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| Written by | Ellen Weiss |
| Illustrator | Tom Cooke |
| Published | 1983 |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Series | Muppet Press Storybooks |
| Pages | 48 |
| ISBN | 0-86801-242-4 |
The Muppets on the Road is a storybook featuring the Muppets.
After a tiring show at the Muppet Theatre, Kermit the Frog is putting his feet up when Dr. Bunsen Honeydew announces that he's invented Alpha Disposal Units, little creatures that eat dirt which he has unleashed on the filthy theater. Unfortunately, the creatures chew up everything in the theater, leaving the troupe homeless. J.P. Grosse offers to rebuild the theater, if the Muppets can pay $38.47 for property damage. Kermit decides to take the gang on the road, to earn their money on tour.
Bunsen scavenges in Smitty's Junkyard to build a vehicle, which operates by Animal's frenetic pedal power. Running across a billboard for an annual fund-raiser that offers a prize of $38.47, they turn up at the Save the Chihuahua Foundation's show currently in progress. Rushed on to the stage by emcee Jimmy Joyride, the Muppets are disheartened to discover that they're being offered as a prize. The group skedaddles before the winner takes possession.
Next, the gang sees a sign promising $38.47 to participate in a show hosted by Budget Airlines. Brunhilde, the flight attendant, hurries the Muppets onto a plane that quickly takes off. High in the air, the group discovers that they're the entertainment for an air show, and they're expected to jump out of the plane and sail down to the ground by parachute. The plane lurches and the gang tumbles out, before Kermit is given the $38.47. They arrive safely on the ground, far away from their car.
Hitching a ride on a turkey truck, the Muppets arrive at a circus, where Kermit hopes they can perform. They're hired immediately, and Kermit, Scooter, Rowlf and Beaker are directed to Chico the Magnificent, who loads them into cannons for an "almost human cannonball" act. Meanwhile, Gonzo juggles sneakers while doing the hula, and Fozzie Bear meets a female dancing bear named Estellita, who charms him by laughing at his jokes. The four cannonballs are fired into the sky, and they land in a water tank. After the performance, Fozzie wants to stay behind with Estellita, but it turns out that she is Fozzie's long-lost cousin, and they can't be married. Gonzo is also reluctant to leave behind his adoring fans, but Kermit encourages him to chase their dream gig, on performing on The Benny Blahblah Talent Hour.
After hopping a freight train, the gang alights at the Benny Blahblah studio, where they're welcomed in as entrants in the talent contest. The competition includes Lola Vavoom singing "Smoke Gets in Your Nose", Herman Snum and his Singing Mosquitoes, a lady with a dancing gerbil, a little boy who whistles through his nose, and two men with mustaches who sit and stare at the audience. The contestants are evaluated by the Applause-O-Meter, and the Muppets worry about their chances, as all of the other acts are being supported by family and friends in the audience.
Still, the show must go on, and they perform, all at once. Miss Piggy performs her Dying Swan dance, Fozzie slips on a banana peel, Gonzo juggles, and Rowlf, Floyd Pepper and Animal provide musical accompaniment. When their number ends, the Muppets are delighted to discover that Estellita and Gonzo's fan club have followed them from the circus, and they get a rousing reception. According to the Applause-O-Meter, the Muppets tie with Herman Snum for the grand prize of $76.94, giving each winner a total of $38.47.
The Muppets return in triumph, and find that J.P. Grosse has rebuilt their theater. Gonzo's fan club shows up at the stage door, and everyone celebrates... unaware that the Alpha Disposal Units have started chewing on the theater again.
Postcard pages[]
The book contains two pages of punch-out postcards, with four cards per page, for a total of eight postcards.
Characters[]
- Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Scooter, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, Statler and Waldorf, Janice, Link Hogthrob, J.P. Grosse, Alpha Disposal Units, Smitty, Jimmy Joyride, Brunhilde, Chico the Magnificent, Estellita, Benny Blahblah, Lola Vavoom, Herman Snum