Hi-ho! Thanks to Jason Segel and company, the Muppets are back in top form. This turn of events is enough to make any fan of Jim Henson's puppet creations wave their arms over their heads and scream "yay" a la Kermit the Frog. For awhile there though it seemed like the characters would fade into irrelevancy thanks to changing cultural tastes and a string of less-than-stellar projects over the past decade. Fortunately, the success of The Muppets has changed all of this. While the new movie reintroduces Muppet magic to audiences, it, um felt like the right time to look back at how the old films have held up. Some like The Great Muppet Caper are just as great as the day they initially hit the big screen, while others like the underrated Muppet Treasure Island are definitely worth re-examining. But what moments from these flicks (including all of the theatrical releases and telefilms but not the short specials or series) stand out as being terrific, and which are enough to make you go as mental as Crazy Harry? From unforgettable songs to misguided prequels and beyond, let's get things started with this look at the five best (and five worst) Muppet movie moments. Now, although I'm sure there will be absolutely no disagreement with these choices, remember this is one man's opinion. On the off chance you possibly disagree, please list your favorites -- and least favorites -- in the comments.
THE BEST:
5) The Finale of The Muppets Take Manhattan
The end of The Muppets Take Manhattan had Kermit finally marrying Miss Piggy. It was all incredibly romantic. Well, it was once you got past the fact that the only reason the nuptials went down at all is because Piggy fooled recovering amnesiac Kermit into tying the knot for reals with her in front of an opening night Broadway crowd. Despite the relationship trickery involved, the marriage ceremony marked the end of a truly unique pop culture courtship and as such is worth celebrating. Now what I want to know (along with what Frank Rich thought of Manhattan Melodies) is how many people have actually included "Somebody's Getting Married" into their own wedding ceremonies.
4) "Pictures in My Head" from The Muppets
The Muppets is nothing less than a valentine to Jim Henson that is packed with emotional moments. The greatest of these occurs early on in the film as Kermit wanders the halls of his dilapidated mansion and sings "Pictures in My Head" while thinking about his now estranged friends. The song, one of the few in the film not written by Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie, is a rumination about the past that somehow manages to be melancholy and inspirational like the best Muppet songs of yesteryear. It also lyrically sums up the movie's entire reason for existing in the first place: to remind people that these characters used to be so great and they still are. Yet it never feels too self-aware. Or maybe it does, I'm too busy getting weepy each time I hear it to be an effective judge of its true merits.
3) "Movin' Right Along" from The Muppet Movie
Has there ever been a better road trip song than this? However, it is much more than a duet between a directionally challenged frog and bear. With lines like "we don't need a map to keep this show on the road" and "we're in this together and we know where we're going," it subtly reinstates the film's recurring theme about the importance of friendship. Cliché though it may be, it is a reminder that life's journey is far more important than the ultimate destination. Plus, it's just so damn humable.
2) "Couldn't We Ride?" from The Great Muppet Caper
If a puppet-obsessed maniac forced me into some weird Sophie's Choice situation and I had to pick between The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper as to which one of the pair was my favorite I would go with the latter. Look, I totally get it if this statement disgusts you and you want to stop reading this list right now. Don't get me wrong, The Muppet Movie is damn near perfect entertainment. But if I'm being completely honest, I think that Muppet Caper has a slight advantage in that it is perfectly paced, every song is a gem and the cameos are arguably better than the first go round. (That John Cleese scene? Pure gold). Better still are the Muppet special effects on display, especially during the "Couldn't We Ride?" musical number that features Kermit and the gang on a leisurely bike outing. As you'll see on the flip side of this list, I'm not a huge fan of Muppet schmaltz. It would have been easy for this song to fall in that category if the accompanying visuals weren't so breathtaking. Even though I know how this sequence was done (30-year-old spoiler alert: with wires, rigs, large costumes and plenty of ingenuity), it still makes my jaw drop. Unless your name is Statler or Waldorf, the scene should cause you to have the same reaction.
1) "The Rainbow Connection" from The Muppet Movie
There really was no other choice. "The Rainbow Connection" kicks off the Muppets' cinematic adventures and its lyric/melody has become inexorably linked with Jim Henson's creations. Anyone who grew up during the 1970s or 1980s found tremendous inspiration in the song...and still does. That's not to say that it didn't resonate with all age groups, but for fertile minds back then Muppet melodies like this one had an immeasurable impact. After Henson died far too young in 1990, the song's optimism became something bittersweet. But the ultimate message of "The Rainbow Connection" of pursuing your dreams remains. It is a modern classic that is every bit as affecting as "Eleanor Rigby" or "Someday We'll Be Together." (Which is probably why Segel trotted it out again for his Muppet movie). Now if only we could make it through a listen without bawling our eyes out. Then again, that kind of proves the song's enduring power, wouldn't you agree?
Worst-2 - that entire scene, and by extension the entirety of the "Muppet Babies" series, is basically a dream sequence. The whole scene came from the characters wondering what it would have been like had they met when they were that age. It's not canon, it's an alternate continuum.
Worst-1 - That entire film was based around the fact that Kermit had emotionally hit rock bottom, and a fanboy angel was pleading with God to be allowed to intervene. When someone is THAT bereft, THAT crushed...yeah, they're gonna act "out of character". The reason why you didn't see Kermit behave like that at the beginning of the new film is because he'd had time to deal with it. We saw him several YEARS after the studios shut down, instead of the immediate threat of shutdown in the 2002 movie. In that moment in 2002, he saw all that he and his friends worked for collapsing down around him, SUDDENLY... Yeah that's gonna fray even the most serene and joyous will.
