal ways in which he handles Mr. Arrow and his own mutinous crew when compared to his literary counterpart.
37* AdaptationalVillainy:
38** Some of the pirates are played by good Muppets, notably Lew Zealand.
39** In the original book Silver doesn't stay the villain the whole way through, as he is forced into an EnemyMine situation with the heroes when his crew stages a mutiny against him. In this film, Silver is able to reverse the mutiny and then lead his crew in a final battle against the heroes.
40* AdaptationalWimp: Squire Trelawney in the book was a military veteran and a crack shot with a musket; by contrast, this Trelawny far less capable, though he does at least join in the final battle.
41* AdaptedOut:
42** In the original novel, Jim Hawkins's mother was around. In this movie, [[MissingMom no such luck]], although her role is effectively filled by Mrs. Bluveridge.
43** Israel Hands and George Merry are both omitted from the pirate lineup.
44** Most of the supporting loyalists such as Trelawney's servants and Abraham Gray are cut.
45* AdventurerOutfit: Trelawny gains one after being rescued from the pirates with a khaki-colored shirt, netting and goggles on his tricorn, and a "no pirates" patch on his shirt.
46* AnAesop: Spoofed at the end.
47-->'''Clueless Morgan:''' Well ... you know, I for one feel better about myself. Yeah, and I believe that I have learned a valuable lesson ...
48-->''[the other pirates just beat him up]''
49* AffablyEvil: Long John, which is true of every other adaptation. As evil and amoral as he is, he absolutely exudes charisma and his friendliness and affection for Jim are entirely genuine. Plus, it's ''Creator/TimCurry''.
50* AlasPoorVillain: Long John is genuinely conflicted when he points a gun at Jim to scare him off from blowing the whistle. And when Jim calls him ''Mr. Silver'', mentions "my friends" in a way that clearly excludes him, and tells him to leave forever, Long John is genuinely wounded.
51* TheAlcoholic: Billy Bones, so much so that he gets the [=DTs=] in the middle of the night.
52-->'''Billy Bones:''' I've got [[ShellShockedVeteran the horrors]]! Give me rum! Rum! Rum 'til I float!
53* AnachronismStew: As is typical of a Muppet movie.
54** Rizzo makes extra money by taking a group of rats along on a modern-style cruise on the ship, who dress as {{Hawaiian Shirted Tourist}}s and use camcorders, speedboats and scuba gear.
55** The contents of Bones's sea chest include the book ''Diplomacy'' by Henry Kissinger.
56* AndStarring: The opening credits are impressive as they list all the lead actors (human and Muppet) ''and'' the characters they play, complete with two "with" credits, an "and", and an "introducing":
57--> Starring Creator/TimCurry as Long John Silver\
58with Kermit the Frog as Captain Smollett\
59Miss Piggy as Benjamina Gunn\
60The Great Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat as [[CharacterAsHimself Themselves]]\
61with Creator/BillyConnolly as Billy Bones\
62and Jennifer Saunders as Mrs. Bluveridge\
63introducing Kevin Bishop as Jim Hawkins
64* AntiVillain: Long John is a [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Type I]]. He's very charming, polite, and actually cares for Jim.
65* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: When Benjamina reminds Captain Smollett of how he left her at the altar.
66--> "My mother came all the way from France! I was wearing her white lace dress! ''The cake was filled with [[SuddenlyShouting LEMON! CUSTARD!]]''"
67* AssholeVictim: When the song says "Every man on board would have [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder killed his mate/For a bag of guineas or a piece of eight]]", it's hard to feel bad when Flint [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness executes them]] to cover his tracks.
68* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Mr. Arrow shows ''why'' he is the first mate in the climax. He rows to an island he finds, after the ''Hispaniola'' accidentally strands him in the middle of the ocean, which helps Jim, Gonzo and Rizzo take back the ship from Silver's men. Then when he sees his captain cornered, he swings into battle, tosses Kermit a sword, and battles by his side. Captain Smollett says he's glad to see his first mate alive.
69* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: The island boars show up and are about to [[TheCavalry provide reinforcements]] against the pirates, but are scared off when Long John Silver shoots off the headdress of the lead boar.
70-->'''Chief Boar:''' Stop! Give up now, weak and tiny pirate mans, or die like stinking dogs!\
71''[Long John Silver [[HatDamage shoots off the chief's headdress]]]''\
72'''Chief Boar:''' Hmm. We see you have [[ThisIsMyBoomstick boom-boom sticks]]. ''[{{Beat}}]'' [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere Bye-bye]].\
73''[tribe runs away]''
74* AwardBaitSong: ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMtSufIUW_I Love Led Us Here]]''. May or may not be a parody.
75* BaritoneOfStrength:
76** Among all the other island inhabitants in "Shiver My Timbers" is a ''very'' deep-voiced alligator who lays out what they're singing about--a dark, terrifying story about a bunch of ruthless cutthroats killing each other for gold.
77** Several of the pirates have noticeably deep voices, making them more intimidating.
78* BadBoss: Captain Flint. In the opening of the film, he has his crew bury his treasure on a deserted island and, while they're right in the middle of it, he kills them all in order to keep the location a secret. Pretty DarkerAndEdgier for a Muppets movie.
79* BaitAndSwitch: During the final battle, Captain Smollett sees [[TheBigGuy Sweetums]] charging in their direction wielding a huge log. He shouts at Mr. Arrow to watch out but they can't retreat while fencing away. Sweetums runs forward ... and hits the pirates that were attacking the captain and first mate, [[CurbStompBattle flattening]] them. Smollet is confused because he thought Sweetums [[AdaptationalVillainy was on the pirates' side]]. Sweetums replies, "Are you kidding?! I love you guys!" and runs off laughing.
80* {{Bathos}}
81* BerserkButton: It's one of Kermit's smaller buttons to manifest itself in any of his appearances, but a crew that looks like a set of obvious cutthroats is the one thing that can get the normally affable Smollett to raise his voice in anger.
82-->'''Smollett:''' '''''WHO HIRED THIS CREW?!?''''' This is ''undoubtedly'' the ''seediest'' bunch of ''cutthroats'', ''villains'' and ''scoundrels'' I have ever seen, so '''''who hired 'em?''''' ''[huff, huff]''
83* BewareTheNiceOnes: Before the pirates took Jim as a hostage, Smollett was planning to maroon them for a year to proactively prevent the mutiny. Smollett is also fairly competent with a sword and, given that he's a frog in this adaptation, has the added ability to leap extremely high to pounce on an opponent. If only his fingers weren't so slippery ...
84* BewareTheSillyOnes:
85** Blind Pew may seem like a harmless blind man who can’t navigate around a room. However, when Billy Bones tries to shoot him, Blind Pew immediately locates him by the sound of the gun clicking and he successfully disarms Bones.
86** Clueless Morgan seems to be a HarmlessVillain and the CloudCuckooLander. Then when he, Monty, and Polly kidnap Gonzo and Rizzo, he heats up a fireplace poker and prepares to use it to torture Rizzo. Rizzo is understandably screaming as Morgan says he has a "recipe for blackened rat".
87** Sweetums shows what happens when you ask the GentleGiant LargeHam of the group to participate in the battle against his friends. He charges with a log ... and knocks aside the pirates that were fighting Captain Smollett and Mr. Arrow. 
88** Gonzo weaponizes starfish against one of the pirates. It successfully pins the latter to a wall.
89* BigBad: Long John Silver finds out about the voyage, ingratiates himself with Trelawney and has the crew filled with his fellow shipmates from Flint's old crew, and masterminds a mutiny in which the crew will let the ''Hispaniola'' take them to Treasure Island and mutiny once they're there. Along the way, he gets Mr. Arrow to abandon himself at sea and then takes Jim hostage, forestalling Smollett's plan to just sail off and leave the pirates to rot on the island. He stays the villain up to the end, when he abandons his shipmates and rows away with the treasure.
