The Muppet Movie

The story opens with the Muppets sitting down for a private screening of a movie that acts as an origin story of how they all met. Kermit the Frog lives a simple life in a Florida swamp. After he plays his banjo and sings "Rainbow Connection", he is approached by Bernie, a talent agent who encourages him to pursue a career in show business. Inspired, Kermit sets off on a cross-country trip to Hollywood. He meets Fozzie Bear, who is working as a hapless stand-up comedian, and invites him on his journey. The two set out in Fozzie's 1951 Studebaker but are pursued by entrepreneur Doc Hopper and his assistant Max, who try to convince Kermit to be the new spokesfrog of Hopper's struggling French-fried frog legs restaurant franchise. Horrified, Kermit refuses, and he and Fozzie drive away. Unwilling to accept Kermit's refusal, Hopper follows the pair and resorts to increasingly forceful means of persuasion. In an old church, Kermit and Fozzie meet the rock band Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, and their manager Scooter, who help them disguise their car. Driving on, they meet and are joined by Gonzo and his girlfriend Camilla the Chicken, who are also interested in becoming movie stars. They trade in their failing vehicle at a used car lot, where they meet Sweetums. They invite Sweetums to come with them, but he runs away. The others drive away, only for Sweetums to emerge and reveal that he had only gone to pack his things. The group meets Miss Piggy at a county fair and she and Kermit become love-stricken with each other. When they meet for dinner that night, Hopper and Max abduct Miss Piggy as bait to lure Kermit. When they capture Kermit, Hopper orders mad scientist Professor Krassman to give Kermit an electric lobotomy so that he would willingly perform in Hopper's advertisements, but Miss Piggy knocks out Hopper's henchmen and causes Krassman to have his brain fried by his own device. Immediately after the fight, however, Miss Piggy receives a job offer and abandons a devastated Kermit. Joined by Rowlf the Dog, the Muppets pick up Miss Piggy – who is hitchhiking on the side of the road – and continue their journey; but their car breaks down in the desert. Sitting at a campfire, the group realizes that they will likely miss the auditions the next day. Kermit wanders off, ashamed for bringing his friends on a fruitless journey, but personal reflection restores his commitment. He returns to camp, where he discovers that the Electric Mayhem have come to their rescue, having learned of their plight by reading ahead in the film's script. The Mayhem offer to drive the group the rest of the way in their bus. The group is warned by a reformed Max that Hopper has hired an assassin, Snake Walker, to kill Kermit. Kermit decides to face his aggressor and proposes a Western-style showdown in a nearby ghost town. There, they find inventor Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker. Kermit and his friends are saved when one of Dr. Honeydew's inventions, "insta-grow" pills, enlarges Mayhem drummer Animal, who frightens away Hopper and his henchmen. Once the Muppets reach the Hollywood studio, they meet executive Lew Lord, who signs them to a "standard 'rich and famous' contract". The first take in their attempt to perform the script goes awry when Gonzo crashes into the prop rainbow, which knocks the scenery down and an explosion blows a hole in the roof of the studio, but a real rainbow shines through the hole and illuminates all the Muppets. Joined by characters from other Henson productions – including Sesame Street, Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, and The Land of Gorch – the Muppets sing the final verse in a reprise of "Rainbow Connection". As the film ends, Sweetums tears through the screen, elated that he caught up with them.

Plot from The Muppet MovieCC BY-SA 4.0