| The Muppets Take Manhattan | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Frank Oz |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Based on | The Muppet Show by Jim Henson |
| Produced by | David Lazer |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Robert Paynter |
| Edited by | Evan Lottman |
| Music by | Ralph Burns |
Production companies | Henson Associates Delphi II Productions |
| Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8 million[2] |
| Box office | $25.5 million[3][4] |
The Muppets Take Manhattan is a 1984 Americanmusicalcomedy-drama film directed byFrank Oz and the third theatrical film featuringthe Muppets. The film stars Muppet performersJim Henson, Oz,Dave Goelz,Steve Whitmire,Richard Hunt,Jerry Nelson, as well asspecial appearances byArt Carney,James Coco,Dabney Coleman,Gregory Hines,Linda Lavin,Liza Minnelli,Joan Rivers, andBrooke Shields. Filmed inNew York City during the prior summer, it was released theatrically in the United States on July 13, 1984, byTri-Star Pictures, and in the United Kingdom on December 21, 1984, byColumbia Pictures through Columbia-EMI-Warner Distributors. A fantasy sequence in the film introduced theMuppet Babies characters.
Muppets Take Manhattan was the first film to be directed solely by Oz, who previously co-directedThe Dark Crystal with Henson. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics with praise for its puppetry, humor, songs and characters but criticism for some of its writing. The film was a box office success, grossing $25.5 million on a budget of $8 million.
The Muppets perform their theatrical production ofManhattan Melodies for their graduating class at (fictional) Danhurst College, and encouraged by the audience's enthusiastic response, decide to take the show toBroadway, certain they will become instant stars. Arriving inManhattan, the group meet producer Martin Price, but are interrupted by the police, who have arrived to arrest him as a wantedcon artist, whose real name is Murray Plotsky. The Muppets try other producers to no avail, depleting both their morale and their finances. Thinking they are becoming a burden toKermit when he snaps at them, the rest of the Muppets agree to go their separate ways to find work, thoughMiss Piggy secretly remains in Manhattan to keep an eye on Kermit. Though disappointed by the development, Kermit vows to make the show a hit and enlists the assistance of diner owner Pete, his aspiring fashion designer daughter Jenny, and the diner's staff of rats led byRizzo.
Kermit's attempts to promote the show fail, while he learns from letters received from his friends thatScooter manages a Cleveland, Ohio movie theater;Fozzie has joined some other bears hibernating in Maine but cannot sleep;Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem have a gig in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, performing in a retirement home;Gonzo andCamilla are trying to make a successful water skiing act in Michigan; andRowlf is working at a dog kennel in Delaware. InCentral Park, Jenny comforts Kermit about his setbacks, while an envious Piggy watches. While she is distracted, Piggy's purse is stolen but she gives chase and, in the ensuing chaos, reunites with Kermit, and takes a job at Pete's.
Kermit receives a letter from producer Bernard Crawford, who is interested in the musical. However, Kermit discovers the letter was actually written by his son Ronnie, who is eager to prove himself as a producer and believes thatManhattan Melodies is a worthwhile endeavor. His father reluctantly agrees to support him. Thrilled, Kermit heads back to the diner but is so distracted that he walks into oncoming traffic and is struck by a passing taxi.
Piggy summons the rest of the Muppets back to New York, and informs them that Kermit has disappeared. At the hospital, Kermit haslost his memory. He finds his way to Madison Avenue where he meets a trio of frogs, Bill, Gill and Jill, who work in advertising and offer him a job. The rest of the Muppets search in vain for Kermit, and on opening night reluctantly accept that the show will have to go on without him. Meanwhile, Bill, Gill, Jill and Kermit have ended up at Pete's diner, and Kermit's friends recognize him when he unknowingly taps out a tune from the show on glasses of water. At theBiltmore Theatre, Kermit still does not remember his friends, but when he ridicules the idea of being in love with Piggy, she karate chops him, curing his amnesia. As they hurriedly prepare for the opening number, the Muppets ask Kermit if their new friends can watch from backstage. Kermit, realizing the show needs more Muppets, suggests that the Madison Avenue frogs, the dogs, the bears, the chickens and others becomesupernumerary actors.
The show is a smash hit, culminating in what is intended to be a staged wedding between Kermit and Piggy's characters, only for a real minister to appear in lieu of Gonzo. With all of the Muppets, including several fromSesame Street present, the show ends with their marriage.
