The Muppet MovieIt's the fantastic dreams we dare to dream that give us life. The Muppet Movie is a musical comedy that tells the origins of "The Muppet Show", and about how its misfit cast of anthropomorphic puppets got their break in Hollywood. When the wistful Kermit the Frog (performed by the visionary creator of The Muppets, Jim Henson) encounters a Hollywood agent named Bernie (Dom DeLuise), who suggests that he visit the proverbial dream factory to become "rich and famous", Kermit takes the invitation to heart and sets out on the open road to realize his dreams of making "millions of people happy".
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The Muppets have become so firmly entrenched in the cultural zeitgeist as wholesome and beloved icons of family entertainment that it's easy to take them for granted. Jim Henson's creations became popular for their part in the lauded educational program, "Sesame Street", and later in their own self-aware variety show, namely "The Muppet Show". The Muppet Movie expands on this and adds a cinematic element that adds backstory for these characters, while telling a charming story about pursuing one's dreams. Humor is ever-present in The Muppet Movie, including copious sight gags--like a literal fork in the road. There are constant running gags, like when Kermit repeats that popular perceptions of frogs are a "myth, myth!", conjuring a cameo by a lisping Carol Kane, or a bit where people who say that they're "lost" are asked if they've tried Hare Krishna. (This gets taken even further after Kermit and Fozzie Bear meet Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem at a repurposed church where a sign out front reads "Rev. Harry Krishna".) The Muppet Movie frequently breaks the proverbial "fourth wall", even from the start as The Muppets convene in a movie studio to watch--you guessed it--The Muppet Movie. When Kermit and Fozzie encounter Dr. Teeth et al, they share the screenplay for The Muppet Movie with the gold-toothed pianist to avoid redundant exposition. The vaudevillian humor from "The Muppet Show" is carried into the film, leading to plenty of banter, puns, and one-liners. Something that helped make "The Muppet Show" so popular was its predominance of popular actors and comedians as guest stars, which is also in The Muppet Movie. This includes Madeline Khan and Teddy Savalas as barflies at the rough-n-tumble El Sleezo bar, Richard Pryor as a balloon salesman, and Steve Martin as a sarcastic waiter. Other filmmakers and actors have walk-on parts, including Mel Brooks as a mad scientist and none other than Orson Welles himself as the head of the studio destined to make Kermit the Frog a household name. (Even Big Bird of "Sesame Street" gets a cameo as a starry-eyed hopeful.)
The Muppet Movie is a "prequel" to the Muppet mythos, but it is also a charming road movie. The legend of Kermit begins with the humble frog perched on a log, strumming his banjo while singing the celebrated "The Rainbow Connection", written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher. (Paul Williams also has a cameo as the piano player at the El Sleezo bar.) Played in its entirety, the song acknowledges a universal truth about humanity--despite being performed by a frog--that people need to chase the dreams they dare to dream in their hearts. The song has unmistakable similarities to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", made famous by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz, and even includes a verse that talks about how many songs there are about rainbows. The Muppet Movie uses the song to explore Kermit's heretofore undisclosed aspirations, rather than merely padding the soundtrack. He is a mild-mannered but good-natured fellow, with unrealized dreams that are bigger than he cares to admit. His passion for bringing entertainment to the masses--fame and fortune are incidental--is a dream that attracts like-minded Muppets, including the erstwhile "artistic plumber", Gonzo, and conceited Miss Piggy, who falls in love with Kermit at first sight. What begins as the story about a simple frog bicycling his way out of the bayou becomes a tag team odyssey when he saves Fozzie from a crowd of rowdy hecklers. Kermit is emphatically pursued by a Colonel Sanders wannabe and purveyor of fried frogs legs named Doc Hopper (Charles Durning), and his sniveling accomplice, Max (Austin Pendleton), hoping to get him to promote his chain of restaurants, which offends Kermit to no end. The gang grows by leaps and bounds as they move further West toward their dreams. Nearly all of the beloved key players of "The Muppet Show" are people who Kermit picks up on his trek across the United States--from Bunsen Honeydew and Beeker, who have been performing experiments in an abandoned Wild West town, to the ogre-like "Sweetums", who is inspired to abandon his job as a used car lot and follow Kermit to Hollywood. The complicated relationship between Kermit and Miss Piggy is defined early in The Muppet Movie. She swoons when she first espies Kermit in the crowd as she is being crowned the winner of a beauty pageant, and envisions her love affair with the amphibian as being like a slow-motion, soft-edged dream...running through the fields and floating along on a riverboat, while singing the sentimental "Never Before, Never Again". But Miss Piggy's vanity always creeps through, compelling to her abandon Kermit at one point with the flimsy excuse that she has to do a TV commercial, only to hitch a ride with him after it clearly fell through. For all of the backstory that adds depth and complexity to these heroes and heroines of puppetry, the music gives it its richness. As with "The Rainbow Connection", songs like "Movin' Right Along" and "I Hope That Somethin' Better Comes Along" reinforce why Fozzie and Rowlf the Dog are such important friends of Kermit, essential in helping him to realize his dreams. This camaraderie is one of the defining elements of The Muppet Movie, emphasized by the blossoming clan of dreamseekers who join Kermit as he reaches the end of the rainbow.
