The Muppets | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | James Bobin |
Written by | |
Based on | Disney's Muppet characters and properties |
Produced by | |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Don Burgess |
Edited by | James Thomas |
Music by | Christophe Beck |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures[1] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 103 minutes[3] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $45 million[4][5] |
Box office | $165.2 million[6] |
The Muppets is a 2011 American musical comedy film directed by James Bobin, produced by David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman, and written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller. It is the seventh theatrical film featuring the Muppets.[7] The film stars Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, and Rashida Jones, as well as Muppet performers Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, David Rudman, Matt Vogel, and Peter Linz. Bret McKenzie served as music supervisor, writing four of the film's five original songs, while Christophe Beck composed the score.[8] In the film, devoted Muppet fan Walter, his human brother Gary and Gary's girlfriend Mary help Kermit the Frog reunite the disbanded Muppets, as they must raise $10 million to save the Muppet Theater from Tex Richman, a greedy businessman who plans to demolish the theater to drill for oil.
Walt Disney Pictures first announced the film in March 2008, with Segel and Stoller as the screenwriters and Hoberman and Lieberman's Mandeville Films as co-producer.[2] Conceived by Disney to serve as a creative reboot of the franchise after years of relative dormancy following their acquisition of the Muppets in 2004, Segel and Stoller intently addressed the characters' recent real-world lack of public exposure in mainstream culture within the context of the film's plot. Though reports indicated Stoller would direct the film, Bobin was ultimately hired to direct in January 2010, and the film's supporting cast was filled out in October of the same year with the casting of Adams, Cooper and Jones. Filming took place from September 2010 to February 2011. The film was the first theatrical Muppets production to not star Frank Oz and Jerry Nelson performing their respective characters, although Nelson contributes an uncredited voice cameo.[9][10] Instead, their roles are performed by Jacobson and Vogel, respectively, marking their theatrical feature film debut as those characters.
The Muppets premiered at the Savannah Film Festival on November 4, 2011, and was released theatrically in North America on November 23, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.[11] The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $165 million worldwide on a budget of $45 million and garnering acclaim for its humor, music, and revitalization of the characters. The film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for McKenzie's song "Man or Muppet", as well as earning BAFTA and Critic's Choice Awards nominations. A sequel, titled Muppets Most Wanted, was released on March 21, 2014.[12]
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