Muppets from Space

Muppets from Space
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tim Hill
Written by	Jerry Juhl Joseph Mazzarino Ken Kaufman
Produced by	Brian Henson Martin G. Baker
Starring	Dave Goelz Steve Whitmire Bill Barretta Frank Oz Jeffrey Tambor F. Murray Abraham David Arquette Josh Charles Hollywood Hogan Ray Liotta Rob Schneider Andie MacDowell
Cinematography	Alan Caso
Edited by	Michael A. Stevenson Richard Pearson
Music by	Jamshied Sharifi
Production companies	Columbia Pictures Jim Henson Pictures
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date	July 14, 1999 (1999-07-14)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$24 million
Box office	$22.3 million

Muppets from Space, alternatively known as The Muppets from Space, is a 1999 American science fiction comedy film directed by Tim Hill (in his feature film directorial debut), written by Jerry Juhl, Joseph Mazzarino, and Ken Kaufman, produced by Brian Henson and Martin G. Baker, and the sixth theatrical film featuring the Muppets. The film stars Muppet performers Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Bill Barretta, and Frank Oz, as well as Jeffrey Tambor, F. Murray Abraham, David Arquette, Josh Charles, Hollywood Hogan, Ray Liotta, Rob Schneider and Andie MacDowell. In the film, Gonzo attempts to discover his origins. After he and Rizzo the Rat are captured by government officials during his search, Kermit the Frog and the rest of the Muppets set out to rescue them.

The film was released on July 14, 1999. It grossed $22.3 million against a budget of $24 million, making it a box office failure, and received mixed reviews from critics; many considered it the weakest theatrical Muppet movie. It is the last Muppet film to have the involvement of Oz and Juhl and the last theatrically-released Muppet film to be produced by The Jim Henson Company before the franchise was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2004.

Plot

Gonzo's species has always been a mystery, but after having nightmares of being denied entry to Noah's Ark, he realizes he feels so alone in the world and wants to know where he came from. After seeing his bowl of alphabet cereal seemingly spelling out "WATCH THE SKY", Gonzo believes it may be a message for him and that he needs to use the toy telescope in the cereal box to watch the sky on the rooftop of the Muppet boarding house. He is struck by a bolt of lightning, which allows him to communicate with a pair of cosmic knowledge fish, who reveal his origins as an alien from outer space.

Another message, "R U THERE", has been appearing around the world and is seen as evidence of otherworldly communication by K. Edgar Singer, the leader of C.O.V.N.E.T., a top-secret national security facility whose mission is to investigate extraterrestrial threats. However, Singer is unable to convince his superior, General Luft, that it is proof aliens are attempting to make contact with Earth. Meanwhile, Gonzo's obsession with extraterrestrial life goes largely ignored and is derided by the rest of the Muppets until he invades the live broadcast of "UFO Mania" - a TV show Miss Piggy is working on - where he talks about how he has communicated with aliens. Singer sees this and dispatches agents to bring him to C.O.V.N.E.T.

Kermit and Rizzo go to the studio to retrieve Gonzo, but as they won't believe his communication with outer space, he chooses to go with the C.O.V.N.E.T. agents. Rizzo attempts to stop him, but he is brought to C.O.V.N.E.T. as well and put to work in the facility's rat medical research lab. Singer attempts to get answers from Gozno about aliens, but when Gonzo is unable to give him any information, Singer orders his brain to be surgically removed for study. Meanwhile, Miss Piggy interrogates Agent Baker of C.O.V.N.E.T. where the facility is located and she, Kermit, Fozzie, Pepe, and Animal go to rescue Gonzo and Rizzo using various inventions from Bunsen and Beaker.

While Gonzo is held in a detention cell, an alien channels his voice through a sandwich saying that an alien mothership has been dispatched to retrieve him, Gonzo tells them to land at a beach near Cape Doom, unaware that Singer's assistant Agent Rentro (Bobo the Bear) overheard him. Gonzo is brought in for surgery but is freed by Rizzo, who escaped medical research, and the Muppets rescue them from the facility. Gonzo persuades them to go to Cape Doom, where a crowd of alien believers have gathered awaiting their arrival. Upon discovering from Rentro that Gonzo is heading for Cape Doom, Singer heads after him, bringing a weapon called the Subatomic Neutro-Destabilizer.

After a delayed wait, the ship arrives at Cape Doom and the aliens, who all resemble Gonzo, explain they lost him a long time ago, but now welcome him back. Singer arrives to intercept the aliens but is laughed at when his weapon fails; the aliens invite him to be the ambassador for Earth and come with them to their home planet. Gonzo considers rejoining his long lost family, but decides that he can not leave his friends and his home. The aliens accept his decision and leave Earth with Singer, while Gonzo has finally found peace with who he is and where he belongs.

