The Muppets Take Manhattan

The Muppets Take Manhattan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Frank Oz
Produced by	David Lazer
Screenplay by	Tom Patchett Jay Tarses Frank Oz
Story by	Tom Patchett Jay Tarses
Starring	Jim Henson Frank Oz Dave Goelz Jerry Nelson Richard Hunt Steve Whitmire
Music by	Ralph Burns Jeff Moss
Cinematography	Robert Paynter
Editing by	Evan A. Lottman
Studio	Henson Associates
Distributed by	TriStar Pictures (Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Release date(s)	July 13, 1984
Running time	94 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$8 million
Box office	$25,534,703

The Muppets Take Manhattan is the third of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets, and also the final film before Henson's death. This film was produced by Henson Associates and TriStar Pictures, and was filmed on location in New York City during the summer of 1983 and released in movie theatres in 1984. It was the first film directed solely by Frank Oz (who also performs Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, and Animal), as he previously co-directed The Dark Crystal with Jim Henson.

The film introduced the Muppet Babies, as toddler versions of the Muppet characters in a fantasy sequence. The Muppet Babies later received their own Saturday morning animated television series, which aired on CBS from 1984 until 1992 and has since been syndicated worldwide.

Plot

As the film opens, Kermit, Miss Piggy, and their friends are graduating from college and are performing in a variety show, Manhattan Melodies, on campus. Kermit believes that there is "something missing" from the script, but his friends suggest that the group take the show to Broadway. Miss Piggy, in particular, hopes to make enough money to marry Kermit as he has promised. Kermit and the others are so confident in the show that they anticipate on becoming instant stars. First they start with New York producer Martin Price (Dabney Coleman) who wants them to pay him the money for the show. Just then, Martin's secretary Nancy (Gates McFadden) comes in with an elderly woman and two police officers where the elderly woman identifies Price as con artist Murray Plotsky. Plotsky tries to use Camilla the Chicken as a hostage to get out only to be subdued by Animal and Camilla. The Muppets try other theatrical producers with no success.

As the months pass and the group runs out of money, its members are forced to get jobs throughout the United States. Scooter gets a job as a house manager at a movie theater in Cleveland, Ohio, where he finds the Swedish Chef as the popcorn server and Lew Zealand as a dedicated viewer of a 3-D movie. Fozzie joins some other bears in hibernating within the forests of Maine. Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem have a gig in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania performing in a retirement home.

Kermit stays in New York to work on the script and gets a job at a diner befriending the owner Pete (Louis Zorich) and his daughter Jenny (Juliana Donald), a waitress and aspiring fashion designer. Also working at the restaurant are Rizzo the Rat who secures employment for the other rats Tatooey, Masterson, Chester, and Yolanda. Later that night, Kermit climbs to the top of the Empire State Building and shouts from the top that he and his friends will soon be on Broadway. Unknown to Kermit, Miss Piggy also stayed behind.

Kermit and Rizzo try to find a way to promote Kermit's play. First Kermit enters the Winesop Theatrical Agency to see producer Leonard Winesop (John Landis). Pretending to be a fellow producer, he bluffs his way through an impromptu meeting, praising the play ("Boffo, Lenny! Socko, Lenny!"), but Winesop later discards the unread script. Then Kermit tries to get his picture on the wall of other famous people who dined at Sardi's Restaurant, ending up replacing a picture of Liza Minnelli. However, Liza eventually enters and ends up asking Vincent Sardi, Jr. why her portrait was taken down. One of the rats ends up giving themselves away by causing havoc when a waiter discovers Minnelli's portrait near the table where Kermit was sitting. This causes Kermit and the rats to be ejected from the restaurant.

While in Central Park, Jenny comforts Kermit with his loss in the first two attempts. Miss Piggy, jealous of Jenny and Kermit's friendship, secretly spies on them before a purse snatcher (Gary Tacon) steals her purse causing her to borrow some skates from a roller skater (Gregory Hines). When Miss Piggy catches up to the purse snatcher, a police officer (Joe Jamrog) arrests the purse snatcher just as Kermit and Jenny catch up with her. While Kermit and Miss Piggy argue about Kermit's relationship with Jenny, the roller skater reclaims his skates from Miss Piggy who then makes up with Kermit. After a ride around central park with Kermit, Miss Piggy also takes a job as a waitress at the same diner as Kermit. Kermit reads more letters from his friends while the rats handle a customer (Brooke Shields) that Miss Piggy was with. The letters from Kermit reveal that Gonzo and Camilla are in Michigan trying to make a successful water act. Rowlf is in Delaware working at a dog kennel where Mr. Skeffington (James Coco) leaves his dog for the weekend. Another letter that Kermit got was from Bernard Crawford, a Broadway producer who is interested in producing Kermit's play.

