[Note: The Muppet Movie is returning to theaters June 2-3, 2024 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of its original release.]
You’ve got Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal, Rowlf and, of course, Kermit the Frog. They, alongside plenty of others, are famous names in households all across the world.
But every story has its beginning. And Kermit is ready to share it: the story of how the Muppets—approximately—got started.
You see, Kermit wasn’t always the green movie star you know him as today. At one point, he was content simply to play his banjo in his Floridian swamp. But when he hears about an offer of fame in Hollywood that’d give him the opportunity to make millions of people happy, well, he’s as tickled pink as any green frog could be.
Along the way, he meets many others looking to find fame in Hollywood, too, including plenty of the aforementioned names so familiar with us all.
But he also meets a dastardly villain, too: Doc Hopper, a Col. Sanders-like man who’d like Kermit to be the spokesman for his fried frog legs restaurant chain. And let’s just say that he’s got the deep fryers already sizzling in the event that Kermit declines the offer.
In the film’s opening song, “Rainbow Connection,” Kermit sings about going beyond rainbows and wishing upon stars. He recognizes that such things are idealistic, and how such acts don’t actually accomplish anything. However, he still finds himself drawn to such romanticized notions, recognizing the hope found in symbolic actions. Following this, Kermit sets off to achieve his dreams.
Along the way, Kermit meets many friends who decide to tag along. Many of them help Kermit, with some of them even potentially risking their safety to help protect the frog from Doc Hopper’s increasingly antagonistic attacks.
At one point, Kermit feels as if his adventure has ended in failure, and he feels guilty for allowing the others to join him for what he sees as a fruitless journey. However, he soon motivates himself to keep moving toward his dream. He does this to help the friends who’ve traveled with him, but he also realizes that his own heart is in the journey, too.
Ultimately, Kermit’s adventure begins because he hopes to be able to “make millions of people happy.”
A man wheels out a machine designed to “turn … brains into guacamole.” The machine is calibrated with “666,” the number of the beast in Revelation 13:18. He likewise describes the machine’s headpiece as an “electronic yarmulke.”
When Fozzie Bear meets a band that’s set up in a church, he quips, “They don’t look like Presbyterians to me.” The band hopes to turn the decrepit church into a coffee shop.
Miss Piggy sings about love in ethereal terms: “Is this an angel’s wish for men?” She also describes a love that was “bound for heaven, not for Earth.”
A running gag refers to Hare Krishna, a religious sect of Hinduism. The reverend of one church, for instance, is named Reverend Harry Krishna.
Kermit and Miss Piggy share a kiss. Women in a beauty contest wear tight clothing, and Fozzie Bear comments on their looks.
Doc Hopper threatens to kill Kermit unless Kermit agrees to do his commercial. Kermit’s held at gunpoint, and others fire guns as they train their aim. Another man is hired to brainwash Kermit with a machine that delivers an electric shock and diminishes the intelligence of its victims.
Doc Hopper hopes to open a fast-food franchise whose primary dish is fried frog legs, which Kermit calls sickening, describing it as like seeing “millions of frogs on tiny crutches.”
Miss Piggy beats up a group of thugs. A man is pushed out of a building’s entrance. Kermit gets tossed into a piano by a ceiling fan. He’s also nearly crushed by a steam roller. A car crashes.
One instance of “heck.”
Kermit and Miss Piggy drink wine on their date, and we hear a reference to drinking beer. A couple of adult characters smoke cigars. A scientist creates “Insta-Grow Pills.”
None.
In the realm of famous frogs, one green puppet hops above them all. Kermit’s status as a character is elevated to such a point that it’s common to meet people who are well familiar with the frog even if they’ve never seen any Muppets content themselves.
More than 50 years of relevancy is an impressive run for one of the world’s most iconic puppets. So it comes as no surprise that Disney wants to preserve a bit of his history on its streaming service, letting new generations get a taste of the pun-quipping frog.
It’s easy to revisit an old classic with rose-colored glasses with your kids, the nostalgia causing you to forget that—oh yeah, there’s that scene that definitely isn’t appropriate for your child. Fortunately, The Muppet Movie doesn’t come with any of those unsavory surprises.
While Doc Hopper might threaten to turn Kermit’s legs into a well-priced combo meal, he never really manages to unleash any violence. So unless you’d have qualms about Miss Piggy kicking her kidnappers in the face or her and Kermit sipping wine through straws, The Muppet Movie is a tame musical watch for the whole family—one that’s just as nice as you remember from your childhood.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
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