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The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) More at IMDbPro »

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
"That'll teach ya to mess with a lady!", 14 August 2001
Author: TJBNYC (limboultra@aol.com)

I distinctly remember seeing "Muppets Take Manhattan" in the movie theater when I was 8 years old--following the film, I immediately demanded that my parents purchase the soundtrack LP (yes, on vinyl!). I loved this movie then; I love it still.

Actually, it's my favorite among the first three, classic Muppet films; "Muppet Movie" is great but overlong, while "Great Muppet Caper" is terrific, but seems a bit dated now. "Muppets Take Manhattan," on the other hand, never fails to entertain me, still makes me laugh out loud (the purse-snatching scene; Kermit in his Bert Convy 'fro), and even tugs at my heartstrings.

What's particularly nice about this adventure is that it's an affectionate love letter to Hollywood musicals of yore, without being overly parodying. The musical comedy cliches are presented in a matter-of-fact manner; just as we were expected to suspend our disbelief when Ruby Keeler went out onstage a nobody but "came back a star!", we suspend our disbelief to encompass a group of talking animals putting together a big budget Broadway musical in 2 weeks. These kind of hoary plot devices are presented straight-faced, without any self-conscious "winking" or irony.

The songs are all pretty darn terrific; the show-stopping "Together Again" finale is as good as any contemporary musical number of the last 20 years or so, while "It's Time for Saying Goodbye" always puts a lump in my throat: it's sentimental without being maudlin. The finale, "He/She Makes Me Happy" goes from being sweet to comically over-the-top in less than 3 minutes, and it's a joy.

The expected parade of cameos work well within the structure, without being intrusive. My particular favorites are Liza Minnelli's (the whole Sardi's scene is wonderful), Linda Lavin's (another terrific comedy moment: "YOU are Mr. Enrico Tortellini of Passaic, New Jersey!"), and Joan Rivers' (another gem). The Muppet performers are their usual, endearing selves: lovable, warm, likable. The "love triangle" between Kermit, Piggy and the human Jenny plays surprisingly well, and Piggy's jealous reactions are hysterical.

These days, "family entertainment" usually means disgustingly white-washed pap that anyone over 10 or 11 would find either sedating or inane. (Disney's live action "101 Dalmations" and its sequel spring to mind.) The Muppet movies proved that a G-rated film could be intelligent, witty, funny and entertaining for all ages. It's a formula that has yet to be improved upon, and "The Muppets Take Manhattan" just might be the best example of it.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Enjoyable mostly on nostalgic terms, and great with an audience, 15 September 2000

Author: MisterWhiplash from United States

Throughout this film, you might think this film is just for kids. Well, it is mainly pointed towards them, but it's also well-rounded enough with the jokes pointed also at the adults in the audience. This time around, the Muppet gang try to get on Broadway, with the dire straits keeping them from getting it produced, leading them to splitting up. But Kermit won't stop, and his determination keeps things moving along until after getting the deal together he gets hit by a car and sent into amnesia!

It's a send-up, in part, of those old starring vehicles from the 40s with musicals actually as the topic of a musical, only here there's the usual lot of zaniness and wonderful moments thrown into a pot of hysterically funny moments (Lou Zealand's boomerang fish; Gonzo's water-stunt display, the whisper campaign, among many others), but also with a lot of heart too. The Muppet writers aren't shy of the conventions, on the contrary, they embrace them to the point where it's almost refreshing to see such a 'lets put on a show' story where through thick and think the characters will meet their dream.

While not as totally original in scope as the Muppet Movie, it's got many catchy and memorable songs, excellent locations all over Manhattan, and even some intonations of inter-species dating (and marriage)! Cameos include Liza Minneli ("a frog?"), Elliot Gould (as the cop), Brooke Shields (propositioned by a rat), Edward I. Koch, Gregory Hines and Joan Rivers. So get ready to sing-along, or just have a lot of big laughs and romantic (yes romantic) times with one of the best Muppet movies.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
The Best of the Muppet Films., 22 September 2003
Author: tfrizzell from United States

Very fun and impressive third Muppet movie has our heroes leaving college to make it big on Broadway in New York. Once again cameos and fun songs make up the film that re-captures the charm that "The Muppet Movie" had, but lost with "The Great Muppet Caper". There is also a little drama too though as Kermit gets in an accident and ends up suffering from a case of amnesia. Perfect for all audiences, the kiddies should gobble this one up with furious force. 4 stars out of 5.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
great muppet movie..., 27 December 2002

Author: filmfreak44 from amsterdam, holland

i love this film. the songs and story lines are great fun. and the song "saying goodbye" always moves me. what a brilliant thing to do to bring puppets to life, in a way that you actually care about these things made of cloth and fabric and whatever. great voices and great talent. why were all the other muppet films that came after this one so much less interesting, moving and funny? is it that mr. henson is just so very missed?

