User reviews

The Muppets gang graduate from college, and try to make it on Broadway. Only they can't find any takers. The gang decide to go on their own, and not depend on Kermit so much. Meanwhile Kermit works in a diner, and try to get his play off the ground.

This starts off great with a lot of comedy from the whole gang. Dabney Coleman is great for some gut busting laughs. It's too bad that the gang is scattered after the start. Miss Piggy has some hilarious fun, but I prefer to have the whole gang together. They're funnier together.

The main live action lead is Juliana Donald who's trying to help Kermit get the play off the ground. She doesn't have any sparks, and looks awkward like she's acting with a bunch of puppets. There are a lot of famous cameos. I'd prefer to have Brooke Shields as the lead. Beside that, there is a lot to love, and a lot of laughs in this Muppets movie.

I personally don't think it is QUITE as good as Muppet Movie or Great Muppet Caper, and one or two scenes towards the beginning could have been better paced, but along with those two Muppet movies, Christmas Carol and Treasure Island, The Muppets Take Manhattan is one of the better Muppet movies by far. It has a great story, different but still a fun one, bouncy songs especially It's Time for Saying Goodbye and the superb Together Again, the Manhattan locations are clever and truly stunning and the cameos from the likes of Liza Minelli, Joan Rivers, Brooke Shields and Gregory Hines are fun personified. And the Muppet performers are once again spot on, and any scene with Miss Piggy especially is a joy. Overall, terrific fun and recommended. 8.5/10 Bethany Cox

With all the crazy stuff going on in my life, I'm glad to get some relief by watching the last Muppet movie for me. I have now seen every theatrically released one! I was initially confused throughout the first hour of this movie. I believe I saw this movie being advertised and it was saying it would be about Kermit losing his memory. That kind of disinterested me. This was something that had been done many times before. It ended up being something that was only important in the last third! I really do appreciate the good pacing in this film. It's great to see all these heartwarming scenes.

I wasn't expecting to see "Sesame Street" characters making cameos. Of course, there's always cameos in these movies. I just love this part in the credits where they say that all characters were fictitious except for the cameos. Yeah, look at that there! There was a short sequence that was like "Muppet Babies". I didn't know whether this movie came out before or after out but it actually came out at the same time! The emotions are quite strong and the resolution is nice. I'm glad to have seen every Muppet movie now! ***

I distinctly remember seeing "Muppets Take Manhattan" in the movie theater when I was 8 years old--following the film, I immediately demanded that my parents purchase the soundtrack LP (yes, on vinyl!). I loved this movie then; I love it still.

Actually, it's my favorite among the first three, classic Muppet films; "Muppet Movie" is great but overlong, while "Great Muppet Caper" is terrific, but seems a bit dated now. "Muppets Take Manhattan," on the other hand, never fails to entertain me, still makes me laugh out loud (the purse-snatching scene; Kermit in his Bert Convy 'fro), and even tugs at my heartstrings.

What's particularly nice about this adventure is that it's an affectionate love letter to Hollywood musicals of yore, without being overly parodying. The musical comedy cliches are presented in a matter-of-fact manner; just as we were expected to suspend our disbelief when Ruby Keeler went out onstage a nobody but "came back a star!", we suspend our disbelief to encompass a group of talking animals putting together a big budget Broadway musical in 2 weeks. These kind of hoary plot devices are presented straight-faced, without any self-conscious "winking" or irony.

The songs are all pretty darn terrific; the show-stopping "Together Again" finale is as good as any contemporary musical number of the last 20 years or so, while "It's Time for Saying Goodbye" always puts a lump in my throat: it's sentimental without being maudlin. The finale, "He/She Makes Me Happy" goes from being sweet to comically over-the-top in less than 3 minutes, and it's a joy.

The expected parade of cameos work well within the structure, without being intrusive. My particular favorites are Liza Minnelli's (the whole Sardi's scene is wonderful), Linda Lavin's (another terrific comedy moment: "YOU are Mr. Enrico Tortellini of Passaic, New Jersey!"), and Joan Rivers' (another gem). The Muppet performers are their usual, endearing selves: lovable, warm, likable. The "love triangle" between Kermit, Piggy and the human Jenny plays surprisingly well, and Piggy's jealous reactions are hysterical.

These days, "family entertainment" usually means disgustingly white-washed pap that anyone over 10 or 11 would find either sedating or inane. (Disney's live action "101 Dalmations" and its sequel spring to mind.) The Muppet movies proved that a G-rated film could be intelligent, witty, funny and entertaining for all ages. It's a formula that has yet to be improved upon, and "The Muppets Take Manhattan" just might be the best example of it.

After getting the formula about right with The Great Muppet Caper, the series takes a strange turn with 'Manhattan' only a few years later. Veteran Muppet Frank Oz takes the helm from Jim Henson and makes a few minor but noticeable changes. Gone are the nods and winks to the audience for the most part, and the film is far more plot based and linear than the slapstick shenanigans of the first film.

