The Muppet Movie (1979)

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

Director:

James Frawley

Writers:

Jerry Juhl, Jack Burns

Stars:

Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

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	...	Floyd Pepper / Crazy Harry / Robin the Frog / Lew Zealand / Camilla / Blue Frackle (voice)
Richard Hunt	...	Scooter / Statler / Janice / Sweetums / Beaker / Fozzie Bear (assistant) (voice)
Dave Goelz	...	The Great Gonzo / Zoot / Dr. Bunsen Honeydew / Doglion / Iraqian in El Sleezo Cafe / Nigel / Pig (voice)
Charles Durning	...	Doc Hopper
Austin Pendleton	...	Max
Edgar Bergen	...	Himself / Charlie McCarthy
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

Storyline

While living the quiet life in a swamp, Kermit the Frog is approached by a Hollywood agent to audition for the chance of a lifetime. So Kermit takes this chance for his big break as he makes the journey to Hollywood. Along the way, Kermit comes across several quirky new friends including comedic Fozzie Bear, beautiful but feisty Miss Piggy and the Great Gonzo. But Kermit must also watch out for ruthless Doc Hopper, who plans to use him as his spokesman for his Frog Legs food chain.

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Plot Keywords:

the muppets | hare krishna | national film registry | troubled production | 1970s | 

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Taglines:

More entertaining than humanly possible!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

As Aventuras dos Marretas

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$76,657,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Henson Associates (HA), ITC Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was the tenth highest grossing film of 1979.

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Goofs

At the end of "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday", when Kermit the Frog leaves the group momentarily, Rowlf stops playing the harmonica for a few seconds, but we continue to hear the solo harmonica line.

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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]

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Crazy Credits

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

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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:

• Extended shots of Kermit entering the El Sleezo Cafe where Fozzie is performing, after the James Coburn cameo.
• 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.
• Extra Fozzie in "Moving Right Along." "A bear in his natural habitat - a Studebaker."
• Even more Doc Hopper trying to convince Kermit. "Shut up, Max!"
• 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 dueting on "I Hope That Something Better Comes Along," with about two or three more verses. "A laddie needs a lassie." "Come Father's Day, the litterbug's gonna get ya."
• Extra shot of Giant Animal laughing at the bad guys (possibly deleted because Animal's fingers were thought to look unconvincing - just a guess from me).
• Extra reaction shots in Orson Welles scene.
• A lot more explosion and set destruction footage when Crazy Harry blows up the set at the end, before "Life's Like a Movie." Seems like padding really. It's set to circus-y music.
• Extended and 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. Music is also different in this section.

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Connections

Featured in The 82nd Annual Academy Awards (2010)

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Soundtracks

Finale: The Magic Store
Music and Lyrics by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher
Performed by Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, and Kathryn Mullen

User Reviews

Absolutely timeless

21 years, 5 more muppet movies, and several Presidents later, this movie remains a classic and, in my opinion, the best of all Muppet Movies.

The entire family can enjoy this movie, and that's lost in current movies. Something that you would take your 6 year old to wouldn't really hold your interest, and vice-versa. The characters are in danger, but no real harm can be done. The characters are in stressful situations, but they don't shout profanities. What less would you expect from the beloved Muppets?

I find myself cracking up at the running gags and little implied jokes in this movie. The funniest are heard under a character's breath. Not only that, but it has an absolutely inspired musical score. Never since this movie have the Muppets shown such a broad range of emotions through their music.

All the Muppet movies are good. Even Muppets from Space, the least entertaining of the lot is fun. But if you want a really good time, get the original. You can watch it over and over...