The Great Muppet Caper

The Great Muppet Caper
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jim Henson
Produced by	David Lazer Frank Oz Bruce Sharman Martin Starger
Written by	Tom Patchett Jay Tarses Jerry Juhl Jack Rose
Starring	Jim Henson Frank Oz Dave Goelz Jerry Nelson Richard Hunt Steve Whitmire Diana Rigg Charles Grodin
Music by	Joe Raposo
Cinematography	Oswald Morris
Editing by	Ralph Kemplen
Studio	ITC Entertainment Henson Associates
Distributed by	Universal Pictures (original) Walt Disney Pictures (current)
Release date(s)	26 July 1981 (1981-07-26)
Running time	94 minutes
Country	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Box office	$31,206,251

The Great Muppet Caper is a 1981 mystery family film directed by Jim Henson. It is the second of a series of live-action musical feature films, starring Jim Henson's Muppets. This film was produced by Henson Associates, ITC Entertainment and Universal Pictures, and premiered on 26 July 1981. It is also the only Muppet movie Jim Henson directed. The film was released shortly after the final season of The Muppet Show. It was shot in England.

It was released on DVD by Sony Pictures on 5 June 2001 and again on 29 November 2005 by Walt Disney Pictures as Kermit's 50th Anniversary Edition.

Plot

Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, and Gonzo the Great play newspaper reporters for the Daily Chronicle. Kermit and Fozzie, specifically, are playing identical twin reporters, which becomes the source of a running gag - supposedly, nobody can tell they are twins unless Fozzie wears his hat. While Gonzo is too busy taking pictures of a chicken,the biggest fashion designer of London, Lady Holiday (Diana Rigg), gets robbed of her necklace. The trio are eventually assigned to investigate the theft of the valuable jewels from fashion designer Lady Holiday, which they have to beg for after their boss Mike Tarkenian (Jack Warden) dismisses them following the Daily Chronicle's headline about the twins joining the staff (while the other papers report on the jewel heist).

They travel to London to interview her, but with only $12 for the trip, they are forced to fly in the airplane's baggage hold and are thrown out of the plane as they arrive over Britain while it continues on to Italy. They stay at the dilapidated (but free) Happiness Hotel, run and populated by Pops, Scooter, Rowlf, and Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem. When Kermit seeks out Lady Holiday in her office however, he instead finds the love of his life Miss Piggy and fails to recognize her, mistaking her for the fashion designer. Piggy (who was interviewing for a job) masquerades as Lady Holliday, even going so far as to sneak into a ritzy townhouse (located at 17 Highbrow Street) to impress Kermit with her dwellings much to the surprise of the true British residents Neville (John Cleese) and Dorcas (Joan Sanderson).

At a night club restaurant, Lady Holiday's necklace is stolen by her jealous brother, Nicky (Charles Grodin), and his assistants Carla (Kate Howard), Marla (Erica Creer), and Darla (Della Finch), three of her put-upon fashion models. Despite Nicky's instant attraction to Miss Piggy, they successfully frame her for the theft and plan to steal an even more valuable prize—the coveted Baseball Diamond, which is on display at a local gallery, the Mallory Gallery. Unfortunately for them, Gonzo is under a nearby table and overhears them. Kermit's crew, along with their friends from the Happiness Hotel, have no choice but to intercept and catch the thieves themselves in order to vindicate Miss Piggy.

The Muppets get to the Mallory Gallery, and get to the Baseball Diamond at the same time as the thieves, use the Baseball Diamond in a game of Keep-away and later baseball, while Louis Kazagher commentates. Piggy, meanwhile, has escaped from prison and, in a bout of serendipity, finds a motorcycle which she uses to crash into the Gallery's window, knocking Nicky, who is holding Kermit hostage, out in the process. Carla, Marla and Darla confront Piggy, only to be quickly dispatched by a flurry of furious karate chops. As the police arrive, Piggy is cleared from all charges, Nicky and his fashion model-acquaintances are arrested, and the Muppets get their deserved credit for foiling the heist. The Muppets then return to America the same way they departed, being thrown out of the cargo hold and parachuting back to Earth, over the end credits.

Cast

• Charles Grodin as Nicky Holiday, Lady Holiday's irresponsible brother and the principal adversary. He is responsible for the jewel heist on his sister with the help of three of her fashion models, Carla, Darla, and Marla.
• Diana Rigg as Lady Holiday, a famous British fashion designer who has been the victim of a jewel heist.

