The Great Muppet Caper (1981)

The second theatrical outing of the popular "Muppet Show" TV characters relocates the action to London, as reporters Kermit The Frog and Fozzie Bear and photographer Gonzo are reluctantly sent by their editor Jack Warden to investigate the robbery of a famous jeweled necklace worn by unsympathetic fashion queen Diana Rigg. The culprit turns out to be her own obnoxious brother Charles Grodin and his trio of burglar-models; Grodin seems to have the hots for Miss Piggy (at one point singing his heart out to her but she puts down his effort by revealing that the actor's voice was dubbed!), a model wannabe engaged as Rigg's secretary and who ends up impersonating her boss to impress Kermit. The change in locale adds precious little to the table and, truth be told, the film tends to sag badly during its midsection (with too many schmaltzy songs for balance). However, when the film is funny, it's frequently hilarious: the in-jokey commentary by the trio of reporters accompanying the opening credits; their traveling to London in a plane's luggage compartment inside boxes denoting their species (Gonzo is a "Whatever") and their being thrown off the plane in mid-flight eventually landing at Robert Morley's feet; the eccentric and inquisitive guests at the Happiness Hotel; Miss Piggy's central musical number is an amusing pastiche of old Esther Williams aquatic routines; Miss Piggy's run-in with lorry driver Peter Ustinov (who complains, after being thrown into the garbage, that his is only a cameo), etc. Ex-Monty Python John Cleese also appears as a henpecked husband who thinks nothing of glimpsing a pig climbing the walls of his apartment building.