90* BigDamnHeroes:
91** Hilariously parodied by the island Boars, when Long John Silver shoots off the headdress of the lead boar. "We see you have [[ThisIsMyBoomstick boom-boom sticks]] ... [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere bye-bye]]."
92** Played straight with Statler and Waldorf catching the captain and Benjamina. They saved the pig and the frog because "it was too late to save the movie."
93** Also played straight when Smollett rescues Benjamina from Silver's pistol. Then Jim saves Captain Smollett when the latter loses his sword.
94* BigEater: Rizzo the Rat polishes off most of a roast chicken bigger than he is within a few minutes.
95-->'''Gonzo:''' I'm Gonzo ... and the guy in the chicken is Rizzo.\
96'''Rizzo:''' <nom nom nom nom> Yo! <nom nom nom nom>
97* BigGood: Captain Smollet is a level-headed and moral officer who immediately recognizes the danger posed by the ship's own crew. He is kind to Jim and only takes the map from him when he's forced to. When Jim is kidnapped by Silver, Smollet immediately launches a rescue mission himself.
98* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: "Cabin Fever". Acknowledged in-universe, as only Clueless Morgan seems to even remember it.
99* BlackComedy: A surprising amount of it.
100** During the "roll call" scene, the list of sailors includes Old Tom, Really Old Tom, and Dead Tom. There's also [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Headless Bill]], who ''is'' present ... but can't speak for himself because [[DontExplainTheJoke he doesn't have a head]].
101* BlackComedyBurst: The upbeat, generally adventurous tone of "Sailing for Adventure" jolts sideways into this when Rizzo pipes up with "And people die by falling overboard!" (which is then repeated very loudly by the ensemble).
102* BlackSpot: One is delivered to Billy Bones in the beginning [[spoiler:and he promptly dies]].
103* {{Bowdlerise}}: Some TV showings remove the scene in which Long John Silver unsuccessfully attempts to get the officers drunk, as well as references to {{Hell}} and demons.
104* BrawnHilda: Mrs. Bluveridge personally hands several vicious pirates their butts [[BattleAmongstTheFlames as her inn burns down]].
105--> [[RunningGag "How does she do that?!"]]
106* BrickJoke:
107** Those life boats look decidedly ... unsafe.
108** As Arrow [[spoiler:is rowing safely to the island, he's ''still'' gauging the boat's safeness]].
109** Gonzo's pants full of starfish.
110* BringerOfWarMusic: Heard in the song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WWdOjxoQro Shiver My Timbers]]" describing the bloodthirsty Captain Flint and his crew of cutthroat pirates. It starts in the second verse but becomes especially apparent in the final verse.
111* BrokenPedestal: Long John is revealed to be a pirate, after taking on a surrogate father role to the (orphan) Jim Hawkins.
112* BuffySpeak: Trelawney calls the ocean "the big blue wet thing".
113* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: The island boar tribe shows up like this after Smollett, Gonzo, and Rizzo bed down for the night.
114* CabinFever: During a period of no wind, the majority of the crew suffers this... [[SanitySlippageSong and sings about it]].
115* CallBack:
116** Towards the beginning of the movie, Jim and Long John have this exchange:
117---> '''Jim:''' "But we're just cabin boys, Mr. Silver."\
118'''Long John:''' "''Long John'', [[FriendlyAddressPrivileges to his friends]]."
119** Then, towards the end of the movie ...
120---> '''Long John:''' "Oh, hell, Jim. I could never harm you. You're honest and brave and true. You didn't learn that from me."\
121'''Jim:''' "I learned it from my friends, ''[[TakeThat Mr. Silver]].''"
122** Also, at one point, Sweetums turns out to be on the side of Smollett and his men, despite being a pirate. When Smollett questions this, he replies, "Are you kidding? I love you guys!" which is a CallBack to the ''[[Film/TheMuppetMovie original movie]]''.
123** From the start, and the end of the movie:
124--->'''Jim:''' "Wherever the wind may take us!"\
125'''Gonzo:''' "Off to Zanzibar to meet the Zanzi-barbarians!"\
126'''Rizzo:''' "[[HereWeGoAgain Here they go again ...]]"
127** Unsafe lifeboats.
128* TheCameo:
129** The Swedish Chef, who appears towards the end of the film wearing a fake pig snout on the island of the "cannibal pigs". Lampshaded by the Singing Fruit who break the fourth wall to address the audience, asking "How else did you think we were gonna get him in this movie?"
130** In the same scene, very briefly, Link Hogthrob as the gong-ringer.
131** Someone who sounds a ''lot'' like Uncle Deadly can be heard during the "Shiver My Timbers" number, implying that he may be under (or in) the [[NothingButSkulls pile of singing skulls]].
132--->''And when greed and villainy sail the sea, you can bet your boots there'll be treachery! [EvilLaugh]''
133** Several characters from ''Series/FraggleRock'' appear throughout the film. Sprocket appears briefly at the start as a patron at the Admiral Benbow Inn. Murray, Brool and Wander Mcmooch are among the pirates that raid the Inn. Mudwell and Begoony are members of Long John Silver's pirate crew. The small Inkspot creatures sing in "Shiver My Timbers". Aretha can be seen briefly as a townsperson at the docks.
134* CanonForeigner: Due to Jim’s mother being [[DeathByAdaptation absent in the movie]], the Admiral Benbow inn is instead run by a woman named Mrs. Bluveridge, who is portrayed as (initially) the primary guardian of the orphaned Jim Hawkins.
135* CaptainObvious: "Dead Tom's dead!"
136-->'''Mudwell:''' Long John shot him!\
137'''Walleyed Pike:''' But Dead Tom's always been dead. That's why he's called 'Dead Tom.'\
138'''Mudwell:''' Oh. [Drops him.]
139* CareerNotTaken: One verse of the song "Professional Pirate" features four of Long John Silver's crewmates thinking about careers they could have taken besides piracy:
140-->"I could have been a surgeon, [[SuddenlyShouting I LIKE TAKING THINGS APART!]]"\
141"I could have been a lawyer, [[EvilLawyerJoke but I just had too much heart.]]"\
142"I could have been in politics, 'cause I've always been a big spender."\
143"And me? [[Film/OnTheWaterfront I coulda been ... a contender.]]"
144* CarnivoreConfusion: Running an 18th-century inn is problematic when many of your customers are considered edible in non-talking form.
145-->'''Mrs. Bluveridge:''' Don't forget to come back tomorrow for our lunchtime special! Roast suckling ...\
146'''Pigs:''' [[IAteWhat Huh?]]\
147'''Mrs. Bluveridge:''' ... [[LastSecondWordSwap potatoes]]!\
148'''Potato:''' Hmpf!\
149'''Mrs. Bluveridge:''' No offense, madam, no offense!
150* CasualDangerDialogue: As they're fighting off pirates after Mr. Arrow has tossed a sword to his captain, Smollett says happily that he's happy to see his first mate alive. Mr. Arrow thanks the captain.
151* ChangingChorus: The opening song "[[PirateSong Shiver My Timbers]]" has the chorus change four times, all appropriate for the pirates singing it as they bury Captain Flint's treasure:
152--> ''Shiver my timbers, shiver my soul/ Yo-ho, heave ho!/ There are men whose hearts are as black as coal/ Yo-ho, heave ho!''\
153''Shiver my timbers, shiver my sides/ Yo-ho, heave ho!/ There are hungers as strong as the wind and tides/ Yo-ho, heave ho!''\
154''Shiver my timbers, shiver my bones/ Yo-ho, heave ho!/ There are secrets that sleep with old Davy Jones/ Yo-ho, heave ho!''\
155''Shiver my timbers, shiver my sails/ '''Dead men tell no tales!''''' '''*BANG*'''
156* CharacterNarrator: The first scene is narrated by Billy Bones: "I was Flint's first mate, that voyage. Three days east of Tortola in the Caribbees, Flint knew an island ..."