Kermit and the gang are finishing college and pondering their futures, which will very likely result in them all moving on separately and losing touch. However Kermit boldly concocts a plan that will see the gang remain together, by heading en masse to Manhattan to launch a massive stage musical called Manhattan Melodies, with all the Muppets as performers or stage hands.

Unfortunately after just a few short days, no success and low on funds, the various characters are forced to disperse and forge their own future, with the promise from Kermit to summon them all if/when the musical gets greenlit. Kermit takes a job in a diner and everyone goes their separate ways.

In many ways this is a more depressing film than the first two – even with the frog killing theme – for long periods of time the characters mope and ponder a future alone, and it seems that the Muppets will never again operate in unison. Of course this isn't how the film ends, but even in a puppet movie you don't need to be kept sad for over half the running time.

The jokes are less frequent and the tone less tongue in cheek. The cameos are still plentiful but are more 'look here's the famous cameo' than in other films. The inclusion of the Muppet Babies in a thinly veiled promo for the spin-off is as entertaining as it is blatant, and in some ways is a minor indictment on the dull tone of the rest of the film that it can be upstaged by a flashback.

There is another attempt at a grand sequence with Piggy taking a skate through the park, but it is far less successful than either of the sequences from Caper, and the big finale was an apt but desperate ending to proceedings.

Final Rating – 6.5 / 10. I by no means am saying steer clear of Manhattan, but after the Muppet Movie got the ball rolling and Caper took such a great leap forward, it is disappointing that the franchise would take a step back like this.

This is a rather enjoyable and harmless entertaining Muppet movie, featuring most of the well known Muppets. It really isn't their best or most memorable one though.

Lets face it and be honest here, this movie really isn't the greatest made or best written one. The only real reason that the movie still works out is thanks to the Muppets. The humor actually isn't that much good, since its mostly simply written and the events are predictable. Nevertheless the movie still manages to become funny because of the humorous and well known characters, that need no introduction.

For me it really was in this case Miss Piggy that makes the movie work out. Her character features by far the most humorous and enjoyable situations. Miss Piggy is basically a Muppet-favorite of every one! She is such a great and comical character. Also the idea alone that a grown up man, such as Frank Oz, is with his hand inside a silly looking pig and doing a very feminine voice is reason enough already to crack me up. I really respect the Muppet-performers and their timing and handling is always just great, especially Frank Oz who always is subtle and handles the most enjoyable Muppet characters. Besides acting, Frank Oz also was the person who directed and wrote the movie.

The movie concentrates a bit too much on just the two main characters of the movie; Kermit and Miss Piggy. Also the human cast gets wasted because of that but of course also most of the Muppet characters. They put (too) many Muppets in the movie but doesn't provide them with enough room to let them shine, or their characters speak out. They tried to do so by putting in some extra solo sequences, featuring some of the Muppet characters, which felt like a last minute addition but was amusing, though distracting, nevertheless. The movie also features Rizzo the Rat in his first big movie role but it's too bad that he didn't teamed up with Gonzo yet in this on. The movie could had really used another and distracting from the main plot, comical duo, besides Kermit and Miss Piggy.

The movie yet again features many cameo from well known actors and other celebrities. Celebrities and Muppets always have been a great combination. Not only well known (at the time) celebrities make a cameo but also the "Sesame Street" characters do so, toward the ending.

It's obvious that they used this movie as a vehicle to also use some new puppet techniques, that in my opinion however don't work out and are redundant. Showing the Muppet's legs when they walk, bad idea! Putting someone in a Miss Piggy suit when she is on roller-blades, bad idea!

Though the movie is mostly forgettable it of course still features some great sequences such as the one with the Muppet babies. It also of course features some good comedy moments and it obviously makes this an enjoyable simple movie to watch but it's all not quite enough for this movie to really make a lasting impression. Out of all the Muppet movies this is probably the one with the most less re-playability factor.

6/10

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Throughout this film, you might think this film is just for kids. Well, it is mainly pointed towards them, but it's also well-rounded enough with the jokes pointed also at the adults in the audience. This time around, the Muppet gang try to get on Broadway, with the dire straits keeping them from getting it produced, leading them to splitting up. But Kermit won't stop, and his determination keeps things moving along until after getting the deal together he gets hit by a car and sent into amnesia!

It's a send-up, in part, of those old starring vehicles from the 40s with musicals actually as the topic of a musical, only here there's the usual lot of zaniness and wonderful moments thrown into a pot of hysterically funny moments (Lou Zealand's boomerang fish; Gonzo's water-stunt display, the whisper campaign, among many others), but also with a lot of heart too. The Muppet writers aren't shy of the conventions, on the contrary, they embrace them to the point where it's almost refreshing to see such a 'lets put on a show' story where through thick and think the characters will meet their dream.

