Trivia / The Muppets Take Manhattan

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• B-Team Sequel: While still remaining on board as a producer and performer, due to being burnt out after producing both The Great Muppet Caper and The Dark Crystal back to back, Jim Henson decided to give directing duties to Frank Oz, in his sole Muppet film. This is also the only Henson-era Muppet film to not be written by Jerry Juhl, instead being co-written by Oz, Tom Patchett and Jay Tarses.
• California Doubling: Averted as the film was shot on location in New York. But when the other Muppets get jobs elsewhere, they were filmed in different locations in New York. Notably, Gonzo's act is supposed to take place in Michigan, but it was shot in Rye Playland.
• Cast the Expert: Frank Oz cast the Rutgers Presbyterian Church's then-pastor Cyril Jenkins in the wedding sequence for authenticity, justifying Kermit's surprise at the presence of "a real minister".
• Channel Hop: Whereas The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper were produced by ITC Entertainment (and distributed by Associated Film Distribution and Universal, respectively), this film was produced and released by TriStar Pictures. Management changes at ITC Entertainment occurred during production on The Dark Crystal, and the new manager did not see Jim Henson's work the same way as Lord Grade did, leading Henson to cut ties with the former company in favor of partnering with the upstart TriStar, at the time a joint venture owned by Coca-Cola (through Columbia Pictures), CBS and HBO. This ended up putting the film in a bit of an odd spot as it's owned by current Columbia/TriStar parent Sony, not Disney, even after the latter bought the entire Muppets franchise.
• The Danza: In Japan, because of the L / R problem, "Lonny" Price playing "Ronnie" Crawford can be considered this.
• Deleted Scene:
  • Two little people staying in lockers nearby the Muppets'. Sadly, one of their actors was not told that the scene was cut, and had brought his family to see the film without that knowledge.
  • Beauregard giving the Electric Mayhem a lift to Monongahela, PA.
  • Bunsen and Beaker using Muppet Lab's gas-powered drumometer to help an exhausted Electric Mayhem.
  • Kermit's nurse using hypnotism to restore Kermit's memory.
  • Statler and Waldorf attempting to cure Kermit's amnesia.
  • Gonzo informing Kermit that the minister at the wedding is a real minister.
  • A few extra lines during "He'll Make Me Happy."
• Descended Creator: Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher) played Mr. Martin's secretary. She was part of Henson's Creature Shop as a choreographer from 1982 to 1987 (she notably provided choreography for Labyrinth).
• He Also Did: The voice of Rowlf in the Japanese dubbed version was done by Yu Shimaka, who also provided the Japanese voice of another famous Muppet dog: Sprocket in Fraggle Rock (NHK dub).
• Production Posse: Just as Joe Raposo wrote the songs for The Great Muppet Caper, the other major Sesame Street songwriter from its classic period, Jeff Moss ("Rubber Duckie", "I Love Trash", "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon") did the songs here.
• Real-Life Relative: Jane Hunt, the mother of veteran Muppet performer Richard Hunt, plays the diner at Sardi's who tries to swat the rats away with her menu.
• Recycled Set: One of the sets was reused in Seinfeld as Monk's Café (Pete's Luncheonette in the pilot).
• Stunt Double: Miss Piggy on roller skates is obviously someone in a pig suit on skates.
• Throw It In!: Meta example - The portrait of himself that Kermit smuggled into Sardi's still hangs at the real life establishment to this day.
• What Could Have Been:
  • During the scene where one of the rats is mixing pancake batter with an exercise bike, the crew threw together a chemical mixture that was so corrosive it actually ate through the bowl. In the final film, they just used real pancake batter.
  • A cameo for Dustin Hoffman (playing a producer) was written. At the last minute, Hoffman decided not to appear in the film, apparently because he had second thoughts about his plan to make the producer character a parody of Robert Evans. Michael Jackson, Steve Martin, Laurence Olivier, Richard Pryor, and Lily Tomlin were also up for cameos.
• Working Title: The initial script by Tom Patchett and Jay Tarses was called The Muppets: The Legend Continues. Another title was Muppet Movie III.

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