The Great Muppet Caper#Soundtrack

Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear are newly hired investigative reporters at The Daily Chronicle, and Gonzo the Great is their photographer. After failing to cover the jewel theft of prominent fashion designer Lady Holiday, the three are fired. Kermit convinces their boss to let them travel to London to interview Lady Holiday, but they get no funds for the trip. As a result, they travel in the airplane’s cargo hold, as the plane passes over London, they are thrown out in crates without parachutes, and they stay at the rundown Happiness Hotel, which a local refers to as “a place to park your carcasses,” where they meet the other Muppets.

Meanwhile, three of Lady Holiday’s models, Carla, Darla, and Marla, conspire with Lady Holiday’s “irresponsible parasite” of a brother, Nicky, to steal a valuable necklace while Nicky and Lady Holiday are at dinner. Miss Piggy, an aspiring fashion model, surprises Lady Holiday at her office and is hired as a receptionist. Kermit arrives at the office and mistakes Piggy for Lady Holiday. Both are immediately taken with each other, so when Kermit asks to interview her about the robbery over dinner, Piggy agrees and does not tell him her true identity.

That night Kermit and Piggy, along with Fozzie and Gonzo who insisted on joining, have dinner at the expensive Dubonnet Club, arriving just before Lady Holiday and Nicky. While dancing, Kermit becomes even more infatuated with Piggy and Nicky falls for her after Lady Holiday recognizes her. When Nicky and the models succeed at stealing the necklace, Piggy’s lie is exposed. Later that night, Gonzo develops the film he shot at the Club and finds a photo of Nicky and the models stealing the necklace, but when the door to their makeshift darkroom is thrown open, the negative is spoiled.

The next day, Kermit and Piggy argue in a park about her deception, but eventually reconcile. At Lady Holiday’s fashion show, one of the models fakes an injury and Nicky tells Piggy to go on in her place, giving the thieves the opportunity to frame Piggy for stealing the necklace. Piggy is arrested and Kermit vows to prove her innocence. Gonzo overhears Nicky and the models plotting to steal Lady Holiday’s most valuable jewel, the Fabulous Baseball Diamond, and tells the rest of the Muppets who all agree to help free Piggy after Fozzie gives an inspiring speech about justice and truth. Kermit visits Piggy in jail, posing as her lawyer, and tells her of their plan. She tells him she loves him and they kiss.

The night of the robbery, Piggy breaks out of prison and steals a cement mixer to get to The Mallory Gallery, where the Diamond is displayed, but it runs out of gas. Just then, a motorcycle falls out of a passing van, which Piggy breaks the fourth wall to call “an unbelievable coincidence.” The rest of the Muppets get into the Gallery just in time to catch Nicky and the models. The Muppets play keep away with the Diamond, but Nicky eventually secures it and holds Kermit at gunpoint. Just then, Piggy bursts through a stained glass window on the motorcycle and subdues the thieves until the police arrive. As the police lead Nicky away, she tells him she wants to be with Kermit.

The Chronicle, with their story about the robberies on its front page, pays for Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo and the rest of the Muppets to fly home. As before, they travel in the plane’s cargo hold and are thrown out as it passes over the United States, but this time, they all parachute to safety.

• Diana Rigg as Lady Holiday, a famous British fashion designer who has been the victim of a jewel heist
• Charles Grodin as Nicky Holiday, Lady Holiday's evil brother
• Michael Robbins as Henderson, the Mallory Gallery's security guard
• Peter Hughes as Stanley, a maître d' at the Dubonnet Club
• Peggy Aitchison as a prison guard
• Tommy Godfrey as a bus conductor
• Erica Creer as Marla, Nicky's henchwoman.
• Kate Howard as Carla, Nicky's henchwoman.
• Della Finch as Darla, Nicky's henchwoman.

• John Cleese as Neville, a wealthy British homeowner.
• Joan Sanderson as Dorcas, Neville's wife.
• Robert Morley as the British gentleman on the park bench (he refers our heroes to the Happiness Hotel, which is listed under Places Where You Can Park Your Carcass; the other options were "Bus Terminals" and "Riverbanks").
• Peter Ustinov as the cement-truck driver (his vehicle is stolen by Miss Piggy, after he denies her a ride to the Mallory Gallery).
• Jack Warden as Mike Tarkanian, editor-in-chief of The Daily Chronicle; also former college roommate of Fozzie's and Kermit's (unnamed) father.
• Peter Falk (uncredited) as a homeless watch-salesman.
• Jim Henson as a man photographed in the restaurant
• Richard Hunt as a cab driver in the opening musical sequence

• Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, Waldorf, The Swedish Chef, The Muppet Newsman and Zeke
• Frank Oz as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam the Eagle and Gramps
• Dave Goelz as Gonzo, Beauregard, Zoot, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Lubbock Lou
• Jerry Nelson as Floyd Pepper, Pops, Lew Zealand, Louis Kazagger, Crazy Harry and Slim Wilson
• Richard Hunt as Scooter, Statler, Sweetums, Janice, Beaker and Bubba
• Steve Whitmire as Rizzo the Rat and Lips
• Louise Gold as Annie Sue and Lou
• Kathryn Mullen as Gaffer the Cat
• Caroll Spinney as Oscar the Grouch

The Great Muppet Caper was theatrically released on June 26, 1981 in the United States and on 30 July 1981 in the United Kingdom. In celebration of the film's 40th anniversary, The Great Muppet Caper was re-released into theaters for two days on August 8 and 11, 2021.{{cite web |url=https://www.fathomevents.com/events/The-Great-Muppet-Caper-40th-Anniversary |title=The Great Muppet Caper 40th Anniversary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625200609/https://www.fathomevents.com/events/The-Great-Muppet-Caper-40th-Anniversary |website=Fathom Events |archive-date=June 25, 2021 |access-date=May 11, 2022 |url-status=live}}

The film was first released on Betamax, VHS, and LaserDisc in 1982 by 20th Century-Fox Video. On 29 January 1993, Buena Vista Home Video, under the Jim Henson Video label, re-released the film on VHS and LaserDisc.{{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=10 November 1992 |access-date=31 March 2021}}

It was reissued on VHS and released on DVD for the first time by Columbia TriStar Home Video and Jim Henson Home Entertainment on 1 June 1999. It was later released on DVD by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment and Jim Henson Home Entertainment on 10 July 2001.

After The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of the Muppets in 2004, the film rights to The Great Muppet Caper were acquired by Disney; the film was reissued under the Walt Disney Pictures banner in home media formats 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 Great Muppet Caper on Blu-ray and DVD, alongside Muppet Treasure Island, on 10 December 2013.{{cite web|title='Muppet Treasure Island & The Great Muppet Caper: Of Pirates & Pigs Collection' Blu-ray Dated|url=http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Disc_Announcements/DisneyBuena_Vista/Muppet_Treasure_Island__The_Great_Muppet_Caper_Of_Pirates__Pigs_Collection_Blu-ray_Dated/12297|publisher=High-Def Digest|access-date=12 August 2013|date=9 August 2013}}

After the success of The Muppet Movie (1979), and with good reviews, the film was expected to be a hit but grossed only half the amount of its predecessor. The film ultimately earned $31.2 million in the United States. The New York Times reported that one studio president had thought the use of the word "caper" in the title was a mistake due to the flagging success of caper movies at the time.{{cite news|last1=Harmetz|first1=Aljean|author-link1=Aljean Harmetz|title=Hollywood is Joyous Over Its Record Grossing Summer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/09/movies/hollywood-is-joyous-over-its-record-grossing-summer.html|access-date=10 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=9 September 1981}}

It is the fifth-highest grossing Muppet film behind The Muppets (2011), The Muppet Movie (1979), Muppets Most Wanted (2014) and Muppet Treasure Island (1996).

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a two star rating (out of four), writing "...Henson and his associates haven't developed a screenplay that pays attention to the Muppet personalities. Instead, they ship them to England and dump them into a basic caper plot, treating them every bit as much like a formula as James Bond." He concluded his review by stating that "the lack of a cutting edge hurts this movie. It's too nice, too routine, too predictable, and too safe."{{cite news|last=Ebert|first=Roger|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-great-muppet-caper-1981|title=The Great Muppet Caper|work=Chicago Sun-Times|via=RogerEbert.com|access-date=28 January 2012}} Similarly, Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times felt the "Muppets don't belong in a caper movie. They are interpreters of character, relationship and the human condition. (Of the first film's writers, Jerry Juhl and Jack Burns, only Juhl remains, now collaborating with Jack Rose; Tom Patchett and Jay Tarses are the other pair of writers credited. You can frequently scent trouble, or at least a lack of cohesion, as the list of writers mounts.) Somebody let the air out of the jokes and the originality out of the melodies, which this time are by Joe Raposo."Benson, Sheila (27 June 1981). [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74749190/sheila-bensons-review-for-the-great/{{" '}}Great Muppet Caper' Rescues Comedy"]. Los Angeles Times. Part II, p. 4. Retrieved 31 March 2021 – via Newspapers.com. {{Open access}}

Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune awarded the film three out of four stars, particularly singling out Miss Piggy for her "fabulous personality, a genuine star quality". However, he felt the film suffers "from a case of the we-know-we're-cute-so-we-can-get-by-with-anything disease. The disease manifests itself in the script that forever interrupts itself with jokes about the movie we're watching ... I expect the screenwriters to try to write a seamless story. Anybody can interrupt the action of a movie for gratuitous remarks such as these, but it's a very cheap laugh."Siskel, Gene (26 June 1981). [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43760854/gene-siskel-movie-reviewthe-great/ "Miss Piggy real star of Muppet movie"]. Chicago Tribune. Section 3, p. 3. Retrieved 31 March 2021 – via Newspapers.com. {{Open access}} Todd McCarthy, reviewing for Variety, wrote that The Great Muppet Caper "possesses all the charm of the first installment", in which he applauded Henson for showing "a sure hand in guiding his appealing stars through their paces."{{cite magazine |last=McCarthy |first=Todd |title=Film Reviews: The Great Muppet Caper |magazine=Variety |date=24 June 1981}} Vincent Canby of The New York Times compared the romantic chemistry between Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy to that of Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald, in which he praised both characters as the "real stars" of the film.{{cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/26/movies/miss-piggy-stars-in-great-muppet-caper.html |title=Screen: Miss Piggy Stars in 'Great Muppet Caper' |work=The New York Times |page=C8 |date=26 June 1981 |access-date=31 March 2021}}

The film holds a 78% approval rating based on 27 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 6.5/10. The site's consensus says "The Great Muppet Caper is overplotted and uneven, but the appealing presence of Kermit, Miss Piggy and the gang ensure that this heist flick is always breezily watchable."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/great_muppet_caper/|title=The Great Muppet Caper (1981)|work=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango Media|access-date=3 May 2023}} On Metacritic, it has a score of 70 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-great-muppet-caper|title=The Great Muppet Caper|work=Metacritic|access-date=11 August 2021}}

After the May 2021 death of co-star Charles Grodin, a number of writers called attention to his performance in the film. Robert Taylor of Collider wrote, "It's tough for a human actor to leave much of an impression in a Muppet movie. Their screen time is usually limited (often to just a cameo) and tends to consist of playing second banana to the Jim Henson-birthed lunacy. But in The Great Muppet Caper, Grodin employs his considerable comedy chops to more than hold his own, and he feels like a natural fit with the Muppet mayhem going on around him."{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/charles-grodin-great-muppet-caper-performance/|website=Collider|first=Robert|last=Taylor|title=A Tribute to Charles Grodin's Brilliant Performance in 'The Great Muppet Caper'|date=May 22, 2021|access-date=June 11, 2021}} Matthew Dessem wrote in Slate that "Hollywood is going to continue making movies, they say, and birds will continue to sing, and spring will continue to be lovely, and jewel thieves will continue to fall head over heels for pigs who are working as receptionists at posh British houses of fashion while attempting to launch their modeling careers. But a light has been extinguished, a greatness has gone out of the world, and it's fair to wonder if any other actor will ever embody pure, untamed desire for Miss Piggy the way Charles Grodin did. He was sensational."{{cite web|website=Slate|url=https://slate.com/culture/2021/05/charles-grodin-miss-piggy-muppet-caper.html|first=Matthew|last=Dessem|title=With Charles Grodin's Death, Hollywood's Greatest Romance Comes to an End|date=May 19, 2021|access-date=June 11, 2021}}

The songs and score for the film were written and composed by Joe Raposo. In 1982, Raposo was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "The First Time It Happens" but lost to "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" by Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, Christopher Cross and Peter Allen from Arthur.{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1982|title=54th Academy Awards Winners|access-date=2 March 2013|work=Oscars.org}}

In 1981, Miss Piggy won the Youth in Film Award for Best Young Musical Recording Artist for her performance of "The First Time It Happens", becoming the first, and only, non-human recipient in the history of the award.{{cite web |title=3rd Annual Youth In Film Awards |url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms3.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000310010401/http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms3.htm |archive-date=March 10, 2000 |access-date=2 March 2013 |work=YoungArtistAwards.org}}

{{Infobox album

| name = The Great Muppet Caper: The Original Soundtrack

| type = Soundtrack

| artist = The Muppets

| cover =

| alt =

| released = 1981

| recorded =

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Soundtrack

| length = 36:46

| label = Atlantic

| producer =

| chronology = The Muppets

| prev_title = The Muppet Movie: Original Soundtrack Recording

| prev_year = 1979

| next_title = The Muppets Take Manhattan: The Original Soundtrack

| next_year = 1984

}}

{{Music ratings

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000093331|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic review]

}}

The Great Muppet Caper: The Original Soundtrack contains all of the songs from the film, as well as several portions of dialogue and background score. The album reached #66 on Billboard's Top LPs and Tapes chart in 1981.