157* ChekhovsGun:
158** While in an apple barrel, Gonzo mentions starfish in his pants. Later, he whips the starfish out of his pants to fight against pirates. They prove to be quite effective.
159** Also, the keys Silver takes from Mr. Arrow. [[spoiler:He finds them in his pocket at the end while in his cell in the brig, and is able to escape from it and load part of the treasure into a lifeboat before Jim catches him.]]
160* ChekhovsGunman: Mr. Arrow; Silver sends him out on a SnipeHunt to test a lifeboat. The crew mourns and thinks that he was lost at sea. He then shows up at the same island, rowing with dogged determination, just when Jim, Gonzo and Rizzo need a boat to return to the ship and stop the mutiny. They're all very happy to see him, and he participates in their ZanyScheme to scare off the pirates. 
161* ChronicallyKilledActor: Creator/BillyConnolly as Billy Bones. Connolly is proud of being the only person to die onscreen in a Muppet movie.
162* ClothingDamage: During the final battle against Silver and his crew, Kermit ruins Silver's resplendent coat and hat.
163* CloudCuckooLander:
164** Clueless Morgan.
165** Squire Trelawney [Fozzie] talks to a little man who lives in his finger, and as he says upon greenlighting the voyage:
166--->'''Trelawney:''' What are rich half-wit sons for?
167** Plus there's Gonzo. Case in point:
168--->'''Gonzo:''' It just feels so weird.\
169'''Rizzo:''' You mean that Mr. Arrow's dead?\
170'''Gonzo:''' Yeah, that. [[NonSequitur And my pants are filled with starfish.]]\
171'''({{beat}})'''\
172'''Rizzo:''' You and your hobbies ...
173* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: In the scene in which the remaining ''Hispaniola'' crew and Benjamina confront Silver, they are all dressed in pristine, heroic-looking white shirts with dark breeches, which we might as well chalk up to RuleOfCool since those outfits never show up anywhere else.
174* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Gonzo is full of this.
175--> '''Mr. Arrow:''' ''[describing Captain Smollett's temper]'' "The man is a raging volcano, tormented by inner demons, the likes of which mere mortals cannot fathom!"
176--> '''Gonzo:''' "He's got demons? ''[[NightmareFetishist Cool!]]''"
177* TheComicallySerious: Arrow, which is pretty much the personality of Sam the Eagle anyway.
178* ComingOfAgeStory: Apparently this was the reason why they got an actual human to play Jim, as opposed to an early draft that had Gonzo and Rizzo play Jim and Hawkins as two characters.
179* ConsultingMisterPuppet:
180-->'''Fozzie:''' "Oh, Mr. Bimbo lives in my finger. He's very smart. He's been to the moon. ''[puts finger to his ear]'' Oh, thank you ... twice."
181:: Keep in mind that this is a puppet Consulting Mister Puppet. [[MindScrew Yeah.]]
182* CoverVersion: The ending credits include a cover version of "Love Led Us Here" by country singers Music/JohnBerry and Music/HelenDarling.
183* CowardiceCallout: Silver's men after they see the ''Hispaniola'' heading straight for the island. Silver brings them back after calling them out for their cowardice.
184* CowardlyLion: Rizzo keeps going DidntWantAnAdventure and says he'll hide from danger if Jim courts it. When Silver takes Jim, hostage, however, Rizzo comes without hesitation when Smollett and Gonzo go to rescue him. He says of course he does, Jim is family, even if he is terrified.
185* CrowdSong: Done at least three times, {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d during "Professional Pirate":
186-->'''Long John:''' "Sing it, lads! Show 'im you've been practicing!"
187* CurbstompBattle: And with Sweetums of all Muppets, no less.
188* CutlassBetweenTheTeeth: Mr. Arrow does this briefly with Captain Smollett's sword near the end as he swings from the ''Hispaniola'' to the beach.
189* DarkerAndEdgier: It still has the usual Muppet goofiness, but it's a lot darker than the usual stuff:
190** The film's opening has a harsh male choir singing a rather morbid song with subject matter including such family friendly material as murder, greed, alcoholism, and even a reference to Old Nick himself.
191** Flint murders his entire crew (who are all humans, with the only muppets in the scene being the singing animals and statues). The remainder of the film is filled with somewhat intense scenes of threat, drinking and possible cannibalism.
192** In true Muppet fashion, this is lampshaded: "He died? And this is supposed to be a kids' movie!"
193** The first musical number on the ship, which talks about dying by falling overboard.
194---> "I love to see 'em cry when they walk the plank." "I prefer to cut a throat." "I love to hang 'em high and watch their little feet try to walk in the air while their faces turn bluuue."
195** Long John tells his fellow mutineers that {{Satan}} is heating his pokers for their heresy of tearing a page from the Bible to give him the Black Spot.
196* DeadHatShot: After Arrow is "washed overboard", one of the crew informs Captain Smollett that all that was found of him was his hat. Subverted in that it wasn't actually found in the water; Mr. Arrow had given it to Long John.
197* DeadStarWalking: Creator/BillyConnolly as Billy Bones. He even noted that he's the only person to ever die in a Muppet movie.
198* DeadpanSnarker: Rizzo, as usual.
199* DeathByAdaptation: Jim's parents. In the book, his father is still alive at the beginning and dies only a few days before Billy Bones, while his mother survives to the end. In this version, Jim is ConvenientlyAnOrphan instead, and mentions that he was just seven years old when his father died.
200* DecompositeCharacter: In the book, when Jim sneaks aboard ''Hispaniola'' he finds Israel Hands alone. In the movie, Hands is replaced by a small group of Long John's "best men."
201* DelayedOhCrap: When Billy dies for good, Jim, Gonzo, and Rizzo stare in shock ... and then Rizzo realizes "We're standing in a room with a ''dead guy!''" They immediately [[MassOhCrap start screaming and run out of the room]].
202* DemotedToExtra: Dr. Livesey is far less prominent than his book counterpart, with pretty much all of his notable scenes from the book being cut.
203* DidNotDoTheBloodyResearch:
204** "Billy's dead, and he hasn't got the bloody map!" Spoken not too long after the line about this being a kids' movie.
205** Also, Billy's line earlier "How does she bloody do that?!"
206** In later versions, the word "bloody" is taken out, and "bloomin'" is inserted in its stead.
207* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: In the book, Blind Pew is killed by being accidentally trampled by a horse. Here, he's last seen wandering cluelessly around a burning tavern, and [[UncertainDoom isn't actually seen dying, but never appears again]].
208* DisneyAcidSequence: "Cabin Fever".
209* DisneyDeath: Nope, turns out Mr. Arrow's lifeboat was actually completely shipshape. [[spoiler:Long John Silver's, however ...]]
210* DistinctionWithoutADifference:
211--> '''Smollet:''' Your finger hired the crew?\
212'''Trelawney:''' No, that's silly. The man who lives in my finger hired the crew, Mr. Bimbo.
213* DressedToPlunder: Naturally, the pirates wear the standard pirate costumes that were [[TropeCodifier codified]] by the original ''Treasure Island''. Long John is particularly resplendent once he shows his true colors.
214* TheDrunkenSailor: Billy Bones. Averted by Captain Smollett, however, who prohibits any consumption of alcohol even by his officers, in order to "set an example for this questionable crew."
215* DualWielding: Arrow, briefly, before he tosses the second sword to Smollett.
216* EarlyBirdCameo: A generic monkey who sings in "Shiver My Timbers" is a pre-''Series/MuppetsTonight'' Sal Minella.
217* ElongatingArmGag: The pirates try to torture Gonzo by stretching him in the rack. Instead of begging for mercy, [[TooKinkyToTorture Gonzo enjoys it]], even bragging that he's now tall enough to play in the NBA. Afterwards, Gonzo is seen showing off his now elongated limbs, which Bunsen then fixes by pulling him out until he rolls back up like a window shade.
