Trivia / Muppet Treasure Island

• Acting for Two:
  • Dave Goelz portrays the Great Gonzo, Dr. David Livesey (Bunsen Honeydew), Waldorf, Zoot and Mudwell the Mudbunny. He was only credited for Gonzo, Honeydew and Waldorf.
  • Steve Whitmire plays Captain Abraham Smollett (Kermit the Frog), Rizzo the Rat, Beaker and Walleye Pike. He was only credited for performing Kermit, Rizzo and Beaker.
  • Jerry Nelson performs Statler, Lew Zealand, Floyd Pepper, Mad Monty, Blind Pew, Old Joe, Calico, Old Tom and Spotted Dick. He was only credited for Statler, Pew and Monty.
  • Frank Oz voices Benjamina Gunn (Miss Piggy), Squire Trelawney (Fozzie Bear), Mr. Samuel Arrow (Sam Eagle) and Animal, though he was only credited for Miss Piggy, Fozzie and Sam.
  • Kevin Clash, in addition to performing Frank Oz's characters on-set and serving as the film's puppeteer coordinator, also plays Polly Lobster, Spa'am, Real Old Tom and Black Dog. He was only credited for Polly, Black Dog and Spa'am.
  • Bill Barretta plays Clueless Morgan, Angel Marie, Mr. Bitte, Jacques Roach (taking over from Steve Whitmire), and the Swedish Chef. He was only credited for Morgan.
  • Though credited as an additional muppet performer, Louise Gold portrays Brool the Minstrel and a tourist rat.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: Billy Connolly is quite proud of the fact that he died in a Muppet movie!
• Creator Couple: The husband-and-wife songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil provided the film's songs.
• Creator's Favorite: Tim Curry has stated in many interviews he regards this role as one of his favorite roles.
• The Danza:
  • In an interesting variation, the pre-existing character Billy Bones is played by Billy Connolly.
  • Similarly, the role of Samuel Arrow is filled by Sam the Eagle.
• Directed by Cast Member: In the Latin American Spanish dub, Francisco Colmenero was the ADR Director as well as the voice of Statler, Sweetums and Spa'am.
• He Also Did: One of the extra Muppet Performers for this movie was Steven Kynman, a UK-based actor who nowadays is more well known for voicing Fireman Sam.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Billy Connolly was sober for a decade when he played the permanently drunk Billy Bones.
• Kids' Meal Toy:
  • McDonald's released a set of four bath toys in their Happy Meals in the US. These consisted of Kermit in a pirate ship that could squirt water, Miss Piggy on a raft with a color-changing skirt, Gonzo in a rowboat with a paddle wheel that spun when the treasure was pressed, and Fozzie, who pokes his head out of a barrel when floating in water.
  • Burger King sold a set of four figures in Europe; there was a figure of Kermit with a pirate ship he could stand on, a figure of Miss Piggy with a treasure chest she could hide in, a pull-back figure of Gonzo and Rizzo in a cannon, and a wind-up walking figure of Long John Silver.
• Looping Lines:
  • Kevin Bishop went through puberty during the filming, so they had to over-dub his singing performances with older recordings of the songs.
  • Frank Oz was absent for a majority of the film's shooting. As a result, Kevin Clash performed his characters on-set with Oz looping his lines in later.
• Non-Singing Voice: In the Latin American Spanish dub, Francisco López provides the singing voice for both Miss Piggy and Gonzo.
• The Other Darrin:
  • John Henson and Dave Goelz replaced the late Richard Hunt as Sweetums and Mudwell the Mudbunny, respectively.
  • Bill Barretta performs Jacques Roach and the Swedish Chef instead of Steve Whitmire and Jim Henson; Barretta has, in fact, continued to perform the Chef to this day.
• Posthumous Credit: Additional Muppet puppeteer John Thirtle (known for his work on The Spooks of Bottle Bay) passed away in June 1995, eight months before Muppet Treasure Island's release.
• Produced by Cast Member: As with The Muppet Christmas Carol, Frank Oz is the film's executive producer.
• Promoted Fanboy: Tim Curry had been a huge fan of The Muppets for years before doing this movie.
• Real-Life Relative: The late John Henson, who took over for Richard Hunt as Sweetums starting with this film, was the younger brother of director Brian Henson (and by extension, the son of Jim Henson).
• Referenced by...: In Infinite Craft, it is possible to craft the name "Muppet Treasure Island".
• Spoiled by the Cast List: The opening credits already inform the audience of which role each major Muppet will be playing, which kind of ruins the joke of Mr. Arrow painting Captain Smollett as a fearsome and terrible individual before his arrival. Thanks to the opening credits we already know it's Kermit, and thus neither fearsome nor the human character that steps out of the carriage first.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Originally they were going to split Jim Hawkins into two characters named Jim and Hawkins and have them portrayed by Gonzo and Rizzo. But since this would make the integral relationship with Long John Silver difficult, they decided upon a human Jim Hakwins whom Gonzo and Rizzo are longtime friends with.
  • Mick Jagger and David Bowie were seriously considered for the role of Long John Silver.
  • Silver was going to have a parrot named Amazonia, who would flirt with him. She was eventually replaced with another parrot named Stevenson who would point out the artistic choices made by the film. Even though he was replaced by Bad Polly, Stevenson did appear in the video game as "your Adventure Parrot".
  • Silver's design originally included a Sea Dog Peg Leg but Tim Curry found the false leg too uncomfortable so it was replaced with a crutch, which is actually more accurate to the original novel.

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