The Muppets had been around for a little while when they decided to see if they would work as a movie. Between the first and second half of the third season of The puppet showthe film went into production and was to be completed.

The Muppets are known as the creation of Henson, and he and Frank Oz are the two names most synonymous with the early Muppets. However, neither Henson nor Oz realized The puppet movie, or even wrote it. The film is directed by James Frawley, who was at that point primarily a sitcom director, working on shows like Monkeys and This girl.

The Muppets essentially only existed as part of the Muppet world before. The show, for example, took place at the Muppet Show. In order to see if The Muppets would work on the big screen, Henson, Oz and Frawley drove around London (where the show was made) to get drug tests. Kermit, Fozzie, and company were brought to real-world locations for test shooting to see what they would look like in that realm.

According to Austin Pendleton, who plays Max, Frawley was “very unhappy” with the making of the film, which created an unfortunate setting. Pendleton also noted that this was the only time Henson used someone outside of the Muppet family to direct a Muppet movie, preferring to keep things insular after the Frawley experience.

Oz, the puppeteer and voice behind Fozzie and Miss Piggy, was also able to appear in human form in The puppet movie. Appropriately, he plays a biker who beats up Fozzie. Obviously, at that time, he was not involved in puppetry.

The puppet movie is loaded with cameos. We’re talking about Steve Martin, Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Orson Welles and many more. One of the people making an appearance was Edgar Bergen, with his puppet Charlie McCarthy. Bergen was a famous ventriloquist – and also a personal hero of Henson. He would die shortly after filming his cameo, making it his final appearance.

The puppet movie begins with Kermit sitting on a log, strumming his banjo and singing “Rainbow Connection”. It’s one of the most famous opening scenes in a movie, and it was also the first time a hand puppet was performed with his whole body on screen. How did Henson make this possible? Well, it’s mounted in a metal container designed for the film with a monitor and an air hose so it can breathe. The container, with Henson inside, was put under water, and he worked from there.

The “Rainbow Connection” scene was a real undertaking, but it wasn’t the only significant puppet feat of The puppet movie. For the scene where Kermit rides a bicycle, his legs and arms were attached to the pedals and handlebars. Next, a crane was fashioned with a puppet system with strings invisible to the camera. For the other full-body scenes, remote-controlled puppets were used in front of a blue screen.

The film ends with a cover of “Rainbow Connection”, and it featured all the puppets Henson and Co. had created thus far. This meant around 250 puppets on screen. To bring them to life, 150 puppeteers were mobilized. The puppet show stated in his fan club newsletter that “Every puppeteer west of the Rockies” has been tapped.

Among all these puppeteers, there were a few guys who are not considered puppeteers primarily. One of them was director John Landis, who played Grover at the end. The following year, Oz would have a small role in Landis The Blues Brothers. Also, a former Tim Burton was also one of the puppeteers.

Kenneth Ascher and Paul Williams composed the music for The puppet movie. Henson was happy to let the musicians do their thing. Williams said Henson gave him as much freedom as anyone he had ever worked with. As Williams noted in an interview with Songfacts, “I said, ‘You wanna hear the songs while we’re writing them? He said no. I will hear them in the studio. I know I will love them. “Williams also has a cameo in the film as a pianist.

When Animal takes Dr. Bunsen Honeydew’s growth pills, Henson didn’t want to use the full-sized Animal puppet and miniature set for effect. Instead, he had a gigantic animal head made about 60 feet in diameter.

Welles plays Lew Lord, who hands the Muppets the standard “Rich and Famous” contract. His name refers to Sir Lew Grade. Grade was the head of Associated Television, the UK company that co-produced The puppet show. Grade was also a producer on The puppet movie and The big hug of the puppets.

Hopper, played by Charles Durning, is the villain of the piece – what, with his affinity for frog legs as a delicacy in a movie starring a frog. Apparently, there was a debate between Henson and Oz over Hopper’s ultimate fate. Henson thought they should buy out Hopper, which Oz was against. In the end, the notion of Oz won out.

The poster for The puppet movie is distinct, and with good reason. It doesn’t look like a 1970s poster, and that’s because it’s a direct reference to the iconic 1939 movie poster carried away by the wind. The poster points the hand to that forehead due to a quote on it: “Frankly Miss Piggy, I don’t give a damn!”

To create excitement for The puppet moviethe Muppets had a one hour special on CBS called The Muppets are going to Hollywood. Additionally, the Muppets were guest hosts for The show tonight also to help promote the film.

In a snap to London being where The puppet show had the chance to grow up, The puppet movie would not have its premiere in the United States. Instead, the premiere took place at the Leicester Square Theater in London. Apparently Princess Anne was among the attendees. It wouldn’t be until a month later that the film would be released in America.

The puppet movie was made for $8 million and earned $65.2 million at the box office. It would reign as the highest-grossing movie featuring puppets until, deservedly, The Muppets relaunched the brand on the big screen in 2011.

The puppet movie is a musical, and the music is perhaps the reason the movie is best remembered. He received two Oscar nominations: one for Best Score and one for Best Original Song for “Rainbow Connection”. This song would also get a Golden Globe nomination, and AFI ranked it 74th in its ranking of the best movie songs of all time.

Henson died in 1990, when he was just 53 years old. One of his favorite songs in Muppet history was “I’m gonna go back there someday”, which is sung by Gonzo in this movie. At the Henson memorial, Dave Goelz, the performer behind Gonzo, sang the song in honor of Henson.