While not as totally original in scope as the Muppet Movie, it's got many catchy and memorable songs, excellent locations all over Manhattan, and even some intonations of inter-species dating (and marriage)! Cameos include Liza Minneli ("a frog?"), Elliot Gould (as the cop), Brooke Shields (propositioned by a rat), Edward I. Koch, Gregory Hines and Joan Rivers. So get ready to sing-along, or just have a lot of big laughs and romantic (yes romantic) times with one of the best Muppet movies.

i love this film. the songs and story lines are great fun. and the song "saying goodbye" always moves me. what a brilliant thing to do to bring puppets to life, in a way that you actually care about these things made of cloth and fabric and whatever. great voices and great talent. why were all the other muppet films that came after this one so much less interesting, moving and funny? is it that mr. henson is just so very missed?

The Muppets Take Manhattan, is not one of my favorite Muppet movies, but it is still a good watch! Like most Muppet movies, you will see some pretty big names featured in the film and all of them take park in the goofy gags and jokes that Muppets are known for. Manhattan is a great film for any Muppet fan!

I was lucky enough to see this film countless times when I was a child. A few days ago while taking a break from college work I saw the movie on television and was really impressed by it. The film is excellent. Kermit and the gang are not only entertaining to children but also to adults. Children are entranced by the puppets and the humor is very well suited to adults. If you have children I recommend this film, there's singing, puppets, action, and Miss Piggy what else could be more entertaining and it beats being stuck with the teletubbies.

But if you like the muppets I defy you to dislike this one. Basically the same plot regurgitated (this time New York, not LA) it features a lot of fun cameos and muppet hi-jinx. A lot of the muppets leave the film pretty early on as it centers around Kermy and Miss Piggy. I happened to have enjoyed it greatly. Fun to watch with your kids.

The Muppets go to New York to try and sell Kermit's musical to a Broadway producer but are met with nothing but rejection. Thinking they are holding Kermit back, the other Muppets leave him in the city and return home. Kermit gets a job working at a café where rats are waiters. When a producer finally shows interest in Kermit's musical, the frog faces two obstacles: first, he must put the whole show together in two weeks; second, he's hit by a car and gets amnesia! Hopefully his friends, new and old, can help him get his memory back and put on the big show.

The third Muppets movie is a pleasant, leisurely film. Nowhere near the classic Muppet Movie but the songs are nice and the Muppets endearing as ever. It's kind of a solo movie for Kermit for awhile. The human cast is good, with several little-known actors in supporting parts. The celebrity cameos this time include Dabney Coleman, Brooke Shields, Elliott Gould, Art Carney, Joan Rivers, Gregory Hines, and Liza Minnelli. Most importantly, this movie introduced the Muppet Babies in a fantasy sequence. The Muppet Babies would go on to be an adorable cartoon series that was a beloved part of my childhood. This movie is the last of the Muppet films made while Jim Henson was still alive. It will surely please fans and those who love movies with heart and humor and magic.

This was the third Muppet movie and the last one Jim Henson was around to take part in the making of before his premature death in 1990. The first three films starring the famous characters were all made and released into theatres before I was born. I originally saw the first and second installments in the original trilogy, "The Muppet Movie" and "The Great Muppet Caper", around the mid-nineties, as a kid, but didn't see this third one, "The Muppets Take Manhattan", until April 2007. This was shortly after I had seen its two predecessors and 1996's "Muppet Treasure Island" for the first time in many years. This third Muppet movie definitely didn't disappoint me the first time I saw it, and my second viewing nearly three years later may not have impressed me as much, but if not, it certainly didn't go too far downhill.

The Muppets' stage musical, "Manhattan Melodies", turns out to be a big hit on their college campus. They are graduating from college, so they will soon be leaving, but decide they will all stay together and go to Manhattan to try and get their show on Broadway. After their arrival, they begin searching for a producer, but after many rejections, they finally decide to part and go find jobs. Most of them leave town, but Kermit stays, and is still determined to find the right producer and reunite the Muppet gang. He gets a job at a New York restaurant owned by a man named Pete. The frog quickly befriends Pete's daughter, Jenny, an aspiring fashion designer who currently works at her father's restaurant as a waitress. As Kermit continues his attempts to reach stardom, now with the help of Jenny, he doesn't know that Miss Piggy has secretly stayed in New York and is now spying on him. She begins to see Kermit and Jenny together, and to her it looks like they're getting close, which leads to jealousy!

