The Muppet Movie, which in 1979 was the big screen debut of Kermit, Fozzie, Piggy and the rest, is getting a re-release, to mark its 40th anniversary.
The movie will show on 700 screens around the country for two days only, July 25 and July 30, through Fathom Events, in conjunction with the Jim Henson Company and Universal.
The film’s plot featured Kermit the Frog and Fozzie the Bear on a road trip to Hollywood, eventually bringing along the rest of the Muppet gang, while avoiding Doc Hopper, a villainous restauranteur with designs on turning Kermit into frog legs.
The Muppet Movie is possibly best known for its musical score by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher, which included such famous Muppets tunes as “The Rainbow Connection” and “Movin’ Right Along.” It all ends with the Muppets’ arrival in Hollywood, with a guest appearance by Orson Welles.
The film was directed by James Frawley, who passed away earlier this year. It was the start of a trilogy of films, along with The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan, that were produced prior to the death of creator Jim Henson in 1990.
Several other Muppet movies followed in the years afterward, as the rights to the characters were sold on more than one occasion, until actor Jason Segel wrote and starred in the highly regarded reboot, The Muppets, in 2011. Directed by James Bobin, it was a sizable hit and won an Oscar for Best Original Song, for “Man or Puppet.”
The Muppets Most Wanted followed three years later, but there hasn’t been a new movie since, and following a misbegotten ABC sitcom that lasted just one season, the Muppets have been mostly a dormant property, with the exception of a recent Muppet Babies revival. But as of earlier this year, a new TV series called Muppets Live Another Day was set to debut in 2020, on the new Disney+ streaming service, and per Cinemablend, it will be set after the events of The Muppets Take Manhattan.
“The Muppet Movie is a cinematic treasure, a delightful film that may have been made 40 years ago but is truly timeless, thanks both to its iconic characters and to its always-stirring theme of following your dreams and believing in your own abilities,” Tom Lucas, Fathom Events Vice President of Studio Relations, said in the press release announcing the release.
