The Muppets Take Manhattan (film)

The Muppets Take Manhattan is the third of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets, and the final film before Henson's death. This film was produced by Henson Associates, ITC Entertainment and TriStar Pictures, and originally 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 from 1984 until 1992.

Soundtrack album track listing
Together Again (Kermit and Friends)
You Can't Take No For An Answer (Dr. Teeth)
Saying Goodbye (Everyone)
Something's Cooking (Rizzo and the Rats)
Together Again (Carriage Ride)
I'm Gonna Always Love You (The Muppet Babies)
Right Where We Belong (Everyone)
William Tell Overture (The Chickens)
Somebody's Getting Married (Everyone)
Waiting for the Wedding (Everyone)
She'll Make Me Happy (Miss Piggy and Kermit)
The Ceremony (Everyone)
Closing Medley: Overture/Saying Goodbye/Together Again (Everyone)

Plot

As the film opens, Kermit and ten of his friends are graduating from college and are performing in a variety show on campus. Instead of splitting up and going their separate ways after graduation, the gang decides to try to take their act to New York and try to make it on Broadway. Kermit and the others are so confident in the show that they anticipate becoming instant stars, but as the months pass and their funds run dry, they are forced to go their separate ways and find jobs. Kermit remains in New York and gets a job at a local diner, befriending the owner, Pete (Louis Zorich), and his daughter Jenny (Juliana Donald) who works there as a waitress. She has just been accepted to a college in fashion design.

Complications arise in the form of unsavory jobs for Kermit's friends (Scooter becomes an usher at a movie theater; Rowlf runs the desk at a dog kennel, Gonzo works as a daredevil), a jealous Miss Piggy who secretly remains behind to keep an eye on Kermit and Jenny, and Kermit's additional failed attempts to break into stardom. After finally finding a producer who is willing to fund the show, however, Kermit is so excited that he unknowingly steps into the path of an oncoming vehicle and is knocked unconscious. He awakens with no memory, decides his name is Phil when he sees an advertisement with similar diction, and eventually falls in with a group of fellow frogs who write ad campaign slogans. Kermit, as "Phil", then begins to work as an advertising executive.

Kermit's companions are reunited in New York, along with the many friends they've each met along the way. Despite the fact that Kermit is missing, they decide the best thing to do is to go on with the show in his honor. After the amnesiac Kermit visits the diner and his friends recognize him, they recover him and Miss Piggy manages to knock him back to his senses. The show is a tremendous hit, and during the finale, Miss Piggy and Kermit are joined together in marriage. (Kermit would later disavow the marriage in later appearances, but Miss Piggy insists it was legitimate.)

Cast

Jim Henson - Kermit the Frog / Rowlf / Dr. Teeth / Waldorf / Swedish Chef / Ernie / Granny / Horse & Carriage Rider / Link Hogthrob / The Newsman (voice)

Frank Oz - Miss Piggy / Fozzie / Animal / Bert / Cookie Monster / Ocean Breeze Soap Board Member / Sam the Eagle (voice)
Dave Goelz - Gonzo / Chester - Rat / Bill - Frog / Zoot / Beauregard / Dog / Dr. Bunsen Honeydew / Penguin (voice)
Steve Whitmire - Rizzo the Rat / Gill - Frog / Baby Kermit / Chicken / College Student in Audience / Dog / Lew Zealand (voice)
Richard Hunt - Scooter / Statler / Janice / Beaker / Dog (voice)
Jerry Nelson - Camilla / Lew Zealand / Floyd / Bear / Chicken / Crazy Harry / Dog / Dr. Strangepork / Granny / Penguin / Pops / The Count (voice)

Juliana Donald - Jenny
Lonny Price - Ronnie
Louis Zorich - Pete

Art Carney - Bernard Crawford
James Coco - Mr. Skeffington

Dabney Coleman - Martin Price

Gregory Hines - Roller skater