The Muppets Take Manhattan

Having made it in Hollywood and triumphed in London, the Muppets set their sights on the Big Apple for their third film. After graduating from college, where their senior revue Manhattan Melodies went down gangbusters, Kermit and the gang decide they have the goods to make it big on Broadway. They pitch their show to a series of theatrical producers, but no-one is interested. “Hold it, I’m allergic to amphibians singing”. Penniless and defeated the Muppets have no choice but to split up and follow their own paths. It’s left to Kermit to keep the dream alive. He finds work as a dishwasher at an eccentric diner where rats run the kitchen, and with the help of a young waitress tries to inveigle himself into the Broadway scene.

This gives Kermit the chance to showcase his acting chops; first imitating a luvvie Hollywood agent, complete with perm and gold chain to bluff his way into a meeting, then posing as a producer at the legendary Sardi’s restaurant. Meanwhile Miss Piggy experiences the real rough and tumble New York of the 1980s, with wolf-whistling construction workers and a Central Park mugging. Of course she doesn’t take these slights lying down. As always there are plenty of great cameo performances, highlights include Joan Rivers as Miss Piggy’s perfume counter co-worker and Gregory Hines as a parkgoer who helps counsel Kermit and Miss Piggy on their relationship troubles. Could somebody finally be getting married?

“Breezily fun and every bit as entertaining as its predecessors.” – Chicago Reader

“I liked just about everything about your movie. But what I liked best was your discovery of self. Kermit, you are no longer a frog with an identity crisis. You’ve found the right persona, old boy, and it will see you through a dozen more movies.” – Roger Ebert