Kermit meets with Ronnie Crawford (Lonny Price) who is willing to fund Manhattan Melodies in order to prove himself to his father, Bernard (Art Carney). In his excitement over having finally sold the play, Kermit fails to notice a "Don't Walk" sign and is hit by a car when making his way back to the restaurant. When Ronnie comes to the diner to bring up his father's approval to Miss Piggy, Jenny, and Peter, Miss Piggy sends a letter to the rest of Kermit's friends informing them to get to New York as quickly as they can. Fozzie ends up bringing the bears with him, Gonzo brings along some chickens, Rowlf brings along some dogs, Scooter brings Swedish Chef and Lew Zealand along, and the Electric Mayhem bring Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, and Beauregard along. Kermit awakens in the hospital with no memory of his name, friends, or past. His doctor (Linda Lavin) tells Kermit to find a new life for himself. As "Phil," he finds a job at Mad Ave Advertising with fellow frogs Bill, Gil, and Jill while his friends, Jenny and Ronnie search the city for him ahead of the show's opening at the Biltmore Theater. After Kermit visits the diner with the frogs and plays the Manhattan Melodies theme 'Together Again' with a spoon and glasses of water, his friends recognize him. Miss Piggy restores his memory with a punch after Kermit mocks the idea of romance between a pig and a frog.

Kermit realizes that what the script needs is more "frogs and dogs and bears and chickens and whatever", not less, and adds the cast members' many friends from around the country to the show as supernumeraries. With the expanded cast and Jenny's costumes, Manhattan Melodies is successful. On opening night, Piggy substitutes a real minister (Cyril Jenkins) for Gonzo in the wedding scene finale where the other Muppet characters, many of the characters from Sesame Street, and Uncle Traveling Matt from Fraggle Rock attend. Kermit is surprised, but willingly says "I do" and he and Miss Piggy marry.

Cast

• Louis Zorich as Pete
• Juliana Donald as Jenny
• Lonny Price as Ronnie Crawford
• Gates McFadden as Nance

Cameo appearances

• Frances Bergen as Mr. Winesop's receptionist
• Art Carney as Bernard Crawford
• Dabney Coleman as Murray Plotsky/Martin Price
• James Coco as Mr. Skeffington
• Elliott Gould as a police officer
• Gregory Hines as a roller skater
• Mayor Edward I. Koch as himself
• John Landis as Leonard Winesop
• Linda Lavin as Kermit's Doctor
• Liza Minnelli as herself
• Joan Rivers as Eileen
• Vincent Sardi, Jr. as himself
• Brooke Shields as a customer at Pete's Diner

Muppet performers

• Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, The Swedish Chef, Waldorf, Ernie, and The Newsman
• Frank Oz as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Sam the Eagle, Animal, Bert, Cookie Monster, and Grover
• Jerry Nelson as Camilla the Chicken, Floyd Pepper, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry and Pops
• Richard Hunt as Scooter, Janice and Statler
• Dave Goelz as Gonzo the Great, Chester and Zoot
• Steve Whitmire as Rizzo the Rat
• Caroll Spinney as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch
• Brian Muehl as Tattooey the Rat and Grundgetta
• Kathryn Mullen as Jill the Frog
• Karen Prell as Yolanda the Rat and Frank the Dog

Some of the puppeteers made cameos in this movie. Jim Henson cameos as the driver of the horse carriage that Kermit and Miss Piggy ride in. Frank Oz cameos as an Ocean Breeze board member. Kathryn Mullen and Karen Prell make cameos as helpful women.

Soundtrack album track listing

1. Together Again (Kermit and Friends)
2. You Can't Take No For An Answer (Dr. Teeth)
3. Saying Goodbye (Everyone)
4. Something's Cooking (Rizzo and the Rats)
5. Together Again (Carriage Ride)
6. I'm Gonna Always Love You (The Muppet Babies)
7. Right Where We Belong (Everyone)
8. William Tell Overture (The Chickens)
9. Somebody's Getting Married (Everyone)
10. Waiting for the Wedding (Everyone)
11. She'll Make Me Happy (Miss Piggy and Kermit)
12. The Ceremony (Everyone)
13. Closing Medley: Overture/Saying Goodbye/Together Again (Everyone)

Vinyl soundtrack album listing

Side 1

1. Together Again (2:54)
2. You Can't Take No For An Answer (2:00)
3. Saying Goodbye (3:06)
4. Rat Scat (Something Cookin') (1:18)
5. Together Again (Carriage Ride) (1:07)
6. I'm Gonna Always Love You (2:55)
7. William Tell Overture (:59)

Side 2

1. Looking For Kermit (1:42)
2. Right Where I Belong (2:12)
3. Somebody's Getting Married/Waiting For The Wedding (2:36)
4. He'll Make Me Happy (2:10)
5. The Ceremony (1:10)
6. Closing Medley (Final Credits) (4:18)

Home video release

• The Muppets Take Manhattan was first released on VHS in 1985 and again in 1991 and 1999. The 1999 VHS was an edited version, omitting the Tristar Pictures fanfare and the scenes of Animal shouting "Bad man!" to Mr. Price. A DVD version was released on June 5, 2001, A Blu-ray version was released on August 16, 2011, and contains the same bonus features as the DVD.

Reception

The Muppets Take Manhattan opened on July 13, 1984 to mostly positive reviews. As of June 14, 2011, the film holds an 80% "Fresh" rating on the website, Rotten Tomatoes. Although the film didn't outgross its predecessors, it did gross $25,534,703.^{[citation needed]}

Adaptations

Comic books

Marvel Comics (under its Star Comics imprint) produced a three-issue limited series based on the film (November 1984–January 1985).

External links

• The Muppets Take Manhattan at the Internet Movie Database
• The Muppets Take Manhattan at AllRovi
• The Muppets Take Manhattan at Box Office Mojo
• The Muppets Take Manhattan at Rotten Tomatoes
• Muppet Movies Lyric Archive

• The Muppets Take Manhattan on Muppet Wiki, an external wiki