218* EvenEvilHasStandards:
219** [[EvilLawyerJoke "I could have been a lawyer/but I just had too much heart."]]
220** [[spoiler:Silver refuses to shoot Jim when the boy could raise the alarm.]]
221** Silver invokes this idea when he shames the pirates for giving him The Black Spot on a page torn out of The Bible.
222** (From the opening song) "The Devil himself would have to call them scum!" (The Muppet animal that sings this line, a monkey performed by Jerry Nelson, would later become Sal Minella on ''Series/MuppetsTonight'', performed there by ''Muppet Treasure Island'' director Brian Henson.)
223* EverythingTalks:
224** Especially in the "Shiver My Timbers" opening sequence.
225** A pig at the Admiral Benbow inn is startled when his own beer stein chimes into a conversation.
226* EvilLaugh: Tim Curry unleashes the LargeHam with a couple of exceptional ones.
227* EyepatchOfPower: Both of Blind Pew's eyes are covered with eyepatches.
228* FacePalm:
229** Benjamina when her tribe decides they're not going to tangle with "[[ThisIsMyBoomstick boom-boom sticks]]".
230** Also Mr. Arrow when Kermit's sword slips out of his hand.
231** And Mr. Arrow when [[spoiler:he's told that the crew was hired by a man in a bear's finger based on the advice of the cook]].
232** Dr. Livesey does this when he sees Big-Fat-Ugly-Bug-Face-Baby-Eating O'Brien.
233* FailedAttemptAtDrama: Benjamina is introduced with the natives chanting and her riding in atop an elephant all building up to her being revealed. The whole thing is undermined when she goes to dismount the elephant and her pet anteater yanks her off-balance, sending her tumbling down the staircase.
234-->'''Benjamina:''' Stupid anteater! You ruined my entrance!
235* FelonyMisdemeanor: Arrow reacts this way to dust on the ship, incorrectly assuming the captain will feel the same.
236-->"Any man caught dawdling will be shot on sight!"
237* FinishDialogueInUnison: When Bones finishes telling the story about Flint, he says "Now isn't that story worth the hearin'?" -- as do most of the guests, followed by one of the patrons complaining, "It was the first dozen times we heard it!"
238* FluffyTheTerrible: Sweetums, as always.
239* {{Flynning}}: Mocked; when Kermit tries it the sword flies out of his hand (almost skewering another Muppet), leaving him defenseless.
240* ForScience: Dr. Livesey, played by Bunsen Honeydew. The first we see of him is an exploding lab with Beaker flying into the wall.
241* {{Foreshadowing}}: A very small one, but is it any surprise that the three Muppets we have singing about "walking the plank", "cutting throats" and "hanging people" in "Sailing For Adventure" [[spoiler:all turn out to be a part of the pirate crew in the end? The only reason Clueless Morgan says "[[JustJokingJustification Just kidding]]" is because Mr. Arrow comes up behind them as they're singing!]]
242* FrenchJerk: Blind Pew talks in a vague French accent.
243* FriendlyAddressPrivileges: When Silver introduces himself, he says that friends call him "Long John". This gets a CallBack at the end of the movie, where Jim refers to his ''actual'' friends and pointedly calls John "[[TakeThat Mr. Silver]]" instead.
244* FriendlyPirate: Referenced. Silver and his crew try to present themselves as friendly and harmless during "Professional Pirate", but they're not; and even the song isn't terribly convincing given that the lyrics are InstantlyProvenWrong at a few points.
245* FrivolousLawsuit: Happened in real life. Hormel, makers of Spam, [[http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/26/nyregion/hormel-sues-over-a-boarish-film-muppet.html actually sued Jim Henson Productions over the boar named "Spa'am"]] -- [[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-10-03/features/9510030085_1_spam-spam-spam-spam-hormel-foods-corp-shoulder-and-ham and lost]].
246* FromACertainPointOfView: Long John appeals to this while trying to convince Jim that pirates aren't all that bad in "Professional Pirate". Subverted in that everything in the song about how pirates are good people are BlatantLies and {{Suspiciously Specific Denial}}s.
247--> Now take Sir Francis Drake; the Spanish all despise him./But to the British, he's a hero, and they idolize him!
248--> It's how you look at buccaneers that makes them bad or good,/And I see us as members of a noble brotherhood!
249* FrothyMugsOfWater: Completely averted, though Captain Smollett ''does'' outlaw alcohol on the voyage.
250* FunnyBruceLeeNoises: Made by Gonzo, while throwing starfish as shuriken. [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign In Spanish]].
251* FurryReminder: Sort of. Smollet/Kermit is showing off with his sword by cutting off Long John's clothing decor while swinging his sword about, and then [[spoiler:the sword flies out of his hand. He blames his slippery hands, on account of being a frog]].
252* GenderFlip: The original maroonee Benjamin Gunn becomes ''Benjamina'' Gunn [Miss Piggy], and is also the [[PromotedToLoveInterest love interest of Captain Smollett]] [Kermit].
253* GoryDiscretionShot: Only the first two gunshots of Flint's massacre at the beginning of the film are shown, leaving how he "gullied" the rest of his men to the imagination.
254* GoThroughMe: A whole succession of it in one scene, though for Rizzo you're going to have to [[LovableCoward "negotiate strenuously."]]
255* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Benjamina Gunn (Miss Piggy) is built up this way by the native boars prior to her entrance. The chief boar tells Smollett and the others, "Now you suffer the wrath of our queen, Boomshakalaka!" She then enters the scene riding an elephant, obscured by palm fronds, and serenaded by an increasingly frantic beating of drums and chanting of her name.
256* GratuitousGerman: The German lines in ''Cabin Fever''. Which are nothing more than common German phrases, words, and brand names:
257-->''Ach du lieber''[[note]]"Oh, you dear"[[/note]]\
258''Volkswagen karr''[[note]]"Volkswagen car"[[/note]]\
259''Sauërbräten''[[note]]a traditional marinated beef dish[[/note]]\
260''Wienerschnitzel''[[note]]"Vienna schnitzel"[[/note]]\
261''Und a wunderbar!''[[note]]"And wonderful!", though possibly also a reference to Wunderbar chocolate bars[[/note]]
262* GreaterScopeVillain: As per the source material, the titular treasure is the accumulated loot of the brutal and treacherous Captain Flint, and the pirates in the story proper are some of his former henchmen.
263* HandicappedBadass: Blind Pew may be visually challenged, but he can hear a gun being cocked from the other side of the room and be over there in seconds.
264* HatDamage:
265** The chief boar's big, elaborate headdress gets blown off his head when Long John Silver shoots it.
266** Long John's own tricorn hat is later demolished by Smollett in their fight, along with the rest of Silver's costume.
267* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Implied in the ending scenes, and clearly a factor in Long John's IgnoredEpiphany: as a known pirate who had hijacked a British ship, he was at severe risk, very real and explicitly mentioned, of being executed for piracy and mutiny if the British authorities ever got their hands on him.
268* HeelFaceTurn: Parodied with Sweetums. While he participated in the mutiny, he comes to the captain and Mr. Arrow's rescue when they're fighting pirates. When Smollett asked why he saved them using a log and some brute force, Sweetums laughs and says, "I love you guys!"  
269* AHeroToHisHometown: Long John Silver says this of Sir Francis Drake in his song.
270* HeroWithBadPublicity: Invoked by Silver in the song "Professional Pirate", where he insists pirates are victims of bad press and all their misdeeds are exaggerated.
271* HighClassGlass: One of the pirates wears a fancy monocle.
272* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Mr. Arrow knows that Silver's lifeboat was unsafe because Silver had disposed of him earlier by stoking paranoia about leaky lifeboats and persuading Arrow to take one out for a test run. At the time, it looked like Mr. Arrow had been killed by this.]]
273* TheHyena: Long John Silver cackles at pretty much every occasion, including things that appear to make him furious.
