The Muppet Movie is a joyful, heartfelt, and emotionally kinetic adventure to Hollywood for ol’ Kermit the Frog (voiced and operated by Jim Henson) and his band of Muppets, with enough meta zing, touching character growth, dynamic bonds, and chuckle-worthy humor for all ages to enjoy. Dotting the puppet group’s origins, The Muppet Movie shows a banjo-playing Kermit in a middle-of-nowhere Florida creek get approached by an agent who encourages him to travel to Hollywood, where he could make “millions of people happy” with his songs and presence in show business. Embarking on such a challenge, Kermit begins a long trek to Hollywood, where he meets most of the other Muppets—whether it’s Sweetums (Richard Hunt) working at a junky car dealership or Miss Piggy (Frank Oz) working her magic in nightclub singing gigs—who share the same dream. However, they also have a capital-obsessive businessman named Doc Hopper (Charles Durning) hot on their tails, whose own lifelong dream pertains to running a chain of fast food frog leg restaurants, for which he deems Kermit to be the perfect spokesman. Kermit and his newfound friends must find within themselves the strength to stand up to the bully in Hopper, without losing sight of who they are, their goodness, or their end goals—reminding audiences why we fell in love with the Muppets in the first place and why they’ve gone on far past The Muppet Movie.

As chaotic as The Muppet Movie was to make behind the scenes—with outside director James Frawley’s constant complaints rendering his ’79 flick the only Muppet film directed by someone not already in the Muppets’ creative hemisphere—it’s gleeful in its “Rainbow Connection” sing-alongs, critical of capitalism in Doc Hopper’s undying (and increasingly deadly) Kermit chase, and realistically uplifting in Kermit’s bonding with new friends. Kermit himself is just such a lovable character, always finding the good in the bad. Only after he leaves the swamp does he admit to himself how “miserable” he was at home, because there he made the best of it with his banjo-singing. After that, it’s his “dream” of singing for millions that drives his optimism in the face of adversity, and such optimism makes him the magnet for the other muppets to draw to. He encourages every new eventual friend to follow their dreams and not to settle for less. Even though they accidentally think Sweetums won’t join and leave him behind, for example, Kermit, Fozzie Bear (Frank Oz), and co. stumble on his near-humiliating life as another’s assistant: “How many times have I told you not to talk to the customers?” the dealer tells Sweetums after he meets the Studebaker-driving Muppet crew. They tell Sweetums of a better life they want to help him achieve, one where he’s in control and his own dreams take priority—a sense of hope Kermit illustrates for all, from his friends to his eventual lover, Miss Piggy. Though Kermit isn’t unrealistic in his explanations/promises to all his friends—even going so far as saying “I didn’t promise anybody anything” when failure seems imminent—his upbeat, unrelenting, and charismatically funny nature makes him an unbeatable leader for the other Muppets and viewers to rally behind.

Businessmen cannot stop Kermit’s friendships and goodness, no matter how bloody they’re willing to get. Doc Hopper, like many past and present business-aholics with particularly American upbringings, stops at nothing to get what he wants; his childhood dream to run a nationwide French-fried frog-legs restaurant chain pushes morals and ethics out of his mind. Sure, he tries at first to be nice—or as nice as his insulting $500 annual income he promises Kermit is—but instead of taking no, he continues insisting “everything is negotiable” and pressuring Kermit further and further with literal hitmen and bounty hunters. Instead of stooping or running away, Kermit simply “stand[s] up to a bully,” pleading with the old white-suited man to have a change of heart. If only Kermit knew that, to be a really “successful” (rich) businessman, heartlessness is a requirement. The Muppet Movie, in all its cheeriness, meta fourth-wall-breaking humor, and emotionally uplifting elements, also serves as a quiet warning: business is the excuse the cruel use to steal, gain power, and make way too much money off the backs of anyone they can exploit. Unless we all keep standing up to these overwhelmingly powerful bullies—ensuring we never become the same brutish creatures ourselves—they’ll keep pushing for more. Thus, while the imbalance between Muppets’ development on-screen can annoy, and some meta moments squander the film’s magic rather than add to it, The Muppet Movie is a classic origin story for everyone’s favorite band of animal puppets, detailing the source of the whole group’s strength: Kermit the Frog. For Muppet fans, musical road trip comedy enthusiasts, and those looking for fun in the sociopolitical darkness the U.S. and larger world is now in, The Muppet Movie is a soul-boosting pick.

Screens in 35 mm Monday, 4/20, 12:00 p.m. & Tuesday, 4/21, 4:00 p.m. @ The Brattle Theatre
Triple feature w/ The Dark Crystal & Labyrinth
Part of the annual repertory series: Muppet Madness