The Great Muppet Caper

The Great Muppet Caper is a 1981 mystery musical comedy film directed by Jim Henson. It is the second of a series of live-action musical feature films, starring Jim Henson's Muppets. This film was produced by Henson Associates and ITC Entertainment, originally released by Universal Pictures, and premiered on June 26, 1981. It is also the only Muppet movie directed by Henson. Shot in England, the film was released shortly after the final season of The Muppet Show.
==Plot==
Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, and Gonzo the Great play newspaper reporters for the Daily Chronicle. Kermit and Fozzie, specifically, are playing identical twin reporters, which becomes the source of a running gag - supposedly, nobody can tell they are twins unless Fozzie wears his hat. While Gonzo is too busy taking pictures of a chicken, the biggest fashion designer of London named Lady Holiday (Diana Rigg) gets robbed of her necklace. After missing the story, the trio then decides to make up for missing the robbery story to investigate the theft of the valuable jewels from Lady Holiday, which they have to beg for after their boss Mike Tarkenian (Jack Warden) dismisses them following the Daily Chronicle's headline about the twins joining the staff (while the other papers report on the jewel heist).
They travel to London to interview her, but with only $12 for the trip, they are forced to fly in the airplane's baggage hold and are thrown out of the plane as they arrive over Britain while it continues on to Italy. They are thrown out the plane and land in a park pond, they ask a gentlemen where they can stay in London and one of the choices is The Happiness Hotel. The trio soon arrive in London and stay at the dilapidated (but free) Happiness Hotel, run and populated by Pops, Scooter, Rowlf, Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem, Sam the Eagle, Swedish Chef, Rizzo the Rat, Annie Sue, and Lubbuck Lou and his Jughuggers. The trio gets a room with a fold up bed and lamp with a loose lightbulb. The next day, Lady Holiday is reviewing all the dresses that were being completed, she has very rude comments on the models and their dresses. Suddenly Miss Piggy comes in and tells Lady Holiday she wants to apply to be a model with Holiday. However, even after showing off her portfolio, Miss Piggy does not impress Holiday. She does hire Piggy as her secretary until she meets up with the standards When Kermit seeks out Lady Holiday in her office however, he instead finds the love of his life Miss Piggy and fails to recognize her, mistaking her for the fashion designer. Outside Gonzo summons a cab by jumping in front of it and after a crazy ride from Boarigard they come back to the hotel. At first Kermit wants to do the interview alone mainly to have a date with her, but after Fozzy begs him, Kermit changes his mind. Meanwhile Piggy masquerades as Lady Holiday, even going so far as to sneak into a ritzy townhouse (located at 17 Highbrow Street) to impress Kermit with her dwellings much to the surprise of the true British residents Neville (John Cleese) and Dorcas (Joan Sanderson).
At a night club restaurant, Lady Holiday's necklace is stolen by her jealous brother Nicky (Charles Grodin), who had spent all of his inheritance money and had to live with his sister just to make ends meet. His robbery assistants are Carla (Kate Howard), Marla (Erica Creer), and Darla (Della Finch), three of her put-upon fashion models who are fed up with her crude comments. Despite Nicky's instant attraction to Miss Piggy, though she makes it clear she's not interested, they successfully frame her for the theft after she makes it to the spotlight, as it turns out the cops were already questioning them so much. After Miss Piggy's arrest, they secretly reveal their plan to steal an even more valuable prize....the coveted Baseball Diamond which is on display at a local gallery, the Mallory Gallery. Unfortunately for them, Gonzo is under a nearby table and overhears them. Kermit's crew, along with their friends from the Happiness Hotel, have no choice but to intercept and catch the thieves themselves in order to exonerate Miss Piggy.
