The Muppets made their big screen debut in 1979, riding high on the popularity of the hit television series created by Jim Henson. Henson was also in charge of The Muppet Movie, and provided the voice for the leading light of the franchise, Kermit the Frog. Henson was joined by key Muppet cast members such as Dave Goelz and Frank Oz, and the film also managed to attract a plethora of guest stars, including Mel Brooks, James Coburn, Bob Hope, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor and Orson Welles to name but a few. The movie told the story of the making of a Muppet movie, and managed to capture the fun and anarchy of the television show, as well as maintain the musical tradition, with songs such as the Oscar nominated "Rainbow Connection."
Buoyed by this success, the Muppets were back in cinemas just two years later with The Great Muppet Caper (1981). Once again Jim Henson was at the helm, telling a tale of a London jewel heist foiled by investigative reporters Kermit, Gonzo and Fozzie Bear. The main Muppet performers were again on board, Goelz and Oz featuring along with Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson and Steve Whitmire, however, the celebrity cameo count was down, although Diana Rigg and John Cleese did feature.
There was more Muppet mayhem in 1984 with The Muppets Take Manhattan, in which the anarchic troupe attempted to put on a Broadway show, and Kermit suffered from amnesia. Cameo performances came from Liza Minelli and Joan Rivers, as well as Elliot Gould (who had also featured in The Muppet Movie). There were also guest appearances from characters from other Henson franchises, Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock.
Brian Henson Takes the Muppets to New Heights
In 1992, a new era of Muppet magic began with Brian Henson taking over from his father. Brian’s directorial movie debut was The Muppet Christmas Carol, arguably the best movie in the series to date. There was no deluge of Hollywood talent flitting across the screen, but the cast was headed by Michael Caine as Scrooge. Kermit starred as Bob Cratchet, and Gonzo narrated as Charles Dickens in a movie that not only captured the spirit of the Muppets, but of Christmas as well.
That was a hard act to follow, but a creditable attempt was made with Muppet Treasure Island (1996) Staying with the theme of adapting a much-loved book, this time Robert Louis Stephenson’s pirate adventure story, Brian Henson again delivered a high quality musical. Sticking relatively close to the original plot (aside from Captain Smollet becoming a frog, his first mate an eagle, and the marooned Benjamina Gun a pig) the story was helped along by fine performances from the young actor Kevin Bishop as Jim Hawkins, and Tim Curry as a complex and charismatic Long John Silver. Much loved British comedians Jennifer Saunders and Billy Connolly made brief appearances.
The Muppet Movie Success Falters
The next Muppet move was to go back to original material. Muppets From Space (1999) was an origins movie, revealing the secret of Gonzo. Directed by Tim Hill, and starring David Arquette, Rob Schneider, Andy MacDowell and Ray Liotta, Muppets from Space was the first Muppet movie simply to have a soundtrack, rather than be a musical in its own right. Perhaps this contributed to the fact that it was a relative failure at the box office. The film certainly had moments of comedy and pathos, but failed to reach the heights of earlier efforts, and may be regarded as something of a missed opportunity.
In an attempt to recapture the glory days, the Muppets looked to revisit past successes, firstly harking back to their hit Christmas movie by making A Very Merry Muppet Christmas (2002) But despite strong allusions to It’s a Wonderful Life, and appearances from Whoopi Goldberg (as God) David Arquette and Joan Cusack, the film failed to reignite the franchise. The next step was to revisit classic literature, in the hope that a L. Frank Baum book would inspire the same success as Dickens and Stephenson. The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz (2005) featured Kermit as the scarecrow, Gonzo as the tin ‘thing’, Fozzie as the cowardly lion, and pop star Ashanti as Dorothy, but again the results were mixed.
The Muppets Return
Following three (relative) failures, there was a hiatus in Muppet movie production, until 2011 saw the release of a film titled simply The Muppets. Directed by James Bobin, and with musical direction from Bret MacKenzie, the film set out to recapture the song-and-dance heart and soul of the Muppets by utilizing the talents of the men behind Flight of the Conchords. Of course, the true success of the Muppets still lies in the abilities of men like Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire and Bill Barretta, and with them all on board too, as well as Amy Adams and Jason Segal, all the ingredients were in place. The plot - saving the Muppet theatre - may have been used before, but the Muppet’s have never taken themselves too seriously, and their fans will be glad to know they are back in style.
Jonathan Squirrell - Jon Squirrell is a freelance writer and 3-dimensional cartoonist currently living on Humberside. As well as writing for Suite 101, Jon ...
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