Almost seventy years ago, puppeteer Jim Henson debuted Sam and Friends which was later renamed The Muppets. From the start, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and the rest of the adorable characters stole the hearts of not only children but adults as well. They appeared on the children's television series, Sesame Street, beginning in 1969 and starred on their own comedy sketch show, The Muppet Show, from 1976- 1981. Beginning in the late 1970s, The Muppets have also created a number of feature films including 1984's The Muppets Take Manhattan. After four decades, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing the film on 4K this week.
After their senior year production of Manhattan Melodies receives enthusiastic applause, Kermit and the gang decide to take the show to Broadway, assuming it will become an overnight success. However, when that isn't the case, the group gets discouraged and many of them leave Manhattan in search of other jobs. Unwilling to give up, Kermit finds a producer (well, actually the son of a producer) who'll finance the show. However, on his way to let the others know, he gets hit by a car and ends up with amnesia. Suddenly, it is up to Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and the rest of the team to get the show-up and running, while trying to jog Kermit's memory.
The Jim Henson Company always does an exceptional job utilizing the puppets and creating new and exciting situations to put the Muppets into. Of course, having the group navigate the craziness of New York City lends itself to chaos and mayhem and that is exactly what happens. As with most children's programming and entertainment, the film includes life lessons and morals that young audiences can keep with them as they grow into adults, and, in this case, those lessons are presented in a fun way.
The Muppets Take Manhattan marked Frank Oz's solo directorial debut and he did a wonderful job. The pacing is good (even though the movie is only approximately an hour and a half long), and visually he does an excellent job of representing young adults trying to navigate the wild World of New York (especially in the 1980s). This also led to a fruitful directing career for Oz with movies such as In & Out, HouseSitter, and What about Bob? under his belt.
This latest version of The Muppets Take Manhattan is remastered in 4K resolution from the original camera negative with Dolby Vision and this is the best the film has ever looked. Already bright colors pop with vibrancy and picture details are sharp and clean. Bright tones are very bright and darker tones are deep and true.
The audio is also upgraded to Dolby Atmos with stunning results. The songs and dialogue are crisp, and the ambient sounds make use of all the speakers evenly. The Combo pack comes with the 4K disc, the Blu-ray Disc, and the digital download. Most of the extras are imported from previous releases, however, there is a real treat on the 4K disc which is the all-new Feature Commentary with Director Frank Oz. The other extras, housed on the Blu-ray Disc, include an Interview with Jim Henson and Muppetisms: Miss Piggy & Kermit the Frog, Pep and Fozzie Bear.
With the video and audio upgrades, this is clearly the best release since the movie debuted in 1984. Add to that the genius work of Jim Henson and the entire team and you have a classic collectors item not only worth keeping but to share with the kids in your life.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has issued some terrific rereleases and The Muppets Take Manhattan is definitely one of them. Can't wait to see what they choose next!
Grade: B+