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
The Pinnacle of Muppet-dom (contains quotes, may or may not be spoilers), 26 April 2005

Author: Quincy Hughes (MilkShakeBOOM@msn.com) from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

When I first saw this film in the 1980's, I was in my middle teenage years and somewhat reluctant to see this since I considered myself grown up and out of the "Sesame Street/Muppets" age. I honestly don't remember if I liked it at the time or not. However, somewhere in college I watched this film again, and it wound up going (and staying) into my personal Best Films Ever collection.

This film is LOADED with humor that goes far above and beyond what one would have expected from the Muppets. I mean, obviously the Muppets always have appealed to adults and children because there's humor geared towards both generations. But come on...Janice is accidentally overheard telling someone "I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it IS artistic"...there's a joke from a father to a son that if the son in love with Kermit the Frog then the father doesn't want to hear it...Gonzo saves a chicken with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (sp?) and afterwards says "I think we're engaged now"...these and plenty of other moments in the film had me rolling. Add to that very smart dialogue, very smart New York/Broadway "wink wink" humor, the usual large amount of celebrity cameos and some really enjoyable songs that don't border on "kid-level cheesy" whatsoever...this film is a masterpiece! I don't throw "10"'s out on a regular basis...but this one deserves it. Over 20 years later, this film totally holds up, perhaps even more so. The Muppets never were and never will be again, as funny and smart and just plain brilliant as this film was and is. ---Q

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A Different Kind of Muppet Movie, 24 September 2002
Author: (robocoptng986127@aol.com) from U.S.A

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

[CONTAINS SPOILERS]

This Muppet movie is different from the first two. See, in the first two, it was a movie within a movie. In Muppet Movie, they watched a movie they made of themselves. In Great Muppet Caper, they walked us through the movie, but Muppets Take Manhattan isn't actually a movie, it's the Muppets in real life. I hope everyone understands that concept.

Kermit the Frog, Fozzie, Gonzo, Miss Piggy, Scooter, Animal, Rowlf, Dr. Teeth, Floyd Pepper, Janice, Zoot and Camilla are all in college. They put on a show for their fraternity and would like it if their show were good enough for Broadway. So after graduation, they leave New Jersey and go to New York City! As soon as they get there, they're down on their luck. They're broke. Penniless. The only lodgings in their price range were bus station lockers. They stop at a restaurant where rats are waiters. The owner, Pete, gives Kermit hope. Kermit's friends feel they depend on him too much and decide to go off on their own. So begins a very heartbreaking music montage where each one goes their own separate way. But Kermit isn't giving up. He's going to get Manhattan Melodies on Broadway if it's the last thing he does. He becomes friends with Jenny, who helps him try to pass his idea to talent agents. But during all that time, Miss Piggy was watching Kermit and got very upset whenever he and Jenny hugged. They're reunited in the park and during a coach ride, they reminisce about when they were babies. This scene spun off into the Muppet Babies! A very cute scene! Clever idea and so was the TV show. Kermit had received letters from his pals. Scooter became a theater manager, Rowlf became a pet store clerk, Gonzo was a daredevil, Fozzie was hibernating in Maine, and so on. Kertmit receives a letter from an agent who was very interested in the play! Bernard Crawford and his son Ronnie. Great! They were going to Broadway! No more bad luck. Except for Kermit, who was hit by a car and developed amnesia. He became a corporate advertising agent with three other frogs, Gill, Bill and Jill. The friends had to snap Kermit out of it and get ready for opening night! And when Manhattan Melodies opened that night, there was a huge turn out! Even the Sesame Street gang was there! The end resulted in Kermit and Miss Piggy getting married--by a real minister!