The Muppets get to the Mallory Gallery, and get to the Baseball Diamond at the same time as the thieves, use the Baseball Diamond in a game of Keep Away and later baseball, complete with Louis Kazagger commentating. Piggy, meanwhile, has escaped from prison and, in a bout of serendipity, finds a motorcycle which she uses to crash into the Gallery's window, knocking Nicky, who is holding Kermit hostage, out in the process. Carla, Marla and Darla confront Piggy, only to be quickly dispatched by a flurry of furious karate chops. As the police arrive, Piggy is cleared from all charges, Nicky and his fashion model-accomplices are arrested, and the Muppets get their deserved credit for foiling the heist. The Muppets then return to America the same way they departed, being thrown out of the cargo hold and parachuting back to Earth, over the end credits which concludes with Gonzo taking a photo of the audience with his overly powerful flashbulb causing the screen to go black as if he blinded his subjects again. The film ends with Gonzo saying to the blank screen: "I'll send you each your copy."
==Cast==
* Charles Grodin as Nicky Holiday, Lady Holiday's irresponsible brother and the principal antagonist of the film. He is responsible for the jewel heist on his sister with the help of three of her fashion models, Carla, Darla, and Marla. After losing his inheritance he lives with his sister and secretly steals her jewelry in an attempt to get his money back and pay off his debts.
* Diana Rigg as Lady Holiday, a famous British fashion designer who has been the victim of a jewel heist. She is considered extremely critical as she expect her outfits to be a certain way.
*Erica Creer as Marla
*Kate Howard as Carla
*Della Finch as Darla
* Joan Sanderson as Dorcas, Neville's wife.
* Michael Robbins as Henderson, the Mallory Gallery's security guard.
* Peter Hughes as Stanley, a Maitre D' at the Dubonnet Club and an old acquaintance and favoured patron of Lady Holiday.
* Peggy Aitchison as a guard at the prison where Miss Piggy is detained.
* Tommy Godfrey as a bus conductor.
===Cameo guest stars===
* John Cleese as Neville, a middle-aged British homeowner who lives with his wife Dorcas at 17 Highbrow Street.
* Peter Falk as a Man in Park (uncredited)
* Robert Morley as a British Gentlemen by Pond
* Jack Warden as Mike Tarkenian, an editor of the Daily Chronicle.
* Peter Ustinov as a Truck Driver whose truck is stolen by Miss Piggy.
===Muppet performers===
* Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, Waldorf and Swedish Chef
* Frank Oz as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam the Eagle
* Dave Goelz as The Great Gonzo, Beauregard, Zoot, and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew
* Richard Hunt as Scooter, Statler, Sweetums, Janice, and Beaker
* Jerry Nelson as Floyd Pepper, Pops and Lew Zealand
* Steve Whitmire as Rizzo the Rat and Lips
* Caroll Spinney as Oscar the Grouch
* Kiran Shah as Miss Piggy (full-bodied stunt double)
Additional Muppets performed by Louise Gold, Robbie Barnett, Brian Henson, Brian Muehl, Kathryn Mullen, Bob Payne, Mike Quinn, and Hugh Spight
Some of the puppeteers also appear in cameo roles.
* Jim Henson cameos as one of the Dubonnet Club patrons to whom Gonzo offers a souvenir photo with Amy van Gilder.
* Frank Oz cameos as a reporter in the Daily Chronicle office.
* Jerry Nelson cameos as a man in the park alongside his daughter Christine Nelson playing the man's daughter.
* Richard Hunt as a cab driver with Kathryn Mullen appearing as a taxi passenger.
Also, Henson's son Brian appears riding a tricycle that pulls a line of Muppets on bicycles.
===Background Muppets (non-speaking)===
* Annie Sue, Crazy Harry, Gaffer, The Mutations, Droop, Timmy Monster, Frackles, Luncheon Counter Monster, Flower-Eating Monster, Miss Kitty, Lubbock Lou, Bubba, Gramps, Lou, Slim Wilson, Zeke, The Singing Food
===Uncredited===
*Jim Henson as The Muppet Newsman
*Jerry Nelson as Louis Kazagger and Camilla the Chicken
==Release==
===Box office===
The film grossed $31.2 million domestically on a $14 million budget thus making it a box office success. It is the fourth highest grossing Muppet film behind The Muppets, The Muppet Movie, and Muppet Treasure Island.