Cameo guest stars

• John Cleese as Neville, a middle-aged British homeowner who lives with his wife Dorcas at 17 Highbrow Street.
• Joan Sanderson as Dorcas, Neville's wife.
• Jack Warden as Mike Tarkenian, an editor of the Daily Chronicle.
• Robert Morley as a British gentlemen.
• Peter Ustinov as a truck driver when Miss Piggy steals it.
• Peter Falk as a tramp in the park.
• Michael Robbins as Henderson, the Mallory Gallery's security guard.
• Peter Hughes as Stanley, a Maitre D' at the Dubonnet Club and an old acquaintance and favoured patron of Lady Holiday.
• Peggy Aitchison as a guard at the prison where Miss Piggy is detained.
• Tommy Godfrey as a bus conductor.

Muppet performers

• Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, Waldorf, Swedish Chef, and The Muppet Newsman
• Frank Oz as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam the Eagle
• Jerry Nelson as Floyd Pepper, Pops, Lew Zealand, Louis Kazagger, and Slim Wilson.
• Richard Hunt as Scooter, Statler, Sweetums, Janice, and Beaker
• Dave Goelz as The Great Gonzo, Beauregard, Zoot, and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew
• Steve Whitmire as Rizzo the Rat and Lips
• Caroll Spinney as Oscar the Grouch

Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson and Richard Hunt also appear in cameo roles. Henson appears as one of the Dubonnet Club patrons to whom Gonzo offers a souvenir photo; Oz as a reporter in the Daily Chronicle office; Nelson as a man in the park alongside his daughter Christine playing the man's daughter; Hunt as a cab driver with Kathryn Mullen appearing as a taxi passenger. Also, Henson's son Brian appears riding a tricycle that pulls a line of Muppets on bicycles.

Release

Box office

The film grossed $31.2 million domestically on a $14 million budget thus making it a box office success. It is the fourth highest grossing Muppet film behind The Muppets, The Muppet Movie, and Muppet Treasure Island.

Critical reception

The Great Muppet Caper has received generally positive reviews. As of 6 July 2009, Rotten Tomatoes has reported that 71% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 17 reviews.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a two star rating (out of four) and concluded his review by saying that "the lack of a cutting edge hurts this movie. It's too nice, too routine, too predictable, and too safe."

Music

Joe Raposo was nominated for an Academy Award for the song "The First Time It Happens" he wrote for The Great Muppet Caper. This was the only one of the first three Muppet films not to be nominated for Best Music, Original Song Score. It most likely would have been nominated but that category was not awarded in 1982.

Soundtrack

The Great Muppet Caper: The Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by The Muppets
Released	1981
Genre	Soundtrack
Label	Atlantic Records
The Muppets chronology
The Muppet Movie: Original Soundtrack (1979) The Great Muppet Caper: Original Soundtrack (1981) The Muppets Take Manhattan: Original Soundtrack (1984)

The Great Muppet Caper: The Original Soundtrack contains all of the songs from the movie, as well as several portions of dialogue and background score. The album reached #66 on Billboard's Top LP's and Tapes chart in 1981.

Track listing

1. "Main Title Theme" (2:49)
2. "Hey, a Movie!" (2:42)
3. "The Big Red Bus" (1:26) (Score)
4. "Happiness Hotel" (3:05)
5. "Lady Holiday" (1:12) (Score)
6. "The First Time It Happens" (4:12)
7. "The Apartment" (0:53) (Score)
8. "Night Life" (2:57)
9. "Steppin' Out with a Star" (2:31)
10. "Couldn't We Ride" (3:07)
11. "Miss Piggy's Fantasy" (3:58)
12. "The Great Muppet Caper" (3:48)
13. "Homeward Bound" (0:52) (Score)
14. "Finale: Hey, a Movie! (reprise)" (1:30)
15. "The First Time It Happens (reprise)" (1:30)

Score cues left off the soundtrack

1. Stop the Presses!
2. Splash Landing
3. Lobby
4. "Happiness Hotel" (Full version)
5. Applying for a Job
6. Kermit Meets Piggy
7. Taxi
8. Getting Ready
9. You Can Come/17 Highbrow Street
10. A Pig and a Lizard
11. Dubonnet Club (Instrumental of "Steppin' Out with a Star")
12. I Think I’ve Got a Picture of the Thief
13. The Cookie Jar Just Busted/In the Park
14. Would You Like to Buy a Watch?
15. Kermit and Piggy Argument
16. I’m Sorry I Left You
17. I Can’t Be Responsible For What Might Happen
18. Fashion Show
19. Framed
20. The Baseball Diamond Will Be Ours
21. We Don’t Want the Bad Guys to Win
22. Pig in the Pokey
23. I Love You, Rosenthal
24. The Heist (Full version, much longer with many short cues)

External links

• Official site
• The Great Muppet Caper at the Internet Movie Database
• The Great Muppet Caper at Box Office Mojo
• The Great Muppet Caper at Rotten Tomatoes
• Muppet Movies Lyric Archive