The best thing about #2 on the bad list is the random Poochie doll on the window-seat. Makes my inner circa-1984 toddler-girl self very happy. Pink-eared cartoon dog that can drive a sweet car? Hell yeah!
Hell, I saw Muppet Babies before Muppets. But yeah, Scooter as a cage dancer is pretty much. Goddammit, Rob, did you just do this to sneak in a second FFF this week?
Ms. Piggy chasing Gregory Hines on roller skates is definitely in my personal top 5.
Yep, strongly disagree with #2. When I was a kid and saw the Muppet babies "comes to life", I was blown away. Loved that part.
About #1: It's bad enough Kermit is acting jerky, but when he made a dry joke about "corporate synergy" it just about tainted the character for me. Horrible.
I'm Going To Go Back There Someday is my favorite song from any Muppet movie, and Pictures in My Head comes damn close to topping it. Hope To Go is so damn sad and uplifting at the same time.
How can there be this many comments about the good/bad Muppet musical moments in film and no one has mentioned the out-of-nowhere, awkwardly wedged, completely unnecessary Chris Cooper rap? It was like being on a leisurely, pleasant drive down memory lane and then suddenly losing control of the car for a minute and a half.
By far the weakest point in a very good (but I agree not great) Muppet movie.
I like most of your "worst"s. Mine would be the part in the Muppet Wizard of Oz when someone goes to press buttons on Gonzo (Tin Man) and he says, "Those aren't buttons, those are my nipples"
Seriously, there is something really unsettling about Muppets having nipples.
You don't have to worry about 'Muppet Babies' fitting into Muppet continuity. It doesn't. It never happened. It was Miss Piggy's fantasy. She says she wished they knew each other as babies. Much as how the entire series 'St Elsewhere' was taking place in an autistic child's imagination, so too was the Muppet Babies cartoon and sequence from 'Take Manhattan'.
Totally disagree on 'It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie'. I love that movie, and watch it every year.
How about for worst we add that terrible "evil rap" that the oil baron does in the new movie. It's good it only lasted a minute. I nearly walked out, even after all the good I'd seen up to that point.
This may have been stated already, not to be realy nit picky but the Muppet Babies sequence from Muppets Take Manhattan is not an actual flash back but a fantasy sequence where Piggy is imagining what it would be like if the Muppets met when they were much younger.
BTW there is not a consistent Muppet timeline. Remember Kermit and Fozzie are twins in the Great Muppet Caper.
In "Caper" they are supposed to be playing roles, even though their names are the same, they are characters in a movie, because that's what they signed the contract to do at the end of "The Muppet Movie"
A fine list! The only thing I would switch out is the moment from the new Muppets movie in favor of "Can You Picture That?" I rocked out to that as a kid.
You're nuts. "Never Before, Never Again" is amazing (aside from Frank Oz's lousy singing voice - thank god Eric Jacobsen's is much better). The song is both sweet and hilarious, it establishes the frog/pig attraction, and that attraction is the heart and soul of every good Muppet movie. (Which is one of the many many reasons "Muppets From Space" sucked).
If I could add one more thing to the "Best" list it would be when Kermit has the conversation with himself under the moon in The Muppet Movie. Absolutely beautiful scene.
OH: and the song "Life's a Happy Song" to the worst list. Not because it's a bad song but because after you listen to it THAT SHIT GETS STUCK IN YOUR HEAD FOR WEEKS.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'VE GOT EV'RY-THIIIIIING THAAAAAAT IIIIIIIIII NEEEEEEEEE-EEEEED RIIIIIIIIIIIGHT IN FRONT OF ME...
I don't know how many people used "Somebody's Getting Married" as their wedding tune, but my wife and I used a piano version of "He'll Make Me Happy" as her entrance music. Look it up on youtube - it's by a guy calling himself Fountainkeeper.
The Muppet babies sequence doesn't disregard the muppet's origins because the whole sequence is a hypothetical. Piggy wonders WHAT IF, therefore continuity is not disrupted.
And in fairness to the #1 spot, the angel does tell Kermit that he isn't acting like himself...I haven't seen the movie so I don't know if it's any good, but there's that...
Animal saving the day in the Muppet Movie by eating growth pills and bursting through the roof of a building to scare off Doc Hopper is one of my favourites. It is such a simplistic solution yet feels so good. I especially liked that they didn't use camera trickery and instead actually constructed a giant Animal head.
I know that The Rainbow Connection is by far the most famous, loved, and iconic song from The Muppet Movie, but I'm Going To Go Back There Some Day has always been my favorite, at least in my adult life. It's just so sad and wistful. God, I feel depressed just thinking about it.
Great list but the thing that makes me want to propose marriage to you is the mention of the Wizard of Oz Fame episode. One of my favorite things is Bruno the Tin Man. So awful, so watchable, strangely emotional.
Soo...I never saw Muppets Take Manhattan (due to age/available resources, I only saw The Muppet Caper on a really crappy VHS tape that needed constant "TRACKING" adjustments, when I was a kid). Because of this, I didn't know there was a live-action/movie origin for the Muppet Babies.
And, as Rob predicted, SO MUCH HATE!- that song/sequence is incredibly adorable and cute, but still "Muppet-funny" (Rowlf playing his head off & flipping about!). And! I would argue that it shows Miss Piggy being Not domineering for once (everyone joins in song & is having fun, and even though she crashes into Kermit (uh, head into crotch), he's holding onto her- Cute!).
Yeah I can understand the complaints about the cartoon series it spawned (which even though I didn't like, STILL watched religiously as a child) but not the segment itself. The baby puppets look great; I remember McDonald's even offered plush versions of them around X-mas. (We had Kermit and Fozie.) Ah, good memories...
