Evidently, I've never seen "Muppets Take Manhattan" in its entirety because I had no idea The Muppet Babies originated here. Of the original movies, it seems to rely on reference humor the most; at least it felt that way. Plenty of appearances from outside Muppets on top of the usual Hollywood cameos. That ain't a complaint, and good luck forgetting the image of Dabney Coleman using a chicken for a hostage anytime soon. But it also has that reliable Muppet spirit; good-natured in its quest for Broadway stardom and even the occasional belly-laugh. There's just an undying purity to this movie.7/10

What else can you expect when the Muppets don't take Manhattan but steal the show from cameo celebrities and a plot to get their musical on Broadway called "Manhattan Melodies." The Muppet gang finished college in some small town New England and go to the big city. Kermit and the gang try but unsuccessfully at first to get Manhattan Melodies. Kermit and the gang split up and get jobs in various places. Miss Piggy works at a department store with Joan Rivers. Kermit works at a diner with Jenny. Kermit comes with innovative ways especially the scene at Sardis where he replaces Liza Minnelli's picture with his own in her cameo. There are plenty of celebrities like the three term Mayor Ed Koch; Gregory Hines in Central Park; Brooke Shields at the diner; Linda Lavin as Kermit's doctor; Elliott Gould; James Coco; Dabney Coleman; Gates McFadden and more. The story and songs are entertaining and likable. Jim Henson was still alive and this film was done in his adoptive city.

The Muppets go to New York to try and sell Kermit's musical to a Broadway producer but are met with nothing but rejection. Thinking they are holding Kermit back, the other Muppets leave him in the city and return home. Kermit gets a job working at a café where rats are waiters. When a producer finally shows interest in Kermit's musical, the frog faces two obstacles: first, he must put the whole show together in two weeks; second, he's hit by a car and gets amnesia! Hopefully his friends, new and old, can help him get his memory back and put on the big show.The third Muppets movie is a pleasant, leisurely film. Nowhere near the classic Muppet Movie but the songs are nice and the Muppets endearing as ever. It's kind of a solo movie for Kermit for awhile. The human cast is good, with several little-known actors in supporting parts. The celebrity cameos this time include Dabney Coleman, Brooke Shields, Elliott Gould, Art Carney, Joan Rivers, Gregory Hines, and Liza Minnelli. Most importantly, this movie introduced the Muppet Babies in a fantasy sequence. The Muppet Babies would go on to be an adorable cartoon series that was a beloved part of my childhood. This movie is the last of the Muppet films made while Jim Henson was still alive. It will surely please fans and those who love movies with heart and humor and magic.

I bought this film on DVD because I'd seen all the Muppets movies except for the first one and this one.I was thinking that this movie was going to be great. But half an hour later, I was just plain bored.Throughout the film, I kept checking the timer on my DVD player wondering when this was going to end. Most of the film is just Kermit visiting producers and executives trying to get this play made. Kids will be bored by this plot. Also, most of the movie was in the cafe. And don't get me started on Kermit losing his memory and joining a boring company that sells soap. Kids will be yawning at that point. Also, do you think kids will enjoy the overlong dialogue scenes and the "Peoples is people" speech by that Russian guy?If you're making a children's film, you have to know what the children want. Not what only adults want.Some of the jokes I thought were good, but the pace was really slow and the story was just not that interesting.The only two scenes I liked were Miss Piggy chasing after the thief and the Muppet babies scene. Those two scenes don't really have anything to do with the movie.There is one shot I'm trying to figure out how it was done. There is a shot of the rats running out of the restaurant. How did they do that? Was it stop motion animation? That was incredible. Sadly, that was the only thing that grabbed my attention.The cameos were pointless. The scene with Miss Piggy and Joan Rivers (I could barely recognize her) was lame. It's like they turned turned on the camera and said "Okay Joan, do something funny." Whereas the filmmakers found it funny, the audience doesn't.Brooke Shields was just wooden like she always is.For me, this is the weakest out of all the Muppet movies. Muppets From Space, love it or hate it, at least the pacing in that wasn't slow or dull.