When I was a child, I grew to love The Muppet Show and looked forward to watching it and Sesame Street. I barely remember the first time I saw The Muppet Movie, the first major movie featuring the Muppets. Since then I have seen the movie many times and still enjoy it.

Kermit the frog was playing his banjo and singing in his swamp home when Bernie, an agent, showed up in a rowboat needing directions. Bernie thought that Kermit had talent and showed him an ad for a movie studio that was holding auditions for frogs. Kermit decided to go to Hollywood for the audition. He met Fozzy Bear at the El Sleazo Cafe where Fozzy was doing his comedy act. Fozzy decided to join Kermit on his trip. They had an encounter with Doc Hopper, the owner of a chain of restaurants that sold frog legs. Doc Hopper had seen Kermit dancing and thought he would be a wonderful spokes frog for the restaurants. Doc Hopper wouldn’t take no for an answer and chased Kermit and his new friends across the country. Along the way, Kermit and Fozzy met other Muppets including The Electric Mayhem band, Gonzo and Camilla, Miss Piggy, and Rowlf the dog who decided to join Kermit and Fozzy for the tirp.

The Muppet Movie told the story of how the different Muppet characters first met and then attempted to get into show business. The Muppet characters all played themselves throughout the movie. The movie was bookended by scenes showing the characters in a movie theater for a screening of the movie. During the movie, a few characters referred to the screenplay at different times. That could seem a bit jarring for some viewers but it didn’t bother me. I think it worked for the movie. I have seen a few other movies that have done something similar.

I absolutely love The Muppet Movie and think it is a very entertaining movie for families. It was rated G so parents don’t have to worry about it being full of things they don’t want their children exposed to. I thought the movie was very funny. Some of what continues to make me laugh every time I watch the movie, like when Kermit and Fozzy drove past an actual large fork sticking out of the road, area bit silly and some people may not appreciate that type of humor. The things worked in the movie since silly things had happened on The Muppet Show. Children probably won’t understand some of the jokes, like when Fozzy said he learned to drive through a correspondence course. There were a few running jokes that kept popping up that will probably go over the heads of children. There were several cameos throughout the movie and some of them did add more laughs to the movie. Just seeing Steve Martin in the ridiculous looking waiter’s uniform still cracks me up. Mel Brooks as Professor Max Krassman was also very funny. Miss Piggy had the chance to flip out and beat up people, which always makes me laugh. Something was done to make her eyes look wild in that scene.

There was a lot going on in The Muppet Movie. It was somewhat complex for a movie aimed at children, but not so complex that they should have trouble following what was going on. In addition to showing how the different Muppet characters met, a lot of it dealt with Doc Hopper and his plans to get Kermit to be a mascot for his restaurant. As far as I could tell from what was shown in the movie, the restaurant only served frog legs in many varieties. The idea of that did seem gross to me as a child. I still don’t think I’d care to try frog legs. Doc Hopper wanting Kermit to be a spokes frog for the restaurant did bother me as a child. I was very scared that he would hurt Kermit, especially later in the movie when Doc Hopper got more desperate with his plans. There were a few scenes that could be upsetting or slightly scary to younger children.

Throughout The Muppet Movie, the Muppet characters interacted with human characters much like they did on The Muppet Show. The humans acted like it was perfectly normal to be dealing with talking animals and never let on that they were actually puppets. Doc Hopper and his flunky Max were the only human characters that were in a majority of the movie. The other humans all had very small parts, usually just cameos. For most of the scenes that the Muppets were in, only the upper bodies of the puppets were shown. That was how it was mostly done during The Muppet Show as well. The legs of some of the puppets were shown in a few scenes. Kermit was actually shown riding a bicycle and in another scene he and Fozzy were dancing on stage. I thought it looked really cute when Kermit was shown wearing cowboy boots later in the movie.

Since the movie showed how the Muppet characters were supposed to have met for the first time, the first meeting between Kermit and Miss Piggy was shown. The Muppet Show had already established that Miss Piggy had a huge crush on Kermit and was always trying to get him to admit his feelings. Their relationship has been rather complex, especially considering that they are characters from a television show and movies aimed at children. The movie showed the beginnings of that relationship and how Miss Piggy was attracted to Kermit from the first moment she saw him. Kermit tried to downplay his feelings for her a lot of the time, but it was very clear that he felt something as well. Viewers even get to see their first date. When Gonzo joined Kermit and Fozzy, he had Camilla the chicken with him, so his attraction to poultry had already started. That was a bit bizarre, but Gonzo was bizarre in general anyway. It was also shown how he was interested in Miss Piggy despite whatever relationship he already had with Camilla. Miss Piggy never had any interest in Gonzo.

The Muppet Movie featured several original songs, the most popular of which was The Rainbow Connection. That song was used in the movie twice, first at the beginning with only Kermit singing and then again at the end of the movie with the other characters joining him in singing. I’ve always liked that song. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1980. Kermit sang more than one song while the rest of the Muppets only sang one. The music for the movie was written by Kenny Ascher, Ian Freebairn-Smith, and Paul Williams. The score for the movie was also nominated for an Oscar in 1980. All of the songs fit in with what was going on during the movie when the songs were used.