Recommended for: Fans of a heartwarming story about pursuing your dreams despite the adversity, and discovering that the greatest treasure are the dear friends you make along the way. The Muppet Movie is suitable for all ages--it engages children with colorful characters, and adults will appreciate that it completely avoids condescending or puerile humor and combines heartfelt music with a rich cast of comedy actors and self-aware humor.
The Muppet Movie is a "prequel" to the Muppet mythos, but it is also a charming road movie. The legend of Kermit begins with the humble frog perched on a log, strumming his banjo while singing the celebrated "The Rainbow Connection", written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher. (Paul Williams also has a cameo as the piano player at the El Sleezo bar.) Played in its entirety, the song acknowledges a universal truth about humanity--despite being performed by a frog--that people need to chase the dreams they dare to dream in their hearts. The song has unmistakable similarities to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", made famous by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz, and even includes a verse that talks about how many songs there are about rainbows. The Muppet Movie uses the song to explore Kermit's heretofore undisclosed aspirations, rather than merely padding the soundtrack. He is a mild-mannered but good-natured fellow, with unrealized dreams that are bigger than he cares to admit. His passion for bringing entertainment to the masses--fame and fortune are incidental--is a dream that attracts like-minded Muppets, including the erstwhile "artistic plumber", Gonzo, and conceited Miss Piggy, who falls in love with Kermit at first sight. What begins as the story about a simple frog bicycling his way out of the bayou becomes a tag team odyssey when he saves Fozzie from a crowd of rowdy hecklers. Kermit is emphatically pursued by a Colonel Sanders wannabe and purveyor of fried frogs legs named Doc Hopper (Charles Durning), and his sniveling accomplice, Max (Austin Pendleton), hoping to get him to promote his chain of restaurants, which offends Kermit to no end. The gang grows by leaps and bounds as they move further West toward their dreams. Nearly all of the beloved key players of "The Muppet Show" are people who Kermit picks up on his trek across the United States--from Bunsen Honeydew and Beeker, who have been performing experiments in an abandoned Wild West town, to the ogre-like "Sweetums", who is inspired to abandon his job as a used car lot and follow Kermit to Hollywood. The complicated relationship between Kermit and Miss Piggy is defined early in The Muppet Movie. She swoons when she first espies Kermit in the crowd as she is being crowned the winner of a beauty pageant, and envisions her love affair with the amphibian as being like a slow-motion, soft-edged dream...running through the fields and floating along on a riverboat, while singing the sentimental "Never Before, Never Again". But Miss Piggy's vanity always creeps through, compelling to her abandon Kermit at one point with the flimsy excuse that she has to do a TV commercial, only to hitch a ride with him after it clearly fell through. For all of the backstory that adds depth and complexity to these heroes and heroines of puppetry, the music gives it its richness. As with "The Rainbow Connection", songs like "Movin' Right Along" and "I Hope That Somethin' Better Comes Along" reinforce why Fozzie and Rowlf the Dog are such important friends of Kermit, essential in helping him to realize his dreams. This camaraderie is one of the defining elements of The Muppet Movie, emphasized by the blossoming clan of dreamseekers who join Kermit as he reaches the end of the rainbow.
Recommended for: Fans of a heartwarming story about pursuing your dreams despite the adversity, and discovering that the greatest treasure are the dear friends you make along the way. The Muppet Movie is suitable for all ages--it engages children with colorful characters, and adults will appreciate that it completely avoids condescending or puerile humor and combines heartfelt music with a rich cast of comedy actors and self-aware humor.