274* IgnoredEpiphany: [[spoiler:When Long John is found escaping by Jim, he eventually puts the gun down and says that he couldn't harm a lad as honest and brave as Jim, and even looks misty-eyed as he says Jim didn't get any of that from him. But he still says that they would have made a wonderful team as he rows away.]]
275* ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin: Billy entrusts the treasure map to Jim right before he dies.
276* IWantSong: "Something Better," sung by Jim, Gonzo, and Rizzo.
277* ImprobableWeaponUser: How does a starfish-wielding Gonzo sound to you?
278* InsistentTerminology: Blind fiends prefer "visually challenged fiend", according to Gonzo.
279* InstantlyProvenWrong: During the song "Professional Pirate", Long John Silver begins addressing "misconceptions" about pirates, how they'd never stab you in the back (someone falls dead a split second later with a knife in his back) or lie or cheat (as one of them picks another's pocket).
280* IronicNickname: Big Fat Ugly Bug-Faced Baby-Eating O'Brien and Angel Marie, who are a beautiful lady and an incredibly ugly Muppet respectively.
281* IntersceneDiegetic: The "Love Led Us Here" number is heard while the camera cuts away to the pirates rejoicing as they find Flint's treasure hoard.
282* JawDrop: Captain Smollett and Mr. Arrow's reaction upon seeing "Big Fat Ugly Bug Faced Baby Eating O'Brien", ''who is a woman (with the voice of a man).'' (And not exactly bad-looking.)
283* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
284** Despite her bossy and overbearing demeanor, Mrs. Bluveridge does genuinely care about Jim, Gonzo and Rizzo, telling them not to worry about her and to run to safety from the burning inn.
285** Long John Silver is a backstabbing, manipulative pirate, but he retains a soft spot for Jim. He also tends to give his opponents a chance to surrender or retreat rather than just killing them outright, and he himself will [[GracefulLoser surrender gracefully]] once it's clear that he's been defeated.
286* KilledOffForReal:
287** Billy Bones dies at the start of the film. According to his biography, Billy Connolly is apparently very proud of his record as the only character ever to die on-screen in a Muppets film.
288** Hilariously spoofed (alongside the PosthumousCharacter trope) by Dead Tom. Despite being "dead" from the beginning, he ends up getting killed (yet again?) during a confrontation between Long John and the other pirates. Made even funnier when one of the unnamed pirates cradles his body and mourns his passing, only to be informed that Tom has "always been dead" ([[MeaningfulName thus his being "Dead" Tom]]), to which said pirate stops crying, exclaims an "Oh" and promptly drops the "corpse".
289* KnifeOutline: Gonzo uses starfish as shurikens to leave one of these. And it's one heck of a BrickJoke seeing as it gets a throwaway line earlier.
290%%* {{Lampshade}}: TheMovie!
291* LargeAndInCharge: Mrs. Bluveridge.
292* LargeHam: Tim Curry (in fact, he says that out of all the movies he has been in, this is his favorite), Billy Connolly, Jennifer Saunders and, of course, the Muppets themselves.
293* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:After Silver gets away with part of the treasure, Mr. Arrow comes up behind Jim and Smollett and mentions that the boat he just took was unsafe. Sure enough, it and the treasure sink, forcing Silver to swim back to Treasure Island with no loot.]]
294* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Quite a bit as part of the Muppets-style goofy humour, when they're not pushing it all the way to NoFourthWall.
295--> "He died?! And this was supposed to be a kids' movie!" \
296"Safely now, Mr Silver. Let's not get sloppy, just because we're singing!" \
297"Upstage lads, this is my ''only'' number!"
298* LeaveNoWitnesses: The intro shows Captain Flint and a band of pirates lugging several treasure chests up on Treasure Island to bury them. When the chests are in the pit and the pirates start to cover them, Flint draws his guns on his crew and fires. The intro song ends simultaneously on the fitting line "Dead men tell no tales!"
299* LetsGetDangerous:
300** Kermit as Captain Smollett is a stern ReasonableAuthorityFigure, but even he has his limits. When he finds out Long John is planning mutiny and takes Jim hostage, he goes with Gonzo and Rizzo to rescue the cabin boy. Then when Long John threatens Benjamina with a gun, Kermit hops into action, tosses the gun away with several sword strokes, and fights impressively.
301** Mr. Arrow has spent most of the movie as a stick-in-the-mud first mate. Then in the climax, he helps Jim retake the ''Hispaniola'' with some clever trickery, and goes to rescue Smollett when Silver's pirates corner the latter and Benjamina. He swings to the beach with two swords, tosses one to the captain, and fights alongside him.
302** Jim gets to show off his fencing skills as well. He defeats one of the human pirates, gets Clueless Morgan to surrender, and leads the GoThroughMe charge against Silver.
303* LosingYourHead: Headless Bill's [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin current status]] does not get in the way of him faithfully saluting during the roll call, although it obviously prevents him from speaking (but not ''hearing'', oddly enough ...)
304* LovableCoward: Rizzo, even more than usual.
305-->'''Rizzo:''' I've gone ''waaay'' beyond afraid! Right now I'm somewhere between bed-wetting and a near-death-experience!
306* LyricalDissonance: Downplayed The tone of "Sailing for Adventure" ''does'' get a lot quieter and darker for the part where Clueless Morgan, Mad Monty and Polly Lobster are talking about killing people. It ''doesn't'' get quieter and darker for the bit where Rizzo talks about people dying by falling overboard.
307* ManipulativeBastard: Long John. He befriends Jim and gets him to fess up about the map's whereabouts, tricks Arrow into giving him the keys and removing himself from the ship, and then when the other pirates turn on him, he wins them back by literally putting the fear of God into them because they defaced a Bible.
308* MeaningfulName:
309** Not so much 'meaningful' as 'literal' amongst the crew. It includes such specimens as Wall-Eyed Pike, Black-Eyed Pea, Headless Bill, Old Tom, Really Old Tom, and, of course, Dead Tom. Subverted with "Big Fat Ugly Bug-Faced Baby-Eating O'Brien", who apparently switched names with Angel Marie.
310** There's also some Muppet-ified characters from the book. For one, the Muppet version of Black Dog is ... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well, a black dog]].
311* MindYourStep: Benjamina (Ms. Piggy) ruins her huge entrance by tumbling down the stairs. She blames her pet anteater.
312* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Sweetums is a better example of this. He joins the pirates in the mutiny but doesn't actually do anything evil. Heck, in the climax, he pulls a HeelFaceTurn to save Smollett and Mr. Arrow.
313* MookFaceTurn: Sweetums does this at the end, during the big fight, when it looks as though he is going to bash Smollet and Mr. Arrow on the head with a large log, but actually hits some of ''his fellow pirates'' on the head instead. This is immediately [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]]:
314--> '''Smollet:''' Well, thank you. But aren't you supposed to fighting ''against'' us?\
315'''Sweetums:''' Are you kidding?! I ''love'' you guys! ''[runs off laughing]''
316* MundaneMadeAwesome: "MARGARITAS AT THE MIDNIGHT BUFFET!"
317* MythologyGag: During the "Dead Tom's Dead" bit, the pirate mourning Dead Tom is played by Mudwell. In ''Series/FraggleRock'', Mudwell's episode "Gone But Not Forgotten", was centered around the FiveStagesOfGrief that comes with the passing of a loved one.
318* NamedAfterTheInjury: A couple of the cutthroats sailing on the ''Hispanola,'' including One-Eyed Jack (who wears an eyepatch), Black-Eyed Pea (who sports two shiners) and Headless Bill ([[OffWithHisHead take a guess]]). Exaggerated with [[PosthumousCharacter Dead Tom]].
319* NeverSayDie: Completely averted; the characters use the words "die" and "kill" several times, often in a comedic context.
320* NightmareFetishist: Gonzo, as per usual.
321* NoFourthWall:
322** Repeatedly and gleefully broken by Gonzo and Rizzo.