Obviously the main characters in The Muppet Movie are the Muppets. The movie did seem to focus mostly on Kermit and Fozzy, while Gonzo and Miss Piggy were also important characters. Kermit was the main character, having many more scenes than the other Muppet characters. Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, provided Kermit’s voice. Henson was also the performer for Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, Waldorf, the Swedish Chef, and a few other minor Muppet characters. I do think that the voices of Dr. Teeth and Rowlf sound a lot a like. Kermit and Fozzy quickly developed their friendship, which was firmly established during The Muppet Show. Fozzy was a comedian that didn’t tell the best jokes and he was usually heckled. Frank Oz performed as Fozzy. Oz also performed as Miss Piggy, something that still amazes me. He was able to do a realistic sounding female voice for her and even sang in that voice. She did get slightly screechy on a few notes. There were a few times, usually when she was irritated, that her voice didn’t sound as feminine. Miss Piggy has always been my favorite character and I really enjoy seeing her, especially when she has one of her little fits. Miss Piggy was shown winning a beauty contest, something that had been briefly mentioned as part of her past on The Muppet Show - Season One. I think it was mentioned in one of the extras that Oz had created an elaborate back story for Miss Piggy that included her winning a beauty contest. Oz also did the voices for Sam the Eagle, Animal, Marvin Suggs, and he worked the hands for the Swedish Chef.

Gonzo became one of the main Muppet characters over the course of The Muppet Show. He was just as weird in The Muppet Movie as he had been on the television show. Camilla was in most scenes with Gonzo. Dave Goelz performed as Gonzo as well as Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot, and he was an assistant with Fozzy. Jerry Nelson performed as Camilla as well as Floyd Pepper, Robin the frog, Crazy Harry, and Lew Zealand. He was also an assistant for Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. Scooter, Statler, Janice, Sweetums, and Beaker were all more minor characters for the movie and performed by Richard Hunt. Steve Whitmire, the man who would eventually take over performing Kermit after Jim Henson died, was involved in this movie as an assistant for Dr. Teeth.

Doc Hopper just seemed to be obsessed with getting Kermit to be the spokes frog for his restaurants. He was a very flat character, but that worked fine for the movie. Doc Hopper was not a nice person. Charles Durning handled the part well. Max worked for Doc Hopper. He was ordered around all the time and didn’t always agree with the plans that Doc Hopper had. Austin Pendleton was fine in the part. The other actors that were in the movie were in cameos. Most of them were very small. Steve Martin and Mel Brooks did seem to have slightly more to do than the others. Big Bird even had a small cameo as well.

Muppet Performers/Cast

Edgar Bergen - Himself (Special guest star)
Milton Berle - Mad Man Mooney (Special guest star)
Mel Brooks - Professor Max Krassman (Special guest star)
James Coburn - El Sleazo Cafe Owner (Special guest star)
Dom DeLuise - Bernie the agent (Special guest star)
Charles Durning - Doc Hopper
Dave Goelz - Gonzo/Zoot/Dr. Bunsen Honeydew
Elliot Gould - Beauty Contest Announcer (Special guest star)
Jim Henson - Kermit/Rowlf/Dr. Teeth/Waldorf/Swedish Chef
Bob Hope - Ice Cream Vendor (Special guest star)
Madeline Kahn - El Sleazo Patron (Special guest star)
Carol Kane - Myth (Special guest star)
Richard Hunt - Scooter/Janice/Statler/Sweetums/Beaker
Cloris Leachman - Lord’s Secretary (Special guest star)
Steve Martin - Insolent Waiter (Special guest star)
Jerry Nelson - Floyd/Robin/Crazy Harry/Lew Zealand/Camilla
Frank Oz - Fozzy/Miss Piggy/Animal/Sam the Eagle/Marvin Suggs
Austin Pendleton - Max
Richard Pryor - Balloon Vender - (Special guest star)
Telly Savalas - El Sleazo Tough (Special guest star)
Orson Wells - Lew Lord (Special guest star)

James Frawley - Director

I got my copy of The Muppet Movie on DVD a few years ago after hunting all over this town for it. I’d had the movie on VHS for years but I wanted the DVD when I found out it was available. In 2005, new versions of the different Muppet movies were released to tie in with the 50th anniversary of Kermit. From what I have read, the newer released DVDs are supposed to have more bonus features. The DVD of The Muppet Movie that I have has both the widescreen and full screen versions. The DVD only has a few bonus features. There were five trailers for other family movies, including a few of the Muppet movies. There were a few things that the DVD called Muppetisms. Each one featured one character doing a few cute things. They were cute, but very short.

The screen test that director James Frawley did with a few characters was included. Kermit was used for the entire screen test. He and Fozzy were in several sequences that were hilarious. Those exchanges really showed off the magic that happened when Jim Henson and Frank Oz were working together. Sweetums was in a few scenes and Kermit also shared a few scenes with Miss Piggy. In one of them, she was trying to convince him to buy a huge house for them to live in after they got married. Kermit also tried to talk to a few very friendly cows. The picture and sound quality wasn’t the best for the screen test, but it was still very funny and entertaining. It is something that fans should check out. Before this movie, the Muppets were always contained within the theater where The Muppet Show was set. The movie provided the chance for the characters to venture out into the real world, which probably presented some difficulties for the performers, especially when the characters were in a car.

The Muppet Movie is one of my favorite family movies. I’ve loved the Muppets since I was a child, so I may not be the most objective. Anything the Muppets are involved, I’m immediately interested and have enjoyed all of their movies, though I do agree that some of them aren’t as good. Anyone who enjoyed The Muppet Show should also enjoy this movie.

Muppet Reviews
The Muppet Show - Season One ~ The Muppet Show - Season 2 ~ The Muppet Show - Season 3 ~ It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie ~ The Great Muppet Caper ~ The Muppets Take Manhattan ~ Muppet Family Christmas ~ The Muppet Christmas Carol ~ Muppet Treasure Island ~ Muppets From Space ~ Fraggle Rock - Season 1 ~

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8