:The Muppet Movie

The story opens with the Muppets sitting down for a private screening of a movie that acts as an origin story of how they all met.

Kermit the Frog lives a simple life in a Florida swamp. After he plays his banjo and sings "Rainbow Connection", he is approached by Bernie, a talent agent who encourages him to pursue a career in show business. Inspired, Kermit sets off on a cross-country trip to Hollywood.

He meets Fozzie Bear, who is working as a hapless stand-up comedian, and invites him on his journey. The two set out in Fozzie's 1951 Studebaker but are pursued by entrepreneur Doc Hopper and his assistant Max, who try to convince Kermit to be the new spokesfrog of Hopper's struggling French-fried frog legs restaurant franchise. Horrified, Kermit refuses, and he and Fozzie drive away. Unwilling to accept Kermit's refusal, Hopper follows the pair and resorts to increasingly forceful means of persuasion. In an old church, Kermit and Fozzie meet the rock band Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, and their manager Scooter, who help them disguise their car. Driving on, they meet and are joined by Gonzo and his girlfriend Camilla the Chicken, who are also interested in becoming movie stars. They trade in their failing vehicle at a used car lot, where they meet Sweetums. They invite Sweetums to come with them, but he runs away. The others drive away, only for Sweetums to emerge and reveal that he had only gone to pack his things.

The group meets Miss Piggy at a county fair, and she and Kermit become love-stricken with each other. When they meet for dinner that night, Hopper and Max sneak up on Miss Piggy and abduct her as bait to lure Kermit. When Kermit arrives at the designated location, mad scientist Professor Krassman tries to brainwash him into performing in Hopper's advertisements, but Miss Piggy knocks out Hopper's henchmen and causes Krassman to be brainwashed by his own device. However, immediately after the fight, Miss Piggy receives a job offer and abandons a devastated Kermit.

Joined by Rowlf the Dog and reunited with Miss Piggy, the Muppets continue their journey to Hollywood, but their car breaks down in the desert. Sitting at a campfire, the group realizes that they will likely miss the audition the next day. Kermit wanders off, ashamed for bringing his friends on a fruitless journey, but personal reflection restores his commitment. He returns to camp, where he discovers that the Electric Mayhem have come to their rescue, having learned of their plight by reading ahead in the film's script. The Mayhem offer to drive the group the rest of the way in their bus.

The group is warned by a reformed Max that Hopper has hired an assassin, Snake Walker, to kill Kermit. Kermit decides to face his aggressor and proposes a Western-style showdown in a nearby ghost town. There, they find inventor Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker. Kermit and his friends are saved when one of Dr. Honeydew's inventions, "insta-grow" pills, enlarges Mayhem drummer Animal, who frightens away Hopper and his henchmen.

Once the Muppets reach the Hollywood studio, they meet executive Lew Lord, who signs them to a "standard 'rich and famous' contract". The first take in their attempt to perform the script goes awry when Gonzo crashes into the prop rainbow, and an explosion blows a hole in the roof of the studio; a rainbow shines through the hole and illuminates the Muppets. Joined by Muppet characters from other Henson productions, including Sesame Street, Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, and The Land of Gorch, the Muppets sing the final verse in a reprise of "Rainbow Connection" as the film ends; just as Sweetums tears through the screen, elated that he caught up with them.

• Charles Durning as Doc Hopper, a businessman, entrepreneur, and restaurateur.
• Austin Pendleton as Max, Doc Hopper's shy right-hand man and sidekick.
• Scott Walker as Snake Walker, an assassin who specializes in killing frogs.
• H.B. Haggerty as Lumberjack
• Bruce Kirby as Gate Guard
• James Frawley as a Waiter at El Sleezo Café where Fozzie is doing his comedy act
• Melinda Dillon as a Woman with Balloon (uncredited)

{{main|List of Muppets}}

• Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, Waldorf, The Swedish Chef and Link Hogthrob
• Frank Oz as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam the Eagle and Marvin Suggs
• Jerry Nelson as Floyd Pepper, Crazy Harry, Robin the Frog, Lew Zealand and Camilla the Chicken
• Richard Hunt as Scooter, Statler, Janice, Sweetums and Beaker
• Dave Goelz as The Great Gonzo, Zoot, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Doglion and Nigel
• Caroll Spinney as Big Bird

Frank Oz appears in a cameo as a biker who beats up Fozzie Bear while Steve Whitmire appears as a man in the Bogen County Fair.