When I saw this movie for the second time, it looked disappointing at first. It seemed a little rushed, unfocused, and maybe even forgettable around the beginning. There are some funny bits during this part of the film, such as Animal chasing a woman through the audience on the college campus, but for a little while, the film seemed bland to me compared to its two predecessors. Fortunately, it wasn't long before that changed. The film is entertaining for the most part, with "Saying Goodbye", the poignant song the Muppets sing as they part, and a lot that happens after that. The two funniest parts MIGHT be Miss Piggy's tantrums after she sees Kermit and Jenny hugging, but there were definitely many other times when I laughed, such as poor Fozzie trying to hibernate with other bears. The Muppets still have their charm and comical antics, which obviously also helps carry the movie for the most part, as does the plot, a simple but intriguing one for all ages. There are some weaker moments, such as the Muppet babies sequence, and Juliana Donald's performance as Jenny is lacklustre, but neither of these problems are too significant, and are far from enough to ruin the entire experience.

I would say "The Muppet Movie", the film that started the franchise in 1979, is the best of the original trilogy, and that seems to be the most popular opinion. This third film is probably the weakest of the three, but all of them are good. Unlike "Muppets From Space", the third of the theatrical films in the franchise made after Henson's sad passing, at least "The Muppets Take Manhattan" is still the Muppets! I won't go into details about what I think of the Muppets' 1999 film, released twenty years after their first one, since I've already explained in my review of it why I found it so disappointing, and even though it does have some appeal, I'm clearly not alone. However, every theatrical movie starring the lovable Muppets that was made during Henson's life is good entertainment for the whole family, even if the second and third installment each showed a slight decline in quality after the one that directly preceded it.

I just saw The Muppets Take Manhattan. I can't say I didn't like it, but I can't really say I liked it either. It has the flimsiest of plots, but I kept smiling the whole way through. I'm sure kids would love it.

What else can you expect when the Muppets don't take Manhattan but steal the show from cameo celebrities and a plot to get their musical on Broadway called "Manhattan Melodies." The Muppet gang finished college in some small town New England and go to the big city. Kermit and the gang try but unsuccessfully at first to get Manhattan Melodies. Kermit and the gang split up and get jobs in various places. Miss Piggy works at a department store with Joan Rivers. Kermit works at a diner with Jenny. Kermit comes with innovative ways especially the scene at Sardis where he replaces Liza Minnelli's picture with his own in her cameo. There are plenty of celebrities like the three term Mayor Ed Koch; Gregory Hines in Central Park; Brooke Shields at the diner; Linda Lavin as Kermit's doctor; Elliott Gould; James Coco; Dabney Coleman; Gates McFadden and more. The story and songs are entertaining and likable. Jim Henson was still alive and this film was done in his adoptive city.

Muppets Take Manhattan isn't one of the best Muppet movies, but it still has memorable moments and fun songs. It also feels more dated than the other Muppet movies, but that could just be because of Miss Piggy's hair. Still, my kids seemed to enjoy it and it's fun to see all the Muppet characters singing together at the end.

Jim Henson's Muppets were a favorite of mine since childhood. This film makes me feel like a kid again. Okay, the Muppets are back with Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog and their friends. The premise is that they are trying to get on Broadway in a musical show in where else but New York City. You will see cameos by the then New York City Mayor Ed Koch. Anyway, the film turns 25 this year and I hope the kids of today will learn to appreciate the lightheartedness of the Muppets Gang. The problem with the show is Kermit goes missing and the gang has to find him in New York City. It's worth watching for kids and even sentimental adults like myself.

The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) -

This film probably had more poignance at the time of release for viewers that would have been following the TV series and recognised the characters and their antics, but for a newer audience it may be a struggle to feel for them without more knowledge of their back story. The biggest issue I found watching this film, 35 years after it's release, is that I have been spoiled every year by watching 'The Muppets Christmas Carol' (1992). It is such a great way of utilising these quirky and fun characters to tell, what is in my opinion, the greatest story ever told. So "Manhattan" seems quite weak by comparison. The humour is not as strong as it should be and the script is quite poor and dragged out.

I think that the whole film needed to be more like the actual stage show at the end, maybe more like the series itself. I personally would love to see the Muppets take on 'Romeo & Juliet', 'Gulliver's Travels' or other classic stories. Their interpretation of 'Treasure Island' wasn't the best, but it was still an improvement on this one and I think that their parodies work the best for them.

With all that said, it's still a harmless and fun film to watch that doesn't hurt anybody or offend. It's easy to sit in front of and anyone can appreciate the great characters, even if the script is not outstanding.

Kermit really is the star of any Muppets production, I just love him, but I also love the way him and Piggy bounce off of each other. They all contribute to the story and the flow of the humour, but it's Kermit that holds it all together.

I will always be a Muppet fan and I hope that they find a way to continue and last, because the films that have come since 'The Muppets Treasure Island' (1996) haven't been the best. I hope they find someone to help them to keep going throughout the 21st Century with stories, scripts and productions worthy of their talent and loveable personalities.

549.99/1000.