Muppets Meet the Classics: The Phantom of the Opera

by Erik Forrest Jackson

What do you get when you cross the Muppets and the classics? A monster hit! Join Kermit, Miss Piggy, Uncle Deadly, and the other Muppets as they bring this gripping tale of mystery and suspense to life in their own hilarious way.This classic tale of love, intrigue, and jealousy at the Paris Opera House, which has thrilled readers, musical lovers, and movie goers for more than a century, has now been reimagined with the cast of the Muppets. Readers will gasp, cry, laugh, and laugh again as Kermit (as Raoul), Miss Piggy (as Christine), Uncle Deadly (as the phantom), and the chickens (as the ballet corps) give a whole new meaning to the word "classic." This imaginative tale is sure to win the hearts of all Muppets fans, as well as fans of literary classics.

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Retellings, Comedy, Book Club, Middle Grade, Childrens

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 17, 2017

Reviews

[Andi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh.

It was good but it could have been better. This was clearly written by a fan of the Muppets and you can tell from the dialogue. More on point than the shitty Disney films. Gonzo actually acted like Gonzo. Piggy acted like Piggy. Fozzie acted like Fozzie... you get the idea. Though, Kermit's dialogue was fucking atrocious. He was saying stuff that was not a good blend of Raoul/Kermit and came off cringey and cheesy.

That's the strongest praise it gets from me... That's where the two stars come from.

The biggest problem with this book is if someone took the Leroux novel, copied it to Microsoft Word, rewrote the story with Muppet characters. By the paragraph, down to the damn scene with the envelope and the franc swapping. Listen, Muppet Christmas Carol is damn faithful... even if it doesn't adapt the subplot with Scrooge's sister... but really, even Brian Henson/Jerry Juhl knew that ALL the scenes did not need to be adapted.

I give credit to Erik Forrest Jackson, he tried something that hasn't been done in a while since the early 90's... but I feel he really missed the mark on what makes an adaptation shine. Not being 100% faithful but allowing the Muppets to be the Muppets.

If you're a Phantom fan, buy it. If you're looking for a good Muppet retelling, watch Muppets Go to the Movies or one of the two 90's adaptaions (Carol or Treasure Island).

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a hoot!
Though I am puzzled what/who it's intended audience was for?
Phantom Fans? Muppet Fans?
Kids? (maybe).
I think it was pretty spot on the characterization of the Muppets. It is also incredibly faithful to the original novel. It includes almost all of the weird and eccentric details from Leroux's story (the head of fire, the safety pin etc.) I loved Gonzo as the Persian.

People who have read the original Phantom novel will have a more insider perspective and appreciation for this little book. It might be one of the most faithful adaptations for children out there (putting aside the typical Muppet lunacy)

Yeah Disney if you want to make this the next Muppet movie? Shut up and take my money.

[H.D.]

A classic love triangle with everyone being obsessed with the greatest singer/actress/star of its time? Obviously only one person could do this story justice.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's like this was made for me. Phantom of the Opera, the Muppets, snarky humor...this was pretty much perfect.

[Jean-Pierre Vidrine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is anachronistic, chaotic, and riddled with groan-worthy puns. In short, it's just about everything one expects with any project featuring the Muppets. With me being a lifelong fan of the Muppets in different media, and with The Phantom of the Opera being one of my favorite novels, Jackson had high hopes to live up to. And he didn't disappoint.
Leroux's work is delightfully reinterpreted and cleverly skewered here with the random humor of the Muppets. Though a fan, I still made use of Google a few times to reacquaint myself with some of the Muppets cast in new roles here. Sometimes the casting was spot on. Sometimes it was just weird. But it was always fun.

[Minnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun!

•The timeframe of the original Phantom of the Opera is left vague, Muppets Meet the Classics decides to take that to the extreme. Victorian dress and modern technology are common place in this book and I love it.

•Musical/theatre references are plenty here
(Miss Piggy's debut song made me scream🤣 )

•The character's are nicely done, a good blend on both the muppet's personality and the Poto character's personality.

•My feelings towards the last few chapters are a bit iffy, but it's been a wild ride overall!

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

The concept here was a lot of fun, and I'd definitely watch the muppet movie version of Phantom of the Opera if there was one, but something about writing quality or style here just wasn't holding my interest.