• Dom DeLuise as Bernie, a Hollywood agent who meets Kermit in the swamp. The character's name alludes to Bernie Brillstein, talent agent and producer of the original Muppet Show.
• James Coburn as the El Sleezo Café Owner
• Madeline Kahn as an El Sleezo Patron with the same rhotacism and personality Kahn used for Lili von Shtupp in Blazing Saddles
• Telly Savalas as El Sleezo Tough
• Carol Kane as the lisping "miss" (summoned by the word “myth”)
• Paul Williams as the El Sleezo Pianist.
• Milton Berle as Mad Man Mooney, a used car salesman who employs Sweetums as a jack.
• Elliott Gould as the Compère who announces Miss Piggy as the winner of the Bogen County Beauty Pageant.
• Edgar Bergen as himself and Charlie McCarthy playing judges at the County Fair. This appearance marks Bergen's last film; he died soon after. The film was dedicated in his memory.
• Bob Hope as an Ice Cream Vendor serving cones to Fozzie at the County Fair.
• Richard Pryor as a Balloon Vendor selling balloons to Gonzo at the County Fair.
• Steve Martin as an Insolent Waiter working at the restaurant where Rowlf plays piano.
• Mel Brooks as Professor Krassman, a mad scientist hired by Doc Hopper.
• Cloris Leachman as Miss Tracy, Lew Lord's secretary who is allergic to animals.
• Orson Welles as Lew Lord, a Hollywood producer and studio executive. The character's name alludes to Sir Lew Grade, head of ATV, the British company that co-produced The Muppet Show.

After the popularity of the Muppets had grown following the success of The Muppet Show, Lew Grade agreed to finance the production of the film and signed the deal with his company ITC Entertainment,{{Sfn|Durrett|1994|p=72}} which helped Jim Henson finance the film.{{Cite book |last=St. Pierre |first=Stephanie |title=The Story of Jim Henson, Creator of the Muppets |publisher=Dell Publishing |year=1991 |isbn=0673817474 |pages=71}} After the film's production greenlit, Jim Henson and selected team members traveled to California various times to develop the script, music, and infrastructure in Hollywood to shoot the film.{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Tara |date=July 25, 2019 |title=The Muppet Movie: An Oral History |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/07/25/the-muppet-movie-an-oral-history |access-date=December 19, 2022 |website=IGN}} James Frawley was hired to direct the movie due to the film's challenges.

During Frawley and Henson's first meeting in London, they were concerned that the Muppets would not blend well in real life.{{Cite news |date=August 31, 1979 |title=Henson's new adventure: 'The Muppet Movie' |pages=21 |work=Havre Daily News |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/montana/havre/havre-daily-news/1979/08-31/page-21/ |access-date=December 18, 2022}} Along with Frank Oz and the team, they filmed and tested how the characters would appear in real-world locations during the first few days of June 1978 in a UK meadow.{{cite news|last1=Roessner|first1=Beth|title=First 'Muppets' director recalls original|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/03/21/first-muppets-director-jim-frawley/6715775/|access-date=September 5, 2014|work=USA Today|date=March 22, 2014}}{{Cite web |date=July 4, 2013 |title=7/5/1978 – 'Camera rolls on Muppet Movie.' |url=https://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2013/07/751978/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815233640/https://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2013/07/751978/ |archive-date=August 15, 2014 |access-date=December 18, 2022 |website=Jim Henson's Red Book}}{{Sfn|Durrett|1994|p=73}} During filming tests, a cow was ambled near Fozzie for an unexpected rear look at a comparison between fake and natural fur hair.{{Sfn|Durrett|1994|p=73}} The camera tests attracted the investment of ITC Entertainment. On July 3, 1978, Henson flew to Los Angeles again to begin shooting for the film.

