The Muppets Take Manhattan





Synopsis
The Muppets Take Manhattan is the third of a series of feature films starring the Muppets. It was the first film directed by Frank Oz, who also performs Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy.

The film introduced the Muppet Babies (toddler versions of the Muppet characters in a flashback/dream sequence). The Muppet Babies later received their own Saturday morning cartoon, which aired from 1984 to 1992.

As the film opens, Kermit the Frog and ten of his friends are graduating from college and are performing in a variety show on campus. Instead of splitting up and going their separate ways after graduation, the gang decides to try to take their act to New York and try to make it on Broadway. Kermit and the others are so confident in the show that they anticipate becoming instant stars, but as the months pass and their funds run dry, they are forced to go their separate ways and find jobs. Kermit remains in New York and gets a job at a local diner, befriending the owner, Pete (Louis Zorich), and his daughter Jenny (Juliana Donald) who works there as a waitress.

Complications arise in the form of unsavory jobs for Kermit's friends (Scooter becomes an usher at a movie theater; Rowlf runs the desk at a dog kennel), a jealous Miss Piggy who remains behind to keep an eye on Kermit and Jenny, and Kermit's additional failed attempts to break into stardom. After finally finding a producer who is willing to fund the show, however, Kermit is so excited that he unknowingly steps into the path of an oncoming vehicle and is knocked unconscious. He awakens with no memory, decides his name is Phillip Phil, and eventually falls in with a group of fellow frogs who write ad campaign slogans.

After Kermit's companions are reunited in New York (along with the many friends they've each met along the way), despite the fact that Kermit is missing, they decide the best thing to do is to go on with the show in his honor. After the amnesiac Kermit visits the diner and his friends recognize him, they recover him and Miss Piggy manages to knock him back to his senses. The show is a tremendous hit and, during the finale, Miss Piggy and Kermit are joined together in marriage.

Trivia

 * Instead of being traditional hand puppets, the tiny rats are controlled with rods to operate their heads and mouths.
 * As was done with The Great Muppet Caper, Miss Piggy had a human "stunt double," who was used in the long shots during the roller skating sequence.
 * Numerous Sesame Street characters appear in the background during the wedding scene, including Ernie and Bert, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Grover, Count Von Count, Sully and Biff, and the Two-Headed Monster. (Baby Rowlf can also be seen "operating" on a plush Big Bird toy during the Muppet Babies dream sequence.)
 * The only Muppet Babies who appear in this film are Baby Kermit, Baby Piggy, Baby Fozzie, Baby Gonzo, Baby Scooter, and Baby Rowlf. Baby Animal and Baby Skeeter weren't introduced until later.
 * Two of the cages in the dog kennel are labeled "Jim" and "Frank".
 * The soundtrack to this movie is the only theatrical Muppet movie soundtrack to have never been available on CD. However, three songs from the film were released on the Muppet Show 25th Anniversary album.
 * Both Storybook and Comic Book adaptions include some scenes that weren't in the movie, indicating that some scenes were deleted from the film. Scenes in both of these include a sequence where Statler and Waldorf attempt to cure Kermit's amnesia, and a scene where Gonzo told Kermit that the minister at the wedding was a real minister. Both of these books also reference Beauregard taking The Electric Mayhem to New York.


 * Gates McFadden played the secretary of Martin Price, the dishonest agent played by Dabney Coleman. McFadden later went onto fame as Dr. Beverly Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Video releases
The film was originally released by Tri-Star Home Video. Unlike the films that preceded it (The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, and The Dark Crystal), this film was not produced by ITC, so the rights did not eventually go back to the Henson company. The movie was, like the previous Henson films, first released on video by CBS/ Fox Home Video (in 1985 and again in 1991), and has been re-released several times on VHS and DVD by Columbia TriStar. Disney does not currently have the rights to release this film, though the company may obtain them eventually.

Cast

 * Muppet Performers
 * Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, Steve Whitmire, Kathryn Mullen, Karen Prell, Brian Muehl, Bruce Edward Hall, James J. Kroupa, David Rudman, Melissa Whitmire, Michael Earl Davis, Glenngo King, Tim DeHaas, Cheryl Bartholow


