Review of The Muppet Movie (1979) by Jon T — 13 Sep 2014

Although Jim Henson's ever-popular Muppets were television middays, it wasn't until 1979's THE MUPPET MOVIE that they became Hollywood stars as well. Actually, that's the whole plot of the film.

.. or rather, a fictionalized account of how the Muppets met en route to California. Either way, this movie is genuinely great fun and is still entertaining today. At the time of its release, THE MUPPET MOVIE also introduced special techniques which were groundbreaking back then, for instance the scene where Kermit pedals a bicycle from his home in the swamp toward the city and almost gets crushed by a steamroller.

It is moments like this that one wonders how Henson and his team were able to pull it off without the seams showing. If that was all this movie was about, I wouldn't be recommending it as highly as I do.

There is a parade of guest cameos (par for the course with THE MUPPET SHOW); for instance, the late DomDeLuise plays an agent who "leapfrogs" (Get it?) Kermit's quest for stardom. Later we see Elliot Gould as an emcee, Steve Martin as a waiter, Mel Brooks as a nasty scientist (in a scene which, although funny, can induce nightmares), Cloris Leachman as an allergic secretary, and the great Orson Welles as the man who holds Kermit's future in his hands.

But it's the Muppets themselves that really make the film; each character exudes personality, charm, and the occasional breaking-the-fourth-wall humor. They are so scene-stealing that one cannot help but look upon them as genuine characters and not just talking puppets.

Top this all off with a delightful score by Paul Williams (with the opening number, "Rainbow Connection", standing out as a classic signature song), and you have a terrific package of a movie.