Minor Movie Mentions

The following is a list of Muppet Mentions made in movies outside of the Henson/Sesame fold, all of which are too brief or minor to constitute having their own page in the Movie Mentions category. See also: Minor TV Mentions.

Clerks
Dante and Randal are discussing which Star Wars movie was better: Return of the Jedi or The Empire Strikes Back. Dante prefers Empire, pointing out that "All Jedi had was a bunch of Muppets!"

Death to Smoochy
A dark comedy following Sheldon Mopes' (Edward Norton) rise to stardom with his Barney-like character Smoochy the Rhino, and all the amoral inner workings of the children's entertainment that he encounters. Early in the film, Sheldon states "I was born on November 11th, 1970. You know what else happened on that day? [The] first broadcast of Sesame Street!" (The statement is factually incorrect by one year.) Later, while Robin Williams' character Randolph Smiley (aka Rainbow Randolph) smashes Angelo's television set, he calls Smoochy a "Muppet from hell," during a barrage of expletives. The film also features the Leonard Bernstein song "I Feel Pretty," which the Muppets have performed in numerous times.

Connections:
 * Danny DeVito directed and co-starred as Burke Bennett
 * Harvey Fierstein played Merv Green
 * Jon Stewart played Marion Frank Stokes
 * Robin Williams played "Rainbow" Randolph Smiley
 * Danny Woodburn played Angelo Pike

Elf
Some scenes taking place at Gimbles Department Store feature various Sesame Street toys in the background.

Flushed Away
A 2006 computer animated feature by Aardman Animation, about a mouse trapped in the sewer. At one point, heroine Rita addresses the villainous toad with "Hoy! Kermit!"

Connections
 * Sean Barrett supplied additional voices
 * Miriam Margolyes voiced Rita's Grandma

Hot Fuzz
In one scene, Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) tells PC Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) the story of how he always wanted to become a policeman. At one point, he adds "Barring the summer of 1979, when I wanted to be Kermit the Frog." When he finishes, Butterman comments, "I think you'd have made a great Muppet."

The DVD's "Fuzz Facts" text commentary explains that Simon Pegg's favorite Muppet is actually Animal, which didn't fit the character.

Connections
 * Bill Bailey played the twin Sergeants Turner
 * Jim Broadbent played Inspector Frank Butterman
 * Martin Freeman played the Metropolitan Sergeant
 * Bill Nighy played the Chief Inspector
 * Billie Whitelaw played Joyce Cooper
 * Edward Woodward played Tom Weaver

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
In one scene, director Chaka Luther King claims the white man stole his idea for Sesame Street, which would have been known as "NWP" ("Niggas With Puppets").

Connections
 * Jason Biggs played himself
 * Mark Hamill played Cocknocker
 * Brian Lynch played Comic Book Shopper #1 (uncredited)
 * Chris Rock played Chaka Luther King
 * Jon Stewart played Reg Hartner

Jingle All the Way
Walk-arounds of Ernie and Bert appear in the christmas parade sequence.

The Little Rascals
A 1994 film based on the Our Gang short films. At one point in the film, Alfalfa and Spanky get mad at each other, and Stymie tries to get them to forgive each other, stating that they are a team, and lists other teams, including Bert and Ernie. Connections:
 * Mel Brooks appears as Mr. Wells
 * Whoopi Goldberg makes a cameo as Buckwheats mother

The Mist
The 2007 film adaptation of Stephen King's The Mist tells the story of a group of small town residents trapped together in a food store as the outside world experiences a disaster that begins picking off lives. Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden) riles a group of religious fanatics who begin chanting "expiation!" in response to God's will in the face of unknown dangers. Observing the loss of control exhibited by her followers, Ollie Weeks (Toby Jones) remarks, "Welcome to Sesame Street, kids. Today's word is 'expiation'."

Mr. Mom
Mr. Mom is a 1983 comedy written by John Hughes about a family man who loses his job, and stays at home to care for the family while his wife goes off to work. The younger of the two sons, Kenny, wears Ernie and Bert slippers (one on each foot) which are seen at several points throughout the movie. Kenny also wears a t-shirt adorned with an image of the Electric Mayhem.

Connections
 * Michael Keaton played Jack
 * Christopher Lloyd played Larry
 * Edie McClurg played a check out lady
 * Jeffrey Tambor played Jinx

Noises Off
Noises Off is a farcical play about the behind-the-scenes troubles of a new play. In a scene shot for the film version in New York City, an advertisement poster for Kodak can be seen displaying an image of Elmo and Big Bird.

Connections:
 * Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve and John Ritter appeared in the film.
 * T. R. Knight appeared in the Broadway revival.
 * Louise Gold appeared in the last month of a West End revival (October 2003).

Notting Hill
William Thacker, played by Hugh Grant, opens the 1999 movie Notting Hill, talking about the location of the same name. His voice-over describes a montage of scenes:


 * "Notting Hill -- my favorite bit of London... There's the market on weekdays, selling every fruit and vegetable known to man... the tattoo parlour -- with a guy outside who got drunk and now can't remember why he chose 'I Love Ken'..."


 * (A woman with hair dyed bright blue exits a hair salon) "The radical hairdressers where everyone comes out looking like the Cookie Monster, whether they want to or not."

Poltergeist
The 1982 film written by Steven Spielberg features a poster of Every Body's Record on the childrens' bedroom wall.

Rumble In The Bronx
The 1995 film written by Edward Tang and Fibe Ma features a blue sweater with Bert's head on it, worn by a little girl that is building a large sandcastle at the time Keung (Jackie Chan) comes ashore with the hovercraft.

The Pursuit of Happyness
A scene from the 2006 film, which is set in 1981, shows protagonist Christopher Gardner with a Sesame Street lunchbox featuring Grover, Big Bird, Prairie Dawn, Oscar the Grouch, Barkley, Lefty the Salesman and Sherlock Hemlock.

Connections
 * Dan Castellaneta played Alan Frakesh