Studio City Walk of Fame Highlights: 'The Muppet Movie'

THE MUPPET MOVIE
Tile #88 on the Studio City Walk of Fame

Henson Associates
Released June 22, 1979

CAST: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Charles Durning, Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy, Milton Berle, Mel Brooks, James Coburn, Dom DeLuise, Elliott Gould, Bob Hope, Madeline Kahn, Carol Kane, Cloris Leachman, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, Telly Savalas, Orson Welles, Paul Williams

Written by Jack Burns and Jerry Juhl

Directed by James Frawley

By 1979, the Muppets had conquered television, and moved on to the big screen. Jim Henson broke new ground with this film by taking puppets to unheard-of locations through the use of special effects, skillful editing, and performance magic.

Kermit and friends travel from a humble lily pond to Hollywood in the hopes of becoming rich and famous. Along the way, they encounter some familiar faces as they try to stay one step ahead of Evil Doc Hopper.

Celebrity cameo appearances include Charles Durning, Edgar Bergen, Milton Berle, Mel Brooks, James Coburn, Dom DeLuise, Elliott Gould, Bob Hope, Madeline Kahn, Carol Kane, Cloris Leachman, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, Telly Savalas, Orson Welles and Paul Williams.

The family adventure film received two Academy Award® Nominations for Best Music, Original Song for Paul Williams, Kenny Ascher for the song "The Rainbow Connection" and Best Music, Original Song Score and Best Adaptation Score for Paul Williams, Kenny Ascher. The single of this song reached #25 on Billboard's "Hot 100 Singles" chart in 1979.

One of the filming locations used in the film was , 4024 Radford Avenue in Studio City, California.

The Muppet Movie was the first of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets and the film grossed $76,657,000 at the box office. The film was followed by The Great Muppet Caper in 1981, The Muppets Take Manhattan in 1984, The Muppet Christmas Carol in 1992 and Muppet Treasure Island in 1996. All of these films are available on DVD.

Jim Henson's legacy lives on with the November 2011 release of The Muppets directed by James Bobin, written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller. The film received an Academy Award® Nomination for Best Achievement in Music written for Motion Pictures, Original Song for Bret McKenzie for the song "Man or Muppet." It is McKenzie's first time composing music for a feature film.

The Muppets (2011) is the first Disney produced Muppets film since Muppet Treasure Island in 1996.

Billy Crystal returns for his ninth time as host of “The 84th Academy Awards®,” celebrating the outstanding film achievements of 2011 televised live by the ABC Television Network and in more than 225 countries worldwide. The 84th Academy Awards telecast producers are Brian Grazer and Don Mischer. Airs February 26, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. PT/ 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

UPDATE

Bret McKenzie won the Academy Award® for Best Achievement in Music written for Motion Pictures, Original Song for the song "Man or Muppet" at the 84th Academy Awards® on February 26, 2012. This is the first Academy Award® for the Muppets.

In his acceptance speech McKenzie said, “Wow, thank you, Academy, I grew up in New Zealand watching The Muppets on television and never dreamed I’d get to work with them. I was genuinely starstruck when I met Kermit the Frog. But when you get to know him, he’s just a frog, and like many stars here, he’s shorter in real life.”

For more information, please visit the SCIA website Walk of Fame pages.