Cast

• Jeffrey Tambor as K. Edgar "Ed" Singer, the head of C.O.V.N.E.T.
• Pat Hingle as General Luft, a military official who K. Edgar Singer reports to
• Andie MacDowell as Shelley Snipes, a UFO Mania anchorwoman
• Rob Schneider as the TV producer of UFO Mania
• Gary Owens as UFO Mania Announcer (voice)

Muppet performers

• Dave Goelz as Gonzo, Bunsen Honeydew, Waldorf, The Birdman, Zoot, Chip and Beauregard
• Steve Whitmire as Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat, Beaker, Cosmic Fish #1, Bean Bunny and Alien Gonzo
• Bill Barretta as Pepe the King Prawn, Bobo the Bear as Rentro, Bubba the Rat, Johnny Fiama, Cosmic Fish #2, Rowlf the Dog and The Swedish Chef
• Frank Oz as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal and Sam Eagle
• Jerry Nelson as Robin, Statler, Ubergonzo, Floyd Pepper and Lew Zealand
• Brian Henson as Dr. Phil Van Neuter, Sal Minella and Talking Sandwich
• Kevin Clash as Clifford
• Drew Massey as Fast Eddie
• Rickey Boyd as Troy
• Peter Linz as Shakes
• John Kennedy as Dr. Teeth
• Adam Hunt as Scooter (voice only)
• John Henson as Sweetums

Additionally, Whitmire, Kennedy, Linz, Massey and Boyd make on-screen cameos as hippies at Cape Doom.

Cameos

• F. Murray Abraham as Noah.
• Josh Charles as Agent Barker, an operative of C.O.V.N.E.T. who is interrogated.
• Hulk Hogan as Man in Black, working as an operative of C.O.V.N.E.T. wrestling.
• David Arquette as Dr. Tucker, a sadistic scientist who works at C.O.V.N.E.T. and is in charge of the medical science.
• Ray Liotta as the gate guard at C.O.V.N.E.T. manipulates with the spray bottle created by Bunsen and Beaker.
• Kathy Griffin as an armed guard of C.O.V.N.E.T. who falls in love with Animal.
• Katie Holmes as Joey Potter, a character from Dawson's Creek (uncredited)
• Joshua Jackson as Pacey Witter, a character from Dawson's Creek (uncredited)

Production

As with the previous film Muppet Treasure Island (1996), veteran Muppet performer Frank Oz was unavailable for most of the shooting of Muppets from Space due to scheduling conflicts with his directing career. As a result, his characters Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle were performed on set by other puppeteers, with Oz later dubbing his voice in post-production. For most of the filming, Peter Linz performed Miss Piggy, John Kennedy performed Fozzie Bear and Sam Eagle, and Rickey Boyd performed Animal. Kennedy and Linz's voices can be heard in the film's theatrical trailer. In addition, Muppet performer Kevin Clash was also unavailable for most of the shooting, due to scheduling conflicts with his work on Sesame Street (1969–present).

Filming began in November 1998 at Screen Gem Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina.

The film would mark the first appearance of Scooter since the theme park attraction Muppet*Vision 3D (1991). His voice was performed in Muppets from Space by Adam Hunt, the brother of Scooter's initial performer Richard Hunt.

The film's visual effects were provided by Illusion Arts.

Writing

An earlier draft of the story was written by Kirk Thatcher called Muppets in Space. In the screenplay, aliens abducted Kermit because they believed him to be their leader, leading the other Muppets to attempt to save him. A set of Welch's Jelly Glasses was produced based around this theme. According to the production notes featured on the DVD, the film was inspired by Gonzo's song in The Muppet Movie (1979), "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday".

When asked about his experience ten years after the film's release, co-writer Joseph Mazzarino revealed that he left the production before shooting started, due to changes made to his draft of the screenplay. He stated that his draft included parodies of Men in Black, Contact (both 1997) and Alien (1979), and that Randal Kleiser had been selected to direct the film. However, shortly before shooting began, The Jim Henson Company fired Kleiser, as they felt he was not "bringing enough vision", with Mazzarino subsequently hiring Timothy Hill as the new director, and the parodies were removed, as Hill wanted the film to be "more real".

In addition, Mazzarino stated that in his draft Gonzo did not turn out to be an alien. Instead, the aliens were getting signals from episodes of The Muppet Show (1976–1981) and made themselves look like Gonzo because they considered him to be the "ultimate being". In the end, they would reveal their true forms, and Gonzo would remain a "whatever", with his family being the Muppets.

