The Muppet CD-ROM: Muppets Inside is a 1996 video game based on The Muppets franchise produced by Starwave for Windows. The title is a play on Intel's advertising slogan, "Intel Inside". The game's plot consists of several Muppets characters getting trapped inside a computer, and Bunsen Honeydew sending Kermit and Fozzie Bear into the computer to rescue them.
Muppets Inside's gameplay contains over an hour of new audio and video footage, as well as five new songs and classics from The Muppet Show. The game also contains a bonus "Muppetizer'" feature that provides custom cursors, sounds and wallpapers. The game's CD-ROM also came packaged with a 6x6 inch, 30-page booklet with Henson history, character profiles, game instructions, and credits.
Gameplay
As players rescue the Muppets, they encounter seven "Muppetized"
minigames:
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Kitchens of Doom: A parody of Doom, with the Swedish Chef fighting giant vegetables in a crypt-like kitchen.
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Beaker's Brain: The player helps Bunsen unscramble Beaker's memories of Muppet Show clips.
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Two Thumbs Down: The player rotates boxes to unscramble Statler and Waldorf's video clip.
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A Wocka on the Wild Side: In a parody of Missile Command, the player shoots down flying tomatoes that the audience throws at Fozzie Bear as he crosses the Muppet Theater stage.
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Death Defying Acts of Culture: The player positions Gonzo's cannon so he flies through a target.
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Scope That Song: Clifford hosts a version of Name That Tune, with the songs played by Lew Zealand's fish or Marvin Suggs and the Muppaphone.
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Trivial but True: A Hollywood Squares game hosted by Kermit, with Fozzie Bear as the center square.
Development and release
Starwave was the lead developer of
Muppets Inside, while other developers produced most of its minigames:
Trivial but True and
Death Defying Acts of Culture by
Socha Computing;
Kitchens of Doom by Gravity;
and
Two Thumbs Down by Randy Pratt; and
Beaker's Brain and
Scope That Song by Riedel Software Productions.
The game was developed in a year, with a headcount of over 150 people between all involved studios.
The full-motion video sequences for the game were shot in London, concurrently with the Muppet Treasure Island film and its video game adaptation.
Muppets Inside was initially slated for release in January 1996.
Cast
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Steve Whitmire as Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat, Beaker
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Dave Goelz as Gonzo the Great, Waldorf, Bunsen Honeydew
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Jerry Nelson as Statler, Lew Zealand, Floyd Pepper, The Muppet Newsman, Announcer, Crazy Harry
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Frank Oz as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Sam Eagle, Animal, Marvin Suggs
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Kevin Clash as Clifford
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Bill Barretta as Swedish Chef
Reception
Muppets Inside was received positively by critics upon release.
CNET praised the game's graphics and design, describing it as a "day-brightener".
In a retrospective review, PC Gamer praised the humor of the videos and game concepts, while criticizing the tedium of the small number of games.
Awards
Muppets Inside received a
CODiE award in 1997 for Best Overall Multimedia Production.
The editors of
Computer Games Strategy Plus nominated the game as their pick for 1996's best "traditional" game, but the award ultimately went to
Power Chess.
External links