323--->Rizzo: ''[[NeverSayDie He died?!]] [[WrongGenreSavvy And this was supposed to be a kids' movie]]!''
324** And a line from the ''[[BigLippedAlligatorMoment Cabin]] [[DisneyAcidSequence Fever]]'' sequence:
325---> "I got cabin fever, I think I lost my grip!"\
326"I'd like to get my hands on [[WhoWritesThisCrap whoever wrote this script]]!"
327** Also from Long John, who gives stage directions during what he calls "[[VillainSong his only number]]".
328** Along with the Swedish Chef.
329--->Tomato: ''Well, how else d'you think we were gonna get him in this movie?''
330** The rat tourists appear in some scenes being told they're at the actual shooting location for the movie ''Muppet Treasure Island''.
331** And of course:
332--->'''Statler:''' "Take a cruise", you said.\
333'''Waldorf:''' Huh?\
334'''Statler:''' "See the world", you said.\
335'''Waldorf:''' Huh.\
336'''Statler:''' Now here we are, stuck on the front of this stupid ship!\
337'''Waldorf:''' Well it could be worse. We could be stuck in the audience!\
338'''Both:''' [[CatchPhrase DOH-hohohohoho!]]
339** As well as
340--->'''Statler:''' Waldorf you old fool! We're heroes! We saved the pig and the frog!\
341'''Waldorf:''' Well, it was too late to save the movie!\
342'''Both:''' ''DOH-hohohohoho!''
343* NoHonorAmongThieves:
344-->Every man on board would have killed his mate\
345For a bag of guineas or a piece of eight.
346* ObviouslyEvil:
347** Smollett and Mr. Arrow come to this conclusion as soon as the [[MeaningfulName roll call]] ends.
348** And even those audience members who've never read or heard about ''Treasure Island'' reach that conclusion upon seeing Tim Curry. Then there's Long John's one leg and Billy's previous warning about the one-legged man, not to mention the occasional ominous music ...
349* OceanMadness: Results in the showstopping "Cabin Fever" musical number.
350* OfCorsetsSexy: Big Fat Ugly Bug-Faced Baby-Eating O'Brien.
351* OffhandBackhand: Arrow (Sam the Eagle) does this to Polly Lobster. Twice. Once while in mid-FacePalm.
352* OhCrap:
353** Black Dog utters "Oh woof." in shock before the cask of gunpowder explodes and destroys the inn.
354** Rizzo when Polly, Mad Monty and Clueless Morgan are going to torture him. Then, Arrow has one when he walks in on them.
355** Jim, Gonzo and Rizzo when they overheard that Long John caused Arrow's assumed death.
356** Also when they saw the pirates captured Jim, just when they plan to leave Long John and his crew on the island. Though it wouldn't do much good, since other pirates are still on his ship and outnumber Smollett's loyal crew.
357** Silver's crew flees in panic when they realize that the ''Hispaniola'' is heading towards the island.
358** Gonzo and Rizzo when the ''Hispaniola'' is going to crash onto the island's shore.
359* OneHitPolykill: Assuming he doesn't reload offscreen (or finish off the survivors through some other means) Captain Flint manages to kill all his crew, which is something like a dozen guys at least, with two flintlock shots. Although he does seem to have gullied[[note]]stabbed[[/note]] at least two before the digging. It might also reflect Billy Bones being an UnreliableNarrator exaggerating details for dramatic effect.
360* OneWomanWail: Towards the end of "Shiver My Timbers".
361* OpeningNarration: Billy Bones gets one at the beginning, as he launches into his pirate story at the Admiral Benbow inn recounting how Captain Flint his his treasure on a faraway island:
362-->'''Billy Bones:''' I was Flint's [[NumberTwo first mate]] that voyage. Three days east of Tortola in [[UsefulNotes/TheCaribbean the Caribbees]], Flint knew an island. That's where we buried the treasure: gold and blood, they were Flinty's trademarks. He'd leave both behind him that day ...
363* ParentalBonus: It's a Muppet movie. Of course it's going to be packed with ParentalBonus. Among the many instances are at least two references to ''Franchise/StarTrek'', also counting as LateToThePunchline moments for viewers rewatching it.
364** There is also the moment where Kermit is talking about leaving Miss Piggy at the altar:
365--->'''Kermit:''' I got cold feet.\
366'''Miss Piggy:''' You're a frog; you're ''supposed to have'' cold feet!
367* PetTheDog:
368** When the rest of the pirates turn on Long John Silver, as opposed to running, Silver stays to buy time for Jim to escape.
369** When Silver attempts his escape with the treasure and Jim refuses to join him, Silver is tempted to shoot Jim to keep him from telling anyone about his escape. Ultimately, he cannot bring himself to do it.
370* PirateGirl:
371** Big Fat Ugly Bug-Faced Baby-Eating O'Brien. But we only see her once. She's beautiful, but [[VocalDissonance has one of the deepest, manliest voices in the cast]].
372** Benjamina Gunn qualifies. After all, the character in the original book was part of Flint's crew.
373** Subverted with Angel Marie, who has a name implying this, but is in fact [[{{Gonk}} an extremely ugly man]].
374* PirateParrot: Subverted and lampshaded. While Polly does screech for crackers and pieces of eight, he is a lobster. When Gonzo says that he thought sailors had talking parrots, he receives a blank look from Polly and Silver.
375* PirateSong:
376** The opening number, "[[https://youtu.be/8WWdOjxoQro Shiver My Timbers]]." Although the song accompanies a scene of pirates raiding an island, only the choruses are sung by the pirates themselves; the verses are sung by Muppet animals, statues, and skulls on the island. The song is all about the nature of pirates, and as such, it's surprisingly grim for a Muppet movie, ''not at all'' sugarcoating how pirates can be treacherous, ruthless, and even murderous when it comes to making a profit.
377** Long John Silver's VillainSong, "Professional Pirate", where he explains a pirate's life to Jim Hawkins.
378* PlayedForDrama: Though the entire movie is fairly dark, especially for a Muppet movie, the confrontation between Jim and Silver when Silver is leaving the ship for the last time and threatens to shoot Jim could very well come from a completely different movie, given the dead serious tone it has.
379* ProperlyParanoid:
380** Mr. Arrow calls Captain Smollett a "raging volcano". While Captain Smollett is more a ReasonableAuthorityFigure, he does get raging angry [[BerserkButton when provoked]], and is not someone to be underestimated.
381** Smollett is paranoid of the crew and trusts none of them, not even the cook offering complimentary sherry. It turns out his suspicions were completely correct.
382* PowderTrail: Gonzo and Rizzo meander all around the cellars with a leaking powder barrel when pirates attack the inn ... which, of course, gets ignited by a falling candle. Cue MassOhCrap from them and the pirates.
383* PragmaticAdaptation: The story is pretty much left untouched -- Billy Bones is still TheAlcoholic, but he only has the one drunken fit on-screen, and whilst he's not exactly shy about letting people know he was the first mate of one of the most bloodthirsty pirate crews who ever sailed the Seven Seas, [[IgnoredConfession everyone thinks he's making it up]] for a story. Meanwhile, Squire Trelawney is replaced by '''Young''' Squire Trelawney, and the pirates' camp from the original novel is left out entirely.
384* PublicServiceAnnouncement: From Billy Bones, of all people.
385-->'''Billy Bones:''' Beware lads! Beware!\
386'''Jim:''' What? The one-legged man?\
387'''Billy Bones:''' Aye! But also, beware running with scissors, or any other pointy objects! It's all good fun, until someone loses an EYYYYEEEEE...! ''([[KilledMidSentence dies]])''
388* PunchedAcrossTheRoom: When Benjamina and Kermit meet again after several years, she ends up punching him so hard that it sends him flying into the gong.
389* PutOnABus: Scooter does not appear in this movie following the passing of Richard Hunt. He also does not appear in ''Film/TheMuppetChristmasCarol'' either.
