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`MUPPETS FROM SPACE’ COULD USE A HAND

The Muppets — those appealingly fuzzy and whimsical puppets that sprung from the imagination of the late Jim Henson — have had their ups and downs over the years. “The Muppet Movie” was an up. “Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird” was a down.

Unfortunately they don’t soar high enough in their newest romp, “Muppets from Space.”

The big-eyed gang’s latest feature outing is a Henson Pictures attempt to make a Muppet version of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” with super-eccentric beaky-freaky Gonzo as a kind of “E.T.” in spite of himself. And the movie does have its moments, as almost anything with a Muppet or two usually does.

But as magic Muppet moments go, the ones here are not especially plentiful or zingy. “Muppets from Space” is built around the idea that Gonzo is really an extraterrestrial castaway and that his fellow wacko-beings are coming to get him in a kind of Wurlitzer flying saucer (creating all kinds of havoc on Earth). And it doesn’t really hit the right balance. The movie wants to whirl us between burlesqued Spielberg-Lucas spacey wonder and down-homey Muppet charm. Yet more cynical adults and non-Muppet fans are more likely to feel they’ve been stranded on a slow day somewhere between Nickelodeon and the Sci-Fi Channel.

The movie starts well, with a dream sequence in which lonely, alienated Gonzo imagines himself trying to board Noah’s Ark before the rain and being rejected by Noah (F. Murray Abraham), a hard rebuff to take, even if the old biblical patriarch does hand him an umbrella before he slams the door. Then, after Gonzo awakes, there’s a pleasant ensemble rise-and-shine comedy bit, with most of the gang frolicking in what appears to be the official Muppet boarding house, located in a suburb of Wilmington, N.C.

But then the Empire of Coyness begins to strike back. We meet Jeffrey Tambor as K. Edgar Singer, obsessed government snoop and sky-watcher, who goes bonkers when he learns that Gonzo believes he’s from outer space. We also meet, among a bevy of other cameo guests, Andie MacDowell as Shelley Snipes, a local glamorpuss news anchor whom Miss Piggy wants to replace. Of these two, Tambor looks (and acts) much more like a Muppet than MacDowell, though she proves a game foil for the porcine subterfuge and onslaughts of Miss Piggy. Still, acting like a Muppet isn’t necessarily the best way to play against Muppets, and the movie quickly gets a bad case of the screaming cutes.

What’s good about “Muppets from Space” is not the script, but the puppeteering. Muppet-movers Dave Goelz (Gonzo and others), Steve Whitmire (Kermit and others) and Frank Oz (Miss Piggy and others) are such past masters at their craft that, as usual, we react to the Muppets as if they were real-life actors or beloved eccentrics.

But the puppeteers are not enough. “Muppets from Space” is not the most glorious hour or two for this crew, whose appeal usually lies in their indomitable goofiness and wide-eyed dreaminess. This picture isn’t goofy or dreamy enough, however engaging it may be to re-encounter the intrigues of Miss Piggy, the wistfulness of Kermit or the weirdness of Gonzo. Or relax into the period funk soundtrack (including the O’Jays’ “Survival,” Earth, Wind and Fire’s “Shining Star” and many others).

“Muppets from Space” has silly gags and cute cosmic fish swimming around in its space. It just doesn’t have the right awe and wonder — except, perhaps, for the children who should be its prime audience. Adults, beware — at least this time.

”MUPPETS FROM SPACE”

(star) (star) 1/2

Directed by Tim Hill; written by Jerry Juhl, Joseph Mazzarino, Ken Kaufman; photographed by Alan Caso; edited by Michael A. Stevenson, Richard Pearson; production designed by Stephen Marsh; music by Jamshied Sharifi; produced by Brian Henson, Martin G. Baker. A Columbia Pictures, Jim Henson Pictures release; opens Wednesday. Running time: 1:22. MPAA rating: G.

THE CAST

Gonzo, Bunsen Honeydew, Waldorf, The Birdman …………. Dave Goelz

Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam Eagle …………… Frank Oz

Kermit The Frog, Rizzo The Rat, Beaker, Cosmic Fish 1 … Steve Whitmire

K. Edgar Singer …………………………………… Jeffrey Tambor

Shelley Snipes ……………………………………. Andie MacDowell

Gen. Luft ………………………………………… Pat Hingle

Noah (dream sequence) ……………………………… F. Murray

Abraham

Gate Guard ……………………………………….. Ray Liotta