| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Jim Henson | ... |
Kermit the Frog /
Rowlf /
Dr. Teeth /
Waldorf /
Swedish Chef /
Link Hogthrob /
Doc Hopper's Men
(voice)
|
|
| Frank Oz | ... |
Miss Piggy /
Fozzie Bear /
Animal /
Sam the Eagle /
Doc Hopper's Men /
Marvin Suggs /
Swedish Chef (assistant) /
Motorcycle Guy
(voice)
|
|
| Jerry Nelson | ... | ||
| Richard Hunt | ... | ||
| Dave Goelz | ... |
The Great Gonzo /
Zoot /
Dr. Bunsen Honeydew /
Doglion /
Iraqian in El Sleezo Cafe /
Nigel /
Pig
(voice)
|
|
| Charles Durning | ... | ||
| Austin Pendleton | ... | ||
| Edgar Bergen | ... |
Himself /
Charlie McCarthy - (voice)
|
|
| Milton Berle | ... | ||
| Mel Brooks | ... | ||
| James Coburn | ... | ||
| Dom DeLuise | ... | ||
| Elliott Gould | ... | ||
| Bob Hope | ... | ||
| Madeline Kahn | ... | ||
Kermit the Frog is persuaded by agent Dom DeLuise to pursue a career in Hollywood. Along the way, Kermit picks up Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, 'The Great Gonzo', and a motley crew of other Muppets with similar aspirations. Meanwhile, Kermit must elude the grasp of a frog-leg restaurant magnate. Written by Ray Hamel <hamel@primate.wisc.edu>
We all lost something important when Jim Henson died. But his magic alone wasn't sufficient to do more than clever skits, both before and after this gem. Some fated match of director, writers, songwriters and puppeteers came together to create an underappreciated masterpiece.
Forget the kids -- this is a great work, period. Among the best story-films ever. And nowhere is the enfolding of reality and fantasy more rich than here. Naturally, you have the mix of humans (accented by celebrity cameos) and puppets. And some puppets are of humans, some of human-like animals, and some of animal-like animals. But that's just the tokens.
The real novelty comes in the story. It is a film about the making of itself, with a wonderful sequence at the end where the film is represented in cartoonish props contrasted with a `real' rainbow. Throughout, one weaves between being in the story and observing the story. Kermit (Henson's alterego) says `I hope you appreciate I'm doing my own stunts.' Think about it.
The songs, themselves self-referential, are important frosting: `why are there so many songs about rainbows?'
`Life is a movie, write your own ending, keep believing, keep pretending...' You don't get that in common fare. If you have kids, this is the most educational exposure you can give them among the kiddie offerings. There's nothing more powerful than the ability to perform abstract reasoning and the foundation of that is the play between what things are and what things represent them. Thanks and God bless you, Jim.