Melora rewards Robin with a kiss.
King Rupert the Second.
Sweetums menaces Robin.
The altered title card for the video release, as well as the Disney Channel airing.
The Frog Prince, part of the Tales from Muppetland series, was released in syndication on May 12, 1971. This one-hour version of the classic fairy tale is narrated by Kermit the Frog.
A small frog who lands near the pond where Kermit and some other frogs have gathered claims that he is under a witch's spell and is actually a prince named Sir Robin the Brave. Kermit and his pals, Gawain, Kay, Gareth, and Ector, skeptical about the frog's true identity, sing about the joys and advantages of being a frog.
Princess Melora who talks mixed-up as the result of a witch's curse, befriends the Frog Prince and takes him to her palace. But before the spell on the frog can be broken, he must fend off the Princess' Aunt Taminella, who is actually the witch in disguise. Taminella has fooled Melora's gullible father, King Rupert the Second, into believing that she is his long-lost sister -- and that she deserves to wear the crown.
One of the Princess' key mixed up phrases is "Bake the hall in the candle of her brain," which actually means "Break the ball in the handle of her cane."
With the help of Kermit, Robin narrowly escapes becoming the breakfast of an ogre named Sweetums, and the story takes a happy turn when the other frogs help to stop the coronation of Aunt Taminella.
Cast[]
Muppet Performers:
- Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Carl Banas (voice only), Richard Hunt, John Lovelady, Daniel Seagren, Faz Fazakas (uncredited)
Human Cast:
- Trudy Young as Princess Melora
- Gordon Thomson as Sir Robin the Brave
- Heather Henson as Prince Kermit (uncredited)[1]
Voices:
- Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, Gareth and King Rupert the Second
- Frank Oz as Gawain
- Jerry Nelson as Robin the Frog and Featherstone
- Carl Banas as Sweetums
- Jerry Juhl as Aunt Taminella and Kay
Credits[]
- Executive Producer: John T. Ross
- Producer/Director: Jim Henson
- Book and Lyrics by: Jerry Juhl
- Music by: Joe Raposo
- Settings Designed by: William Beeton
- Associate Producer for the Muppets: Diana Birkenfield
- Puppet Supervision: Donald Sahlin
- Set Decoration: Stephen Finnie
- Costume Design: Lorely Fritze
- Puppet Costumes: Bonnie Lewis, Caroly Wilcox, Kermit Love
- Special Effects: George Clark
- A R.L.P. Canada/Henson Associates Production
Notes[]
- A number of characters in this special were performed and voiced by separate performers. Jerry Nelson voiced Robin but Frank Oz provided the puppetry,[2] Carl Banas provided the voice of Sweetums while Jerry Nelson was inside the character, and Jerry Juhl performed the voice of Taminella while Richard Hunt performed the puppetry.
- "Bein' Green" can be heard underscored during the luncheon sequence.
- The 1994 home video and Disney Channel airings replace the onscreen text (the opening titles and end credits) with new fonts. They also cut out a portion of the end credit sequence where Melora and Robin walk back to the castle from the pond, and some of Kermit's swimming. The acknowledgements of "Henson Associates" in the credits are removed and replaced with the standard "Jim Henson Productions" logo (with the Disney Channel edit using "Jim Henson Television" instead).
See also[]
- The Frog Prince (video)
- The Frog Prince (soundtrack)
- The Frog Prince (story)
Sources[]
- ↑ Interview with Heather Henson in episode #97 of The MuppetCast.
- ↑ Nelson, Jerry The Muppet Mindset interview with Jerry Nelson
- ↑ Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal, page 78