The Muppet Movie *** (1979, voices of Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz) – Classic Movie Review 8173

Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy go to Hollywood and get a contract from movie mogul Lew Grade’s ITC Films in director James Frawley and producer Jim Henson’s good natured, good humoured 1979 comedy The Muppet Movie, the satisfyingly amusing film version of the popular TV show (1976-81).

The work by the writers Jerry Juhl and Jack Burns, guest stars and composers Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher is good, though they could have made it even better, but they ensure that the movie is very likeable anyway.

The guest stars are Charles Durning, Edgar Bergen, Bob Hope, Milton Berle, Mel Brooks, James Coburn, Dom DeLuise, Elliott Gould, Cloris Leachman, Telly Savalas, Madeline Kahn, Austin Pendleton and (incredibly) Orson Welles.

The voices are by Jim Henson (as Kermit the Frog / Rowlf / Dr Teeth / Waldorf / Swedish Chef /Link Hogthrob / Doc Hopper’s Men), Frank Oz (as Miss Piggy / Fozzie Bear / Animal / Sam the Eagle / Doc Hopper’s Men / Marvin Suggs / Swedish Chef (assistant) /Motorcycle Guy), Jerry Nelson (as Floyd Pepper / Crazy Harry / Robin the Frog / Lew Zealand /Camilla / Blue Frackle), Richard Hunt and Dave Goelz (as The Great Gonzo / Zoot / Dr. Bunsen Honeydew / Doglion /Iraqian in El Sleezo Cafe / Nigel / Pig).

It runs 98 minutes but three minutes were cut after first its release.

Seven sequels followed.

The series so far: The Muppet Movie (1979), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), Muppet Treasure Island (1996), Muppets from Space (1999), The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted (2014).

RIP James Frawley, also the director of The Big Bus (1976), who died of a heart attack on January 22, 2019, aged 82.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8173

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