Principal photography began on July 5, 1978, and continued for 87 days during summer and fall of that year.The Muppet Show Fan Club newsletter (vol. 2, no. 1){{Sfn|Jay Jones|2013|p=283}} Each minute took a day to be filmed. Filming locations included Albuquerque, New Mexico as well as various parts of Los Angeles and Northern California, including the San Fernando Valley.{{cite book|title=100 years of filmmaking in New Mexico 1898–1998|publisher=New Mexico Dept. of Tourism|year=1998|page=118}} The Western street scenes were filmed on the former Columbia Ranch, then known as The Burbank Studios.{{Cite journal |date=July 1979 |title=American Cinematographer 'Behind the scenes of "The Muppet Movie"' |journal=American Cinematographer |volume=n/a |issue=n/a |pages=35}} Additionally, the interior shots were filmed at CBS-MTM Studios. All the sets were elevated by five feet to allow the puppeteers to perform.{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Bob |date=August 22, 1978 |title=Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo all star in 'Muppet Movie' |pages=21 |work=Lima News |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/ohio/lima/lima-news/1978/08-22/page-21/ |access-date=December 18, 2022}}{{Cite news |last1=Colker |first1=David |last2=Viertel |first2=Jack |date=March 1979 |title=On the Set with the Muppets |pages=18 |work=Take One |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_take-one_1979-03_7_4/page/18/mode/2up?q=the+muppet+movie&view=theater |access-date=January 14, 2023}} According to Henson, the principal photography of the film was slower than in television. No effects were added after filming concluded.

Austin Pendleton recalled that the film was shot on "a very unhappy set, because Jim [Frawley] was very unhappy directing that movie. And I noticed that was the only time the Muppet people used an outside person to direct a Muppet movie. They never did that again. After that, it was either Jim Henson or Frank Oz. And I would have liked to have been in one of those, because those sets were very harmonious. But this was not."{{cite web |last=Rabin |first=Nathan |date=July 29, 2009 |title=Austin Pendleton | Film |url=https://www.avclub.com/austin-pendleton-1798217219 |access-date=December 21, 2012 |publisher=The A.V. Club}}

Several shots required Muppets standing and acting in a full-body shot. To perform Kermit sitting on a log, Henson squeezed into a specially designed metal container complete with an air hose (to breathe), a rubber sleeve which came out of the top to perform Kermit and a monitor to see his performance, and placed himself under the water, log, and the Kermit puppet.{{Sfn|Durrett|1994|p=73}}{{cite news|last=Swansburg|first=John|title=Muppet Man|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/books/review/jim-henson-the-biography-by-brian-jay-jones.html?_r=0|access-date=10 April 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 December 2013}} He was also assisted in this operation by Kathryn Mullen and Steve Whitmire.{{Cite web |last=Hennes |first=Joe |date=August 1, 2013 |title=Mokey Fraggle Speaks: The Kathy Mullen Interview, part 1 |url=https://toughpigs.com/kathy-mullen-1/ |access-date=November 23, 2023 |website=toughpigs.com}} During breaks, cups of ice tea were given to Henson through the rubber sleeve since he could not easily leave the tank.{{Sfn|Durrett|1994|p=73}} Rescuers had to stand by the tank to pull Henson out if the tank leaked or the air supply had difficulties.{{Sfn|Durrett|1994|p=73}} The scene took five days to be filmed.{{Sfn|Jay Jones|2013|p=235}}

