The Muppet Movie

By VARIETY STAFF

ITC/Henson. Director James Frawley; Producer Jim Henson; Screenplay Jerry Juhl, Jack Burns; Camera Isidore Mankofsky; Editor Chris Greenbury; Music Paul Williams; Art Director Joel Schiller
 
Charles Durning
Austin Pendleton
Scott Walker
 

Jim Henson, Muppet originator, and Frank Oz, creative consultant, have abandoned the successful format of their vidshow, and inserted their creations into a well-crafted combo of musical comedy and fantasy adventure.

Result is a muppet update of The Wizard of Oz, with Kermit the Frog leading a motley Muppet troupe on the asphalt road to Hollywood. Script incorporates the zingy one-liners and bad puns that have become the teleseries' trade mark.

Director James Frawley has a lot of fun with cinematic sleight-of-hand, including shots of Kermit pedalling a bicycle, the Muppets driving cars and trucks, and additional full-body camerawork.

The cogent storyline runs Kermit through a gamut of emotions, from self-doubt and bashful love to a moral showdown on the old High Noon set.

1979: Nominations: Best Adapted Score, Song ('The Rainbow Connection')

(Color) Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1979. Running time: 98 MIN.