Muppets from Space

Muppets from Space
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tim Hill
Produced by	Brian Henson Martin G. Baker
Written by	Jerry Juhl Joey Mazzarino Ken Kaufman
Starring	Dave Goelz Steve Whitmire Bill Barretta Frank Oz Jeffrey Tambor F. Murray Abraham David Arquette Josh Charles Hollywood Hogan Ray Liotta Andie MacDowell
Music by	Jamshied Sharifi
Cinematography	Alan Caso
Edited by	Richard Pearson Michael A. Stevenson
Production company	Jim Henson Pictures
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	July 14, 1999 (1999-07-14)
Running time	87 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$24 million
Box office	$22.3 million

Muppets from Space is a 1999 American science fiction comedy film and the sixth feature film to star The Muppets, and the first since the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson to have an original Muppet-focused plot. The film was directed by Tim Hill, produced by Jim Henson Pictures, and released to theaters on July 14, 1999 by Columbia Pictures. The film is a deviation of other Muppet films as it is the only non-musical film, as well as the first film in the series with a plot to focus predominantly on a character other than Kermit the Frog. It is also the last Muppet feature film with the involvement of Frank Oz; he would retire from Muppet performing the following year. The film was shot in Wilmington, North Carolina at EUE/Screen Gems in 1998.

The Great Gonzo has always been identified as a "whatever"; but, after having disturbing dreams of abandonment and rejection, he begins to realize just how alone he is in the world. One of his nightmares involves his being denied entry onto Noah's Ark by Noah. The next morning, Gonzo tells Kermit the Frog that he is getting tired of being referred to as a "whatever." After an alien race appears to be trying to send him a message through his bowl of cereal, Gonzo realizes that he may not be so alone after all and climbs to the rooftop to start watching the sky. Using a bolt of lightning, Gonzo communicates with a pair of cosmic fish, revealing to him that he is an alien from outer space.

Unable to convince Kermit and his friends of the aliens' existence, Gonzo is lured into the clutches of K. Edgar Singer of C.O.V.N.E.T., a government organization disguised as a cement factory. Singer has also taken note of the aliens' attempts to communicate and thinks that Gonzo is his key to convincing his superiors that aliens do in fact exist. Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat are arrested by C.O.V.N.E.T. Agents and Agent Rentro (Bobo The Bear). Rizzo's antics cause himself to be flushed down a tube by the Man in Black (Hollywood Hulk Hogan). Rizzo ends up having to go through C.O.V.N.E.T.'s rat training and medical research held by Dr. Tucker, alongside the other rats like Bubba the Rat, Shakes the Rat, Fast Eddie, Troy, and The Bird Man. After Miss Piggy interrogated Agent Baker, she, Kermit, Fozzie Bear, Pepe the King Prawn, and Animal spring into action to rescue Gonzo and Rizzo from C.O.V.N.E.T., using such inventions as a door in a jar, a rubber duck that sprays invisibility spray, and mind control gas from Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker, which Miss Piggy uses on a gate guard).