Friday Movie Review - The Muppet Movie

Welcome back to my Friday Movie Review!

We still have a few more Reader's Request movies to get to, but I thought I would interject one of my own purrsonal favorites this week: The Muppet Movie!

The Muppet Movie (1979)
Directed by: James Frawley
Written by: Jack Burns & Jerry Juhl

"The Muppet Movie" is a wonderfully silly yet somehow inspirational movie about the importance of believing in yourself and following your dreams. The opening scene says it all - Kermit the Frog is sitting on a log in his swamp, playing a banjo and singing "The Rainbow Connection." This is a very important song to my mommy, because it always makes her leaky-eyed. Also, a very long time ago, mommy heard this song and knew she was supposed to be a teacher, and even though she has ignored that calling for years now, she is finally taking the classes to do something about it. Here is the inspirational bit for my mommy:

Have you been half asleep
And have you heard voices
I've heard them calling my name
Are these the sweet sounds that called
The young sailors
I think they're one and the same
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
There's something that I'm supposed to be

Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

The story truly begins once Kermit is finished singing, and a Hollywood agent floats up to him in a canoe asking the way out of the swamp. The agent tells Kermit that not only does he have star quality, but that there is a casting call out for frogs in Hollywood. Kermit thinks about it, and decides that he is truly meant to go to Hollywood so that he can entertain and make thousands of people happy, so he leaves his home in the swamp and sets out for California. On the way he meets Fozzie the Bear, Gonzo and his girlfriend chicken Camilla, the entire rock group of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, and of course Miss Piggy.


All of them share the same dream: to entertain and make people happy. Soon they are all more than friends who share the same dream; they are a family. Along the way they face many setbacks, including Kermit's new stalker: Doc Hopper. Doc Hopper wants Kermit to be the face for his chain of restaurants, which serve frog legs - and he doesn't care what it takes to get Kermit to be his spokesfrog! This movie is filled with laughs, suspense, danger, and cameos by countless stars. And, of course, the muppets themselves, as well as the wonderful music and lyrics of Paul Williams.

I give "The Muppet Movie" two paws up and a chirp for being not only family and furry friendly, but for being inspirational and reminding us all how important it is to follow our dreams, no matter what the obstacles.

To watch Kermit sing "The Rainbow Connection," click here.