5 Fun Facts About ‘Muppets Take Manhattan’
With so many lighthearted and entertaining Muppets movies in the franchise, it is hard to remember back in the days when they were first starting out. On July 13, 1984, the third Muppets movie called The Muppets Take Manhattan premiered following The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper.
The film, directed by Frank Oz, follows the lovable Muppets as they graduate from college and move to New York City to try to get their musical, Manhattan Melodies, on Broadway. Of course, plenty of problems pop up but the Muppets adapt with every wacky scenario thrown their way, including Kermit being hit by a car and getting amnesia. In honor of the film’s 40th anniversary, let’s learn some interesting facts about it:
1The cast didn’t like working with director Frank Oz
TriStar Pictures/Everett Collection
Oz had worked with Jim Henson before but this was his first solo directing gig and he was feeling the pressure of being in charge of such a beloved franchise. Several years ago, some of the cast and crew opened up about how working with Oz was “torture.” Dave Goelz, who voiced Gonzo, said, “We had the hardest time working with him. Frank felt he had to make every decision, dictate every tiny detail, and he micromanaged our performances. Not sure I should say it, but Jim [Henson] was as frustrated as the rest of us.” However, he added, “Now, Frank is a great collaborator. He’s taken Jim’s delicacy to heart, to let people contribute, solicit input, and realize his job is deciding what to include.”
All’s well that ends well as Oz admitted that he was too hard on the performers and joked, “You should talk to Dave Goelz about it. We laugh about it now, how much he hated me.”
2There is a special reason Juliana Donald was cast as Jenny
TriStar Pictures/Everett Collection
Reportedly, the producers wanted to cast a well-known actress for the role of Jenny but had trouble finding the right star. They ended up casting Juliana Donald because she looked comfortable talking to Kermit and could talk to the Muppets as if they were real people.
3Like any Muppets movie, there were tons of cameos, but they didn’t get one star they wanted
TriStar/Everett Collection
In the film, stars such as Brooke Shields, Gregory Hines, Dabney Coleman, and John Landis show up to surprise fans. They wanted some even bigger names and Dustin Hoffman was reportedly supposed to make a cameo. Writing consultant David Misch said, “Hoffman was going to play a Broadway producer and planned to do an imitation of legendary film producer Robert Evans, which he later did in the movie ‘Wag The Dog.’ At the last minute Hoffman decided it might be offensive to Evans and dropped out, following which all the other big names dropped out as well.”
4Joan Rivers and Frank Oz were drinking during her scene
TriStar Pictures/Everett Collection
Joan Rivers also makes a cameo in the film as a worker at Bergdorf Goodman’s perfume counter with Miss Piggy. Oz once said that he got them tipsy to help the scene and shared, “It’s very hard to have a spontaneous laughter. It wasn’t working, because I didn’t know Joan that well and I guess she didn’t know me.” To remedy the issue, he asked a production assistant to bring them four Bloody Marys. “I had a couple of Bloody Marys and Joan had a couple of Bloody Marys, and we shot the scene kind of like that. Joan left, and I was feeling real good.”
5Martin Scorsese’s parents make an appearance
TriStar Pictures/Everett Collection
Famous director Martin Scorsese’s parents were actually extras in the film! Donald revealed, “They were so sweet and overjoyed to be extras. It was great because their son was one of the all-time greatest directors, and they could have had regular parts in any of his films, but they only wanted to be extras. I think they liked the fact that they could talk to friends and have no stress on having to learn lines.” His father appears as a patron in a dining scene.
What is your favorite scene in Muppets Take Manhattan?
Kid Stuff
June 2018
Unleash your inner child by reliving your favorite kids TV shows, cartoons, toys and more!
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