The Great Muppet Caper (1981)

Director:

Jim Henson

Writers:

Tom Patchett (written by) &
Jay Tarses (written by) ...

Release Date:

26 June 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Comedy | Musical

Plot:

Kermit, Gonzo and Fozzie are reporters who travel to Britain to interview a rich victim of jewel thieves and help her along with her secretary, Miss Piggy.

Plot Keywords:

Muppet | Run Out Of Gas | Photographer | Robbery | Songwriter

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Jim Henson	...	Kermit the Frog / Rowlf / Dr. Teeth / Swedish Chef / Waldorf / The Muppet Newsman / Man having Snapshot in Restaurant (uncredited) (voice)
Frank Oz	...	Miss Piggy / Fozzie Bear / Animal / Sam the Eagle / Gramps / Swedish Chef (hands) (uncredited) / Extra (uncredited) (voice)
Dave Goelz	...	The Great Gonzo / Beauregard / Zoot / Dr. Bunsen Honeydew / Lobbuck Lou (voice)
Jerry Nelson	...	Floyd / Pops / Lew Zealand / Crazy Harry / Lewis Kazager (uncredited) / Slim Wilson (uncredited) / Zeke (uncredited) / CB Voice (uncredited) / Man in Park (uncredited) (voice)
Richard Hunt	...	Scooter / Statler / Sweetums / Janice / Beaker / Bubba / Monster (uncredited) / Cab Driver (uncredited) (voice)
Charles Grodin	...	Nicky Holiday
Diana Rigg	...	Lady Holiday
John Cleese	...	Neville
Robert Morley	...	British Gentleman
Peter Ustinov	...	Truck Driver
Jack Warden	...	Mr. Tarkenian the News Editor
Steve Whitmire	...	Rizzo the Rat / Lips (voice)
Louise Gold	...	Muppet Performer / Annie Sue Pig / Lou (uncredited) (voice)
Kathryn Mullen	...	Muppet Performer / Chickens / Gaffer the Cat (uncredited) (voice)
Bob Payne	...	Muppet Performer (voice)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Portugal:M/6 | Iceland:L | Canada:PG | Singapore:PG | Australia:G | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:G | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Elstree Film Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Henson Associates (HA)

Trivia:

Cameo: [Frank Oz]Bald man standing behind Gonzo when he yells "stop the presses!"

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end when the crewmember of the plane starts throwing the Muppets out one by one, none of the Muppets he is shown throwing out have parachutes on their backs, then the next shot show chutes opening up with no Muppets attached to them.

Quotes:

Kermit: We were wondering if you could recommend a nice hotel. Actually, a cheap hotel.
British Gentleman: How cheap?
Fozzie: Free.
British Gentleman: Well then, that narrows the field a bit.
[reading from his guide]
British Gentleman: Let's see. "Places where you can park your carcasses." Bus terminals. River banks. The Happiness Hotel.
Kermit: The Happiness Hotel? That sounds great.
Gonzo: What's wrong with bus terminals?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Silver Spoons: The Great Computer Caper (#1.7)" (1982)

Soundtrack:

Finale: Hey A Movie! / The First time it happens

A really good, fun movie

For kids, this film is like a kind of methadone for the heroin that is known as Pokemon (in other words, watch the muppets to get off of Pokemon even though there is no comparison to the muppets). For some of us adults who grew up with the muppets, and this movie in particular, it's a kind of small-scale piece of homage heaven. This is a fun movie, plain and simple, which parents won't find too bad either. Story takes the trio (Kermit, Fozzie and the Great Gonzo) to London as journalists who have to investigate dastardly jewelry robberies. There's plenty of great gags, horribly awesome puns, the cool flavor of the 'Jewel of the North Atlantic', and a few cameos (John Cleese and Peter Ustinov notably) surrounded by the nut-house that is the muppet world make this a near must see. The musical numbers, by the way, are close to perfect. Jim Henson's first feature length film as director is close to being his best, though not quite.