The Muppets Take Manhattan Is Coming To 4K With A New Frank Oz Commentary Track
Look at us! Here we are! Right where we belong ... in 4K Ultra HD, that is!
It's true: "The Muppets Take Manhattan" is getting a fresh coat of paint for its new release on home media courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The third "Muppets" feature film and, sadly, the last one that creator Jim Henson and puppeteer Richard Hunt (the Scooter to Henson's Kermit the Frog, both onscreen and off) worked on prior to their untimely deaths, "Manhattan" sees Kermit and the gang graduating from college and headed to New York City in the hopes of turning their humble little stage musical, "Manhattan Melodies," into a Broadway sensation. But as you might expect, the suits that run the theatrical industry aren't quite as enthused about the prospect of a show all about frogs and dogs and bears and chickens and ... stuff.
I've already gotten on my soapbox about how I feel "The Muppets Take Manhattan" doesn't get the credit it deserves for being the most emotionally rich and earnestly sentimental of the "Muppet" films Henson was involved with, so I'll spare you the lecture. But why listen to me ramble on about the Frank Oz-directed musical comedy spectacular (the first film he directed solo after co-helming "The Dark Crystal" with Henson, kicking off a filmmaking career that saw Oz deliver such comedic triumphs as "Little Shop of Horrors," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," and "Bowfinger") when you can just rewatch it in high-definition instead? Read on for all the details!
You mean just say what the product does? Why, no one's ever tried that!
Being the only "Muppet" film distributed by Sony, "The Muppets Takes Manhattan" has been annoyingly absent from the "Muppets" section on Disney+ in the past. Indeed, between streaming services pulling titles left and right to avoid paying residuals to the hard-working creatives that made them (including the original projects they've already sunk hundreds of millions of dollars into) and the red tape around who owns the rights to what, it can be difficult to even know where to find your favorite films and shows nowadays. That's where physical media comes into play.
Sony has confirmed "The Muppets Take Manhattan" will be arriving on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on October 24, 2023. The 4K Ultra HD disc for the film has been "remastered in 4K resolution from the original camera negative with Dolby Vision," and features an "all-new Dolby Atmos immersive audio [and] 4K picture and Atmos sound mix approved by director Frank Oz," in addition to a brand-new commentary track by Oz. As for the Blu-ray disc, it comes with a high-definition version of the film along with special features like an archived interview with Jim Henson himself and "Muppetisms" featuring the likes of Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, Pepe the King Prawn, and Fozzie Bear.
So, get your tap-dancing shoes on, lather on that Ocean Breeze Soap, and gather up all the weirdos at table four. (Which one do you think is table four?) It's time to re-conquer the Big Apple with Kermit and all his googly-eyed companions!