To have Kermit ride a bicycle in a full-body shot, a Kermit puppet with legs was posed onto the seat and his legs and arms were attached to the pedals and handlebars. An overhead crane with a marionette system held the bicycle through strong strings invisible to the camera, guiding the bicycle forward.{{Cite web |last=Abernathy |first=Kristen |date=24 February 2021 |title=How The Muppet Movie Makes Kermit Ride A Bicycle |url=https://screenrant.com/kermit-bicycle-muppet-movie-effect-how/ |access-date=3 February 2023 |website=Screen Rant}} The crane and system were out of the camera's frame of vision. Specially made, remote-controlled puppets were placed on the set and controlled by puppeteers out of the frame. A dancing Kermit and Fozzie Bear were operated by Henson and Oz in front of a blue screen, and they were composited onto a separate reel of the stage.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} For scenes involving Fozzie driving a Studebaker, cables, TV monitors, puppeteers, and its Muppets were filled in.{{Sfn|Durrett|1994|pp=73–74}} A dwarf would sit in the trunk and control via remote control. A television monitor showed what was ahead.{{Sfn|Durrett|1994|p=74}}

The closing reprise of "Rainbow Connection" featured a crowd of more than 250 Muppet characters—virtually every Muppet that had been created up to that point in time.{{Cite web |last=Falk |first=Karen |title=Ask Henson - Archives - Questions 50 and 97 |url=https://www.henson.com/ask/ask_archives_body.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011106163355/http://www.henson.com/ask/ask_archives_body.html |archive-date=November 6, 2001 |access-date=December 23, 2022 |website=Ask Henson... Archives}} According to Henson Archivist Karen Falk, 137 puppeteers were enlisted from the Puppeteers of America (along with the regular Muppets performers) to perform every Muppet extant. Prior to the day-long filming of the shot, Henson gave the enthusiastic participants a lesson in the art of cinematic puppetry. The scene involved 150 puppeteers performing in a pit that was 6 feet deep and 17 feet wide. In September 1978, Edgar Bergen, Henson's idol who appeared in a cameo role, died shortly after completing his scenes. Henson was asked by his family to say a few words with Kermit for his memorial service. Henson agreed, and he attended Bergen's memorial service for its speech.{{Sfn|Durrett|1994|p=75}} Henson dedicated the film to his memory.

{{main|The Muppet Movie (soundtrack){{!}}The Muppet Movie (soundtrack)}}

The film's music and lyrics were written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher. Regarding the music's composition, Williams said; "Jim Henson gave you more [creative] freedom than anybody I've ever worked with in my life. I said, 'You want to hear the songs as we're writing them?' He said, 'No. I'll hear them in the studio. I know I'm gonna love them.' You just don't get that kind of freedom on a project these days."{{cite web| url = http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3146 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730233140/http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php%3Fid%3D3146| title = Rainbow Connection by The Muppets | archive-date=July 30, 2017 | website = songfacts.com | access-date = December 7, 2009 | url-status=dead}} "Never Before, Never Again" was originally sung by Johnny Mathis, but was changed to Miss Piggy when Jim Henson thought it would be funnier if she sang it to herself. Mathis would later sing the song in the television special The Muppets Go Hollywood.

"Movin' Right Along", "Never Before, Never Again", and "I Hope That Somethin' Better Comes Along" were shortened in the film, compared to their soundtrack versions, for continuity purposes.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} The latter, a duet between Rowlf and Kermit, contained references that the studio considered too mature for children, although the song appeared complete in the British theatrical and home video debut versions.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