; Track listing

{{Track listing

| collapsed =

| extra_column = Artist(s)

| total_length = 36:46

| all_writing = Joe Raposo

| all_lyrics =

| all_music =

| title1 = The Main Title

| note1 = Instrumental

| writer1 =

| lyrics1 =

| music1 =

| extra1 =

| length1 = 2:48

| title2 = Hey a Movie!

| note2 =

| writer2 =

| lyrics2 =

| music2 =

| extra2 = Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear and The Great Gonzo

| length2 = 2:44

| title3 = The Big Red Bus

| note3 = Instrumental

| writer3 =

| lyrics3 =

| music3 =

| extra3 =

| length3 = 1:25

| title4 = Happiness Hotel

| note4 =

| writer4 =

| lyrics4 =

| music4 =

| extra4 = The Muppets

| length4 = 3:07

| title5 = Lady Holiday

| note5 = Instrumental

| writer5 =

| lyrics5 =

| music5 =

| extra5 =

| length5 = 1:13

| title6 = Steppin' Out with a Star

| note6 =

| writer6 =

| lyrics6 =

| music6 =

| extra6 = Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear and The Great Gonzo

| length6 = 2:32

| title7 = The Apartment

| note7 = Instrumental

| writer7 =

| lyrics7 =

| music7 =

| extra7 =

| length7 = 0:54

| title8 = Night Life

| note8 =

| writer8 =

| lyrics8 =

| music8 =

| extra8 = Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem

| length8 = 2:58

| title9 = The First Time It Happens

| note9 =

| writer9 =

| lyrics9 =

| music9 =

| extra9 = Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy

| length9 = 4:13

| title10 = Couldn't We Ride

| note10 =

| writer10 =

| lyrics10 =

| music10 =

| extra10 = The Muppets

| length10 = 3:08

| title11 = Piggy's Fantasy

| note11 =

| writer11 =

| lyrics11 =

| music11 =

| extra11 = Stuart Kale and Kermit the Frog

| length11 = 3:58

| title12 = The Heist/The Muppet Fight Song/Muppets to the Rescue

| note12 = Instrumental

| writer12 =

| lyrics12 =

| music12 =

| extra12 =

| length12 = 3:47

| title13 = Homeward Bound

| note13 = Instrumental

| writer13 =

| lyrics13 =

| music13 =

| extra13 =

| length13 = 0:52

| title14 = Finale: Hey a Movie!

| note14 =

| writer14 =

| lyrics14 =

| music14 =

| extra14 = The Muppets

| length14 = 1:30

| title15 = Finale: The First Time It Happens

| note15 =

| writer15 =

| lyrics15 =

| music15 =

| extra15 = Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy

| length15 = 1:37

}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Jones|first=Brian Jay|author-link=Brian Jay Jones|title=Jim Henson: The Biography|year=2013|publisher=Ballantine Books|location=New York|isbn=9780345526113}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• {{Official website|https://movies.disney.com/the-great-muppet-caper}}
• {{IMDb title|0082474|The Great Muppet Caper}}
• {{Muppets}}
• {{TCMDb title|76909|The Great Muppet Caper}}
• {{mojo title|greatmuppetcaper|The Great Muppet Caper}}
• {{rotten-tomatoes|great_muppet_caper|The Great Muppet Caper}}

{{Muppet films}}

{{Jim Henson films}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Muppet Caper}}

Category:1980s musical comedy films

Category:1980s comedy mystery films

Category:1981 comedy films

Category:1981 directorial debut films

Category:1981 films

Category:1981 children's films

Category:1980s English-language films

Category:American crime comedy films

Category:American musical comedy films

Category:American comedy mystery films

Category:American heist films

Category:American independent films

Category:American self-reflexive films

Category:British crime comedy films

Category:British musical comedy films

Category:British comedy mystery films

Category:British heist films

Category:British independent films

Category:Films directed by Jim Henson

Category:Films scored by Joe Raposo

Category:Films set in hotels

Category:Films set in London

Category:Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios

Category:Films shot in London

Category:Films with screenplays by Jerry Juhl

Category:ITC Entertainment films

Category:The Jim Henson Company films

Category:The Muppets films

Category:Universal Pictures films

Category:1980s American films

Category:1980s British films

Category:English-language musical comedy films

Category:English-language comedy mystery films

Category:1981 musical films