 * Human Cast
 * Juliana Donald as Jenny
 * Louis Zorich as Pete
 * Lonny Price as Ronnie Crawford
 * Steve Burnett as College Student
 * Mary Lou Harris as College Student
 * Gates McFadden as Mr. Price's Secretary
 * Joanne Hamlin as Woman in Price's Office
 * Hector Troy as First Cop
 * Norman Bush as Second Cop
 * Nancy Kirsch as Screaming Woman
 * Alice Spivak as Customer in Pete's
 * John Bentley as Train Conductor
 * Dorothy Baxter as Elevater Passenger
 * Stephen Sherrard Hicks as Elevater Passenger
 * Susan Miller-Kovens as Elevator Passenger
 * John Maguire as Elevator Passenger
 * Sinead Maguire as Elevator Passenger
 * Trisha Noel as Elevator Passenger
 * Ron Foster as Man in Winesop's Office
 * Michael Hirsch as Man in Winesop's Office
 * Vic Polizos as Construction Worker
 * Kenneth MacGregor as Construction Worker
 * Graham Brown as Mr. Wrightson
 * James Bryson as Customer in Pete's
 * Chico Kasinoir as Customer in Pete's
 * Viola Borden as Bingo Caller
 * Paul Stolarsky as Aquacade Announcer
 * Maree Dow as Woman in Bleachers
 * Michael Connolly as Maitre d' at Sardi's
 * Wade Barnes as Customer at Sardi's
 * Ruth Burton as Customer at Sardi's
 * Lee-Ann Carr as Customer at Sardi's
 * Richard Dubois as Customer at Sardi's
 * Diana Hayes as Customer at Sardi's
 * Jane Hunt as Customer at Sardi's
 * Jaqueline Page as Customer at Sardi's
 * Harriet Rawlins as Customer at Sardi's
 * Milton Seaman as Customer at Sardi's
 * Gary Facon as Thief in Central Park
 * Joe Jamrog as Cop in Central Park
 * And Dr. Cyril Jenkins as The Minister


 * Cameo Guest Stars
 * Art Carney as Bernard Crawford
 * James Coco as Mr. Skeffington
 * Dabney Coleman as Martin Price
 * Gregory Hines as Roller Skater
 * Linda Lavin as Doctor
 * Joan Rivers as Perfume Saleswoman
 * Elliott Gould as Cop
 * Liza Minnelli as Herself
 * Brooke Shields as Customer at Pete's
 * Frances Bergen as Leonard Winesop's Receptionist
 * Ed Koch as Himself
 * John Landis as Leonard Winesop
 * Vincent Sardi as Himself


 * Muppet Cameos
 * David Lazer as Customer at Sardi's
 * Heather Henson as Girl serving drinks at beer hall
 * Marty Robinson as College student in audience

Muppet Cast

 * Muppet Characters


 * Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo the Great, Animal, Dr. Teeth, Floyd Pepper, Janice, Zoot, Rowlf, Scooter, Rizzo the Rat, Camilla, Statler, Waldorf, Swedish Chef, Lew Zealand, Tatooey the Rat, Yolanda Rat, Masterson the Rat, Beth Bear, Bill the Frog, Gill the Frog, Jill the Frog, Muppy, Bears, Dogs, Chickens, Penguins


 * Muppet Babies


 * Baby Kermit, Baby Piggy, Baby Fozzie, Baby Gonzo, Baby Scooter, Baby Rowlf

Wedding Finale

 * See Wedding Seating Chart


 * Muppet Characters (in alphabetical order)
 * Animal, Baby Band, Baskerville the Hound, Beaker, Bears, Beauregard, Bert, Beth Bear, Biff, Big Bird, Bill the Frog, Bobby Benson, Bubba, Bunsen Honeydew, Buster the Horse, Camilla, Clementine, Cookie Monster, Count von Count, Crazy Harry, Deena, Dinger, Dr. Teeth, Droop, Elmo, Ernie, Fazoobs, Flower-Eating Monster, Floyd Pepper, Foo Foo, Forcryingoutloud Bird, Forgetful Jones, Fozzie Bear, Gaffer,George the Janitor, Geri and the Atrics, Gill the Frog, Gonzo the Great, Gramps, Grover, Grungetta, Guy Smiley, Herry Monster, Hilda, Honkers, Juliet, Irvine, Janice, Slim Wilson, Jill the Frog, J.P. Grosse, Julius Strangepork, Lew Zealand, Lewis Kazagger, Link Hogthrob, Lips, Lou, Lubbock Lou, Luncheon Counter Monster, Marvin Suggs, Masterson the Rat, Maurice Monster, Mildred, Miss Appleby, Newsman, Oscar the Grouch, Pearl, Penguins, Pigs, Pops, Quongo, Rizzo the Rat, Robin the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Sam the Eagle, Scooter, Sherlock Hemlock, Simon Soundman, Snowths, Sully, Swedish Chef, Tatooey the Rat, Telly Monster, Two-Headed Monster, Uncle Deadly, Uncle Traveling Matt, Whaddayasay Bird, The White Rabbit, Yolanda Rat, Zeke, Zoot

Additional Credits

 * Director: Frank Oz


 * Writers: Tom Patchett, Jay Tarses, and Frank Oz


 * Executive Producer: Jim Henson


 * Producer: David Lazer


 * Original Music: Jeff Moss (songs) and Ralph Burns (score)