The Muppet Movie had a royal premiere at the Leicester Square Theatre in London on May 31, 1979, attended by Princess Anne.{{cite web |date=May 30, 2013 |title=5/31/79 |url=https://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2013/05/5311979/ |access-date=8 May 2020 |website=Jim Henson's Red Book}}{{Sfn|Durrett|1994|p=74}} In the United States, the film premiered with a celebration at the Coconut Grove in Hollywood, Los Angeles.{{Sfn|Durrett|1994|p=74}}{{When|date=December 2022}} It was later released with limited release in New York City, Toronto,(June 22, 1979). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star/133289379/ "The Muppet Movie"] (advertisement). The Toronto Star. Retrieved November 23, 2023. Los Angeles, Wichita,(June 22, 1979). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wichita-eagle/80459434/ "The Muppet Movie"] (advertisement). The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved November 23, 2023. Kansas City,(June 22, 1979). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star/80459249/ "The Muppet Movie"] (advertisement). The Kansas City Star. Retrieved November 23, 2023. Austin,(June 22, 1979). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/austin-american-statesman/80459829/ "The Muppet Movie"] (advertisement). Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved November 23, 2023. and the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex(June 22, 1979). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram/80459604/ "The Muppet Movie"] (advertisement). Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved November 23, 2023. on June 22, 1979.{{Cite book |last=Falk |first=Karen |title=Imagination Illustrated : The Jim Henson Journal |publisher=Chronicle Books |year=2012 |isbn=9781452105826 |pages=121}} The film rolled out gradually throughout the United States and Canada.{{cite magazine |date=22 September 1979 |title=Muppet Power |magazine=Screen International |page=6}} In celebration of the film's 40th anniversary, The Muppet Movie returned to theaters for two days on July 25 and 30, 2019.{{cite web |date=July 20, 2019 |title=More Than a Rainbow Connection: The Muppet Movie Revisited |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/282281/the-muppet-movie-revisited |access-date=July 30, 2019 |website=Den of Geek}} The film also returned to theaters to celebrate its 45th anniversary on June 2 and 3, 2024, via Fathom Events.{{cite web |title=The Muppet Movie 45th Anniversary Showtimes |url=https://www.fandango.com/the-muppet-movie-45th-anniversary-234460/movie-overview |access-date=March 24, 2024 |website=Fandango}}

In May 1979, CBS aired The Muppets Go Hollywood, a one-hour television special that promoted the then-upcoming release of The Muppet Movie. In April, the film had been promoted when the Muppets hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.{{Sfn|Jay Jones|2013|p=291}} Additionally, a book adaptation of The Muppet Movie, adapted by Steven Crist, was published by Peacock Press/Bantam Books.{{cite book |last=Crist |first=Steven |title=The Muppet Movie |date=1979 |publisher=Peacock Press/Bantam Books |isbn=978-0810913295}}{{cite book |date=1986 |title=Something About the Author |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jMVkAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Gale |volume=43 |page=118 |isbn=9780810322530 |access-date=May 26, 2020}}

In Austin, Texas, then-CBS affiliate KTBC-TV and American International Traveler sponsored a contest where adults who paid to see the film in the area were eligible to win a free trip to Hollywood.

The Muppet Movie was the first film by ITC Films to be released on home video when Magnetic Video issued it in May 1980, having acquired the video rights to ITC's films. It was reissued in 1982 and 1984 by CBS/Fox Video. On January 29, 1993, Buena Vista Home Video re-released the film under their Jim Henson Video label on VHS and LaserDisc, pricing at $24.99.{{cite news |last=Spain |first=Tom |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1993/01/14/the-great-muppet-deal/65bbc843-4113-47dd-809a-9b44a6ab1693/ |title=The Great Muppet Deal |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 25, 1993 |access-date=August 2, 2019}}{{cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/1992/digital/news/henson-video-line-debuts-jan-29-with-eight-titles-100461/ |title=Henson Video line debuts Jan. 29 with eight titles |magazine=Variety |date=November 10, 1992 |access-date=March 31, 2021}}{{Cite magazine |last=McCormick |first=Moira |date=January 9, 1993 |title=Greening Of The Kids Mkt.; More Barney; New Discovery |pages=62 |magazine=Billboard |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-01-09.pdf |access-date=December 24, 2022}} The movie was reissued again on VHS by Columbia TriStar Home Video and Jim Henson Home Entertainment on June 1, 1999, followed by a DVD release on June 5, 2001. After Disney's acquisition of the film as part of the core Muppets franchise, the film was reissued as a Walt Disney Pictures release and was re-released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on DVD on November 29, 2005, as part of the Kermit's 50th Anniversary Edition line. Disney released the film as the Nearly 35th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on August 13, 2013. The film now streams in 4K Ultra HD on Disney+.{{cite news|last=Truitt|first=Brian|title=Kermit, Fozzie entertain in 'Muppet Movie' camera test|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2013/08/09/the-muppet-movie-blu-ray-exclusive-clip/2635835/|access-date=12 August 2013|newspaper=USA Today|date=9 August 2013}}

