After the box office success of The Muppet Movie and The Muppet Show’s time on the air coming to an end after 5 seasons, Jim Henson was ready to take on his next challenge: film director. But it wasn’t a Muppet Movie sequel that he wanted to be his directorial debut, but a fantasy epic starring original puppets called The Dark Crystal.

To do that, however, he’d have to make a deal that included directing a Muppets sequel first before rolling directing into production on his puppet fantasy film. And so, with barely a concept and only a few ideas, Henson dove into directing what would become 1982’s THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER, a film that was bigger and more ambitious than anything the Henson Company had ever done before.

Joining Nick and Scott is Adam Sheehan (Tales From the Short Box) to discuss the magic tricks on display through what might be the most slept-on entry in Muppet movie canon.

Become a Premier Tier PATREON supporter to hear our “Franchise Potential” companion podcast, plus bonus podcasts each week including Dueling Genre Tonight hosted by Nick!

Join the Dueling Genre Discord Server: https://discord.gg/rngwTkz8yw

Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra