The Muppets Take Manhattan is a 1984 American musical comedy film directed by Frank Oz. This is the third of a series of live-action music films starring Jim Henson Muppets with special performances by Art Carney, James Coco, Dabney Coleman, Gregory Hines, Linda Lavin, and Joan Rivers. The 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 theatrically the following summer. It was the first film directed solely by Oz (who also did Sam the Eagle, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, and Animal), as he previously led the Dark Crystal with Henson.
The film introduces Baby Muppet, as a toddler version of the Muppet character in a fantasy sequence. Muppet's babies then received their own Saturday morning animated television series, which aired on CBS from 1984 to 1991 and has since been syndicated throughout the world.
Video The Muppets Take Manhattan
Plot
Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and the rest of Muppets have graduated from Danhurst College by entertaining their fellow graduates with their theatrical production of Manhattan Melodies . On the advice of bringing the show to Broadway, the Muppets went on with the idea, convinced they would be instant stars. Arriving in Manhattan, the group meets with producer Martin Price (Dabney Coleman) but the police arrive and reveal he is a desirable con artist named Murray Plotsky. Plotsky was arrested, leaving the Muppets' hope behind. They tried other theater producers to be unsuccessful, causing their enthusiasm and finances to dive sharply.
Thinking they were a burden to Kermit when he yelled at them, the rest of Muppets agreed to split up for a new job, though Miss Piggy secretly remained in Manhattan to keep an eye on Kermit. Despite his disappointment with the developments, Kermit promised to make the show a hit and enlists the help of Pete's restaurant owner (Louis Zorich), his daughter Jenny (Juliana Donald) who is an aspiring fashion designer, and a rat restaurant staff headed by Rizzo. Trying to promote the show, Kermit first acted as an eccentric producer who boasted the quality of her music but the producer she met (John Landis) threw away her script after Kermit left. Kermit later acted as a famous playwright, having mice inserting caricature images at Sardi's restaurant by replacing Liza Minnelli's image with it. When Liza Minnelli comes in and sees missing, she asks Vincent Sardi Jr. if he does something wrong to get rid of it. When the mice were exposed, Vincent Sardi Jr. find photos of Liza near Kermit. This caused Kermit and rats to be excluded from the restaurant.
While in Central Park, Jenny entertains Kermit about her loss, while Miss Piggy is jealous watching. When a thief stole his wallet, Miss Piggy borrowed a pair of shoe rollers and desperately pursued her until she caught it, but reunited with Kermit in the process and they made up. Piggy takes a job at Pete's restaurant while Kermit receives some letters from his friends who have taken a lot of work throughout the United States. He then received a letter from producer Bernard Crawford (Art Carney) who was interested in music. However, the letter was actually written by his son, Ronnie Crawford (Lonny Price), who is struggling to prove himself as a producer and admits a nice "Manhattan Melodies". Bernard himself hesitated but agreed to fund the show. A Kermit is thrilled back into the food stall, but is very happy that he walks into an approaching traffic and can not move when he is attacked by a passing car.
The rest of the Muppets were called back to New York, only to find out that Kermit had disappeared. At the hospital, Kermit's doctor found that he had lost his life's memory. He went to Madison Avenue, where he found a trio of frogs, Bill, Gill, and Jill, who worked in advertising, and offered him a job when he came up with a slogan and considered himself "Phil". The rest of Muppets search for Kermit where one attempt involves Gonzo trying to persuade Mayor Edward I. Koch to help.
Bill, Gill, Jill, and Kermit finally visit Pete's restaurant where Kermit's friends recognize him when he plays the opening number of the show with a spoon. At the Biltmore Theater on the opening night, the Muppets try to help Kermit remember, but it only works when Miss Piggy sends her flying upside down to a chair with a cruel piece of karate for insulting their past romance. Kermit regained his memory and, realizing the show needed more Muppet, asked for Madison Avenue frogs, dogs, bears, chickens, and others to become supernumeracies.
The show was a success, culminating in what was meant to be a wedding party between the characters of Kermit and Miss Piggy, only to the real minister who appeared (not Gonzo as Kermit planned). With all the Muppets, characters from Sesame Street, and Uncle Traveling Matt from Fraggle Rock, Kermit and Miss Piggy were married when the movie ended.
Maps The Muppets Take Manhattan
Cast
- Louis Zorich as Pete, the owner and chef of Pete's Diner.
- Juliana Donald as Jenny, Pete's daughter who works as an aspiring waitress and fashion designer.
- Lonny Price as Ronnie Crawford producer of broadway muppets.
- Cheryl McFadden as Nancy, Martin Price/Murray Plotsky's secretary.
- Graham Brown as Mr. Wrightson
Muppet player
- Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, The Swedish Chef, The Muppet Newsman, Waldorf, Baby Kermit, Baby Rowlf and Ernie
- Frank Oz as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam Eagle, Baby Piggy, Baby Fozzie, Bert and Cookie Monster
- Jerry Nelson as Floyd Pepper, Crazy Harry, Camilla the Chicken, Pops, Lew Zealand, and Bear
- Richard Hunt as Scooter, Janice, Statler, Baby Scooter, Beaker (scene deleted) and Bear
- Dave Goelz as The Great Gonzo, Chester Mouse, Bill the Frog, Zoot, Penguin, Jim the Dog, Baby Gonzo, Beauregard (deleted scene) and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew (scene deleted)
- Steve Whitmire as Rizzo the Rat, Gill the Frog and the Bear
- Bruce Edward Hall as Masterson the Rat and Beth Bear
- Kathryn Mullen as Jill the Frog
- Karen Prell as Yolanda the Rat and Frank the Dog
- Brian Muehl as Tattooey the Rat
- Martin P. Robinson as Rat, Hands of the Swedish Chef
Guest cameo
- Frances Bergen as a receptionist. Winesop
- Art Carney as Bernard Crawford, famous theater producer and Ronnie's father.
- James Coco as Mr. Skeffington
- Dabney Coleman as Murray Plotsky/Martin Price, a con artist masquerading as a theater producer.
- Elliott Gould as a police officer who entered Pete's Diner after Kermit went to see Bernard Crawford. Gould also appeared as a cameo on The Muppet Movie.
- Gregory Hines as a roller skater
- Mayor Edward I. Koch as himself
- John Landis as Leonard Winesop, renowned theater producer.
- Linda Lavin as Kermit's doctor
- David Lazer as a Sardi customer
- Liza Minnelli as herself
- Joan Rivers as Eileen
- Vincent Sardi, Jr. as himself
- Brooke Shields as patron of Pete Diner
Music number
- " Shared Again " - Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and The Muppets
- " You Can not Take No Answer " - Dr. Teeth and Mayhem Electric
- " Saying Goodbye " - Miss Piggy, Kermit, Scooter, Gonzo, Camilla, Rowlf, Floyd Pepper, Dr. Teeth and Mayhem Electric, Fozzie Bear, and The Muppets
- " I Will Always Love You " - Miss Piggy, Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Scooter, and Rowlf
- " Exactly Where I Belong " - Kermit and the Muppets
- " Someone Got Married " - Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Miss Piggy, and the Muppets
- " He'll Make Me Happy " - Miss Piggy, Kermit, and Muppets
- " Ceremony " - Ministers, Miss Piggy, Kermit, and Muppets
Production
Under the heading of Muppet Movie III, Jim Henson originally planned to film the project in late spring 1983. After directing The Great Muppet Caper and The Dark Crystal i> back-to-back, Henson decided to serve as a producer along with David Lazer. After selecting fellow Muppet and Dark Crystal co-directors Frank Oz to handle the director's work, Henson stated, "I see next year and I think my life is very busy and I think maybe it's time to told Frank to direct one of them. "Shortly after, Oz confirmed his involvement to the project. The first draft titled The Muppets: The Legend Continues , written by Muppet Caper scribe Jay Tarses and Tom Patchett, was dismissed by Oz for being "too awkward". After being encouraged by Henson to play with the script, Oz revises the scenario in an attempt to develop "resilience of their characters and relationships". After the script is completed and the set is built, a special consultant David Misch was brought in to write brilliant acting for some guest star appearance. Initially, this guest list contains people like Dustin Hoffman, Steve Martin, Michael Jackson, Lily Tomlin, Richard Pryor, and Laurence Olivier to name a few. According to Misch, Hoffman will play the Broadway producer and plan to emulate the legendary movie producer Robert Evans ( The Godfather ), which he later did in the movie Wag the Dog. However, at the last minute, Hoffman decided that the role could offend Evans and broke up, after which all other big names also came out. Due to the dropped acting, Misch and director Oz ultimately rewrote most of the movie's dialogue.