In its first six days at the Leicester Square Theatre, it grossed $31,884.{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=June 13, 1979|page=39|title='Muppet' Stout 32G, West End; 'Heaven' Nice 16 1/2G, 'Men' 33G}} The film would later earn over $65 million in the United States and Canada,{{Sfn|Jay Jones|2013|p=296}} returning $32 million in box office rentals.{{cite magazine |title=Big Rental Films of 1979 |magazine=Variety |date=January 9, 1980 |page=29}}{{cite news |last=Harmetz |first=Aljean |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/24/business/universal-to-market-films-from-afd.html |title=Universal To Market Films from A.F.D. |work=The New York Times |page=D6 |date=February 24, 1981 |access-date=March 31, 2021}} For 32 years, The Muppet Movie was the highest-grossing puppet film until the release of The Muppets in 2011.

The film's successful theatrical release encouraged Lew Grade into furthering his own film distribution company, which later backfired with the massive box office failures of Can't Stop the Music (from EMI) and Raise the Titanic (from ITC), both released by Associated Film Distribution just a year later.{{cite book |last=Grade |first=Lew |title=Still Dancing: My Story |publisher=William Collins & Sons |year=1987 |page=252 |isbn=0-002-17780-3}}

The Muppet Movie currently holds an {{RT data|score}} approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of {{RT data|average}}, based on {{RT data|count}} reviews. The site's consensus says "The Muppet Movie, the big-screen debut of Jim Henson's plush creations, is smart, lighthearted, and fun for all ages."{{cite web |title=The Muppet Movie |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/muppet_movie/ |access-date=April 28, 2021 |work=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Fandango}} On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{Cite web |title=The Muppet Movie Reviews |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-muppet-movie |access-date=December 22, 2022 |website=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive}}

The film received highly positive reviews in the United States. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars. In his favorable review, he was fascinated that "The Muppet Movie not only stars the Muppets but, for the first time, shows us their feet."{{cite news|author=Ebert, Roger|author-link=Roger Ebert|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-muppet-movie-1979|title=The Muppet Movie|work=Chicago Sun-Times|via=RogerEbert.com|date=November 14, 1979|access-date=February 1, 2012}} Vincent Canby of The New York Times offered equal praise, stating that the film "demonstrates once again that there's always room in movies for unbridled amiability when it is governed by intelligence and wit."{{cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |title=The Screen: Muppets Go to Hollywood |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/22/archives/the-screen-muppets-go-to-hollywoodroadiest-road-picture.html |access-date=9 September 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=22 June 1979}} Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and called it "surely one of the summer's most entertaining films," which "does a fairly nice job of trying to be all things to all people. Which is not an easy job."Siskel, Gene (August 3, 1979). [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37537856/ "The Muppets plant feet firmly on the big screen"]. Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 13 – via Newspapers.com. {{Open access}} Dale Pollock of Variety wrote, "'The Muppet Movie' is a winner... Script by Jerry Juhl and Jack Burns incorporates the zingy one-liners and bad puns that have become the teleseries' trade mark, but also develops the Muppets themselves as thinking, feeling characters."{{cite magazine|last=Pollock|first=Dale|date=May 30, 1979|title=Film Reviews: The Muppet Movie|magazine=Variety|page=16}} Kathleen Carroll of the New York Daily News wrote that "with the exception of Brooks' wacky scene and Steve Martin's funny bit as a snooty waiter, the cameo appearances by such stars as Bob Hope and Richard Pryor tend to slow the action down just as the bland musical numbers by Paul Williams and Kenny Asher interrupt the flow of the movie. Still The Muppet Movie should entrance both young and old as the Muppets further endear themselves with their crazy antics, their playful puns and their very human characteristics."{{cite news

