The Muppet Movie (1979) - 5 stars out of 10

The Muppet Movie (1979) - 5 stars out of 10

In their first feature film, the Muppets tell the story of how they got their start... "sort-of."  The puppetry in this film is amazing, with Kermit the Frog sitting on a log in a pond playing a banjo (which is the first time that a hand-puppet appeard on-screen with its entire body showing) and then riding a bicycle down the street..  These special effects are what set this apart from other films of the same ilk.  As far as story is concerned, it's okay but sometimes feels as if they were trying to squeeze in as many cameos as possible.  Every huge actor that you can imagine appears, EVEN BIG BIRD, but sometimes it felt like too much.  My other complaint is that there are too many songs.  I do love the song Rainbow Connection and am happy that it was recognized with an Oscar nomination; however, when there are 11 songs squeezed into 90 minutes, they keep coming one after another without enough space between them.  There were multiple times when I had the thought of "Another song?  Really?"  I like how the writers created some backstories to show how all of these Muppets came together to take over the entertainment industry, and I wonder if its "Wizard of Oz-ish storyine" was intentional.  In the end, "The Muppet Movie" will appeal to any fan of The Muppets, particularly because of the cool puppet effects and opportunity to learn the beginnings of each character.  Personally, I feel as if the film had the potential to be a lot funnier, with Statler and Waldorf (and a bunch of the other characters) being underused.  Expanding the film to 100 minutes would have taken away the rushed feel.  It is designed to be a children's movie and these shortcomings will not matter to a child who will love the catchy songs and comedic characters.  If given the choice between this film and 6 episodes of The Muppet Show, I'll take the tv program any day, but I am glad that this film was created.  It paved the way for the Muppets to move beyond the television and establish a place in media history that will make them familiar to children past, present, and future.