Music

Muppets from Space: The Ultimate Muppet Trip
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Released	July 13, 1999
Genre	Soundtrack
Label	Sony Wonder Epic
The Muppets chronology
Muppet Treasure Island: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1996) Muppets from Space: The Ultimate Muppet Trip (1999) Best of the Muppets featuring The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005)

Muppets from Space was the first Muppet film not to feature original music, opting instead for a soundtrack consisting primarily of classic soul and funk tracks.

Some tracks were remade by contemporary artists, such as "Shining Star" by the Dust Brothers featuring Jeymes, and "Dazz" by G. Love and Special Sauce, recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. The band was in the studio recording with Little Milton on the "Welcome to Little Milton" record. The band got a call from Jason Brown, their manager, while in the studio, to record a song for the movie. Will McFarlane, who was a Shoals/Malaco studio regular, and former Bonnie Raitt guitarist, played with the band on the song. Parliament's "Flash Light" was updated by George Clinton as a duet with Pepe the King Prawn named "Flash Light (Spaceflight)".

Two soundtracks were released featuring music from the film. The first album, Muppets from Space: The Ultimate Muppet Trip, consisted of the classic soul and funk tracks featured in the film and was jointly released by Sony Wonder, Epic Records, and Sony Music Soundtrax a day before the film's premiere, while the other was an album containing the film's score, which was composed by Jamshied Sharifi with additional work by Rupert Gregson-Williams. This album was released by Varèse Sarabande on August 13, 1999.

Earlier drafts of the film contained original music, including the song "Eye 2 the Sky", written and recorded by Ween, which was not included on the soundtrack. This song was intended to be sung by Gonzo. Gonzo's performer Dave Goelz had also recorded a new rendition of "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday" for this film, a song which had originally appeared in The Muppet Movie (1979). This song was also dropped, but was included on the Muppets from Space soundtrack, also sung by Gonzo.

Release

Marketing

To promote the film's theatrical release, Muppets from Space was accompanied with a marketing campaign with promotional tie-ins such as Wendy's and Travelodge. From May 17 to May 21, 1999, Wheel of Fortune had a theme called "Wheel Goes to the Movies" which featured a prize on the Wheel that included a four day trip to Los Angeles for the world premiere of Muppets from Space. For the film's home video release, the pizza restaurant chain Sbarro promoted the film with six figurines in a set, along with Muppet pizza boxes and bags.

Home media

On October 26, 1999, the film was released on VHS and DVD with supplemental features such as a blooper reel and an audio commentary by Kermit the Frog, Gonzo, Rizzo, and director Tim Hill. It was released alongside The Muppets Take Manhattan on a double feature DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on June 9, 2008. The film received a Blu-ray release on August 16, 2011, also alongside The Muppets Take Manhattan, with all of the special features from the DVD included.

Reception

Box office

Muppets from Space was released on July 14, 1999, in 2,265 theaters and grossed $7 million during its five-day opening frame. At the end of its theatrical run, the film grossed $22.3 million worldwide against its $24 million budget.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Muppets from Space has an approval rating of 63% based on 57 reviews and an average score of 6.17/10. The site's consensus reads: "If Muppets from Space lacks the magic and wit of its cinematic predecessors, this pleasingly silly space romp is funny and clever enough to make for better-than-average family entertainment." On Metacritic, which uses an average of critics' reviews, the film holds a 53/100, indicating "mixed or average 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 "maybe Muppets from Space is just not very good, and they'll make a comeback. I hope so. Because I just don't seem to care much anymore." Conversely, Robin Rauzi of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, stating that "twenty years after The Muppet Movie and 30 after the beginning of Sesame Street, there is still life in these creations of felt, foam rubber and fake fur. With care, they will easily entertain and educate a third or fourth generation of children. The magic is back."

Michael Wilmington, reviewing for The Chicago Tribune, praised the puppeteers' performances, but remarked "[t]his picture isn't goofy or dreamy enough, however engaging it may be to re-encounter the intrigues of Miss Piggy, the wistfulness of Kermit or the weirdness of Gonzo. Or relax into the period funk soundtrack (including the O'Jays' "Survival," Earth, Wind and Fire's "Shining Star" and many others)." Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times felt the "Frenetic movement and loud music overwhelm warmth and compassion, and the balance of character, plot, irreverent humor and innate decency that made some of the earlier Muppet movies so welcome is lost."

In 2000, Frank Oz stated that the film was not "up to what it should have been" and "not the movie that we wanted it to be."

External links

• Official website
• Muppets from Space at IMDb
• Muppets from Space at the TCM Movie Database
• Muppets from Space at Box Office Mojo
• Muppets From Space at Rotten Tomatoes
• Muppets from Space on Muppet Wiki