The Muppets Take Manhattan

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The Muppets Take Manhattan

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Frank Oz
Produced by David Lazer
Executive Producer:
Jim Henson
Written by Story:
Tom Patchett
Jay Tarses
Screenplay:
Tom Patchett
Jay Tarses
Frank Oz
Starring Jim Henson
Frank Oz
Dave Goelz
Jerry Nelson
Richard Hunt
Steve Whitmire
Music by Ralph Burns
Jeff Moss
Cinematography Robert Paynter
Editing by Evan A. Lottman
Studio Henson Associates
Distributed by TriStar Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures (DVD)
Release date(s) July 13, 1984
Running time 94 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $8 million
Gross revenue $25,534,703
Preceded by The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
Followed by The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

The Muppets Take Manhattan is the third of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets, and the final film (not counting Sesame Street's Follow That Bird or the Creature Shop films) before Henson's death. This film was produced by Henson Associates and TriStar Pictures, and originally released in movie theatres in 1984. It was the first film directed solely by Frank Oz (who also performs Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, and Animal), as he previously co-directed The Dark Crystal with Jim Henson. Steve Whitmire would take over from that point on as Kermit and other characters.

The film introduced the Muppet Babies, as toddler versions of the Muppet characters in a fantasy sequence. The Muppet Babies later received their own Saturday morning animated television series, which aired from 1984 until 1992.

Contents

[edit] Plot

As the film opens, Kermit and many of his friends are graduating from college and are performing in a variety show on campus. Instead of splitting up and going their separate ways after graduation, the gang decides to try to take their act to New York and try to make it on Broadway. Kermit and the others are so confident in the show that they anticipate becoming instant stars, but as the months pass and their funds run dry (due to the fact that the local producers refused to produce their show, except for Murray Plotsky, who agreed to produce their show (but only for the money), but he's arrested for tricking an elderly woman into giving him her life savings and impersonating producer Martin Price) they are forced to go their separate ways and find jobs. Kermit remains in New York and gets a job at a local diner, befriending the owner, Pete (Louis Zorich), and his daughter Jenny (Juliana Donald), who works there as a waitress. She has just been accepted to a college in fashion design.

Complications arise in the form of unsavory jobs for Kermit's friends (Scooter becomes an usher at a movie theater in Cleveland, Ohio, Fozzie hibernates in Maine, Dr. Teeth and the gang work as a party band outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Gonzo works as a daredevil in Michigan, Rowlf runs the desk at a dog kennel in Delaware), a jealous Miss Piggy who secretly remains behind to keep an eye on Kermit and Jenny, and Kermit's additional failed attempts to break into stardom. After finally finding a producer who is willing to fund the show, however, Kermit is so excited that he unknowingly steps into the path of an oncoming vehicle and is knocked unconscious. He awakens with no memory of his name, friends or past, decides his name is Philip Phil when he sees an advertisement with similar diction, and eventually falls in with a group of fellow frogs who write ad campaign slogans. Kermit, as "Phil", then begins to work as an advertising executive.

Kermit's companions are reunited in New York, along with the many friends they've each met along the way. Despite the fact that Kermit is missing, they decide the best thing to do is to go on with the show in his honor. After the amnesiac Kermit visits the diner and his friends recognize him, they recover him and Miss Piggy manages to literally knock him back to his senses. The show is a tremendous hit, and during the finale (during which even the Sesame Street cast is present), Piggy slyly hires a real minister for the wedding scene and Kermit is confused and says "I thought Gonzo was supposed to play the minister". When it is time to say "I do", Kermit is hesitant at first but forces himself to say "I do" and he and Piggy are wed.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Celebrity appearances

[edit] Soundtrack album track listing

  1. Together Again (Kermit and Friends)
  2. You Can't Take No For An Answer (Dr. Teeth)
  3. Saying Goodbye (Everyone)
  4. Something's Cooking (Rizzo and the Rats)
  5. Together Again (Carriage Ride)
  6. I'm Gonna Always Love You (The Muppet Babies)
  7. Right Where We Belong (Everyone)
  8. William Tell Overture (The Chickens)
  9. Somebody's Getting Married (Everyone)
  10. Waiting for the Wedding (Everyone)
  11. She'll Make Me Happy (Miss Piggy and Kermit)
  12. The Ceremony (Everyone)
  13. Closing Medley: Overture/Saying Goodbye/Together Again (Everyone)

[edit] Reception

The Muppets Take Manhattan opened on July 13, 1984 to mostly positive reviews. As of July 6, 2009, the film holds a 79% "Certified Fresh" rating on the website, Rotten Tomatoes. Although the film didn't outgross its predecessors, it did gross $25,534,703.

[edit] Adaptations

[edit] Comic books

Marvel Comics (under its brand-new Star Comics imprint) produced a three-issue limited series based on the film (November 1984–January 1985).

[edit] External links

The Muppets Take Manhattan on Muppet Wiki, an external wiki

v • d • e
Films directed by Frank Oz
1980s
The Dark Crystal (1982) • The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) • Little Shop of Horrors (1986) • Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
1990s
What About Bob? (1991) • HouseSitter (1992) • The Indian in the Cupboard (1995) • In & Out (1997) • Bowfinger (1999)
2000s
The Score (2001) • The Stepford Wives (2004) • Death at a Funeral (2007)
v • d • e
Jim Henson's The Muppets
Television series
Sam and Friends (1955-1961) · Sesame Street (1969-present) · Saturday Night Live (1975) · The Muppet Show (1976-1981) · Fraggle Rock (1983-1987) · Jim Henson's Muppet Babies (1984-1991) · Little Muppet Monsters (1985) · The Jim Henson Hour (1989) · Dog City (1992-1995) · Secret Life of Toys (1994-1996) · Muppets Tonight (1996-1998) · Bear in the Big Blue House (1997-2007)
Feature films
Television specials
Direct-to-video
Other media
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