The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)

Director:

Frank Oz

Writers:

Tom Patchett (story) &
Jay Tarses (story) ...

Release Date:

13 July 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Musical | Romance

Plot:

Kermit and his friends go to New York to get their musical on Broadway only to find it's a more difficult task than they anticipated.

Plot Keywords:

The Muppets | College | Frog | Cave | Amnesia

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jim Henson	...	Kermit the Frog / Rowlf / Dr. Teeth / Waldorf / Swedish Chef / Ernie / Granny / Horse & Carriage Rider / Link Hogthrob / The Newsman (voice)
Frank Oz	...	Miss Piggy / Fozzie / Animal / Bert / Cookie Monster / Ocean Breeze Soap Board Member / Sam the Eagle (voice)
Dave Goelz	...	Gonzo / Chester - Rat / Bill - Frog / Zoot / Beauregard / Dog / Dr. Bunsen Honeydew / Penguin (voice)
Steve Whitmire	...	Rizzo the Rat / Gill - Frog / Baby Kermit / Chicken / College Student in Audience / Dog / Lew Zealand (voice)
Richard Hunt	...	Scooter / Statler / Janice / Beaker / Dog (voice)
Jerry Nelson	...	Camilla / Lew Zealand / Floyd / Bear / Chicken / Crazy Harry / Dog / Dr. Julias Strangepork / Granny / Penguin / Pops / The Count (voice)
Juliana Donald	...	Jenny
Lonny Price	...	Ronnie
Louis Zorich	...	Pete
Art Carney	...	Bernard Crawford
James Coco	...	Mr. Skeffington
Dabney Coleman	...	Martin Price
Gregory Hines	...	Roller skater
Linda Lavin	...	Kermit's doctor
Joan Rivers	...	Perfume saleswoman

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Portugal:M/6 | Netherlands:6 | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:G | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Empire Stages of New York, Long Island City, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

TriStar Pictures

Trivia:

The soundtrack to this movie is the only theatrical Muppet movie soundtrack to have never been available on CD. However, three songs from the film ("Together Again," "I'm Gonna Always Love You," and "He'll Make Me Happy") were released on the Muppets music collection "Music, Mayhem and More!".

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the opening sequence, you can see Frank Oz's head below a dancing Miss Piggy.

Quotes:

Kermit the Frog: I'm staying! You hear that, New York? THE FROG IS STAYING!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#26.15)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Saying goodbye

The Muppets Take Manhattan (Frank Oz, 1984) ***

The third Muppet movie is perhaps the most relaxed and pleasing, with the gang taking their modest college musical to the bright (yet volatile) lights of Broadway filled with typically naïve optimism. Of course, their first attempt fails and Kermit (leader of the group and author of the show) blows his top; so, the others all go their separate ways so that he won't have to feel responsible for them. Kermit himself befriends a young wannabe fashion designer making ends meet by serving food at her father's diner (the old man, then, has a line in particularly tortuous non-sequiturs!). We get the usual cameo appearances by a variety of stars: Art Carney (as a producer), James Coco (as an overzealous dog owner), Dabney Coleman (as a confidence trickster), Elliott Gould (who was also in THE MUPPET MOVIE [1979]), Gregory Hines, Liza Minnelli (as herself – having her portrait at a classy restaurant replaced by Kermit's, sporting fake moustache, as an ostensibly celebrated entrepreneur in a ruse to attract publicity to the Muppets' show), Brooke Shields, and even director John Landis (in possibly the film's funniest scene as a Broadway producer before whom Kermit appears acting streetwise and chummy and hilariously donning shades and an Afro wig!). The other Muppets more or less go through their typical paces, with (regrettably) less space given to Gonzo this time around; while Miss Piggy is something of an acquired taste with me, the scenes in which the latter spies on what she takes to be Kermit's romance with the waitress – and especially her violent reaction to this – are undeniably funny. What disappoints, however, is the climactic show itself (after a fairly redundant midsection wherein Kermit gets amnesia and eventually picks up advertising on Madison Avenue) which, rather than the expected splashy routines, procures nothing more original than the wedding ceremony of Kermit and his eternal flame Miss Piggy!