The Muppet Movie

Cinephile deep dive

The take

James Frawley directs. Isidore Mankofsky behind the camera. Paul Williams scores. Christopher Greenbury cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in French, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Made its money back 9.6× over at the box office.
• 247 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.
• 4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
• 5Directed by James Frawley, shot by Isidore Mankofsky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Original score by Paul Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 7Editor Christopher Greenbury shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8Jim Henson and Frank Oz and Jerry Nelson carry the top of the cast.
• 9Marketing tagline: "More entertaining than humanly possible!".
• 10IMDB entry: tt0079588 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 11Classified under 13 themes, including "chicken", "musical", "puppet", "road trip".

The technical file

Cinematography

Isidore Mankofsky

Original score

Paul Williams

Editing

Christopher Greenbury

Production design

Joel Schiller

Costume design

Gwen Capetanos

Makeup / hair

Ben Nye Jr.

Sound

David Dockendorf

Runtime

97 min · 1h 37m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$8,000,000

Box office

$76,462,692

Return

956% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

G

IMDB

The Muppet Movie (1979) ↗

Also by

James Frawley

• 
  Delancey Street: The Crisis Within

  1975 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Kate Brasher

  2001 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Related

  2005 · ★ 9.2
• 
  The Big Easy

  1996 · ★ 9.0
• 
  Side Order of Life

  2007 · ★ 8.5
• 
  Grey's Anatomy

  2005 · ★ 8.2

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  James Frawley on THE MUPPET MOVIE

  Featurette · Official
• 

  ▶
  45th Anniversary Spot

  Teaser · Official
• 

  ▶
  The Muppet Movie (1979) Trailer HD 1080p

  Trailer
• 

  ▶
  The Muppet Movie (1979) Teaser

  Teaser

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  ITC Entertainment

  GB

• 

  Henson Associates

  US

Key crew

• Executive ProducerMartin Starger
• ProducerJim Henson
• Executive ProducerLew Grade
• EditorChristopher Greenbury
• Production DesignJoel Schiller
• First Assistant DirectorRon Wright
• SongsPaul Williams
• Script SupervisorUlla Bourne
• Makeup ArtistBen Nye Jr.
• Set DecorationRichard B. Goddard
• StuntsGilbert B. Combs
• Art DirectionLes Gobruegge
• Co-ProducerDavid Lazer
• CastingGus Schirmer
• In Memory OfEdgar Bergen
• Costume DesignGwen Capetanos
• Creative ConsultantFrank Oz
• Music ArrangerIan Freebairn-Smith
• ConductorIan Freebairn-Smith
• Executive In Charge Of ProductionRichard L. O'Connor
• Production ManagerKurt Neumann
• Second Assistant DirectorPenny Adams
• Production CoordinatorTeresa Stokovic
• Production CoordinatorShirley Snyder

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• chicken
• musical
• puppet
• road trip
• fame
• puppetry
• hollywood
• movie star
• aftercreditsstinger
• anthropomorphic puppets
• casual
• muppets
• sincere

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1979-06-22G

Also known as

International titles

• Muppets 1 - Muppet MovieCA
• As Aventuras dos MarretasPT
• 머펫 무비KR
• Los Teleñecos van a HollywoodES
• The Muppet Movie Nearly 35Th Anniversary EditionUS
• Οι Μάπετ Σόου στο ΧόλιγουντGR
• O Mundo Mágico dos MuppetsBR
• Muppets: o FilmeBR
• Muppet går til filmenDK