Product Description

They're irreverent, irrepressible, and downright irresistible. They're the Muppets! -- starring in their first full-length movie. See how their meteoric rise to fame and fortune began: with a rainbow, a song . . . and a Frog. After a fateful meeting with a big-time talent agent, Kermit the Frog heads for Hollywood dreaming of showbiz. Along the way, Fozzie Bear, the Great Gonzo, and the dazzling Miss Piggy join him in hopes of becoming film stars too. But all bets are off when Kermit falls into the clutches of Doc Hopper (Charles Durning), a fast-food mogul seeking to promote his French-fried frog-leg franchise! Featuring Oscar(R)-nominated music (1980, Best Original Song "The Rainbow Connection," Best Original Score) and side-splitting appearances by some of the biggest names on the silver screen -- including Steve Martin, Mel Brooks, Orson Welles, and more! –-this fully restored and remastered 50th Anniversary Edition of THE MUPPET MOVIE is a critically acclaimed comedy classic your family will treasure for all time. (c) The Muppets Holding Company, LLC and BVHE. MUPPETS characters and elements are trademarks of The Muppets Holding Company. All Rights Reserved.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1011 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2005-11-29
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 95 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
This simply irresistible first feature from the Muppets has Kermit the frog going from the swamps to Hollywood to be a star. As he travels and picks up his usual friends (Miss Piggy, Fozzie the Bear), Doc Hopper (Charles Durning) is in pursuit, looking for Kermit to be the spokesman for his frog-leg cuisine. A loose rendition of The Wizard of Oz, the film incorporates the same cagey humor as their breakout syndicated TV series The Muppet Show. This is one of the few times that a human cast (notably Steve Martin, Orson Welles, and Carol Kane) are integrated seamlessly with nonhumans. Worth noting is Paul Williams's score, which includes the Oscar-nominated "The Rainbow Connection." Williams's music, much like Howard Ashman's work on The Little Mermaid and other Disney films, provides more than atmosphere; there's a degree of magic here. Williams did not work on the future Muppet films until A Muppet Christmas Carol. His contributions made these films the best of the Muppet series. --Doug Thomas

Amazon.com
Jim Henson vaulted Kermit, the famous floppy-armed frog, and his Muppet pals to the big screen with this charming 1979 musical adventure. Like the TV show that inspired it, Henson and director James Frawley playfully acknowledge movie clichés and conventions and allow the characters to address the camera in asides, like a Hope and Crosby road film for the 1980s. The ambitious singing frog decides to leave his swamp and conquer Hollywood, gathering a group of friends along the way (Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and more) and bumping into oodles of guest stars making tongue-in-cheek cameos (my favorite is the tip-of-the-hat appearance by Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy). Meanwhile, despicable fast-food king Charles Durning pursues Kermit, hoping to make him the spokesfrog for his Frogs-Legs restaurant franchise. Austin Pendleton costars as Durning's sad sack henchman while guest stars include James Coburn, Dom DeLuise, Madeleine Kahn, Steve Martin, Milton Berle, Bob Hope, Carol Kane, Cloris Leachman, Mel Brooks, Richard Pryor, Telly Savalas, Elliot Gould, Orson Welles, and Big Bird. Paul Williams penned the bouncy, song-filled score. You'll believe a frog can sing! --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

5 star movie, 2 stars for shoddy treatment and extras
OK to clear up some confusion about the latest incarnation of "The Muppet Movie" this edition is celebrating the fact that Kermit always a bit green around the gills is 50 years old. That said I'm completely unimpressed with this edition of a classic family movie. I'll get to the reasons why in just a bit in the meantime here's a recap of the plot for those of you who have forgotten what its about.

