---
title: "The Muppet Movie"
year: 1979
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-muppet-movie"
fi1m_id: "the-muppet-movie"
imdb_id: "tt0079588"
tmdb_id: 11176
wikidata_id: "Q1518589"
fi1m_score: 82
critics_score: 68
critics_reviews: 6
published: "2026-09-26T00:35:19.769283+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-26T00:35:20.302679+00:00"
region: "VN"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Muppet Movie (1979)

Directed by James Frawley · 1h 37m · Family, Comedy, Adventure

## Identity

The Muppet Movie

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-muppet-movie
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-muppet-movie
- **IMDb ID:** tt0079588
- **TMDB ID:** 11176
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1518589
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079588/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/11176, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1518589

**Fi1m score: 82** · Critics 68 from 6 reviews

*In a sentence:* The frog rides a bicycle, the bear drives, and half of Hollywood queues up to be out-acted by felt

> Jim Henson takes Kermit out of the swamp and onto the open road, and the film that follows is warm, ramshackle and often funny. The middle wanders and not every cameo lands, but the songs and the frog carry it.

## Synopsis

In a Hollywood screening room, Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson) gathers the Muppets to watch the film of how they met. It begins in a swamp, where Kermit sits on a log with a banjo, singing about rainbows, until a lost talent agent, Bernie (Dom DeLuise), rows past and tells him Hollywood is auditioning frogs. Kermit sets off on a bicycle. At the El Sleezo Cafe he meets Fozzie Bear (Frank Oz), a comedian whose jokes are not going well, and the two head west in Fozzie’s Studebaker. Behind them comes Doc Hopper (Charles Durning), owner of a chain of French fried frog legs restaurants, who wants Kermit as his spokesfrog and will not take no for an answer, along with his uneasy assistant Max (Austin Pendleton).

## Review

Jim Henson’s first feature for the Muppets begins with the Muppets sitting down to watch it. Kermit the Frog herds the company into a Hollywood screening room, the lights go down, and what follows is the story of how they all met: a frog on a log, a talent agent lost in a rowboat, a bicycle, a bear, a long drive west. Jerry Juhl and Jack Burns wrote it and James Frawley directed it, and between them they take an act built for a stage and a curtain and put it under an open sky. It works. Not all of it, but the parts that work are as good as anything the Muppets have done.

The first ten minutes are the best. Isidore Mankofsky opens from the air, low over water and cypress, and settles on Kermit alone with a banjo, singing “Rainbow Connection”. Nothing about it should move a grown adult: a puppet, a swamp, a song about wishing. It moved us more than we were ready for. It is Henson’s voice, which has a crack in it and does not push; it is the lyric, about not knowing what you are looking for and setting off anyway; and it is the camera, which holds on the frog and trusts him. Then Dom DeLuise rows in as Bernie the Agent, hopelessly lost, mentions that Hollywood is auditioning frogs, and Kermit is off.

Off on a bicycle, pedalling down a country road with his knees going and nobody visibly attached. The film keeps making good on that shot: Kermit and Fozzie Bear singing “Movin’ Right Along” in the front of a Studebaker on a real road with real sun on the dashboard. Mankofsky shoots the puppets as he would actors, at their own eye level, in daylight, and you stop seeing felt within a minute. Joel Schiller’s El Sleezo Cafe, where Fozzie is dying on stage in front of the roughest crowd in the county, is a proper dive, and James Coburn runs it.

Frank Oz does the heavy lifting. His Fozzie is all hope and no material, the comedian who tells you the joke was funny after you have not laughed, and Oz plays the hurt under the hat without pathos. His Miss Piggy, met at a county fair, arrives with her own weather. Dave Goelz’s Gonzo turns up as a plumber with a chicken, and Jerry Nelson and Richard Hunt fill the edges.

Charles Durning’s Doc Hopper, a fried-frog-legs franchise king in a white suit, wants Kermit for his commercials and cannot understand why a frog would say no. Durning plays him straight, with a salesman’s smile that curdles, and the film needs one person who is not in on the joke. Austin Pendleton’s Max, his assistant, is in on it and wishes he were not, and his slow drift towards decency is the closest thing the script has to a second story. The cameos are a mixed bag. Mel Brooks, as a mad scientist with a brain-scrambling machine, plays a five-minute sketch at full volume and gets most of his laughs. Milton Berle sells used cars. Edgar Bergen sits on a judging panel with Charlie McCarthy on his knee, and the film pauses to let one generation of puppeteer nod to the next.

The middle wanders. Each stop is a Muppet, a song, a cameo, and back in the car, and Juhl and Burns give every stop the same size. Christopher Greenbury cuts briskly, but around the hour mark we knew exactly what the next scene would be and were right. Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher’s songs after the first two are pleasant and go past. The Hopper pursuit, which should tighten, mostly recurs, and a late stretch in the desert takes longer than it needs to.

One of the critics we read faults the film for throwing away the television format, and it is true there is no theatre, no curtain, no weekly guest star to be politely tormented. We think that was the point. On television the Muppets had a stage to hide behind; here they have a highway and weather, and the question of whether a frog can carry a feature is asked and answered. It runs 97 minutes and carries a U. Bring children if you have them. They are not required.

*Fi1m score 82, published 26 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like The Muppet Movie, and the praise clusters around the same things: the humour, which plays to children and adults at once, and the musical numbers. Several reviewers single out the technical side, admiring James Frawley’s playful camera tricks and the quiet skill of the puppetry, which one review holds up as the reason the film works for viewers of different ages. The run of celebrity cameos is noted with affection rather than weariness, and the general verdict is of a good-natured, well-made musical comedy.

