Movies - The Muppet Movie

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	Movies - The Muppet Movie

The Muppet Movie is the first of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets. This film was produced by Henson Associates and ITC Entertainment, and originally released in movie theatres in 1979.

Tagline: More entertaining than humanly possible.

The film is a movie-in-a-movie, as we see Kermit the Frog and the rest of the Muppets gathering for the first screening of The Muppet Movie. Kermit notes that the movie is a somewhat fictionalized account of the true story of how the Muppets first got together.

As the story opens, Kermit is enjoying a relaxing afternoon in the swamp, singing a tune and strumming his banjo, when he is approached by an agent who recognizes his talents and encourages Kermit to pursue a career in Hollywood. Inspired by the idea of making millions of people happy, Kermit sets off on his trusty bicycle. Almost immediately, he is pursued by the conniving Doc Hopper (Charles Durning), owner of a struggling french-fried frog legs restaurant franchise who has set his sights on Kermit as a potential new mascot.

Kermit stops at the El Sleazo Cafe where he meets Fozzie Bear working the place as a stand-up comedian. Kermit invites Fozzie to join him on his quest for stardom, and together they continue on their journey. They make several new friends along the way, including Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem rock band (whom they bring up to speed on current events by giving them a copy of the movie script); Gonzo the traveling plumber and Camilla, his chicken girlfriend; and the inimitable Miss Piggy, who leaps at the chance to accompany the group to Hollywood.

After Kermit manages to evade Doc Hopper's persuasive tactics a number of times, Doc Hopper responds by capturing Miss Piggy in order to lure Kermit into his clutches. Kermit is very nearly lobotomized by a mad scientist's electronic cerebrectomy device, intended to brainwash him into performing in Doc Hopper's TV commercials, until Miss Piggy manages a last-minute rescue with some blackbelt karate maneuvers.

Refusing to run from a bully for the rest of his life, Kermit resolves to face Doc Hopper in a showdown. He gives an impassioned plea to allow him and his friends to continue on their way and make their dreams come true. Although the speech falls on deaf ears, Kermit and friends are saved at the last moment by Animal, who has gotten into Dr. Bunsen Honeydew's growth pills and successfully scares away Hopper and his henchmen.

Soundtrack album track listing

# "Rainbow Connection" # "Movin' Right Along" # "Never Before, Never Again!" (vocal) # "Never Before, Never Again!" (instrumental) # "I Hope That Somethin' Better Comes Along!" (vocal) # "Can You Picture That?" # "I Hope That Somethin' Better Comes Along!" (instrumental) # "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday" # "America" # "Animal...Come Back Animal" # "Finale: The Magic Store" # "Rainbow Connection (reprise)"

Trivia

Early in their journey, Kermit and Fozzie pass Big Bird (Caroll Spinney) on the road, who notes that he's traveling to New York to try to break into public television.

Production Notes

The closing song, known as "The Magic Store/Rainbow Connection Reprise" featured a performance by every Muppet that had been created up to that time. The filming of this scene required the use of many more puppeteers than worked for Henson at the time. It is reported that John Landis and Tim Burton were among those who operated various Muppets to help create this scene.

The film was scored by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher, and their song The Rainbow Connection received an Academy Award nomination and became the informal theme song of Henson Pictures.

The film had numerous celebrity cameos including Mel Brooks, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, Elliott Gould, Milton Berle, Telly Savalas, and Orson Welles. The movie was dedicated to ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, who made his final film appearance in this movie.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for The Muppet Movie ]

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Movies - The Muppet Movie

Soundtrack album track listing

Trivia

Production Notes

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