[Danise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a silly blend of the Muppets and the Phantom. As long as you go into it knowing it will have Muppet humor and enjoy that, you'll be good. Definitely not great literature, but fun.

[char · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely perfect and exactly what I needed in every way. I especially appreciated its commitment to the original book rather than the ALW musical and the deepest-cut Muppets references. Brilliant!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you - or your child - is a lover of all things Muppet, this book is a riot to read. While I haven't read the original Phantom myself, I certainly knew the general gist. The imaginative ways the author threw almost the entire Muppet cast into the story was wonderful. I read this with my 9 year old, and he laughed regularly while we were reading. To be honest, I laughed even more frequently than him!

One issue I have with the book, is *who* it is actually targeted for. It came from the library as a juvenile book, but so much of the humor is adult, much of it went over my guy's head. Frequent references to The Eagles 'Hotel California' absolutely made me smile, but he just didn't catch it - after all, Piggy Daae can't leave the Phantom (aka Uncle Deadly) because 'you can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave!'

All in all, the two of us loved it. It was so much fun to read...he is hoping that they do more of these kinds of books in the future!

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely hilarious!

[Sonia Critchlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was brilliant. It has all the muppets and all the muppet humour. Kermit is a hero, Miss Piggy is the heroin, Uncle Deadly the Villian and Fozzie the bumbling copper.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If not a movie
at least a Muppet special
Come on Disney
Ive never known you to kick
money out of bed.
The mouse needs a new pair of yellow shoes

[Kimb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but I couldn't get used to the role reversal of Kermit & Miss Piggy. Also, more Sam the American Eagle please!

[Alyssa-Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute. Lots of nice references to musicals and theater trivia and nonsense in general. Great read for fans of phantom or Broadway.

[Shane Perry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was severely disappointed in this. I’m not sure if it’s that the antics of the Muppets just don’t translate well to prose or if the author just isn’t very good...either way this book falls flat. I like some of the ideas and the way Gaston Leroux’s characters are cast, but this book just tries too hard to be funny. At first, the humor seemed very in line with the Muppets. As the book goes on, the references (from Snapchat to Brexit) just become too modern. The Muppets have always had a bit of meta humor, but never to the extent of making such blatant anachronisms. If this series continues, I hope a different author is chosen. I will say that the artwork for each chapter was gorgeous.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't hate this book, I don't regret reading it, but man, it could've been so much better. It's not the anachronistic humor; A Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island had plenty of that, and both films are great. It's the book seems to overcompensate for the lack of visuals by overloading the anachronisms, to the point where some pages have two or three on them, and the print is not small.

That said, I do appreciate that the writer stuck closer to the source material than to the more widely known Andrew Lloyd Webber musical (though the musical does get referenced once or twice).

All in all, this book was fine. But that's all; fine. And it could've been so much more.

[David Solove · Rating 4 out of 5]

What fun! Full of genuine Muppet humor and a delightful cast of favorite Muppets as well as plenty of more obscure Muppets for the die-hard fan, this retelling of the Phantom of the Opera was a delightful read.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great interpretation, true to both of its original sources!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so funny, I loved all the references and jokes. It was a fun version of The Phantom of the Opera.

[Sarah Lancaster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny twist on the classic tale!

[Delanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately this book just wasn't muppet-y enough for me. The first chapter thrilled me and left me excited for the rest of the book but I didn't get that feeling again until chapter 21 out of 27.

This book is set sometime in the early 1900's but after 1977 but before 1981 but after Ariana Grande gets her ponytail. Yes, I know it's confusing. The author put the book in the same time frame as the original book but also added in a lot of modern references that apparently haven't happened yet. Gonzo says that space shuttles WILL BE invented in 1981 (so its before then) yet U.D. sings "Hotel California" to Piggy Daae. U.D. also knows of fictional events that took place in 1977 and cellphones exist BUT everyone is still using carriages and horses. I'm not asking for much, just a consistent time frame.

The ending was quite good, with lots of fun quotes. I think the swan peddle boat sections have to be my favourite. I also appreciated that the characters were thoughtfully assigned to their POTO counterparts. I had no idea why EFJ had picked Uncle Deadly for the role of the Phantom until I learned U.D. had been killed in the Muppet's theatre and now haunted it.

