The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984): Dir: Frank Oz / Cast: Dabney Coleman, Joan Rivers, Liza Minnelli, Art Carney, Gregory Hines: Another achievement for Jim Henson with the action taking place in Manhattan where the Broadway fun ends and the gang goes their separate ways. Kermit the frog gets a job at a restaurant. Fozzie Bear attempts hibernation in the mountains. Gonzo joins the circus where he is shot out of a cannon. And Miss Piggy continues her pursuit of Kermit. Frank Oz does a wonderful job directing. The individual subplots regarding the Muppets is involving but they soon come to realize that together they can make a difference. Unfortunately the celebrity cameos are disappointing. Dabney Coleman fares okay as a con artist who bargains with the Muppets with regards to their Broadway performance and ends up arrested. Art Carney also steals a moment when his son attempts to prove himself by taking a chance on their show. Liza Minnelli has an amusing cameo in a restaurant but not long enough, and the same can be said with regards to Joan Rivers who is seen briefly with Miss Piggy. Gregory Hines plays a roller blades guy who ends up giving them up. More would have been better in terms of the celebrity interactions. Entertaining third Muppet outing highlighted with Henson's outstanding work and a wonderful celebration of New York. Score: 8 / 10

With all the crazy stuff going on in my life, I'm glad to get some relief by watching the last Muppet movie for me. I have now seen every theatrically released one! I was initially confused throughout the first hour of this movie. I believe I saw this movie being advertised and it was saying it would be about Kermit losing his memory. That kind of disinterested me. This was something that had been done many times before. It ended up being something that was only important in the last third! I really do appreciate the good pacing in this film. It's great to see all these heartwarming scenes.

I wasn't expecting to see "Sesame Street" characters making cameos. Of course, there's always cameos in these movies. I just love this part in the credits where they say that all characters were fictitious except for the cameos. Yeah, look at that there! There was a short sequence that was like "Muppet Babies". I didn't know whether this movie came out before or after out but it actually came out at the same time! The emotions are quite strong and the resolution is nice. I'm glad to have seen every Muppet movie now! ***

I'm not really into The Muppets, but those who are will likely enjoy this. It's extremely family-friendly (as you would expect) and includes a lot of fun songs along with an appropriately silly story about Kermit the Frog trying to sell a script to a Broadway producer. All the regular Muppets are featured, and by the time you get to the end of the movie you also come across a whole galaxy of Sesame Street characters including Big Bird and Bert and Ernie. There's also a galaxy of relatively well known actors who play cameos in this, including folks like Dabney Coleman, Joan Rivers, Gregory Hines and Brooke Shields, to name but a few.

By the time this ends, the movie's getting close to two hours long, which is probably a bit too long for a Muppet movie, and there's no real surprise or drama involved in it - the most dramatic element probably being Kermit being hit by a car and developing amnesia as a result. Kids will certainly enjoy this - although most of the cameos are from actors better known say 20 years ago. (5/10)