Jim Hawkins is the main protagonist of Muppet Treasure Island. He is a human boy, who lives with his friends/sidekicks Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat in the Benbow Inn with its owner Mrs. Bluveridge. His goal is to have an adventure instead of spending every afternoon working at the inn. He was played by Kevin Bishop in his debut role.
Plot[]
Jim is first seen at the Benbow Inn, serving rum to Billy Bones. He, Gonzo, and Rizzo are then told by their mistress, Mrs. Bluveridge, to clean up the inn... and she reminds them not to forget to put out the lantern like the night before or there will be no table scraps for a week. Jim, Gonzo, and Rizzo put it out, only for them to fall. Mrs. Bluveridge then reminds the boys to wash the dishes. Jim expresses his ambition as they do until Billy Bones demands more rum. Jim begins to do so until Mrs. Bluveridge tells him not to do that.
One of Billy's mates, Blind Pew, arrives to give him the black spot. When Jim tells him the bar's closed, he gets caught by the hair by Pew himself, who mistakes him for a pretty little girl and tells him to "take [Pew] to Billy Bones, my pet". Jim denies there being any Billy Bones in there and tells him he (Jim) is not a girl. Jim later learns about the black spot from a horrified Billy Bones. Before Bones dies, he gives Jim his map and tells him to watch out for the "one-legged man" and running with scissors. After Bones dies, Jim enters Mrs. Bluveridge's room and she allows him, Gonzo, and Rizzo to escape while she fights with the pirates who had broken in, looking for Billy and the map. The boys then escape and run off (as Mrs. Bluveridge tells them to "run for it").
Heading into town, they locate the residence of Squire Trelawney (Fozzie Bear), and joined by Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker, Trelawney acquires the Hispanola as their transport to where Flint buried his treasure, captained by Abraham Smollett (Kermit the Frog), and his first mate Mr. Arrow (Sam the Eagle). Jim is placed to work as a galley boy with the ship's cook, Long John Silver, where a father-son relationship begins to develop between them.
Later, after Mr. Arrow discovers Gonzo and Rizzo being tortured by Polly Lobster, Clueless Morgan, and Mad Monty, Smollett has them confined to the brig while having the map locked in his safe in his quarters. To avoid raising Jim's suspicions, Long John appears to scold and reprimand the trio for their actions to maintain his own cover. However, when he later dupes Mr. Arrow into rowing away from the Hispanola overnight in a longboat and gives him his keys for protection, Jim joins the crew in mourning when Smollett holds a memorial service the next day for Mr. Arrow while Long John busts Polly, Morgan, and Monty out of the brig and grabs the map while Smollett is presiding over the funeral. When the ship reaches Treasure Island, Long John is able to grab Jim and take him hostage as leverage against Smollett trying to abandon Long John and his pirates that were among the crew on Treasure Island while Smollett, Trelawney, Bunsen, Beaker, Gonzo, and Rizzo return to Britain without them. Despite singing "A Professional Pirate" to convince Jim to join them, a cannon blast from the Hispanola causes Jim to think that Smollett and the others are coming to save him, but his faith and confidence are shattered when Long John reveals he left some of his pirates on the ship, and when a second blast is heard to indicate the Hispanola is under Long John's control, Jim is crushed. Long John then asks for his compass to help guide them to the treasure, but Jim refuses. Nevertheless, Long John makes it clear he'll get it one way or another, so Jim surrenders his compass, and goes with the pirates to locate Flint's treasure. However, when they find it, the chests are empty. Long John's crew mutiny at thinking they were sent on a wild goose chase, and Long John chooses to hold them off to buy time for Jim to escape, much to Jim's surprise.
Jim later finds Gonzo and Rizzo being held prisoner by the tribal boars who live on Treasure Island under the guidance of their queen, Benjamina Gunn (Miss Piggy), and frees them. Reaching shore, as they try to figure out how to get the Hispanola back from Long John's pirates still aboard and rescue Trelawney, Bunsen, and Beaker, Mr. Arrow arrives, still very much alive, and have him spook the pirates into jumping overboard by pretending to be his ghost. With the ship back in their control, and Jim placed in command with Mr. Arrow serving as his second-in-command, they have the Hispanola move to rescue Captain Smollett and Benjamina, who Long John left to fall to their deaths by hanging them over a cliff with a fire to burn through the ropes holding them aloft. After Statler and Waldorf, serving as the figureheads of the Hispanola, save Smollett and Benjamina, the ship runs aground on shore, and Jim swings off to fight Long John's pirates with the others. When Captain Smollett ends up losing his sword during a flurry of swordplay in front of Long John, Jim is the first to come to Smollett's defense, telling Long John that if he kills Smollet, he'll have to kill him as well. When the other crewmates join him, and Long John's escape is cut off by Benjamina and her boars, Long John surrenders honorably to Jim.
That night, as the Hispanola prepares to depart to return to Britain in the morning, Jim awakens to find Long John trying to escape on a longboat with the treasure. Jim initially prepares to sound the alarm and alert the rest of the crew to Long John's actions, even as Long John threatens to shoot him if he does, but neither can bring themselves to carry out their intent. Jim allows Long John to escape because of their friendship, but after he disappears into the mist, Jim is congratulated by Smollett for his decision, only for Mr. Arrow to arrive to warn them that the longboat Long John escaped in was unseaworthy, resulting in Long John having to swim to Treasure Island for safety as the boat sinks with the treasure aboard.
The next day, Smollett hands command of the ship to Jim, asking him for their next port of call, before the ship departs to return to Britain, while the tourist rats who were on the ship recover the treasure to return to Britain with the crew.
Trivia[]
- Kevin Bishop's treble singing voice was recorded prior to shooting, but his singing voice had changed during shooting, so during the parts of songs where he sings, his prerecorded vocals were added and, on the set, he lip-synched to his share of the lyrics.
Gallery[]
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