YMMV / Muppets from Space

• Alternative Joke Interpretation: When Gonzo says that his alphabet cereal is "sending [him] a message", Rizzo responds, "I know how you feel — I had some guacamole last night and it's still speaking to me!". Is this an And I'm the Queen of Sheba type quip, or did the guacamole give him gas or food poisoning?
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
  • The "Celebration" song sung by the aliens when they finally show up. Of course, given that they are just as bizarre as Gonzo himself, it is perfectly in character. But the entire plot comes to a halt for the duration of the song.
  • The fact that the Muppets apparently start their day with a somewhat choreographed dance routine featuring the song "Brick House" may also qualify. In the commentary, Gonzo mentions that starting the day with a choreographed musical number is an apparent tradition for the Muppets. He also says the type of music varies every so often, some days being show-tunes, other times being heavy metal, and on one occasion, a bizarre dance known as "the Who's Wearing My Pants? Polka".
  • Pepe in a tutu.
  • Hulk Hogan's cameo. It just comes out of nowhere and nothing comes out of it. For bonus points, even Ed is looking around in confusion as Hogan delivers a speech like he's shooting a wrestling promo.
• Character Rerailment: After receiving flack from being the host of Muppets Tonight, Clifford returns to his cool, laid-back sunglasses-wearing self.
• Fanon Discontinuity: A minor example, but given this movie's mixed reaction among fans, this trope might come into play for quite a few people. Again, one of the three movies that Disney doesn't own.
  • One major issue is that, whether intended or not, Gonzo had become a major inspiration for various outcast kids due to his being perfectly fine as his own weird self even if there was no one else like him, so the sudden reveal that he actually was deeply insecure over it felt like a betrayal of that.
• Fridge Brilliance: Two for Gonzo's character.
  • One, for the movie's entire premise. Gonzo's alien heritage was hinted at as far back as the first Muppet film, when he sang "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday."
    • As a child Gonzo did have vague memories of life on an alien planet, and being sent to Earth, if he did embellish a bit with his four-year-old imagination.
    • Gonzo's entry on the Muppet Wiki lists several other instances throughout the run of the Muppet Show and the rest of the franchise where he was involved in skits and songs relating to aliens.
  • ...And some more Fridge Brilliance for Gonzo in general, during the lobotomy scene. Why is Gonzo so afraid of having his brain sucked out? The Gonzo we know performs death-defying stunts for a living and a hobby, views near-death experiences as adventures, and enjoys pain. Two possibilities:
    • He fears dying in a hospital (or a lab), in a bed, instead of going out with a bang during some exciting stunt.
    • He wasn't afraid of dying at all: he was afraid of losing his brain. Note that when Ed tells Gonzo his fate, Gonzo protests "but I need my brain!" He doesn't beg for his life, just his brain. Gonzo values his ability to think. Though weird, he's a very educated Whatever (most clearly seen in The Muppet Christmas Carol). And besides, without his brain, he won't be able to concoct his unique stunts anymore.
  • Even more Fridge Brilliance for the movie, and one that's already been mentioned on the Heartwarming Moments page for this film. In a rare act of heroism, Rizzo climbs down a rope to save Gonzo's life... the last time he hung from a rope having been during the movie where they first became friends.
  • Gonzo's people make noises that sound a bit like a chicken's clucking during the "Celebration" number. Might explain his fascination with them.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: One popular sign among those coming to see the aliens is, "I'm now ready for abduction."
• Padding: Miss Piggy's many efforts to usurp Shelley Snipes' job as a popular TV reporter while she's away on business really doesn't add much to the main plot, and ultimately choosing to have her memory erased so she could take over can come off making her looking unusually antagonistic.
• Retroactive Recognition: It's a baby Katie Holmes! As part of a Dawson's Creek Shout-Out.
• Tear Jerker: The end where Gonzo almost leaves with the aliens.
  Kermit: But... we love you, Gonzo.
  • There's a moment early on where Gonzo looks at pictures of housemates with their family members (Kermit with Robin, Miss Piggy with her nephews, Fozzie with his mother, and Rizzo with at least 8 other rats) and then at a picture of himself on the beach, which shows him to be completely alone.
  Gonzo: "Distinct", huh? More like extinct.
  • Gonzo's dream in the opening.
  Gonzo: I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Or two, exactly. Dr. Tucker and Dr. Phil van Neuter are two different characters, but could have been the same (or the two could have worked together in running the rat labs). Dr. Tucker ends up being a Karma Houdini and stops appearing after the rats escape, while Dr. van Neuter expresses his hatred of rats when he sees Rizzo saving Gonzo, only to be confronted by the other rats who give him a dose of what could have been Laser-Guided Karma.
• Unintentional Period Piece:
  • Hulk Hogan (in full nWo garb, no less) name drops Monday Nitro during his cameo appearance. This became extremely dated less than two years later when WCW folded like soggy cardboard. (To add insult to injury, Hulk reverted to his classic yellow-and-red as a face within a month of the film's release.)
  • Then there's the Dawson's Creek characters showing up, and the "Mice Girls" poster Rizzo has hanging in his room.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: Even if Shelley Snipes was wrong for trying to take back what was originally her news story from Miss Piggy, having her mind wiped before being demoted from top anchor to coffee girl was really harsh.
• The Woobie: Gonzo, between his longing to have a family and his determination in the face of skeptics that he's an alien.

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