The Muppets Take Manhattan


1984 Muppet movie

Rating: 15/20 (Jen: fell asleep, but drowsily said 18/20 when asked; Dylan: 13/20; Emma: 16/20; Abbey: 18/20; Buster: 20/20)

Plot: Kermit and the gang, after the success of a musical production performed at their college, go to the titular borough to try to get the show on Broadway.

Why is more disturbing for me to imagine Kermit (a frog) engaging in coitus with a human female than with a porcine one? Or is it just disturbing that I'm thinking about that at all? Or is it just really disturbing that I have been kept awake at night thinking about it and can't stop myself? This isn't my favorite Muppet movie, but the voice work (50 Muppet characters voiced by 6 guys if my counting is correct) and puppet manipulation is always enough in any Muppet movie to make it worth the time. There's just something exhilarating about seeing these characters on the screen. Usually, it's a more-the-merrier situation, and the climactic big show/wedding scene at the end, with hundreds of Muppets including some recognizable faces from Sesame Street that got Buster excited brought out the giggles. Jen was just excited to see Muppet Babies, so excited that she fell asleep immediately after and started drooling all over the couch while sleep-singing the theme song from that cartoon. As expected, the movie's really funny although not all the gags are going to work. You get the feeling with some of the material that the writers half-expected some of the jokes to be flops though, and that adds to the fun. I also liked the songs in this one.

Here's a list of my favorite Muppets:

1) Dr. Teeth
2) Gonzo
3) Lew Zealand
4) Swedish Chef
5) Animal
6) Floyd, bass guitar
7) Waldorf
8) Statler
9) Zoot, sax player from the Electric Mayhem
10) Kermit
11) Crazy Harry
12) Beaker
13) Sam the Eagle
14) Bunsen
15) Fozzie
16) Janice, the Mayhem guitarist
17) Mahna Mahna
18) Rowlf
19) Rizzo the Rat
20) Beauregard
21) Camilla, Gonzo's chicken girlfriend
22) Scooter
23) Miss Piggy

Am I missing any notable Muppets?

9 comments:

cory said...

Lew Zealand should not be above Swedish Chef. And Kermit and Beaker are way too low.

Shane said...

You are probably right about all of those. Lew's my dark horse.

RD said...

Let's be honest...Kermit has always been one of the less interesting Muppets with Piggy being bar FAR the least likable and in some movies borderline unwatchable. Now as far as omissions, I can think of only one...

Pepe the King Prawn (in my top 5 to be sure) as seen here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OId1kQixvjQ

and even here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OId1kQixvjQ

Shane said...

Yeah, but Kermit's the emotional center of this thing, so he should probably be higher. Obviously, I agree about the pig.

Apologies for missing Pepe. He's a newer Muppet, but that clip that you linked twice made me laugh. Being a new school character, I could only put him around where Rizzo is. And I want to point out that with the exception of Piggy and Scooter, I love all these guys! I like 'em more than people!

RD said...

My bad on the double post...here is the other one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d19BawjJPhY

RD said...

I can see what you are saying about Kermit and Pepe...there is always a place in my heart though for intentionally terrible accents and the comedic value they add to even normal sentences. I forgot to include Scooter on the annoying list but he definitely belongs there

Shane said...

Yeah, Pepe's cool...he's now Lew Zealand though.

I don't even know if Scooter is annoying. He's just so bland. I would have picked on him if I were a Muppet and went to Muppet high school with him. I've never picked on anybody in my life, but he would have turned me into a bully.

Anonymous said...

i thought gordon was your favorite muppet???
i'm with RD, pepe all the way.

Shane said...

Gordon is my favorite Muppet on Sesame Street, but I didn't include those guys. Except for Kermit who sometimes finds his way on Sesame Street.