Discovered by a big time agent (Dom DeLuise) playing his banjo among the reeds and lilly pads, Kermit (Jim Henson) moves to Hollywood for fame and fortune. Along the way he hooks up with Miss Piggy (Frank Oz), Fozzie Bear (Frank Oz) and other Muppets who are looking for their road to the big time. Kermit is pursued by Doc Hopper (Charles Durning) who wants to open a chain of fast food frog leg restaurants. He hopes to make Kermit his company mascot. Along the way Kermit and his friends meet a who's who of Hollywood's funniest comedians along the way. Featuring a who's who list of top notch celebrity talent including Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahnm Richard Pryor, Edgar Bergen, Steve Martin and others, "The Muppet Movie" provided the early template for family films that could also be adult friendly as well.

With bright vivid colors "The Muppet Movie" looks solid in this DVD transfer but the film could have used a bit of restoration. Image clarity and sharpness are not what they could have been as well with an occasional softness that surprised me. Granted, this edition looks better than the Tri-Star release of four years ago but the film really needs to be carefully restored improving the overall image and sound quality. The 5.1 Dolby Digital mix presents dialogue with nice clarity but the music score and just about everything else in the movie's soundtrack comes across sounding tightly compressed. Again, an overall disappointment even when compared to the previous edition of this movie from four years ago.

I would have thought that a great movie would deserve great extras. Instead, the best extra from the previous edition (Frawley's test footage) is missing from this edition. Instead of that we get an underwhelming five minute featurette about Kermit. It's a waste of money and space on the DVD. We also get the usual assortment of Disney previews at the beginning although you can skip them. A note to Disney--including a full screen version of the same movie no longer counts as a special feature

About the only good thing about this DVD release are the chapters placed throughout the film. It makes navigating to a particular scene pretty easy overall but that's not saying much in an age where "The Wizard of Oz" gets a deluxe three DVD edition or even the recent "War of the Worlds" a two disc edition. Honestly, it feels like Disney blew it here. I'm not sure they knew what they wanted to put on the disc and this smells suspiciously like a double dip down the line. Considering the deluxe treatment that Disney recently gave "The Muppet Show" on DVD, I'm really surprised at how shabbily they treated this classic film.

A classic that receives truly pedestrian treatment, I'd recommend waiting to see if a deluxe edition of this film is coming out before buying. If you don't have the very good previous edition of this film on DVD and feel you must have it now by all means feel free to pick it up. I have the distinct feeling you'll be kicking yourself later however and suggest renting and then taking a wait and see attitude about buying this feeble "Special Edition". Man talk about being green, watching the treatment this classic received on DVD made me sick to my stomach.

Great movie--but what the HEY? Censorship!
I love the Muppet Movie. Its nods to film noir and buddy films, the music by the fabulous Paul Williams, the celebrity cameos, the characters--especially Miss Piggy and Fozzie.

Now then, I always watched the Muppets very aware that the movies were working on both the child and adult level, and happily put in the DVD anticipating my favorite muppet joke of all: when Kermit walks into a bar after having lost Piggy and says, sadly, "I'll have a grasshopper, please."

Great joke! Kids won't know what a "grasshopper" is or that he is boozing over being stood up--they'll just tune out til the music!

So why did they cut it from the DVD?

Especially when they kept the visual that Kermit drank alllll the champagne after Piggy left, and Rowlf's assertion that every night he has "a coupla beers." This PC thing has gone too far. I suppose it's not enough to deduct a whole star--except it's my all time fave muppet moment.

Oh well, love the movie. And love the DVD option of watching it in French, where they have to change Piggy's trademark "Moi!" to "Me."

Creme de la Kermie.
Mini review of one of my alltime 10 favorite films.

Many people question why this is on my top 10. I think the question is why is it not on theirs? This is pure entertainment for the whole family. It is a movie that works on all levels. The story is enchanting. The music is charming and whimsical. The muppetry is fantastic. It is hard to imagine a better opening to a movie than the rainbow connection sequence.

The movie is a cornucopia of awesome quotes. I think my favorite still remains: If frog's couldn't hop, I'd be gone with the Schwinn.

The cameo roles are excellent as well. Steve Martin excels as a put upon waiter. Dom Delouise is impressive as a hollywood agent adrift in a swamp and Mel Brooks steals the show as a german mad scientist.