The spread is wide rather than narrow. Time Out is the lone dissenter, arguing that the film throws away the television show’s formula and that the aerial sequences drift without purpose. Slant Magazine, writing decades later, still rates it the strongest of the Muppet features, which suggests the affection has lasted. One review could not be assessed in full, so the picture is slightly incomplete.

## Straight answers

**Is The Muppet Movie worth watching?**

*The Muppet Movie* is worth watching for anyone with a soft spot for Kermit or for puppets shot in daylight as if they were actors, and we scored it 82. The opening ten minutes, with Kermit alone on a log singing "Rainbow Connection", are the best of it. The middle wanders and not every cameo lands, but the frog carries the film.

**How long is The Muppet Movie, and what is it rated?**

*The Muppet Movie* runs 1h 37m. It is a family and comedy film.

**Where can I watch The Muppet Movie in Vietnam?**

*The Muppet Movie* is not on any streaming or rental service in Vietnam at the moment. It is available in 43 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How does The Muppet Movie compare to Labyrinth?**

*The Muppet Movie* is the warmer and funnier of the two Jim Henson films, while [*Labyrinth*](https://film.one/film/labyrinth) is stranger and darker, with David Bowie's Goblin King and creatures built to unsettle rather than charm. Both wander in the middle. Choose the Muppets for a family evening and songs, and *Labyrinth* if you want the puppets with the lights turned down.

**What should I watch after The Muppet Movie?**

After *The Muppet Movie*, try [*Labyrinth*](https://film.one/film/labyrinth) (1986, Fi1m 74): Henson’s puppets with the lights turned down; stranger, darker, and just as handmade. Then [*Paddington 2*](https://film.one/film/paddington-2) (2017, Fi1m 91): A polite bear, a clear villain and a city; the same decency, better plotted; and [*Babe*](https://film.one/film/babe) (1995, Fi1m 88): An animal who wants a job he was not born to; gentler, and it earns its tears.

### Reviews we read (6)

- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (3.5/4): Ebert gives the film a positive review, appreciating its humor and appeal to both children and adults. The Muppets’ performances and musical numbers stand out as a particular strength. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-muppet-movie-1979)
- **Radio Times**, Angie Errigo (4/5): Errigo calls the film an entertaining adventure. She praises the charming proceedings and the many silly star cameos. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-7b03v1/the-muppet-movie/)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (75/100, inferred): The review finds the film a well-crafted and entertaining musical-comedy fantasy. It praises James Frawley’s playful cinematic tricks and the Muppets’ visual antics. [Read](https://variety.com/1978/film/reviews/the-muppet-movie-1200424371/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Jake Cole (3.5/5): Cole praises the film as the best Muppet feature, highlighting its inclusive, good-natured humor and technical inventiveness. He particularly singles out the balance of subtle puppet craft and welcoming comedy that makes it enjoyable for viewers of different ages. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/the-muppet-movie/)
- **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page was inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or complaint is available from the supplied text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1979/06/22/archives/the-screen-muppets-go-to-hollywoodroadiest-road-picture.html)
- **Time Out**, CPe (30/100, inferred): The review is negative, faulting the film for abandoning the TV show’s successful formula. It also complains that the aerial sequences feel aimless. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-muppet-movie)

## Details

- **Director:** James Frawley
- **Director:** James Frawley
- **Writer:** Jack Burns, Jerry Juhl
- **Cinematography:** Isidore Mankofsky
- **Editor:** Christopher Greenbury
- **Music:** Paul Williams, Kenny Ascher
- **Production design:** Joel Schiller
- **Costume design:** Gwen Capetanos
- **Producer:** Jim Henson
- **Cast:** Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog / Rowlf / Dr. Teeth / Waldorf / Doc Hopper's Men / Link Hogthrob / Swedish Chef (voice); Frank Oz as Miss Piggy / Fozzie Bear / Animal / Sam the Eagle / Doc Hopper's Men / Marvin Suggs / Swedish Chef (hands) / Motorcycle Guy (voice); Jerry Nelson as Floyd Pepper / Robin the Frog / Crazy Harry / Lew Zealand / Camilla / Dr. Bunsen Honeydew (assistant) (voice); Richard Hunt as Scooter / Statler / Janice / Sweetums / Beaker / Fozzie Bear (assistant) (voice); Dave Goelz as The Great Gonzo / Dr. Bunsen Honeydew / Zoot / Doglion / Iraqian in El Sleezo Cafe / Pig (voice); Charles Durning as Doc Hopper; Austin Pendleton as Max; Edgar Bergen as Himself / Charlie McCarthy (voice)
- **Runtime:** 1h 37m
- **First release (the UK):** 31 May 1979
- **Genres:** Family, Comedy, Adventure
- **Budget:** $8 million
- **Box office:** $76 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQj4fkTCnlM

## Where to watch in Vietnam

Not streaming, renting or buying in Vietnam at the last check.

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RS, SE, SG, SI, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1980: Best Original Song Score (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Labyrinth* (1986), Fi1m 74: Henson’s puppets with the lights turned down; stranger, darker, and just as handmade — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/labyrinth.md)
- *The Muppet Christmas Carol* (1992): The company’s other great outing, with Dickens played straight and Gonzo narrating
- *Paddington 2* (2017), Fi1m 91: A polite bear, a clear villain and a city; the same decency, better plotted — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/paddington-2.md)
- *Babe* (1995), Fi1m 88: An animal who wants a job he was not born to; gentler, and it earns its tears — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/babe.md)
- *Kiki's Delivery Service* (1989), Fi1m 86: Another small hopeful leaves home for the city and finds out what she is for — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/kikis-delivery-service.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-muppet-movie