390* QuirkyMinibossSquad: Silver's lead henchmen Polly, Mad Monty and Clueless Morgan.
391* RefugeInAudacity: Mr. Arrow, while covered in seaweed and stage makeup, should not be convincing as a ghost. He's convinced to go along with it because Smollett's crew is outnumbered four to twenty, and a peaceful deception is more beneficial than a fight. Dr. Livesey reassures Jim that pirates are very superstitious and have guilty consciences. It actually works when Mr. Arrow rises and says in a deadpan voice, "Boogie. Boogie. I am the ghost of Samuel Arrow." Then he turns around to face them and lunges. It does have the benefit that they believe he's actually dead.
392* RRatedOpening: The opening song "Shiver My Timbers" explicitly makes clear what pirates do and ends with Flint murdering his own crew, showing that this may be a Muppets movie, but it ''will'' deal with themes [[DarkerAndEdgier not normally considered child-friendly]].
393* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: And how! So awesome it ''reverses a mutiny''. Tim Curry manages to give Willem Dafoe in ''Film/TheLighthouse'' a run for his money 23 years early:
394--> '''Silver:''' "The Black Spot? You ''dare'' to give ''me'' the Black Spot? And it's drawn on a page from the ''Bible''? You tore a page from the ''Holy Scriptures'' to make a pirate’s death sentence? Oooooh, the red hot gates of Hell are creeping open! ''Satan'' is a-''heatin''' his pokers for you, you blasphemous heathens! ''Fall down on your knees'' and ''beg'' for deliverance from ''damnation''!"
395* RuleOfCool: The elephant may not make a whole lot of sense, given the time period, but it does make for a cool entrance. Until Benjamina's [[HorseOfADifferentColor pet anteater]] [[FailedAttemptAtDrama wrecks it]].
396* RunawayBride: Or, in this case, groom. Before the movie, Smollett left Benjamina standing at the altar at what was supposed to be their wedding.
397* RunningGag:
398** Samuel Arrow (played by Sam the Eagle) is presented as an over-the-top disciplinarian who "paraphrases" all of Abraham Smollett's NiceGuy comments into DisproportionateRetribution for minor infractions, such as threatening to lash Sweetums and make him walk the plank for not dusting the railings properly and claiming that anyone that slacks will be shot on sight. Abraham will then point out that he said nothing of the sort, belaying the threats.
399** In the beginning, Mrs. Bluveridge can apparently hear anything said in or near the inn, regardless of what's going on, and will occasionally yell out so her own comments will be heard, leading the other characters to wonder "how does she do that?!"
400* SamusIsAGirl: Big-Fat-Ugly-Bug-Faced-Baby-Eating O'Brien.
401* TheScream: When Billy Bones receives the Black Spot, he screams in terror. The film cuts to a distant shot of the inn, with his scream still audible, making it an arguable case of a SkywardScream.
402* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
403** The pirates on the ''Hispaniola'' flee the ship and jump overboard upon seeing Mr. Arrow disguised as a ghost.
404** Benjamina's tribe flees upon realizing that Silver and his men are armed with "[[ThisIsMyBoomstick boom-boom sticks]]".
405** A thwarted example occurs when Silver's men try escaping after realizing the ''Hispaniola'' is coming towards them, but Silver berates them to stop.
406* SelectiveObliviousness: The rats purchased tickets to go along on the adventure with the understanding that they were going on a cruise ship, and behave accordingly. {{Lampshaded}} (isn't everything?) when several of them take a tour of the island and the tour guide points out that they are currently viewing "the actual jungle location for the movie ''Muppet Treasure Island''!" Yet later, during the climactic battle with the pirates, several of the female rats act as cheerleaders for Captain Smollett.
407* SettingOffSong: "Sailing For Adventure."
408* ShooOutTheClowns: Inverted with "Cabin Fever". Smollet, Long John, Jim, and Mr. Arrow are all absent from the lunacy. (In fact, it's almost all of the canonical ''Treasure Island'' characters, except that Fozzie-as-Trelawney and Honeydew's Livesey are there.)
409* ShoutOut:
410** In "Professional Pirate":
411-->I could have been in politics, cause I've always been a big spender./And me ... I coulda been ... [[Film/OnTheWaterfront a contender.]]
412** The "Dead Tom is dead!" scene is a ShoutOut to ''Series/FraggleRock'', in that the pirate who cries over Dead Tom's "death" is Mudwell the Mudbunny from episode ''Gone, But Not Forgotten''; a true TearJerker story that takes up the themes of death and rebirth.
413** Gonzo, early on:
414--> "We'd be out searching for that treasure! Sailing the seas on a [[Franchise/StarTrek five-year mission, boldly going where no man has gone before!]] [[LampshadeHanging Say, that's catchy.]]"
415** When Polly Lobster comments on how talking parrots are a preposterous idea, he also mentions [[WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse a singing, dancing mouse with his own amusement park]].
416** To ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'':
417--->'''Benjamina:''' Of all the backwater, no-class piles of sand in the ocean, you had to wash up on mine!
418** The part of the fight scene when Kermit cuts all the buttons off of Long John's coat may be a ShoutOut to a similar scene in ''Literature/TheScarletPimpernel''.
419** When Smollet says "Don't cry for me Benjamina", it's almost certainly a reference to the song "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" from ''Theatre/{{Evita}}''.
420* TheSongRemainsTheSame: The Japanese dub kept all of the songs in their original English-language versions.
421* SparedByTheAdaptation:
422** [[spoiler:Mr. Arrow]], which even becomes a plot point later on.
423** To a lesser extent, Long John's "best men" guarding the ''Hispaniola'' [[note]]in the original book, this would have been Israel Hands and one other pirate[[/note]]. The movie has the protagonists finding a comical non-lethal way to retake the ship by scaring the pirates into jumping overboard. The book's version of the scene had Israel Hands outright murdering the one other pirate aboard, before dying quite graphically at Jim's hands.
424* StealthPun: "I'm a pig! I need commitment!" Many viewers did not get [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chicken_and_the_Pig that joke]] the first time they saw it.
425* StrippedToTheBone: After slaughtering the men who buried the treasure years prior, Flint hanged a couple of their bodies from a tree to mark the way to the burial spot (according to [[UnreliableNarrator Long John]], at least). By the time Long John and his crew find the tree, there's nothing left of the bodies but bones and cartilage keeping them together.
426* SuperstitiousSailors: Dr. Livesey puts together a plan to scare the pirates on account of his scientific fact about pirates being superstitious.
427-->'''Sam:''' Boogie, boogie, boogie. I am the ghost of Samuel Arrow.\
428''[{{beat}}]''\
429'''Sam:''' BOOGIE!\
430''[[[AbandonShip cue all the pirates jumping off the ship]]]''
431* SurroundedByIdiots: Long John Silver planned to simply let the ship reach the island, dig up the treasure, start a mutiny and steal the treasure. To his annoyance, the crew he assembled tries to steal the map and start the mutiny early. He has to remind them that it is more sensible to wait for the treasure to be found first, and by that point, the cover for his plan is blown thanks to them.
432* TerribleTrio: Polly Lobster, Mad Monty and Clueless Morgan.
433* ThatPoorCat: In what was a ThrowItIn by the sound crew that they decided to go with. And then lampshaded in dialogue.
434--> "Watch where you're going, you stupid cat!"
435* ThatsAnOrder: After the incident with Polly, Clueless Morgan, and Mad Monty, Smollet asks Jim to give the map into Smollet's keeping. When Jim asks to keep it, Smollet makes it an order, after which Jim complies.
436* ThemeTuneExtended: "Cabin Fever" originally had six verses and three choruses, but the first chorus was left out of the film.
437* ThoseTwoGuys: Gonzo and Rizzo, of course.
