Saturday, July 12, 2014

Honourable Mention: The Muppets Take Manhattan


This was a Frank Oz directed muppet movie from 1984 and on viewing, I have to say, it was somewhat of a drag. Now don’t get me wrong, I grew up with the muppets but this did not seem a highpoint of the franchise’s output.

Starting with a core group of muppets, led by Kermit (Jim Henson), who are graduating from college and celebrating with a musical show that their fellow students love. A shout from the audience gives them the idea to take the show to Broadway.

They arrive in New York and, of course, selling their show is not as easy as they thought it would be. The gang eventually split up, leaving Kermit to try and get the show greenlit, at which point he’ll summon them all back.

where's Count von Count?
So, vampire? At the end the show goes ahead and culminates in a wedding for Kermit and Piggy (Frank Oz) – into which she adds a real officiator – playing a muppet version of Where’s Waldo will allow you to spot, oh so briefly, Count von Count (Jerry Nelson), amongst the wedding guests and singing along with the chorus. It’s a brief appearance, a fleeting visitation, but it is there.

The imdb page is here.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Agree on your critic, it is not the best Muppet movie, but it has its nice bits...

Taliesin_ttlg said...

cheers Elisabeth :)