Gonzo, also known as The Great Gonzo and Gonzo the Great, is a Muppet character known for his eccentric passion for stunt performance. Aside for his trademark enthusiasm for performance art, another defining trait of Gonzo's is the ambiguity of his species, which has become a running gag in the franchise. Commonly referred to as a "whatever" and a "weirdo", Gonzo has been considered to be of various origins; including a Frackle, in his debut appearance on The Great Santa Claus Switch; an avian creature, in the majority of his portrayals; to even extraterrestrial in Muppets from Space, the only Muppet film to feature a character other than Kermit the Frog as the protagonist.
Developed and performed by Dave Goelz, Gonzo made his first appearance in the 1970 special The Great Santa Claus Switch, as the "Cigar Box Frackle". Originally a minor figure in The Muppet Show, he soon evolved into one of the franchise's primary characters. Gonzo has appeared in every Muppet film, including The Muppet Christmas Carol, where he portrayed author Charles Dickens.
, 1h20 OriginUSA GenresComedy, Adventure, Musical ThemesChristmas films, Musical films, Children's films, Santa Claus in film ActorsSteve Whitmire, Uma Thurman, Dave Goelz, Jane Krakowski, Bill Barretta, Nathan Lane Rating62% On Christmas Eve, the Muppets go to the post office in New York City to deliver each of their letters to Santa Claus (Richard Griffiths). When they head back to their apartment, Gonzo discovers that three letters wound up in his coat from a mishap there. One of those letters he recognizes as being written by his friend, a neighbor girl named Claire (Madison Pettis). On Gonzo's insistence, the principal Muppets decide to go to the North Pole and deliver them personally.
, 1h28 OriginUSA GenresComedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Musical ThemesFilms about magic and magicians, Monde imaginaire, Le pays d'Oz, Musical films, Children's films ActorsAshanti, Quentin Tarantino, Queen Latifah, David Alan Grier, Jeffrey Tambor, Kelly Osbourne Rating51% Dorothy Gale (Ashanti) is an orphaned teenage girl living in a trailer park in Kansas. Her Aunt Em (Queen Latifah) and Uncle Henry (David Alan Grier) own a diner, to which Dorothy works for room and board. Her dream of becoming a singer is slim, but when waiting on some truckers Dorothy overhears that the Muppets are conducting a cross-country show called "Star Hunt" and are looking for a backup singer. Aunt Em disapproves, but with Uncle Henry's best wishes, she goes to the audition. However, the Muppets are about to end the audition, and Dorothy only manages to give them a demo CD that she created beforehand. In returning home, the civil defense sirens sound as a tornado is headed for Dorothy's trailer park. When Aunt Em and Uncle Henry run into the county storm shelter for safety, Dorothy hurries back to her family's mobile home to get Toto, her pet prawn. She does not make it out in time, and the two are swept by the tornado across the vast fields of Kansas. When Dorothy climbs out of the wreckage, she finds that Toto (Pepé the King Prawn) can talk and that she is no longer in Kansas.
, 1h28 OriginUSA GenresComedy ThemesChristmas films, Musical films, Children's films ActorsDavid Arquette, Joan Cusack, Matthew Lillard, William H. Macy, Whoopi Goldberg, Mel Brooks Rating62% A snowman named Joe Snow (voice by Mel Brooks) recounts how the Muppet Theater was going through financial hardship, and the Muppets seeking Kermit the Frog for guidance. Kermit eventually feels he is not useful to anyone and an angel named Daniel (David Arquette) brings this up with his Boss (Whoopi Goldberg) as they review what has gone on with Kermit in the past hours.
, 1h25 Directed byBrian Henson OriginUSA GenresDrama, Comedy, Musical theatre, Fantasy, Musical ThemesFilms about films, Christmas films, Time travel films, Ghost films, Musical films, Children's films ActorsMichael Caine, Steven Mackintosh, Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson, Meredith Braun, Frank Oz Rating77% In this adaptation of the Christmas story narrated by Charles Dickens himself with the occasional commentary of Rizzo the Rat, it is Christmas Eve in 19th century London. The merriment is not shared by Ebenezer Scrooge, a surly money-lender who is more interested in profit than celebration. So cold to the season of giving is he that his bookkeeping staff, including loyal employee Bob Cratchit, have to plead with him just to have a day off work for Christmas by pointing out that Scrooge would have no customers on the holiday and that it would waste coal to sit alone in the office. Scrooge's nephew Fred arrives to invite his uncle to Christmas dinner with him and two gentlemen also come to Scrooge's offices collecting money in the spirit of the season to provide a Christmas dinner for the poor. Scrooge declines and complains that it is not worth looking after the poor, as their deaths will decrease the surplus population. Fred is shocked at his uncle's ruthless nature, but repeats his invitation, makes his own donation, and departs. Bean Bunny shows up asking for a penny to hear his song, but Scrooge throws a wreath at him in response.
, 1h30 Directed byJim Henson OriginUnited-kingdom GenresComedy, Musical, Crime, Romance ThemesFilms about films, Musical films, Heist films, Children's films, Gangster films, Escroquerie ActorsJim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson, Jack Warden, Joan Sanderson Rating70% Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, and Gonzo the Great play newspaper reporters for the Daily Chronicle. Kermit and Fozzie, specifically, are playing identical twin reporters, which becomes the source of a running gag - supposedly, nobody can tell they are twins unless Fozzie wears his hat. While Gonzo is too busy taking pictures of a chicken, prominent London fashion designer Lady Holiday (Diana Rigg) gets robbed of her jewels. The trio are eventually assigned to investigate the theft of the valuable jewels from Lady Holiday, which they have to beg for after their supervisor Mike Tarkenian dismisses them following the Daily Chronicle 's headline about the twins joining the staff (while the other papers report on the jewel heist).