The Muppet universe is one full of diverse and complicated characters, but it’s no coincidence that the most popular character is also the simplest: Kermit the Frog. There’s not a whole lot to him—he’s simply, well, a green frog—but that also makes him the most accessible and relatable character. He’s a guy who just wants to do right by the world and succeed, and it’s a mentality most everyone can relate to. Kermit is the straight man; it’s the Miss Piggys and the Gonzos of the world that amp up the wackiness. Jim Henson was responsible for several memorable creations, but none have had the lasting impact of the one frog with the mouth of a sock puppet. It’s the spirit of Kermit that has kept the Muppets around for so long, and now with the release of the new film The Muppets coming this week, I have decided to look back at the first three Muppet feature films; the only ones released during Henson’s lifetime.
By the time The Muppet Movie was released in 1979, The Muppet Show had already been on the air for a few years. People knew who these creations were, and they were anxious to see how these inanimate objects could be used in a feature film. The result is a pretty terrific film that remains just as much of a technical marvel now as it was back then. There are moments when you see the entire bodies of the Muppets, but at no point does it seem wholly unnatural. (And even if it does seem unnatural, it never detracts from the experience.) Instead of placing them on a stage—where they are seen only from the waist up—The Muppet Movie frequently goes out of its way to show us every last inch of the Muppets’ bodies. One of the most spectacular examples comes when we see Kermit riding a bike without any visible strings. Obviously there must be a string involved somewhere, but that we don’t see it in a pre-Digital Age film is pretty remarkable. The Jim Henson Company has always been a society of magicians, and the logistics of making the Muppets tick continues to make my head spin. It’s best you don’t think about it, though. The Muppet Movie is so absorbing that you never even see Henson’s creations as inanimate objects; these are fully-formed characters with distinct personalities. In fact, when I think about the fact that Kermit and friends don’t really exist, it slightly depresses me. Reminder: I’m 20 years old.
As with all the Muppet films, the story of The Muppet Movie is more than a bit ridiculous. (When they finally get to the office of Hollywood executive Lew Lord, played by Orson Welles, he gives them the gift of stardom awful quick. Of course, it’s entirely likely Welles just didn’t feel like saying all that much.) However, they often answer any potential criticisms by simply being as self-aware as possible. While this type of self-awareness can sometimes seem like a cop out when employed by lesser creations, The Muppets are somehow able to make it seem endearing. They go the full way with it and try to make everything as absurd as possible, and as a result the audience is more inclined to laugh at the silliness than roll their eyes. There’s a running gag in The Muppet Movie where Kermit catches other characters up on the plot simply by handing them a copy of the screenplay, and it’s little gags like that which keep The Muppets on the right side of the appealing/annoying line.
However, those who disliked the meta-absurdity in The Muppet Movie were likely doubly annoyed by The Great Muppet Caper, out two years later. This is the only Muppet film actually directed by Henson, and it spends much of its time pointing out how ridiculous everything is. As an actual film, I won’t deny that it is likely the weakest of the three I’m discussing here. But watching it back in my older age, I must admit it had me laughing like an idiot from beginning to end. All you need to know to get an understanding of The Great Muppet Caper is that Kermit and Fozzie play identical twin brothers, and that inspired bit of ridiculousness is revisited multiple times throughout the movie. If you find that—and the multiple moments where characters can’t tell the difference between a frog and a bear—hilarious, then you’ll probably love The Great Muppet Caper. If that just sounds stupid to you, then you’ll likely never get on board with the wall-to-wall zaniness.
Where The Muppet Movie only brought up the fact that it was a movie a handful of times, The Great Muppet Caper takes the meta-humor to the point of beating a dead horse. (The opening musical number is even called “Hey, a Movie!”) I will admit that even if it grew tiring, there were always a couple moments of wonderful silliness that brought me back in. Take, for instance, a moment when a motorcycle conveniently shows up just when it’s needed most, as well as an early scene where Diana Rigg’s character justifies a seemingly random rant by saying “it’s plot exposition, it has to go somewhere!” The Muppets have always spent a great deal of time winking at the camera, but by the end of The Great Muppet Caper it’s a wonder their eyelids weren’t unbearably sore.
When discussing the Muppets, the old cliché of “the kids love it, but there’s a lot of good stuff for the adults” always seems to come up. Looking at these films more than a decade later, I recognize that much of the humor is likely to tickle the adults’ funny bone just as much—if not more so—than the children’s. Sure, The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper have all the requisite silliness and bright colors that make a great kid’s movie, but I was laughing at more jokes now than I probably was back then. Plus, the addition of celebrity cameos are something that older people will recognize more than most kids. When I was watching The Muppet Movie all those years ago, do you think I had the slightest idea who Orson Welles was? Not a freaking chance. The only cameo I would have mildly recognized was Steve Martin, but I’m not sure I gave a thought to the significance of his appearance even then.
Of the first three Muppet features, the most overtly kid-friendly is undoubtedly The Muppets Take Manhattan. It still has all the usual Muppet ingredients, but it cuts down drastically on the wink-wink and more grown-up moments. However, it is also unquestionably the saddest of the three. Not many kid’s movies are willing to tackle the challenge of finding success after graduating from college, but that’s exactly what this movie does. As we begin, our heroes are a group of performers on the eve of graduation. (Yes, that’s ridiculous, but one of the joys of the Muppets is that they can adapt well to whatever role they’re supposed to take and it’s always awesome.) They think their Kermit-penned musical Manhattan Melodies is good enough for Broadway, so they ship off to New York to try and get their show produced. The thing is: they fail. Miserably. Our Muppet heroes are left completely broke, living in lockers, and forced to face the fact they may not make a living in the theatre business. How depressing is that; particularly for someone like me, just about a year and a half away from graduation? What if all their hard work was for naught?
Of course, a happy ending eventually comes for our heroes—and a bit too easily—but the Muppets are one of the only kid-friendly creations who would ever be willing to take their subject matter to such relatively dark places. I’m not contending that it’s particularly disturbing, but theirs is a genre where everything normally goes according to plan. The Muppets are different because their road to success is a little bit more challenging, and they’re willing to admit that when you initially graduate from college there might be some time when you’re not exactly raking it in. This whole theme of “things may not always go so great, but we’re happy where we are” is one that appears time and time again in Muppet-related entertainments. The whole conceit of the Gonzo character is that he’s different and doesn’t necessarily have a home, and the song “Happiness Hotel” from The Great Muppet Caper is about a rundown hotel that no one would ever want to stay at, but for a select few people it is more than good enough to be their home. Of course, nothing in these three Muppet movies is nearly as disturbing as the moment in The Great Muppet Caper when Charles Grodin pulls a gun on Kermit the Frog. I mean, that’s just nuts.
After the too-early passing of Jim Henson in 1990, The Muppets continued to march on as one of the great family-friendly entertainment acts going. While their output has never decreased precipitously in quality, it seems like their spot in the limelight has somewhat diminished. Sesame Street is still going strong, but The Muppets themselves seem to have been mostly relegated to online videos, random television appearances, and the occasional adaptation of a classic novel. (See: A Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island.) This week’s The Muppets is the first Muppet-centric theatrical release since 1999’s Muppets From Space. I am excited to see if Jason Segel, James Bobin and company have recaptured the Hensonian spirit of these first three films, and if so that will be a welcome sight to see. There really is nothing to compare the Muppets to when they’re firing on all cylinders. For proof, look no further than their appearance on Saturday Night Live this past week. Their presence makes everything better. There’s no arguing that fact. It’s just science.
My full review of The Muppets will be up late tonight/early Tuesday. The film itself will be released on Wednesday.
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