438* TooCleverByHalf: Captain Smollett actually devises a good plan when Jim warns him that Long John is planning a mutiny and has the treasure map. He orders Silver to go ashore and get food and water, and to take as many men as he'd like. In his cabin, he says the plan is to maroon the pirates that Silver will obviously take with him and return in a year. Thing is, he doesn't realize that Silver is so suspicious that he would have contingencies: take Jim as a hostage, and leave some pirates hiding aboard to take over the Hispaniola.
439* TooGoodToBeTrue: Long John realizes to "never trust a silver platter" when Captain Smollett orders him to go ashore with as many men as he likes. He leaves behind a score of men to take over the ship in the evening, and grabs Jim as a hostage to ensure that Smollet won't sail away and leave them.
440* TooKinkyToTorture: Gonzo. As they say on the DVDCommentary, "They picked the wrong guy."
441-->'''Gonzo:''' <stretched on the rack> Oh! Oh... yes! Look at this! I'm taller! This is so cool! I may even have a future with the NBA!
442** And he likes being [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keelhauling keelhauled.]]
443-->"Angel Marie said that later on he'd throw a line out the back and let me drag along the bottom!"\
444(Probably how he got those [[BrickJoke pants full of starfish]].)
445* TourGuideGag: An EstablishingShot of an island location gets interrupted by a tour group walking into the shot:
446-->'''Rat Tour Guide:''' And here's a photo opportunity you will not want to miss: the actual jungle location for the movie ''[[BreakingTheFourthWall Muppet Treasure Island]]''.
447* TruckDriversGearChange: Quite a few songs change keys:
448** "Shiver My Timbers": F minor to Gb minor to G minor.
449** "Something Better": F major to Ab major.
450** "Sailing for Adventure": The verses and choruses are in C major to F major respectively, with the final chorus in Ab major.
451** "Cabin Fever": Gb major to Ab major.
452** "Love Led Us Here": G major to Ab major.
453* TrueCompanions: Jim, Gonzo and Rizzo.
454-->'''Rizzo:''' Okay, all right, so I'm a rat, and you're a human being, and Gonzo's a ... uh ...\
455'''Gonzo:''' Whatever.[[note]]Amusingly, this would be addressed in the next movie, ''Film/MuppetsFromSpace''.[[/note]]\
456'''Rizzo:''' Yeah! I mean, we're still -- we're still family!
457* UpperClassTwit: Squire Trelawney is the half-wit son of a ship-financier who doesn't know what the ocean is and thinks that he has a super-intelligent person living in his finger named "Mr. Bimbo". He is one of the more benevolent examples of the trope, as he is shown to be a NiceGuy and finances the search for the treasure himself.
458--> "What are rich half-wit sons ''for?''"
459* VagueAge: Gonzo and Rizzo have their usual adult voices and mannerisms, yet apart from Rizzo managing to start a cruise business on the Hispaniola, the plot treats them as if they were 12-year-olds like Jim: they do the same scullion work as Jim at the inn, and later serve as cabin boys alongside him, and both Mrs. Bluveridge and Captain Smollett address them as "boys."
460* VillainHasAPoint: Jim has no response when Long John asks him if he thinks Smollett and Trelawney will share the treasure with the crew. Long John recalls that they are Flint's former crew, who "shed our blood" for him getting it there, so they deserve the treasure. Yeah they're evil, but he's not wrong. And he's perfectly correct when he points out that to the Spanish, Sir Francis Drake is an evil villain, while to the British, he's a hero.
461* VillainousAdviceSong: "Professional Pirate" is Silver trying to convince Jim to help by explaining pirates are just misunderstood. Also doubles as a VillainRecruitmentSong. Lampshaded by Long John Silver as the second verse starts:
462-->"Upstage, lads! This is my ''only'' number ..."
463* TheVillainSucksSong: "Shiver My Timbers" pulls few if any punches in describing how harsh pirate life was.
464* VillainousValor: Long John tells Jim that if the latter gives his father's compass, he'll get a share of the treasure. It seems he isn't lying about that since later on when they find the treasure, all the pirates join in and split the money. When the pirates mutiny against Silver on finding empty treasure chests, he draws his guns and shouts at Jim to run for it. As Jim flees, Long John fires at his crew to make a distraction.
465* VisualPun: During the "Shiver My Timbers" intro, the upcoming betrayal and murder of Flint's crew are portended in song by local fauna ... including two snakes in the grass.
466* VocalDissonance: Big Fat Ugly Bug-Faced Baby-Eating O'Brien is actually a beautiful woman -- and she has a deep voice that's ''completely'' at odds with her appearance.
467* TheVoiceless: Janice and Dr. Teeth are the only members of the Electric Mayhem to not have any lines in the movie, though their lack of dialogue is understandable: Jim Henson and Richard Hunt, their puppeteers who played them before, died -- so to pay tribute to the two late puppeteers, the two were given background roles in ''Film/TheMuppetChristmasCarol'' and ''Muppet Treasure Island''.
468* WackyWaysideTribe: The island boars who worship Benjamina.
469* WhatTheHellHero: Benjamina lays into Smollett for leaving her at the altar. She tells him that "sorry" isn't enough for jilting her and "cold feet" isn't an excuse, because he's a frog, and frogs are ''supposed'' to have cold feet.
470* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Despite saying that he would let Gonzo stand by Jim's side when Jim seeks adventure, Rizzo shows he's brave even when scared to death. He goes with Gonzo and Smollett to save Jim from the pirates when Silver takes them hostage.
471* WhoWritesThisCrap: A line during the "Cabin Fever" number.
472-->''I'd like to get my hands on whoever wrote this script!''
473* WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises: When Kermit grabs Miss Piggy and struggles to hold on when she falls off a cliff.
474* WingdingEyes:
475--> '''Gonzo''' ''(dollar signs in eyes)'': We're gonna be ''rich!''
476--> '''Rizzo''' ''(skulls and crossbones in eyes)'': We're gonna be ''dead!''
477* WomanScorned: Benjamina is not too happy to reunite with her ex-boyfriend Captain Smollett, who left her at the altar years prior.
478* WorryingForTheWrongReason: When Captain Smollett vents his frustration on his officers for having hired "the seediest bunch of cutthroats, villains, and scoundrels I have ever seen," and he learns that Mr. Bimbo (who lives in Young Squire Trelawney's finger) had hired them with help from Long John Silver, Smollett's response is "A cook, and a guy who lives in a bear's finger? I'm starting to worry about this voyage."
479* WouldntHurtAChild: Take a child hostage? Yes. Tie him up and toss him around as part of a game with his crew? Yes. But Silver could never physically harm Jim. He genuinely offers him part of the treasure, and refuses to [[spoiler:shoot him when Jim catches him escaping with all the treasure]].
480* WrittenByTheWinners: Referenced by Long John Silver when he sings about Sir Francis Drake:
481--> "... The Spanish all despise him / But to the British, he's a hero, and they idolize him."
482* XanatosSpeedChess: Both Smollett and Long John engage in this. Smollett locks up the map? Silver gets Mr. Arrow stranded in the ocean and takes his keys to steal it during the "funeral". Smollett finds out about the mutiny and the map is stolen? He lets the pirates go ashore and plan to maroon them. Then a suspicious Silver takes Jim hostage since it was TooGoodToBeTrue that they'd be allowed on shore with the map, and Smollett goes ashore to rescue Jim. This ends up accidentally saving him from the mutiny onboard.
483* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness:
484** Done by Captain Flint at the end of the intro. '''SHIVER MY TIMBERS, SHIVER MY SAILS,''' '''''DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES!''''' ''[[[SoundOnlyDeath BANG]]]''
485** Long John is no different. He hangs Smollett off a cliff to make Benjamina confess where the treasure is. Smollett shouts at her not to, because once she does, she'll be killed. She does and begs Long John to free Smollett. He gives her a spiteful kiss and hangs her off the cliff as well.
486* YouAreWorthHell: "Love Led Us Here."

Top