I consider myself a lifelong Muppets fan because I grew up watching the original Muppet Babies animated series. In fact, my “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament was baby Kermit on a rocking horse. The series returned in 2018 with a CG revival on Disney Junior and now kids can bring the show home with Muppet Babies: Time to Play!, the first DVD compilation of the series.
This collection houses the first six episodes of the series, each of which are split into two 10-minute stories. Each episode finds Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Animal, and Summer using their imaginations to have a lot of fun.
“Sir Kermit the Brave/Animal Fly Airplane” – The Muppet Babies decide to play knights in the closet, but Kermit is afraid of the dark. When he meets a sweater dragon, he learns that the dark isn’t so scary. In the second part, the gang is flying to Paris and everyone takes turns flying, but they won’t let Animal fly out of fear that he will be too wild. Kermit and the gang will have to learn not to judge a book by its cover.
“Hatastrophe/Fly South” – Statler and Waldorf are introduced as Nanny’s next-door neighbors when Fozzie’s propeller hat accidentally goes over the fence. Next, Gonzo is worried he will have to say goodbye to Camilla when Nanny mentions that birds fly South for the winter.
“The Great Muppet Sport-A-Thon/You Say Potato, I Say Best Friend” – When the Muppets compete against each other in a sport-a-thon, Piggy becomes a poor sport when she’s not winning. While helping Nanny in the garden, Gonzo grows attached to a potato.
“Super Fabulous vs. Captain Icecube/Piggy’s Time Machine” – The Muppets imagine themselves in a super hero comic where Gonzo and Fozzie are villians while Piggy and Summer are heroes trying to save Kermit.
Each episode is full of fun adventures and upbeat music. Like the original series, the Muppet Babies imaginations know no limits, although they are no longer interacting with non-Disney IPs anymore. The characters are also true to their adult selves with Piggy being bossy, Gonzo weird, Animal Wild, Fozzie a jokester, and Kermit sensible. Summer, the newest addition, is charming and kids are guaranteed to love her.
If this collection sounds short so far, it’s because I’ve yet to cover the bonus features, which contain two additional episodes, ten shorts, and six music videos. When you add these features, this disc contains over two-hours of Muppet Babies content. More details about bonus features can be found below.
Bonus Features
- Bonus Episodes
- “How Kermit Got His Groove/One Small Problem” (23:34) – When Rizzo arrives in the playroom as an uninvited guest, he just wants to make a big mess. Kermit will have to learn to dance and beat him in a dance off to regain control of the playroom. Next, Summer is sad that she’s so small. But when Kermit looses his car and Bunsen Honeydew shrinks her, she’s the only Muppet Baby who can save the day.
- “Playground Pirates/The Blanket Fort” (23:34) – Kermit and the gang pretend to be pirates to find their treasure, Nanny’s lost earing. Next, Piggy and Summer build an elaborate fort, but Piggy gets too bossy with her fort rules and throws all her friends in the blanket dungeon.
- Show and Tell Shorts – A series of shorts where each baby has something to show their friends.
- Kermit (2:02)
- Piggy (2:02)
- Fozzie (2:02)
- Gonzo (2:02)
- Summer (2:02)
- Animal (2:02)
- Kermit and Piggy (2:02)
- Kermit and Fozzie (2:02)
- Piggy and Gonzo (2:02)
- The Great Muppet (Short) Musical (2:02)
- Music Videos
- “What’s So Scary About the Dark?” (1:02)
- “Never Have To Say Goodbye (To the Summer)” (1:02)
- “Get Back in the Game” (0:47)
- “Good Things Come to Those Who Wait” (0:47)
- “You Can Be a Dancer” (0:47)
- “Muppet Pirate Shanty” (0:47)
Packaging & Design
Muppet Babies: Time to Play! Comes in a standard black DVD case. Fliers include a code for 100 Disney Movie Rewards points and a flier for Disney Movie Club.
This DVD uses Disney’s Fast Play service so parents don’t have to wait for a menu to load for the content to start. If you let it run its course, the disc opens with an ad for Mary Poppins Returns before the episodes and bonus features play. When the content is done, it plays additional ads for Disney Movie Rewards and Disney Now.
The main menu features a static image of the Muppet Babies running towards the screen while score from the series plays.
Final Thoughts
Disney Junior’s revival of Muppet Babies recreates the spirit of the original series for a new generation to grow up loving the Muppets. Muppet Babies: Time to Play! gives kids the chance to own the first six episodes plus bonus shorts for hours of fun anytime they want to visit Nanny’s playroom.