The Muppets Take Manhattan



Release date: July 13, 1984

MPAA Rating: G

Running Time: 94 min.

Producing Studio: Tri-Star Pictures / Henson Associates

Available on video: 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 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.

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)

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 a bellhop 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 Phil Phillip, 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. (The Muppet Babies can also be seen "operating" on a plush Big Bird toy during the 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 the animated series.
 * 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.

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
 * Gates McFadden as Mr. Price's secretary
 * Dr. Cyril Jenkins as Minister


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


 * Muppet Cameos
 * David Lazer as Customer at Sardi's
 * Fran Brill as News Reporter
 * 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, Chickens, Penguins


 * Muppet Babies


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

Wedding Finale

 * Muppet Characters (in alphabetical order)


 * Animal, Babies, Beaker, Beauregard, Bert, Beth Bear, Biff, Big Bird, Bill the Frog, Bobby Benson, Bubba, Bunsen Honeydew, Camilla, Cookie Monster, Count von Count, Crazy Harry, Dr. Teeth, Ernie, Fazoobs, Floyd Pepper, Fozzie Bear, Geri and the Atrics, Gill the Frog, Gonzo the Great, Gramps, Grover, Grungetta, Guy Smiley, Herry Monster, Hilda, Honkers, Ingrid, Janice, Jerry, Jill the Frog, Julius Strangepork, Lew Zealand, Link Hogthrob, Lips, Lou, Lubbock Lou, Luncheon Counter Monster, Marvin Suggs, Masterson the Rat, Newsman, Oscar the Grouch, Penguins, Pigs, Pops, Rizzo the Rat, Robin the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Sam the Eagle, Scooter, Snowths, Sully, Swedish Chef, Tatooey the Rat, Uncle Deadly, Uncle Traveling Matt, Yolanda Rat, Zeke, Zoot