Release
Marketing
The Muppets Take Manhattan was adapted by Marvel Comics in 1984, as a 68 page story on Marvel Super Special. The adaptation was then reprinted into three limited edition editions, released below the trail of Star Comics Marvel (November 1984 - January 1985). The script of the film is adapted into comic form by writer Stan Kay with artwork by Dean Yeagle and Jacqueline Roettcher. Unlike in the movie, the comics depict Gonzo, Floyd Pepper, Animal, Janice, Dr. Teeth, and Zoot in their customary clothing from the The Muppet Show .
In addition, a set of books and records of the film was released in the form of vinyl recordings through the Muppet Music Recording label.
box office
Though the film did not surpass its predecessors, it earned $ 25,534,703 and made it the second-best G-rated movie of 1984 (behind Disney's redo issue Critical reception
The Muppets Take Manhattan opened on 13 July 1984 for most positive reviews. Aggregator reviews Rotten Tomatoes reports that 81% of 21 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 6.9 out of 10. The site consensus states that "if not as sharp as The Muppet Movie , The Muppets Take Manhattan is still a smart and fun story that follows the formula created by the first two films - a reckless adventure aided by a large group of human stars. "
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a three-star rating (out of four) stating in his review that "movie plot [has] been seen before." However, Ebert goes on to say that everything in the movie is fun and that Kermit finally solved his long-term identity crisis. In his book 2009 Movie Guide , Leonard Maltin gave this movie a three-star rating (out of four) and quoted that the film was "a fun outing with rocking songs, [with] nice NYC usage.. "
Home media
Unlike the previous Henson movies ( The Muppet Movie , The Great Muppet Caper , and The Dark Crystal ), The Muppets Take Manhattan originally released by TriStar Pictures and not manufactured by ITC Entertainment; especially as the ITC suffered extreme financial hardship at the time. Therefore, unlike the previous film, the distribution rights for The Muppets Take Manhattan were returned to The Jim Henson Company in 1998, but did not return to The Walt Disney Company in 2004. Because of this, it was one of Muppet's three films (along with Space's muppets and Kermit's Swamp Years direct-to-video feature) whose home video distribution rights are controlled by Sony Pictures, and not Walt Disney Studios (Film rights shared by TriStar Pictures and The Jim Henson Company).
The Muppets Take Manhattan was first released on VHS and now the Videodisc CED format that was not active by CBS/Fox Video in 1985, which was subsequently reissued in 1991, followed by the release of Columbia TriStar Home Video and Jim Henson Home Entertainment on June 1, 1999. VHS 1999 contains slightly edited pieces from previous versions, probably derived from TV broadcast versions. Pieces include audio removal from the TriStar logo, Animal scene shouting "Bad guys!" for Mr. Price, the abolition of the words "Oh My God" in one scene, and the scene with Miss Piggy hitting the wallet taker.
The DVD version was released on June 5, 2001 with a deduction from the restored 1999 VHS version. The Blu-ray Edition was released on August 16, 2011, and contains the same bonus features as DVDs.
Music
Jeff Moss was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the music he created for The Muppets Take Manhattan, but lost to Purple Rain by Prince.
Soundtrack
The Muppets Take Manhattan: The Original Soundtrack contains all the songs written by Jeff Moss and the famous scoring gimmicks composed by Ralph Burns of the film, as well as some parts of the dialogue and background score. The album reached # 204 on Billboard's Bubbling Under the Top LP's chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording for Kids, but lost to the Shel Silverstein audio edition Where Sidewalk Ended .
This is the only Muppet movie soundtrack that has not been released on CD. However, three songs from the album can be found on the 2002 compilation album The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem, and More . The new version of "Together Again" is featured in the 2014 movie Muppets Most Wanted and its soundtrack.
Credit
- The Muppet Actors: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Richard Hunt, Steve Whitmire, Kathryn Mullen, Karen Prell
References
External links
- Official website
- The Muppets Take Manhattan on IMDb
- The Muppets Take Manhattan in the TCM Film Database
- The Muppets Take Manhattan in Box Office Mojo
- The Muppets Take Manhattan at Rotten Tomatoes
- Lyric Movie Muppet Archive
- Muppets Takes Manhattan on Muppet Wiki, an external wiki
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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