| last = Carroll

| first = Kathleen

| date = June 22, 1979

| title = The greening of Hollywood—Kermit & Co. In the reel world

| url = https://nydailynews.newspapers.com/article/daily-news/53914160/

| work = New York Daily News

| location =

| access-date = November 10, 2023

}} Rex Reed, in the same newspaper, reacted more enthusiastically to the film, remarking that "if there's any doubt, The Muppet Movie will make believers and fans out of the worst pessimists. These lovable characters are so real and so endearing that I was never aware of the human hands making them work from mysterious hiding places. The Muppets made a wide-eyed, child out of me, and I hope they continue to do so until I'm in my wheelchair."{{cite news

| last = Reed

| first = Rex

| date = June 22, 1979

| title = 'Muppets' a delight; 'Event' a tasty trifle

| url = https://nydailynews.newspapers.com/article/daily-news/53913966/

| work = New York Daily News

| location =

| access-date = November 10, 2023

}}

Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "as you might well expect, it is hip, funny, technically ingenious, fast-moving, melodious, richly produced, contemporary and equally and utterly beguiling to grown-ups and small persons."Champlin, Charles (June 21, 1979).[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37537961/ "Muppets Invade the Real World"]. Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 17 – via Newspapers.com. {{Open access}} Katrine Ames of Newsweek stated, "'The Muppet Movie' is a delectable grab bag of influences — stories by L. Frank Baum and Lewis Carroll, Westerns, the Crosby-Hope and Garland-Rooney movies — as well as its own inventive devices. The result is a kind of 'That's Entertainment!' with a plot attached. Its charm — and success — lie primarily in its loving pokes at Hollywood conventions and in the lovable characters who do the poking."{{cite magazine|last=Ames|first=Katrine|date=July 2, 1979|title=Kermit and His Gang|magazine=Newsweek|page=67}} John Skow of Time magazine offered a more mixed response, saying that "the transition from the yank-'em-off-if-they-bomb lunacy of the TV show to the coherent narration of the film is not a complete success. Muppet magic remains a bewildering succession of wonderful bits, and perhaps the movie's best occurs when Rowlf the Dog, who is a barroom pianist, commiserates with Kermit, who has just been deserted by Miss Piggy. The two sing a nice, rueful song about women—the can't-live-with-them, can't-live-without-them kind of thing."{{cite magazine|last=Ames|first=Katrine|date=July 2, 1979|title=Cinema: Green Blues|magazine=Newsweek|url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,920489,00.html|access-date=November 10, 2023}}

Michael Hanton of the Toronto Star wrote that "I was looking forward to a combination of Singin' in the Rain, Citizen Kane, and Intolerance. What I got was more like Gidget, The Great Race and Love Boat"; he also remarked that Fozzie Bear stole the show from his favorite character, Miss Piggy.{{cite news

| last = Hanton

| first = Michael

| date = June 22, 1979

| title = Piggy, my sweet, it was wonderful

| url = https://newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star/134971617/

| work = Toronto Star

| location =

| access-date = November 10, 2023

}}

In the United Kingdom, it received mixed to positive reviews. Tim Radford of The Guardian called it "another film spun slightly longer than it should have been", adding that "the humour remains decently dry and self-deprecating throughout; on the other hand there isn't nearly enough of it, and a good 40 or 50 minute idea is padded to the obligatory hour and a half with songs, travelogue, flashbacks and a certain amount of mooning about."{{cite news

