The Muppet Movie

1979
G
1h 35m

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

40K

YOUR RATING

Orson Welles, Steve Martin, Mel Brooks, James Coburn, Frank Oz, Milton Berle, Dom DeLuise, Elliott Gould, Jim Henson, Bob Hope, Madeline Kahn, Carol Kane, Cloris Leachman, Richard Pryor, Telly Savalas, Edgar Bergen, and Paul Williams in The Muppet Movie (1979)

Fathom Events Trailer - 45th Anniversary

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Animal Adventure Quest Quirky Comedy Road Trip Adventure Comedy Family Musical

Kermit and his newfound friends trek across America to find success in Hollywood, but a frog legs merchant is after Kermit.Kermit and his newfound friends trek across America to find success in Hollywood, but a frog legs merchant is after Kermit.Kermit and his newfound friends trek across America to find success in Hollywood, but a frog legs merchant is after Kermit.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

40K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 4 wins & 11 nominations total

Trivia
Jim Henson was determined to use the larger budget of a feature film to push the technological limits and capabilities of puppetry. One of the most difficult feats (and one that appears deceptively easy on-screen) was making Kermit ride a bicycle.

Goofs
When Fozzie gets Kermit's "Dragonfly Ripple" cone from the ice cream man, it's a shade of bright lime green. When he gives it to Kermit, it's gray. After the group spots Gonzo floating with the balloons the cone is green again, but a different shade.

Quotes
Fozzie: Ahh, a bear in his natural habitat - a Studebaker.

Crazy credits
After the last credit, Animal is shouting,"GO HOME! GO HOME!", then he gets sleepy, "Bye-bye..." then falls asleep.

Alternate versions
The longer 97 minute version, as originally released in theaters (in the UK at least) and released on video in the UK in the 80s, contains the following extended scenes:
More of Fozzie being heckled in the bar. He honks a horn which falls apart, then says, "This is not my night."
Extra shots as Doc Hopper and Max watch Fozzie and Kermit dance at the El Sleezo. A little bit more dancing and more of the crowd manhandling Kermit and Fozzie.
An extended commercial for Doc Hopper's Frog Legs. More of Doc Hopper asking Kermit to be his spokesman.
Even more Doc Hopper trying to convince Kermit.
In the church, an extended recap of the entire movie by Dr. Teeth - we see shots from previous scenes. It's not clear if this was actually in the version which screened in theaters, or if it was added for the video version, as the laserdisc version seems to have been edited on video.
Doc Hopper and Max chase Kermit and Fozzie. Max asks what his cut of a million is. A whole extra car chase scene of Max trying to catch up to Fozzie and Kermit, and failing.
An alternate musical arrangement of "Never Before, Never Again".
Greatly extended version of Rowlf and Kermit singing in a duet on "I Hope That Something Better Comes Along," with a bridge and a third verse.
Extra shot of Giant Animal laughing at the bad guys with his arms and hand sticking out of the roof
A lot more explosion and set destruction footage when Crazy Harry blows up the set at the end, before "Life's Like a Movie."
Alternate ending in the movie theater - Sweetums says "I just knew I'd catch up with you guys." All Muppets talk and say funny things over ending credits. Robin says Kermit is a great actor. Fozzie repeatedly asks if he was funny in the movie, but no one will tell him that except Kermit. Muppets are in character for the entire credits. An instrumental version of "The Magic Store" plays after the instrumental versions of "Can You Picture That?" and "Movin' Right Along".

Connections
Edited into The Muppets Go to the Movies (1981)

Soundtracks
Rainbow Connection
Music and Lyrics by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher
Performed by Jim Henson

User reviews145

Review

Featured review

8/10

"Why are there so many songs about rainbows?"

Y'know, it's very interesting watching this... half the people involved with it are now dead...

Anyways, it's been a long time since I've watched anything Muppet related, but this stuff is pure gold. I'm a great fan of puns, and this movie has them quite well placed, but one of the amazing aspects of it is its pacing: it's not really high-speed children's pacing where the filmmakers just randomly decide to move the story along without giving the character's depth, it's just kind of moves along with the characters wherever they want to go.

Kermit the Frog is just an awesome character. His voice and the expressions on his puppet-face are fantastic. But above all, he points out why he's popular--"he can sing and make jokes too!"--but more appropriately why he's so endearing--he, without any effort, inspires everyone to search for their dreams. In the meantime, he also has to deal with himself, which is an uncommon theme in family movies.

It also contains quite an ensemble of comedians making appearances here and there, some to great effect, others to a little less (I think Mel Brook's part was just a bit overplayed, do you?). Some parts of the film are just kind of odd. But it's highly imaginative and takes itself to the same destination from a very different direction.

Moving right along...

--PolarisDiB