Doc Hopper

PERFORMER	Charles Durning
DEBUT	1979

Doc Hopper is the Southern-bred owner of the Doc Hopper's French Fried Frog Legs chain of fast food restaurants in The Muppet Movie. He serves as the main antagonist of the film as well as one of Kermit's worst enemies.

The Muppet Movie

When Hopper sees Kermit dancing, after being informed of the frog by his assistant Max, he's determined to have him as a spokesfrog, and he won't take no for an answer. Doc previously handled his own commercials, wearing a frog suit.

Doc Hopper's dream is to expand his franchise and own 1,000 restaurants. To achieve this goal, Hopper single-mindedly pursues Kermit halfway across the country in his limo, becoming the villain of the film in the process. Doc's methods become increasingly desperate (bringing about a crisis of conscience for Max), hiring mad scientist Professor Krassman to brainwash Kermit (he kidnapped Miss Piggy to lure Kermit to Krassman) and later enlisting Snake Walker and other thugs to kill the frog if he refuses. Doc's ambitions and ruthless determination are contrasted with Kermit's desire to spread joy and happiness to others. While Kermit's dream "becomes better the more people you share it with", encompassing a range of characters, Doc's goals are exclusionary, isolating him even from Max.

During their final standoff at an abandoned ghost town, Kermit makes a final plea to Doc Hopper, saying that all he wants is to fulfill his and his friends' dream, and that perhaps if Doc put aside his own selfish intent, he would see that he didn't want to continue his pursuit of the gang. Unfortunately, Doc ultimately decides that if Kermit isn't going to be his spokesman, then he should die instead. Just as Doc's men prepare to finish off the Muppets, Animal plows through the roof of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew's lab, having consumed a large number of Insta-Grow Pills. Animal roars loudly, scaring off Doc and his men, with Max wishing the Muppets the best of luck before he too flees. 

Other Appearances

In It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, The World in which Kermit was Never Born shows that Doc Hopper's Frog Legs is a thriving fast-food restaurant with a franchise in Bitterman Plaza, implying that Doc Hopper's chain was able to prosper because Kermit wasn't there to interfere.

Trivia

• Doc Hopper and his restaurant chain, French Fried Frog Legs, is a fairly obvious parody of Colonel Sanders and his restaurant chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken. The two even share the same outfit.
• Doc Hopper is arguably the most famous Muppets villain.
• Doc Hopper is also arguably the darkest Muppets villain, since he attempted to have Kermit killed just because he wouldn't be the spokesman for his restaurant chain.
• Doc Hopper is the only Muppets villain to be mentioned after he was last seen, as shown by his role in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.
• Doc Hopper is the only Muppets villain to serve as a personal nemesis.