The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years

The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years aired on CBS on January 21, 1986.

This one-hour special celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of the Muppets, who hold a formal banquet to present a retrospective of their television and film appearances.

Hosted by Fozzie Bear and featuring guest of honor Kermit the Frog, the program provides an overview of the Muppets' history and musical highlights beginning with early appearances in the fifties. Then, Fozzie introduces a selection of clips from The Muppet Show, before Rowlf the Dog introduces clips with Miss Piggy. Kermit and Miss Piggy then introduce a montage of clips from the movies.

Dr. Teeth introduces a sequence featuring still images of various Muppet book covers, record covers, and magazine covers featuring appearances by the Muppets. Sweetums introduces clips featuring monsters, characters eating other characters, and explosions. Ernie and Bert introduce clips from Sesame Street, and then Big Bird introduces clips from other children's shows from the Muppets.

The talking food introduces a clip of the Galley-oh-hoop-hoop, Uncle Traveling Matt introduces clips involving imagination, Floyd Pepper and Janice introduce Muppet music clips, and Scooter introduces clips with guest stars. When Robin asks Kermit what his favorite thing about the Muppets are, Kermit says that his favorite scenes are the times when the Muppets don't try to be funny, leading to some of the Muppets more serious moments. Gonzo then introduces some of the Muppets more cultural moments.

Afterwards, the other Muppets decide to pay tribute to Kermit, showing a clip of Linda Ronstadt singing "When I Grow Too Old to Dream", reedited to feature a number of clips with Kermit. At the conclusion, the entire cast sings "The Rainbow Connection".

Jim Henson appears briefly at the conclusion of the program, being given a bill for his food by Grover.

In closing, Kermit says, "It's been a great 30 years. Our next 30 years start tomorrow, so there will be a rehearsal at 9AM sharp."

"Happy Feet" plays during the end credits (sequence with multiple Kermit images cut).

Credits

 * Executive Producer: Diana Birkenfield
 * Producer: Andrew Solt
 * Director: Peter Harris
 * Writer: Jerry Juhl
 * Historians: Jane Henson and Bob Payne
 * Muppet Performers: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Caroll Spinney. (Uncredited: Terry Angus, Kevin Clash, Michael Earl, Jonathan Paine)

Muppet Cast

 * The Muppet Show Characters
 * Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Rowlf the Dog, Scooter, Robin the Frog, Floyd Pepper, Janice, Dr. Teeth, Sweetums, Crazy Harry, Statler and Waldorf, The Swedish Chef, Camilla the Chicken, Beauregard, Lew Zealand, Singing Food, Animal, Link Hogthrob


 * Muppet Show Background Characters
 * Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, Sam the Eagle, Pops, Zoot, Doglion, Mahna Mahna, Zelda Rose, Fletcher Bird, Chickens, Ohreally Bird, J. P. Grosse, Hilda, Annie Sue Pig, Lips, Rizzo the Rat, George the Janitor, The Newsman, Dr. Julius Strangepork, Louis Kazagger, Luncheon Counter Monster, Beautiful Day Monster, Flower-Eating Monster, Behemoth, Miss Kitty, Uncle Deadly, Frackles, Mulch, Chopped Liver, Sundance, Droop, Shakey Sanchez, Miss Mousey, Quongo, Whatnots, Marvin Suggs, Lenny the Lizard, T.R., Penguins, Slim Wilson, Gramps, Zeke, Nigel, Geri and the Atrics, Lydia, Pigs


 * Sesame Street Characters
 * Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Ernie, Bert, Count von Count, Grover, Two-Headed Monster, Cookie Monster


 * Sesame Street Background Characters
 * Herry Monster, Telly Monster, Grundgetta, Biff, Sully, Forgetful Jones, Buster the Horse, Guy Smiley, Bruno the Trashman, The Amazing Mumford, Sherlock Hemlock, Prairie Dawn, Barkley, Simon Soundman, Hoots the Owl, Honkers, Gladys the Cow, Preposterous, Anything Muppets, AM Monsters


 * Follow That Bird Characters
 * Madame Chairbird, Board of Birds, Miss Finch, Donny Dodo, Marie Dodo


 * Fraggle Rock Characters
 * Uncle Traveling Matt, Sprocket


 * Sam and Friends Characters
 * Sam, Harry the Hipster, Yorick


 * Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas Characters
 * Emmet Otter, Alice Otter, Harrison Fox, Gretchen Fox, Wendell Porcupine


 * Little Muppet Monsters Characters
 * Boo Monster, Tug Monster, Molly Monster


 * Muppet Meeting Films Characters
 * David Lazer Muppet, Leo, Grump

Video releases
This special was released on video in the United Kingdom by Palace in the 1980s.

Edits

 * When aired on Nickelodeon, the opening title card is cut. The montage subsequently goes straight to the first scene after the initial commercial break. Nickelodeon also moved the commercial intro after the "Pure Imagination" clip to after the "Galley-oh-hoop-hoop" clip. Some footage is therefore missing.
 * When aired on The Odyssey Channel, the clips from Little Muppet Monsters were edited out. Big Bird's line about Muppet Babies, Little Muppet Monsters, and Fraggle Rock having come after Sesame Street was shortened accordingly. The Muppet Babies montage is also reworked to fit the show's theme song and not "I'm Gonna Always Love You".
 * The PAL VHS release omits the title card (and three seconds of Muppets crying) after "If I Grow Too Old to Dream", simply fading to black. This footage is present in the Nickelodeon edit and German dub.
 * The German dub, titled "The Great Muppet-Party," omits all of the title cards and commercial breaks, inserting its own title after the opening montage and generally deleting footage where a commercial break would be. A few seconds of Fozzie walking up to the podium is omitted at the beginning, and so is part of Dr. Teeth's speech. Kermit's final line at the podium is cut, and the Ha! logo is replaced with a generic-looking card for ZDF.