History YMMV / TheMuppetMovie

** Actually, according to Creator/FrankOz, the effect was relatively easy to do,[[note]]Essentially, the Kermit riding the bike was a marionette, with the bike pulled along by an invisible wire[[/note]] compared to the monstrous effort required to get Gonzo to float along on his balloons. But since the bike was the effect everyone kept gawking over, they included an entire parade of Muppets on bikes in [[Film/TheGreatMuppetCaper the next movie.]] Just because.

* FirstInstallmentWins: The Muppet features that followed have their fans and are certainly beloved in their own right, but the one that started it all is almost universally considered the best.

* AwardSnub: "Rainbow Connection" lost the Oscar for Best Original Song to the now-virtually-forgotten "It Goes Like It Goes" from ''Film/NormaRae''.[[note]]Which, it must be noted, deserved quite a few awards, but "Best Song" is not on that list.[[/note]]
** That's an even bigger snub than it appears because the Academy used to choose ten songs [[http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/daily/article.cfm?articleID=4201 as finalists for Original Song]], before announcing the nominations (1979 was the last year for that). ''The Muppet Movie'' had four of the ten finalists ("Rainbow Connection", "Movin' Right Along", "Never Before, Never Again" and "I Hope That Somethin' Better Comes Along") and still walked away empty-handed.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Music/PaulWilliams' score is packed with this.

* BrokenBase: "Rainbow Connection". While many will still agree it's a great song, in recent years [[http://www.toughpigs.com/why-is-there-only-one-song-about-rainbows/ a number of fans have gotten tired of the song's over-exposure in Muppet appearances]] during the 2010s (which renders the line "I've heard it too many times to ignore it" very ironic).

* RealitySubtext: Creator/EdgarBergen and Charlie [=McCarthy=] made their last appearance in the film -- Henson was inspired to make the Muppets because of him. Bergen died not long after his scene was shot, and the film is dedicated to him.

* OneSceneWonder: Numerous examples (Creator/SteveMartin's [[ServileSnarker waiter]], Creator/MelBrooks' [[MadScientist Krassman]]) but taken UpToEleven with Creator/OrsonWelles' cameo as Lew Lord, who's not only in just one scene but has exactly ''one line'', yet manages to be one of the most memorable characters in the film.

* BrokenBase: "Rainbow Connection". While many will still agree it's a great song, in recent years [[http://www.toughpigs.com/why-is-there-only-one-song-about-rainbows/ a number of fans have gotten tired of the song's over-exposure in Muppet appearances]] during the 2010s.

* EarWorm: "Rainbow Connection", "Movin' Right Along", "Can You Picture That".

* BrokenBase: "Rainbow Connection". While many will still agree it's a great song, in recent years a number of fans have gotten tired of the song's over-exposure in Muppet appearances during the 2010s.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Played with. It isn't ''in''appropriate for children or families, but is clearly meant to be viewed as any other Hollywood feature which just happens to star puppets (indeed, Jim Henson himself always saw the Muppets as more of a theater troupe than as characters). Still, it was not an easy pitch to sell.

* EarWorm: "Rainbow Connection", "Movin' Right Along"

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: [[https://muppetmindset.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/its-not-easy-being-mean-part-1/ This article]] posits that Doc Hopper isn't a JerkWithAHeartOfJerk so much as someone intended to be dark reflection of the Muppets and especially a {{Foil}} to Kermit. It notes that he has several of the same characteristics that the Muppets have and that ultimately he does briefly consider a better way before recognizing his own dream won't allow him close friends like Kermit has. Frank Oz actually lobbied hard for him to be redeemed in one of the few serious disagreements he ever had with Jim Henson.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: [[https://muppetmindset.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/its-not-easy-being-mean-part-1/ This article]] posits that Doc Hopper isn't a JerkWithAHeartOfJerk so much as someone intended to be dark reflection of the Muppets and especially a {{Foil}} to Kermit. It notes that he has several of the same characteristics that the Muppets have and that ultimately he does briefly consider a better way before recognizing his own dream won't allow him close friends like Kermit has. Frank Oz actually lobbied hard for him to actually be redeemed in one of the few serious disagreements he ever had with Jim Henson.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: [[https://muppetmindset.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/its-not-easy-being-mean-part-1/ This article]] posits that Doc Hopper isn't a JerkWithAHeartOfJerk so much as someone intended to be dark reflection of the Muppets and especially a {{Foil}} to Kermit. It notes that he has several of the same characteristics that the Muppets have and that ultimately he does briefly consider a better way before recognizing his own dream won't allow him close friends like Kermit has.