Despite this being a different kind of Muppet movie, it's still a good one. And like the first two, this one has celebrity cameos. There's Dabney Coleman, Brooke Sheilds, Joan Rivers, Art Carney, and Gregory Hines. So if you like the Muppets and you'd like to see the Muppet Babies in Muppet form, you gotta see this film.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Who knew Miss Piggy could be so entertaining!, 24 August 2002
Author: Karma16_83 from Charlotte, NC

I was lucky enough to see this film countless times when I was a child. A few days ago while taking a break from college work I saw the movie on television and was really impressed by it. The film is excellent. Kermit and the gang are not only entertaining to children but also to adults. Children are entranced by the puppets and the humor is very well suited to adults. If you have children I recommend this film, there's singing, puppets, action, and Miss Piggy what else could be more entertaining and it beats being stuck with the teletubbies.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Enjoyable enough Muppet vehicle., 25 February 2007

Author: Boba_Fett1138 from Groningen, The Netherlands

This is a rather enjoyable and harmless entertaining Muppet movie, featuring most of the well known Muppets. It really isn't their best or most memorable one though.

Lets face it and be honest here, this movie really isn't the greatest made or best written one. The only real reason that the movie still works out is thanks to the Muppets. The humor actually isn't that much good, since its mostly simply written and the events are predictable. Nevertheless the movie still manages to become funny because of the humorous and well known characters, that need no introduction.

For me it really was in this case Miss Piggy that makes the movie work out. Her character features by far the most humorous and enjoyable situations. Miss Piggy is basically a Muppet-favorite of every one! She is such a great and comical character. Also the idea alone that a grown up man, such as Frank Oz, is with his hand inside a silly looking pig and doing a very feminine voice is reason enough already to crack me up. I really respect the Muppet-performers and their timing and handling is always just great, especially Frank Oz who always is subtle and handles the most enjoyable Muppet characters. Besides acting, Frank Oz also was the person who directed and wrote the movie.

The movie concentrates a bit too much on just the two main characters of the movie; Kermit and Miss Piggy. Also the human cast gets wasted because of that but of course also most of the Muppet characters. They put (too) many Muppets in the movie but doesn't provide them with enough room to let them shine, or their characters speak out. They tried to do so by putting in some extra solo sequences, featuring some of the Muppet characters, which felt like a last minute addition but was amusing, though distracting, nevertheless. The movie also features Rizzo the Rat in his first big movie role but it's too bad that he didn't teamed up with Gonzo yet in this on. The movie could had really used another and distracting from the main plot, comical duo, besides Kermit and Miss Piggy.

The movie yet again features many cameo from well known actors and other celebrities. Celebrities and Muppets always have been a great combination. Not only well known (at the time) celebrities make a cameo but also the "Sesame Street" characters do so, toward the ending.

It's obvious that they used this movie as a vehicle to also use some new puppet techniques, that in my opinion however don't work out and are redundant. Showing the Muppet's legs when they walk, bad idea! Putting someone in a Miss Piggy suit when she is on roller-blades, bad idea!

Though the movie is mostly forgettable it of course still features some great sequences such as the one with the Muppet babies. It also of course features some good comedy moments and it obviously makes this an enjoyable simple movie to watch but it's all not quite enough for this movie to really make a lasting impression. Out of all the Muppet movies this is probably the one with the most less re-playability factor.

6/10

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
The Best!, 13 February 2004
Author: MovieAddict2009 from UK

The Muppets Take Manhattan

The best of the "Muppet" films sees the iconic furry creatures venturing to Manhattan in hopes of lighting up Broadway with their songs and dancing. Funny, touching, and simply great fun for all ages--I haven't seen the original "Muppet" film but I think it'd be hard-pressed to beat this. I got this as a free rental at my video store and kept renting it over and over again for free. If I ever see it on DVD I'm buying it immediately.

**** 1/2 out of *****

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Not their best, 9 February 2001
Author: Hotoil

This is my least-favorite of the three Muppet movies of the Henson era. There just isn't enough Muppets. Most of the gang leaves during the very beginning and it's all about Kermit, Piggy and Rizzo. Great characters, yes, but without the whole wacky ensemble it's just not the same. That, and the film is kind of just reinforcing what happened in the original Muppet movie, only replacing Hollywood with Broadway.

Don't get me wrong, it's an enjoyable movie, but it's not grade 'A' muppet material.

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