The Muppets Go to the Movies (1981) (TV)

Director:

Peter Harris

Writers:

Jim Henson (writer)
Jerry Juhl (writer)

Release Date:

20 May 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Comedy

Plot Keywords:

The Muppets | Spoof

Cast

Jim Henson	...	Kermit the Frog / Rowlf / The Swedish Chef / Waldorf / Link Hogthrob (voice)
Frank Oz	...	Fozzie Bear / Miss Piggy / Sam the Eagle (voice)
Dave Goelz	...	The Great Gonzo / Joe / Beauregarde / Fireman (voice)
Jerry Nelson	...	Lew Zealand / Pops / Dr. Julius Strangepork / Sgt. Floyd Pepper (voice)
Richard Hunt	...	Beaker / Janice / Scooter / Sheriff / Statler (voice)
Steve Whitmire	...	Rizzo the Rat / The Scarlet Pimpernel / Jed (voice)
Louise Gold	...	Popcorn Girl (voice)
Rollin Krewson	...	(voice)
Brian Muehl	...	(voice)
Kathryn Mullen	...	(voice)
Bob Payne	...	(voice)
Dudley Moore	...	Himself
Lily Tomlin	...	Herself

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Quotes:

[Backstage; Link comes hurtling through the air and lands on top of Miss Piggy. She untangles herself and stands up, furious]
Miss Piggy: Do you know what you just did?
Link Hogthrob: Yes, I flew through the air with the greatest of ease. The audience loved it. They wanted an encore.
Miss Piggy: Well, let us not disappoint them.
[karate chopping him]
Miss Piggy: HIYA!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1986) (TV)

great movie parodies

This was a great special. It is similar to The Muppet Show, since it took place at the same theater, but all of the segments had to do with movies, there were two guest stars instead of one (only a small number of Muppet Show episodes had multiple guests, and those were either married celebrity couples or special groups of entertainers), and there didn't seem to be any backstage plot.

This was made in 1981, around the time that The Muppet Show was ending, and it seems to be a promotion for The great Muppet Caper disguised as a regular special, as it features three clips from The Great Muppet Caper as well as a new version of the song Hey, a Movie! However, it is really good.

Dudley Moore and Lily Tomlin are the guest stars, and some of the segments include a medley of Wizard of Oz songs (Long before The Muppets Wizard of Oz) with Miss Piggy as Dorthy, Scooter as the Scarecrow, Gonzo as The Tin Man, Fozzie as The Cowardly Lion, and Foo Foo as Toto. There is also a Casablanca parody with Kermit and Miss Piggy, a Tarzan parody with Gonzo and Lily Tomplin, a Muppet version of The Three Muskateers (with Gonzo, Scooter, and Link Hogthrob), and a foreign film translated by Sam The Eagle and starring The Swedish Chef and Beaker.

All in all, a great special, and I sure hope that it becomes available on DVD some day.