Under theworking title ofMuppet Movie III,Jim Henson initially planned to film in late spring 1983. Having directedThe Great Muppet Caper andThe Dark Crystalback-to-back, Henson decided to serve as executive producer while David Lazer served as producer. Upon selecting fellow Muppet performer andThe Dark Crystal co-directorFrank Oz to handle directorial duties, Henson stated, "I was looking at the year ahead and I thought my life was very busy and I thought maybe it was a time to have Frank directing one of these."[5]
The first draft titledThe Muppets: The Legend Continues, written byMuppet Caper screenwritersJay Tarses and Tom Patchett, was dismissed by Oz for being "way too over jokey".[5] After being given Henson's encouragement to tinker with the script, Oz revised the screenplay in an effort to develop the "oomph of the characters and their relationships".[5] Once the script was completed and the sets were built, special consultant David Misch was brought in to write cameos for some guest star appearances. Originally, this list of guest stars containedDustin Hoffman,Steve Martin,Michael Jackson,Lily Tomlin,Richard Pryor andLaurence Olivier, to name a few. According to Misch, Hoffman was going to play a Broadway producer and planned to do an imitation of film producerRobert Evans (The Godfather), which he later did in the 1997 filmWag the Dog. However, at the last minute, Hoffman decided that the role could be offensive to Evans and dropped out, following which all the other big names left as well. Because of the dropped cameos, Misch and Oz ended up rewriting most of the dialogue.[6]
| The Muppets Take Manhattan: The Original Soundtrack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 1984 | |||
| Genre | Soundtrack | |||
| Length | 28:27 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| The Muppets chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [7] |
The Muppets Take Manhattan: The Original Soundtrack contains all of the songs written byJeff Moss and prominent score cues composed byRalph Burns from the film, as well as several portions of dialogue and background score. The album reached No. 204 onBillboard'sBubbling Under the Top LPs chart and was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Recording for Children, but lost toShel Silverstein's audio edition ofWhere the Sidewalk Ends.
This is the only Muppet film soundtrack that has not been released on CD. However, three tracks from the album can be found on the 2002 compilation albumThe Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem, and More. A new version of "Together Again (Again)" was performed in the 2014 filmMuppets Most Wanted andits soundtrack.
Jeff Moss was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Original Song Score for the music he composed forThe Muppets Take Manhattan, but lost toPurple Rain byPrince.[8]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Together Again" | Jeff Moss | Kermit and Friends | 2:54 |
| 2. | "You Can't Take No for an Answer" | Jeff Moss | Dr. Teeth | 2:00 |
| 3. | "Saying Goodbye" | Jeff Moss | Kermit and Friends | 3:06 |
| 4. | "Rat Scat (Something Cookin')" | Jeff Moss | Rizzo the Rat | 1:18 |
| 5. | "Together Again (Carriage Ride)" | Jeff Moss (arr.Ralph Burns) | Kermit the Frog,Miss Piggy,Statler and Waldorf | 1:07 |
| 6. | "I'm Gonna Always Love You" | Jeff Moss | The Muppet Babies | 2:55 |
| 7. | "William Tell Overture" | Gioachino Rossini (arr. Ralph Burns) | The Chickens | 0:59 |
| Total length: | 14:19 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Looking for Kermit" | Ralph Burns | Instrumental | 1:42 |
| 2. | "Right Where I Belong" | Jeff Moss | Kermit andthe Muppets | 2:12 |
| 3. | "Somebody's Getting Married/Waiting for the Wedding" | Jeff Moss | The Muppets | 2:36 |
| 4. | "He'll Make Me Happy" | Jeff Moss | Miss Piggy, Kermit and the Muppets | 2:10 |
| 5. | "The Ceremony" | Jeff Moss | Miss Piggy, Kermit and the Muppets | 1:10 |
| 6. | "Closing Medley (Final Credits)" | Jeff Moss (arr. Ralph Burns) | The Muppets | 4:18 |
| Total length: | 14:08 | |||
The Muppets Take Manhattan was adapted byMarvel Comics in 1984, as the 68-page story inMarvel Super Special #32.[9] The adaptation was later re-printed into a three-issuelimited series, released under Marvel'sStar Comics imprint (November1984 – January1985).[10] The film's script was adapted into comic form by writer Stan Kay with art byDean Yeagle and Jacqueline Roettcher.[11] Unlike in the film, the comic depicts Gonzo, Floyd Pepper, Animal, Janice, Dr. Teeth, and Zoot in their outfits fromThe Muppet Show.
Additionally, abook-and-record set of the film was released in the form of avinyl record through the Muppet Music Records label.
Unlike Henson's previous films (The Muppet Movie,The Great Muppet Caper, andThe Dark Crystal),The Muppets Take Manhattan was originally released byTriStar Pictures and not produced byITC Films, mainly because ITC was suffering from extreme financial difficulties at the time. Therefore, unlike the previous films, the distribution rights toThe Muppets Take Manhattan remained under control of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, who re-issued the film on home media in partnership withThe Jim Henson Company in 1998 (as Sony distributed Henson Company-owned works on home video at the time as part the Henson-Sony partnership which formedJim Henson Pictures) but did not revert toThe Walt Disney Company in 2004. Because of this, it is one of three Muppet films (along withMuppets from Space and thedirect-to-video featureKermit's Swamp Years) whose home video and television distribution rights are still controlled bySony Pictures, and not theWalt Disney Studios.[citation needed]
The Muppets Take Manhattan was first released onVHS and the now defunctCED Videodisc format byCBS/Fox Video in 1985, which then reissued it in 1991, followed by a release fromColumbia TriStar Home Video andJim Henson Home Entertainment on June 1, 1999. The 1999 VHS contained a slightly edited cut from previous versions, possibly derived from the TV broadcast version. Cuts include removal of the audio from the TriStar logo, the scenes ofAnimal shouting "Bad man!" to Mr. Price, the sound of Kermit's panting for breath immediately after leaving Leonard Winesop's office, removal of the words "Oh my God" in one scene, and scenes withMiss Piggy hitting the purse snatcher.
