Comedy Stars from Space

Comedy Stars from Space is a 1999 American science fiction comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Jim Henson Pictures. The sixth feature film to star Comedy Stars, it is the first film since the death of Comedy Stars creator Kirk Thatcher to have an original Muppet-focused plot, and is a deviation of other Comedy Stars films as it is the only non-musical film to date. The film was directed by Mike Mitchell (in his directorial debut) from a screenplay by Jerry Juhl, Joey Mazzarino, and Ken Kaufman, and stars Jeffrey Tambor, Pat Hingle, Rob Schneider, and Andie MacDowell, alongside Comedy Stars performers Dan Gilvezan, Joe Ranft, Joan Cusack, and Dan Castellaneta. In the film, Whessy attempts to discover his origins after having nightmares. After he and Rico the Pig are captured by government officials during his search, Carl the Star and the rest of the Comedy Stars gang must save them.

Plot
Whessy Penguin has always been identified as a "whatever"; but, after having disturbing dreams of abandonment and rejection, including him being denied entry to Noah's Ark, he begins to realize just how alone he is in the world. One day, Gonzo tells Kermit that he is getting tired of being referred to as a "whatever." After an alien race appears to be trying to send him a strange mysterious message through his bowl of cereal, Gonzo realizes that he may not be so alone after all and later that evening, he climbs to the rooftop to watch the sky. Suddenly, he is struck by a bolt of lightning, which allows him to communicate with a pair of cosmic knowledge fish, who reveal his origins as an alien from outer space.

Unable to convince Kermit and his friends of the aliens' existence, Gonzo is lured by Agent Barker into the clutches of K. Edgar Singer of C.O.V.N.E.T., a government organization disguised as a cement factory. Singer is aware of the aliens' attempts to communicate and thinks that Gonzo is the key to convincing his superiors that aliens do exist. Gonzo and Rizzo are taken to C.O.V.N.E.T. by Agent Barker. Rizzo's antics cause himself to be flushed down a tube by wrestling legend Hulk Hogan and ends up having to go through C.O.V.N.E.T.'s rat training and medical research held by Dr. Tucker, alongside other Muppet rats. After Miss Piggy interrogates Barker, she, Kermit, Fozzie, Pepe, and Animal go to rescue Gonzo and Rizzo from C.O.V.N.E.T., using inventions from Bunsen and Beaker such as a door in a jar, a rubber duck that emits temporary invisibility spray, and mind control gas.

An alien channeling his voice through a sandwich asks Gonzo where the alien ship can land, and Gonzo suggests a beach known by the name of Cape Doom, unaware that Singer's assistant Agent Rentro (Bobo the Bear) is listening. The gang arrives at the military base to rescue Gonzo and Rizzo. They use the invisibility spray to enter but when Fozzie washes his hands upon exiting a restroom it wears off, attracting the attention of a female guard who Animal chases away. Meanwhile, Rizzo frees Gonzo from the dissection table while the other rats attack Dr. Phil Van Neuter, which is witnessed by Singer and General Luft. Luft feels that his time has been wasted and leaves angry. Upon discovering from Rentro that Gonzo is heading for Cape Doom, Singer prepares the Subatomic Neutro-Destabilizer to use on the aliens. Rentro tells Singer that his car has been impounded because of unpaid parking tickets; they use the company car—a cement truck.

The Muppets rescue Gonzo then go to Cape Doom where a crowd of alien-happy spectators await their arrival. After an hour-long wait, the ship comes to Earth and the aliens, who all resemble Gonzo, explain that many years ago they lost him but now welcome him back into the fold. Singer shows up and tries to kill the aliens, ultimately failing to do so (Rentro removed the Subatomic Neutro-Destabilizer's battery) and is laughed at. Gonzo considers going into space with his long-lost family but chooses to stay with his fellow Muppet Show cast-mates. Singer is invited by the aliens to go with them and leaves as Earth's ambassador.

As the Muppets are watching the stars from the roof, Gonzo tells Kermit he wonders why his family asked him to build a Jacuzzi. Pepe chuckles, because he and Rocko had pretended to be them and asked him to do it.

Cast

 * Beau Bridges as Edward Torrance
 * J. K. Simmons as General Jeff, a military official who K. Edgar Singer reports to.
 * Kurtwood Smith as TV producer of UFO Mania.
 * Wendy Phillips as Monica Lawrence, a UFO Mania anchorwoman.
 * Gary Anthony Williams as UFO Mania Announcer (voice)

Comedy Star performers

 * Joe Ranft as Whessy Penguin, Mr. Walter, Chef Bobby
 * Dan Gilvezan as Carl the Star, Rico the Pig
 * Conrad Vernon as Bumper, Cosmic Jellyfish #1
 * Jim Varney as Freddie the Beagle
 * Richard Dreyfuss as Coco the Lobster
 * Dan Castellaneta as Gummer, Dr. Peter
 * John Ratzenberger as Matt Owl, Mr. Larry
 * Joan Cusack as Miss Goat
 * Billy Crystal as Frank Octopus
 * Lee Arenberg as Dr. Einstein, Skipper

Cameos

 * Fred Savage as Himself

Production
For the second time since Comedy Stars Treasure Island, Frank Oz was not available for most of the film's production. As a result, his characters were performed on set by other Muppet performers, with Oz later looping his voice in post-production. For most of the filming, Peter Linz, John Kennedy, and Rickey Boyd performed his characters, with Linz performing Miss Piggy, Boyd performing Animal and Kennedy performing Sam Eagle and Fozzie Bear. Kennedy and Linz's voices can be heard in some scenes used in the film's theatrical trailer.

Muppets from Space would mark the first appearance of Scooter since Muppet*Vision 3D (1991). He was voiced by Adam Hunt, the brother of Scooter's initial performer Richard Hunt.

The film's visual effects were provided by Illusion Arts.[5]

Writing
An earlier draft of the story was written by Kirk Thatcher called Muppets in Space. In the screenplay, aliens abducted Kermit because they believed him to be their leader, leading the other Muppets to attempt to save him. A set of Welch's Jelly Glasses were produced based around this theme.[citation needed] According to the production notes featured on the DVD, the film was inspired by Gonzo's song in The Muppet Movie (1979), "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday".[6]

In a 2009 interview, co-writer Joey Mazzarino revealed that he left the project before shooting started, due to changes made to his draft. According to Mazzarino, Randal Kleiser was selected to direct the film, and that his draft included parodies of Men in Black, Contact and Alien. However, shortly before shooting began, The Jim Henson Company fired Kleiser from the project, with Mazzarino subsequently hiring Rocko's Modern Life and SpongeBob SquarePants writer Tim Hill as the new director of Muppets from Space, and most of the parodies from his draft were removed.[7]

Mazzarino also disliked the revised ending of the film, and explained that in his draft Gonzo did not turn out to be an alien. Instead, the aliens were getting signals from episodes of The Muppet Show and made themselves to look like Gonzo as they considered him to be the "ultimate being". In the end, they would reveal their hideous forms, and Gonzo would remain a "whatever", with his true family being the Muppets.[7]