The Muppet Movie

My first time seeing this movie was in university and I was curious to see how it all started, both the fictional story of how the Muppets got together and their theatrical career in real life. After subsequent viewings, even one on the big screen, “The Muppet Movie” is wonderful. It doesn’t portray itself better than it actually is. The film has many qualities that were maintained in future Muppet films up until the present time. The songs are well written, the cameos were pretty cool and the film is genuinely funny.

The story is perfect for a road movie in that we see many places and atmospheres. This movie also has the Muppets out in the real world. To film Kermit in the swamp, Jim Henson had to be underwater with a monitor so he could watch his performance. The scene took five days to film. The way they got Kermit to ride a bike seems too simple in my head because it seems quite impossible for a puppet to do that. On Blu-ray, you may be able to see the wires holding up the bike but Kermit's movements while on the bike continue to make the effect impressive. The creative special effects in this film accomplish the same purpose as on “The Muppet Show” for Jim Henson. He wants these characters to become real personalities for his audience. The more real Kermit and his friends become, the more entertaining they are. The type of drama between Kermit and Miss Piggy is another staple for the future movie plots that the Muppets will star in. As a side note, I like the shot where Kermit is wearing his trench coat from Sesame Street News during “Never Before, Never Again”. Another quality of “The Muppet Movie” that became a tradition is breaking the fourth wall such as when the Electric Mayhem find Kermit and his friends in the desert thanks to the script. The conversation that Kermit has with himself touches me because I can relate somewhat to Kermit at this point. As a talented man still living in his home area, I feel motivated to try again to further my career. A favorite gag in the film was the musical rotating rain barrel. It was perfect in providing a little freight in the Muppet style and the set up to it was well done thanks to the lack of sound.

The cameos are fun in this show but they seem to have lost their impact over time. Maybe that is one reason why the Muppet film genre will never go out of style; every five years or so, there are new celebrities that can make cameos. A very special cameo in this first movie is Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. Before Jim Henson and the Muppets, there was Bergen and his puppets so that cameo is very sentimental. Bergen passed away before the movie was finished and the entire film is dedicated to him. Bob Hope as the ice cream man was cool too. Steve Martin was hilarious as the waiter. The shorts did so much of the work. I didn’t even recognize Mel Brooks, James Coburn, Elliot Gould, Dom DeLuise or Carol Kane until the movie was over but they were great. Having Orson Wells at the climax was perfect as was concluding with “Rainbow Connection”. The most heartfelt moments in the film involve “Rainbow Connection” which was nominated for Best Song at the Oscars. Of everything that the Muppets have done over the many years, this song is what Hollywood applauds them for the most. It is on the list of the American Film Institute’s top 100 movies songs at #74 and serves as a theme much like "When You Wish Upon a Star" does for Disney. In the years following “The Muppet Movie”, this opening sequence has new subtext due to Jim Henson’s passing 11 years after this movie. Whenever I hear this song, I am not thinking about Kermit but Jim instead. Even though it should have won the Academy Award, it did win the Golden Globe that year. “The Muppet Movie” received another nomination at the Oscars for Best Musical Score. Paul Williams who wrote the music for this film is the pianist in the sleazy bar by the way. Another favorite song of mine is “Movin’ Right Along”. As a picky person, I must say that the Saskatchewan joke doesn’t work. In reality, Saskatchewan looks more like Kansas. Also, pine trees don’t grow all that much in Saskatchewan. Gonzo’s song, “I’m Going to Go Back There Someday”, now has a lot more meaningful subtext thanks to “Muppets from Space”.

“The Muppet Movie” was chosen to be preserved in the Library of Congress in 2009 and rightfully so. It has heart, humor and great cameos. This film was a great success in 1979 and proved that the Muppets could work on the big screen in addition to television. If “The Muppet Movie” had failed at the box office, we would have missed out on some great future movies and the popularity of the Muppets may have taken a downturn. Thanks to Jim Henson and his fellow Muppeteers however, the Muppets have become celebrities as separate from the people down below holding them up.

4 Stars