Muppets from Space

Muppets from Space is a 1999 American science-fiction comedy-drama film directed by Tim Hill (in his feature film directorial debut) and written by Jerry Juhl, Joseph Mazzarino, and Ken Kaufman. The sixth theatrical film in The Muppets franchise, it is the first Muppets film to not be a musical and the first film since the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson to have an original Muppets-focused plot. In addition to the Muppet performers, the film stars Jeffrey Tambor, F. Murray Abraham, David Arquette, Josh Charles, Hollywood Hogan, Ray Liotta, and Andie MacDowell. In the film, Gonzo attempts to discover his origins after having nightmares. After he and Rizzo the Rat are captured by government officials during his search, Kermit the Frog and the rest of the Muppet gang must save them. The film was shot in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1998, and was released in the United States on July 14, 1999 by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label. Alongside The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, it is the last Muppets feature film to have the involvement of Oz prior to his retirement from Muppet performing the following year. It is also the last Muppet film written by Juhl prior to his death in 2005, the last Muppets film to be released theatrically until The Muppets in 2011, and the last theatrically released Muppet film to be produced by The Jim Henson Company before the franchise was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2004.