The Muppets Take Manhattan The Muppets Take Manhattan The Muppets Take Manhattan is a 1984 American musical comedy drama film directed by Frank Oz. It is the third of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets with special appearances by Art Carney, James Coco, Dabney Coleman, Gregory Hines, Linda Lavin, and Joan Rivers. The film was produced by Henson Associates and TriStar Pictures, and was filmed on location in New York City during the summer of 1983 and released theatrically the following summer. It was the first film to be directed solely by Oz (who also performs Sam the Eagle,
The Muppets puppeteer, referred to as the "Muppet performer", holds the character above their head or in front of their body, with one hand operating the head and mouth and the other manipulating the hands and arms, either with two separate control rods or - in the case of "live-hand" Muppets - wearing the hands similarly to gloves. One consequence of this design is that most Muppets are left-handed, with the performer using their right hand to operate the head while operating the arm rod with their left hand. In the case of more complex Muppets, several puppeteers may control a single