** Actually, according to Frank Oz, the effect was relatively easy to do,[[note]]Essentially, the Kermit riding the bike was a marionette, with the bike pulled along by an invisible wire[[/note]] compared to the monstrous effort required to get Gonzo to float along on his balloons. But since the bike was the effect everyone kept gawking over, they included an entire parade of Muppets on bikes in [[Film/TheGreatMuppetCaper the next movie.]] Just because.
** Plus Kermit in the swamp, which was created by the 6'1" Jim Henson cramming himself into a diving bell for a whole day.

* AwesomeMusic: Music/PaulWilliams' score is packed with this.

-->'''Gonzo:''' I always wanted to go to [[UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} Bombay, India]], and become a movie star.
-->'''Fozzie:''' You don't go to Bombay to become a movie star. You go where we're going, Hollywood!

* SweetDreamsFuel: "Someday, we'll find it/The rainbow connection/The lovers, the dreamers/And me..."
* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Kermit riding a bike near the beginning. Don't wonder how they did it, just accept it.

* DudeNotFunny: There ''are'' wineries in Idaho, and they didn't see the humor in Steve Martin's "sparkling Muscatel" bit. Then again, Muscatel is ''not'' produced in Idaho, which specializes in seasonals like Reisling and Chardonnay.
** Also, keep in mind that in 1980, wine made in places other than France or Italy or whatever (for example, California wine) was seen as a joke or mediocre. Nowadays, it's different. That said, to most folks outside of Idaho, ''wine'' is not something that comes to mind when that state is mentioned. [Hint: The state license plate says "Famous Potatoes".] Additionally, the wine bottle had a ''bottle cap''.

* NightmareFuel:
** Doc Hopper's frog suit in his commercial is kind of creepy.
** Also, the idea of Doc Hopper threatening Kermit and wanting to make him a frog burger is really unsettling.
** Professor Krassman's electronic cerebrectomy machine.
*** Not to mention when Krassman himself becomes the [[HoistByHisOwnPetard victim of said machine.]] Granted, [[AssholeVictim he deserved it,]] but still... we see him ''screaming in agony as the machine lobotomizes him.'' (Shudder)
** Miss Piggy's [[http://images.wikia.com/muppet/images/a/a9/MadEyedPiggy-TMM.jpg wide angry eyes]] when she karate-chops the kidnappers-- though it also has an air of ComicalAngryFace.
** It doesn't help when she's above them and says, "Oh, boys." When the camera pans up to her, she looks like a creature out of hell!

* AwesomeMusic: Paul Williams' score is packed with this.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: The big finale song "Magic Store".
-->''Life's like a movie\\
Write your own ending\\
Keep believing\\
Keep pretending\\
We done just what we set out to do\\
Thanks to the lovers\\
The dreamers\\
and YOU!''
** "Prepare the standard 'Rich and Famous' contract for Kermit the Frog and company."
** "[[CrowningMusicOfAwesome I'm Going To Go Back There Someday]]"

* OneSceneWonder: Taken UpToEleven with Creator/OrsonWelles' cameo as Lew Lord, who's not only in just one scene but has exactly ''one line'', yet manages to be one of the most memorable characters in the film.

* HilariousInHindsight: Gonzo's dream to go to [[UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} Bombay, India]] and become a movie star!
** Which, for most American kids, probably just sounded like nonsense at the time. Hey, what did we know?
*** Jim Henson once said that they wanted Gonzo to dream of being a movie star at the least likely of places, unaware until the film was completed that India produces more movies per year than Hollywood.
*** It only took 40 years, but Western stars are [[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/Top-10-foreign-actresses-in-Bollywood/photostory/24691995.cms finally making it big in Bollywood,]] making this exchange that much funnier.

* HarsherInHindsight: Crazy Harry is a ''terrorist''.
** Kermit imagines thousands of other frogs going around with tiny crutches. Real-life wild frog populations have suffered a decimating rash of leg deformities in the years since the film was made, some from pollution and others from natural parasites or predators.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: Downplayed. It isn't ''in''appropriate for children or families, but is clearly meant to be viewed as any other Hollywood feature which just happens to star puppets (indeed, Jim Henson himself always saw the Muppets as more of a theater troupe than as characters). Still, it was not an easy pitch to sell.