ADVD version was released on June 5, 2001 with the cuts from the 1999 VHS version restored.[12] ABlu-ray edition was released on August 16, 2011, and contains the same bonus features as the DVD.[13] A4K remaster of the film was released on October 24, 2023, on4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, making it the first film that features the Muppets to receive a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release.[14]
On its opening weekend,The Muppets Take Manhattan grossed $4.4 million, ranking in fifth place at the box office.[15] The film ultimately earned $25.5 million in the United States and Canada,[3] placing it as the second highest-grossing G-rated film of 1984 (behind a re-issue ofWalt Disney Productions'Pinocchio).[16]
Review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes reports that 85% of 26 critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 7/10. The site's consensus stated that "If it's not quite as sharp asThe Muppet Movie,The Muppets Take Manhattan is still a smart, delightfully old-fashioned tale that follows the formula established by the first two movies -- a madcap adventure assisted by a huge group of human stars."[17] OnMetacritic, the film has a score of 64 out of 100 based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18]
Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times gaveThe Muppets Take Manhattan three stars (out of four), stating in his review that "the plot of [the] movie has been seen before." However, Ebert went on to say that just about everything in the film was enjoyable and that Kermit finally solves his long-lasting identity crisis.[19]Gene Siskel of theChicago Tribune gave the film3+1⁄2 stars (out of four) writing it was "a most enjoyable backstage musical, culminating, as you probably have heard, with a wedding ceremony between you-know-who and you-know-who."[20]Variety positively stated: "The Muppets Take Manhattan is a genuinely fun confection of old-fashioned entertainment that will appeal to both children and their parents, weaned on Henson's syndicated tv series."[21]Sheila Benson of theLos Angeles Times, who expressed disappointment inThe Great Muppet Caper, felt the Muppets "have found their footing adroitly now; the emphasis is back on real values and identifiable emotions."[22] In his annualMovie Guide,Leonard Maltin gave the film a three star rating (out of four) as well citing that the film is an "enjoyable outing with bouncy songs, [with a] nice use of N.Y.C. locations."[23]
Gary Arnold ofThe Washington Post described the film as being "progressively lackluster", finding the Muppets' disbandment to be a "misbegotten juncture that the script proceeds to unravel, losing a unified storytelling thread while keeping tabs on the scattered troupe until the inevitable reunion." He further felt the film lacked "rousing musical numbers", in which he blamed Henson and Oz for pinning "everything on a poorly calculated and staged marital spectacular, as Miss Piggy finally cons Kermit to the altar -- a terminally sappy bad idea to begin with."[24]Vincent Canby ofThe New York Times wrote: "This may be only an impression, based on the fact that the past always looks greener than the present, butThe Muppets Take Manhattan seems just a little less extraordinaire than the two other features."[25] Kathleen Carroll of theNew York Daily News gave the film a 2½ star rating out of four, remarking that "despite the contribution of such well known actors as Mayor Koch,The Muppets Take Manhattan is strangely flat. It's no wonder that the Muppets' severest critics, the grumpy Waldorf and Statler, are less than pleased with this mushy movie. Watching Miss Piggy and "Kermie" cuddle together in a hansom cab, Waldorf grimly notes, 'They're in love.' Growls Statler: 'Kind of makes you sick, doesn't it?'."[26] Rob Salem ofThe Toronto Star, remarked that "the Muppet charm has been as stretched as far is it can go. Now that the pig and the frog are blissfully wedded, it's time to lay them to rest. Better that Jim Henson and associates continue to branch out, as they did withThe Dark Crystal, into new and very different stories and characters. Otherwise, inMuppet Movie IV, they'll be forced to deal with the reality of married life between a pretend pig and a phony frog. And that could get a little tricky."[27]
On February 7, 2019, it was announced thatOnce Upon a Time showrunnersEdward Kitsis andAdam Horowitz were working with actorJosh Gad on a TV series titledMuppets Live Another Day, set after the film's events, forDisney+.[28] The series was to focus on the Muppets, who disbanded some time after the film's events, reuniting afterRowlf disappears.[28] However, on September 9, 2019, it was announced that the series had been scrapped due to creative differences following an executive change atThe Muppets Studio.[29]
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