Just fixing the timeliness and adding in a few more jokes or Muppets gags between chapters 1 and 21 would have boosted this to a 5 star book.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this was a delight!
A retelling of the novel The Phantom of the Opera with all the most popular Muppets as the famous characters. While Piggy and Kermit were of course Christine and Raoul, it was a nice touch with Uncle Deadly as the Phantom, Mama Fiama as Madame Giry, Janice as Sorelli, and Gonzo as the Daroga to round out our cast.
Erik Forrest Jackson found a perfect balance of Muppet humor while still maintaining true to the spirit and plot of the original Leroux novel. An odd mixture for sure, but it just works so well. I still felt for Uncle Deadly's pining for love and to not be feared for his monstrous appearance. There were some more modern references peppered in, including an Ariana Grande and Elvis Presley statue on the rooftop, they still built an authentic Opera House to play in. I especially enjoyed the "Carnival Under the Opera House" which served as the Phantom's lair.

I think both fans of the Phantom or fans of the Muppets will enjoy this quirky mashup. Heart and humor are the driving force in this narrative. For younger or older readers to fall in love with the story of a creature just wanted to find acceptance.

[Briar Graovac · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very silly.

If you're really good at picturing the Muppets and feel like expending the additional concentration to do it--I did a few times--then I will credit the writer that it is possible to visualize a charming little movie here. But. I'd rather just have a charming little movie on a streaming platform or available to rent. I like the idea in theory as both a great lover of the Phantom and a decent lover of the Muppets, and there were a few decent jokes here, but nothing that particularly added to my enjoyment of either property.

Still, it's a quirky little addition to my Phantom collection and I don't regret having it or reading it.

[Jifu · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a shame this is only one of two books in the short-lived "Muppets Meet the Classics" series. Now, this wasn't without its own flaws. Some of the characters here were a bit like one-note stereotypes of themselves more than anything. However, others felt dead-on accurate to the point that I could immediatley hear their voices in my head as I read their lines. Between this and the very silly, Muppet-y humor, this was a very fun read (and admittedly an interesting first introduction to The Phantom of the Opera, speaking as someone who never read the original novel or even saw the musical).

[Nuffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book with some uneven execution. It took me a while to get into it, because the prose reads mostly like classic literature, and then the dialogue is very muppets. The classic literature to Muppet ratio varies throughout the book as well. But I think this would have been really fun as a movie.

Casting I really liked:
Statler and Waldorf as the managers
Fozzie as the police investigator (even if he was a bit much sometimes)
Gonzo as the Persian

Casting I struggled with:
Miss Piggy as Christine
Kermit as Raoul (they kind of had to be the leads, but they’re such weird choices for these parts. Kermit’s dialogue as Raoul is so cringe, and Miss Piggy is Carlotta if she’s anyone…)

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book so much. I even went back and read the original Phantom of the Opera in order to understand the references.
I think this would have been delightful as a movie but on paper this just doesn't work.
Even with being well versed to even recognize obscure rarely used Muppets by description and picking up their mannerisms and tone of voice and knowing the story of Phantom of the Opera and rereading it... this still was tough to enjoy.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I begin this review, be warned - I am a huge Muppets fan. Which means this review is completely biased :)

This book was everything I hoped a Muppet book would be - witty, clever, and laugh out loud comedy! The puns were hilarious, the dialogue for the characters on point, and the modern references and footnotes a riot. I would highly recommend for any Muppet fan! (If you don't know the Muppets well, it probably won't be as funny. The dialogue and characters won't make as much sense.)

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Muppets, so I was just hoping for this to be decent, which it was. Wasn't the greatest book of all time, and not having read the original Phantom of the Opera, I can't compare the adaptation, but it was definitely filled with some good ol Muppet shenanigans. The Fozzie Bear parts were particularly good IMO. Some of the characters weren't super recognizable, especially for young readers, since they only were in older Muppet shows, but overall a solid attempt at parody adaptation.

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously not in my age range, but still decided to give it a shot. Some things in the book have already aged very poorly and I feel as though you very much can tell that the writer is a man (more so because he doesn't really know how to write more dynamic female characters, not at all due to sexualization). However the humor in the book is very in tune with the muppets for the most part, but it occasionally tried far too hard.