The Muppet Movie (1979)
Some films you watch for yourself. Some films you watch with your kids, and you end up rediscovering something you didn't even know you'd lost. Sitting down with the little ones to watch James Frawley's The Muppet Movie, I wasn't expecting to be quite so gobsmacked by how brilliantly it holds up. But here we are. This is a genuine, unadulterated classic, and I'd challenge anyone to watch it and tell me otherwise.
What gets me is the balance. It's hilarious in exactly the right places, surprisingly touching when it needs to be, and it never once talks down to the kids or winks so hard at the adults that it forgets to tell a proper story. That road trip premise, Kermit heading from the swamp to Hollywood to make it in showbiz, is simple enough for a five-year-old to follow and rich enough for a grown adult to find real warmth in. That's a genuinely difficult trick to pull off, and Frawley pulls it off with what looks like effortless ease.
Part of the joy is the cavalcade of human cameos, and what a cavalcade it is. Mel Brooks, James Coburn, Dom DeLuise, a wonderfully cocky Steve Martin, and a handful of others besides, all popping up throughout like the world's greatest game of celebrity bingo. The brilliant thing is that none of them overshadow the felt and foam at the centre of the frame. Frawley keeps the Muppets firmly in charge of their own film, and the human stars seem genuinely delighted just to be sharing the screen with them. There's a generosity of spirit to the whole enterprise that's infectious. You can feel everyone on screen actually having a good time, and that warmth travels straight through the screen and into the living room.
Then there's the music, and I'll go out on a limb here: the songs in this film would put a fair few Disney productions to shame. "Rainbow Connection" is an absolute stunner, poignant and simple and written in a way that somehow means something different depending on how old you are when you hear it. My kids were humming it by the second chorus. I was humming it in the car the next morning. "Movin' Right Along" is a foot-tapper of the highest order. The whole soundtrack is crafted with real care and craft, and it shows.
I've always had a soft spot for films that blur the line between the human world and something more fantastical, and it reminded me a little of how I felt watching The Dark Crystal, that same sense of puppetry as genuine emotional storytelling rather than mere spectacle. But where The Dark Crystal leans into the dark and the strange, The Muppet Movie is pure, unfiltered sunshine. It trusts that joy is enough. And it is.
This is a film that bridges the generational gap not by compromising or finding a mushy middle ground, but by being genuinely great on multiple levels at once. The kids got the slapstick and the songs. I got the meta-humour, the Hollywood satire and the quietly moving stuff about following a dream even when it seems daft. Nobody felt short-changed. That's the whole game, isn't it, and not many films actually manage it.
Four and a half stars. A near-flawless, heartwarming road trip that captures the magic of friendship and showbiz in equal measure. If you've not watched it recently, fix that. And if you've got kids, watch it with them. Trust me on this one.
Rating: ★★★★½ | Year: 1979 | Watched: 2026-06-29
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Sky Store
Buy: Apple TV Store · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies · Sky Store
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
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