The Muppet Movie (1979)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

James Frawley

Writers:

Jack Burns (written by) &
Jerry Juhl (written by)

Release Date:

22 June 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Musical

Tagline:

More entertaining than humanly possible

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Hollywood | Restaurant | Road | The Muppets | Friend

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Jim Henson	...	Kermit the Frog / Rowlf / Dr. Teeth / Waldorf / Doc Hopper's Men / Link Hogthrob / Swedish Chef (voice)
Frank Oz	...	Miss Piggy / Fozzie Bear / Animal / Sam the Eagle / Doc Hopper's Men / Marvin Suggs / Swedish Chef / Motorcycle Guy (voice)
Jerry Nelson	...	Floyd Pepper / Robin the Frog / Crazy Harry / Lew Zealand / Camilla / Dr. Bunsen Honeydew (assistant) (uncredited) (voice)
Richard Hunt	...	Scooter / Statler / Janice / Sweetums / Beaker / Fozzie Bear (assistant) (voice)
Dave Goelz	...	The Great Gonzo / Dr. Bunsen Honeydew / Zoot / Doglion / Iraqian in El Sleezo Cafe / Pig (voice)
Charles Durning	...	Doc Hopper
Austin Pendleton	...	Max
Edgar Bergen	...	Himself / Charlie McCarthy (voice)
Milton Berle	...	Mad Man Mooney
Mel Brooks	...	Professor Max Krassman
James Coburn	...	El Sleezo Cafe Owner
Dom DeLuise	...	Bernie the Agent
Elliott Gould	...	Beauty Contest Compere
Bob Hope	...	Ice Cream Vendor
Madeline Kahn	...	El Sleezo Patron

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Canada:G | Portugal:M/6 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | UK:U | USA:G | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Henson Associates (HA)

Trivia:

The character of Doc Hopper is a parody of Harland Sanders, the founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken (now "KFC") restaurant chain who was known for his attire of a white suit and black western string tie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Fozzie and Kermit first stop in front of the church they are facing one way, after they fall asleep they are facing another.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Statler: I'm Statler.
Waldorf: I'm Waldorf. We're here to heckle "The Muppet Movie".
Gate Guard: Gentlemen, that's straight ahead. Private screening room D.
Statler: Private screening?
Waldorf: Yeah, they're afraid to show it in public.
[they laugh as their car proceeds forward]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Close Harmony (1981)

Soundtrack:

I hope that somethin' better comes along

"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