===Critical reception===
The Great Muppet Caper has received generally positive reviews. As of 6 July 2009, Rotten Tomatoes has reported that 71% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 17 reviews.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a two star rating (out of four) and concluded his review by saying that "the lack of a cutting edge hurts this movie. It's too nice, too routine, too predictable, and too safe."
==Music==
In 1982, Joe Raposo was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "The First Time It Happens". This was the only one of the first three Muppet films not to be nominated for Best Music, Original Song Score.
In 1981, Miss Piggy won the Youth in Film Award for Best Young Musical Recording Artist for her performance of "The First Time It Happens", becoming the first, and only, non-human recipient in the history of the award.
===Soundtrack===
The Great Muppet Caper: The Original Soundtrack contains all of the songs from the movie, as well as several portions of dialogue and background score. The album reached #66 on Billboard's Top LP's and Tapes chart in 1981.
;Track listing
# "Main Title Theme" (2:49)
# "Hey, a Movie!" (2:42)
# "The Big Red Bus" (1:26) (Score)
# "Happiness Hotel" (3:05)
# "Lady Holiday" (1:12) (Score)
# "The First Time It Happens" (4:12)
# "The Apartment" (0:53) (Score)
# "Night Life" (2:57)
# "Steppin' Out with a Star" (2:31)
# "Couldn't We Ride" (3:07)
# "Miss Piggy's Fantasy" (3:58)
# "The Great Muppet Caper" (3:48)
# "Homeward Bound" (0:52) (Score)
# "Finale: Hey, a Movie! (reprise)" (1:30)
# "The First Time It Happens (reprise)" (1:30)
;Score cues left off the soundtrack
# Stop the Presses!
# Splash Landing
# Lobby
# "Happiness Hotel" (Full version)
# Applying for a Job
# Kermit Meets Piggy
# Taxi
# Getting Ready
# You Can Come/17 Highbrow Street
# A Pig and a Lizard
# Dubonnet Club (Instrumental of "Steppin' Out with a Star")
# I Think I’ve Got a Picture of the Thief
# The Cookie Jar Just Busted/In the Park
# Would You Like to Buy a Watch?
# Kermit and Piggy Argument
# I’m Sorry I Left You
# I Can’t Be Responsible For What Might Happen
# Fashion Show
# Framed
# The Baseball Diamond Will Be Ours
# We Don’t Want the Bad Guys to Win
# Pig in the Pokey
# I Love You, Rosenthal
# The Heist (Full version, much longer with many short cues)
==Footnotes==
# After the purchase of The Muppets characters by The Walt Disney Company, the film's distribution rights were transferred to Walt Disney Pictures.
==References==
==External links==
* Official site
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* 
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* Muppet Movies Lyric Archive
Category:1981 films
Category:1980s musical films
Category:American children's films
Category:British films
Category:Elstree Studios films
Category:English-language films
Category:Films directed by Jim Henson
Category:The Jim Henson Company films
Category:Crossover films
Category:Films set in London
Category:Films shot in London
Category:Heist films
Category:Musical comedy films
Category:Mystery films
Category:ITC Entertainment films
Category:Universal Pictures films
Category:Directorial debut films
Category:Muppet films
Category:Films with opening credits
Category:Films with instrumental credit music
Category:Films with post-credit scenes
Category:Sequels
Category:Articles with red links
Category:Sesame Street films
Category:Musical films
Category:Comedy films
Category:Fantasy films
Category:Fantasy-comedy films
Category:Musical fantasy films
Category:Films with closing credits
Category:1980s films
Category:1980s musical comedy films
Category:1980s fantasy films
Category:1980s fantasy-comedy films
Category:Fourth Wall
Category:1981 comedy films