The Muppets Take Manhattan

The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)

Runtime: 94 minutes

Directed by: Frank Oz

Starring: The expected Muppets, plus cameos from humans and bigger human roles that were filled by the likes of Juliana Donald

From: Tri-Star

Yes, the Muppets did so years before Jason Voorhees.

As I've talked about a few Muppet movies in recent years and as this was last seen by me as a kid (not to mentioning featuring the late Dabney Coleman in a scene), it playing on Turner Classic Movies last night meant that I knew how my Sunday evening would be spent. 

The plot wasn't overly convoluted: the Muppets are college students who graduate from college and as they created a great talent show together, they believe they can go to New York City and bring it to Broadway. Alas, they run into producers (or alleged producers in Coleman's case. Is it a spoiler to suggest he played a shady character?) who reject the act so they go their separate ways and in what didn't help the film for me, a long stretch is spent where you barely see many of the Muppets. However, they finally get a shot, so can they bring the gang back together again?

For a long stretch, many of the Muppets are on the sidelines and at least one cameo can be argued as being superfluous-that's not even mentioning John Landis appearing for a scene; it's understandable if that's a turn-off for some. Be that as it may, Manhattan was still a pretty good time. There's a pleasant score/pleasant songs throughout, the main Muppets as babies a few months before Muppet Babies debuted, Rizzo the Rat made his debut, Jenny the human waitress at the diner was a charming young lady, and it has a sweet ending which later proved to be fitting for the final Muppet movie that had Jim Henson's involvement, but was a Muppetapalooza w/ appearances from Sesame Street & Fraggle Rock characters.

There isn't a main antagonist but I suppose those old-timey musicals from the past where the characters wanted to bring a stage show to the public didn't have one either. Regardless, I was still happy to have seen this for the first time in literally decades.