The Muppet Movie...Lives UP!

 

It's a Muppet Movie within a Muppet Movie!

It turns out that you don't need to have watched this movie before (or at least the first half of it) for The Muppet Movie to live up to your memory of Muppet mayhem... this movie has so much charm, so much humor, and so much insanity that it doesn't need any nostalgia to make you feel happy.

As adult viewers, we got a huge kick out of all the cameos in this film. Ranked on order of creativity, impact, and silliness, here are the best:

Our Favorite Cameos in The Muppet Movie

5. Orson Welles as "Lew Lord", head of World Wide Studios

Citizen Kane himself shows up as the final barrier to the Muppets' Hollywood dream. Orson Welles looks appropriately intimidating with his cigar behind the elevated desk surrounded by Oscar trophies. He only has one line in the whole movie, and my God does he deliver it with gravitas: "Miss Tracy, prepare the standard rich and famous contract." 

What a power line! Orson Welles was a total badass.

4. Big Bird as himself

Big Bird makes 2 appearances in this movie: he's walking east as Kermit and Fozzie are driving west, and later the Electric Mayhem have a photo of him taped up in their tour bus. This cameo adds another layer of "backstory of TV show character within a movie within a movie", which we found inherently funny. Kermit regularly crossed over into the Sesame Street universe, so it's fun to see Sesame Street pop into The Muppet Movie. 

3. Cloris Leachman as "Miss Tracy"

The Muppets have been through A LOT by the time they meet Miss Tracy. Each of them started as a naive dreamer, but by the time they reach her office they're not putting up with anyone's crap anymore. Cloris Leachman, as Miss Tracy, looks perfectly disgusted to see a group of Muppets in her office. She provokes them into actually attacking her back with the weapons they have: pet dander and a ton of chicken feathers. 

2. Mel Brooks as "Professor Max Krassman"

The movie never explicitly calls this character a Nazi scientist, but Mel Brooks gives this character a German accent and a military background. Plus he has completely bananas specialization in lobotomizing frogs, which sounds like a Nazi scientist. Whatever this character's background, Mel Brooks had a blast ad libbing and injecting Jewish humor into what otherwise could have been a very tense scene.  

1. Steve Martin as "Insolent Waiter"

Steve Martin's short shorts and skinning legs would have been hilarious enough... but this entire scene is amazing. From the crazy date night outfits to the 99 cent wine they're drinking out of coup glasses with straws... Steve Martin still manages to upstage this whole scene. He physically shows his irritation with eye rolls, wine spitting, and flinging his body impatiently around the restaurant. So funny!

Plus, those short shorts! 

Listen to our full review of The Muppet Movie here, or on your favorite podcast streaming service!