| last = Radford

| first = Tim

| date = May 31, 1979

| title = How they kept them down on the farm

| url = https://newspapers.com/article/the-guardian/134972123/

| work = The Guardian

| location = London, England, United Kingdom

| access-date = November 10, 2023

}} Patrick Gibbs of The Daily Telegraph remarked that "after the Wombles moved, as they did recently, from the small screen to the big, so the Muppets inevitably follow, rather more successfully, I think, for James Frawley’s The Muppet Movie is a clever construction." He also said that "the style is cunningly varied at intervals by the appearance in virtually two-line parts of such people as Milton Berle, James Coburn, Dom DeLuise or Elliott Gould, not to mention Orson Welles, each in his own comic persona. Songs also help to add variety to a very hazardous undertaking; not at all to my taste, it comes off, I would say, as well as possible."{{cite news

| last = Gibbs

| first = Patrick

| date = June 1, 1979

| title = As wide as the Texas plains

| url = https://newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph/134972063/

| work = The Daily Telegraph

| location = London, England, United Kingdom

| access-date = November 10, 2023

}} Alexander Walker of the London Evening Standard supplied the film with its most positive review in the country, calling it "the most original little show in town", and adding that it offered:{{cquote|Across the board delight: not only for the children: for adults, too, who'll relish its in-jokes, visual wit, cheeky parodies of other movies and [its] own brand of surrealist fun.

That's the first surprise. The second is how successfully the Muppets take to the big blow-up of the cinema screen. But this is no jumped-up clone of the TV show. It expands its own fun to fill its enlarged running-time.

It reminds you of a "Road" film. But instead of Hope, Crosby and Lamour, it has a cloth-and-styrofoam cast who look more human than the famous humanoids like Orson Welles, Mel Brooks, Telly Savalas and (yes) Bob Hope they meet en route.

The Muppets "magic," supplied by creator-producer Jim Henson and other talented artists operating the globe puppets from hiding places that a sewer rat would think cramped, endow their stars with independent life and liveliness.{{cite news

| last = Walker

| first = Alexander

| date = May 31, 1979

| title = Hi there, short, green and handsome

| url =

| work = Evening Standard

| location = London, England, United Kingdom

| access-date =

}}}}

The Muppet Movie was followed by seven more feature films starring the Muppets, the first of which, The Great Muppet Caper, was released in 1981. In 2009, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."{{Cite news |date=December 30, 2009 |title=25 new titles added to National Film Registry |website=Yahoo! News |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091230/ap_en_mo/us_classic_films_glance |url-status=dead |access-date=December 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106004526/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091230/ap_en_mo/us_classic_films_glance |archive-date=January 6, 2010}} In 2020, "Rainbow Connection" was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry.{{Cite news |last=Schuessler |first=Jennifer |date=March 24, 2021 |title=Janet Jackson and Kermit the Frog Added to National Recording Registry |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/arts/music/national-recording-registry-janet-jackson.html |access-date=March 24, 2021}} One of the two pairs of 1951 Studebaker Commander Coupes used in the film is now on display at the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Jay Jones|first=Brian|title=Jim Henson: The Biography|publisher=Ballantine Books (Random House)|year=2013|isbn=9780345526120|edition=}}
• {{cite book|last=Durrett|first=Deanne|url=https://archive.org/details/jimhenson00durr|title=The Importance of Jim Henson|publisher=Lucent Books|year=1994|isbn=9781560060482|edition=}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• {{Official website|https://movies.disney.com/the-muppet-movie-1979}} at Disney.com
• {{IMDb title|0079588|The Muppet Movie}}
• {{Muppets}}
• {{TCMDb title|84126|The Muppet Movie}}
• {{mojo title|muppetmovie|The Muppet Movie}}
• {{rotten-tomatoes|muppet_movie|The Muppet Movie}}
• {{Metacritic film|title=The Muppet Movie}}

{{Muppet films|state=expanded}}

{{James Frawley}}

{{Sesame Street}}

{{Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film 1973–1990}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muppet Movie, The}}

Category:The Muppets films

Category:1979 films

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Category:1979 musical films