The rise and fall (and rise?) of the Muppet empire

To celebrate the momentous occasion of the November 23 release of The Muppets, Kermit and the gang’s first cinematic outing in 12 years, we make like Statler and Waldorf to critique the previous big-screen creations from the late Jim Henson and his gang. Meanwhile, will The Muppets mark a return to glory for Kermit and company? Check out our review here.

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The Muppet Movie (1979)

With dreams of superstardom twinkling in his eye, Kermit the Frog leaves his swampland home and heads for Hollywood; along the way, he picks up a few new friends.

Most meta Muppet-movie moment
Fozzie Bear hands Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem a copy of the screenplay, so as not to bore the audience by explaining aloud what’s happened in the movie so far.

Funniest celebrity cameo
Orson Welles, stealing the movie with just one dry—but hilarious—line.

Best musical number
There’s no beating the simple beauty of Kermit on banjo, strumming “The Rainbow Connection.”

Muppety-goodness rating