''The Frog Prince'' (released on home video as ''Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince'') is a 1971 musical fantasy comedy

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of e ...

directed by

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

, and jointly produced by Robert Lawrence Productions in Canada and

Henson Associates The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

in the United States. It is a retelling of the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among th ...

's classic

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

of ''

The Frog Prince "The Frog Prince; or, Iron Henry" (german: Der Froschkönig oder der eiserne Heinrich, literally "The Frog King or the Iron Henry") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 1). ...

'' featuring

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...

as the narrator, Kermit's nephew

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') ** Bush-robin **Forest r ...

as Sir Robin the Frog Prince, and

Sweetums The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...

. This special marked the debut of both Robin and Sweetums to the world of

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompas ...

Plot

Kermit and several other frogs are sitting around a well, when a small frog they do not recognize appears. The frog introduces himself as Sir Robin the Brave, explaining that he is actually a prince. He recounts, in flashback, how he once fought an

ogre An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world ...

named Sweetums and was transformed into a frog by a

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

named Taminella Grinderfall. Nearby, they hear King Rupert the Second proclaiming that he will retire as king that afternoon; and his daughter, Princess Melora will be crowned queen. Robin is overjoyed, as he must be kissed by a princess in order to restore his human form. The princess comes to the well, and Robin learns that she is under an enchantment that prevents anyone from understanding what she says. As she sits by the well, singing to herself, she accidentally drops her golden ball in the water. Robin offers to retrieve it for her if she will befriend him and take him to the palace. Melora reluctantly agrees and Robin fetches the ball. At the palace, Robin asks Melora to kiss him, saying he will turn into a prince, but Taminella catches them. Melora tells Robin the only way to destroy Taminella's power is to "bake the hall in the candle of her brain," which Robin does not understand. Taminella takes Robin to Sweetums's lair in a cage. Robin lulls Sweetums to sleep with a

lullaby A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowledg ...

, and Kermit tries to free Robin. Sweetums wakes up intent on eating Robin. Kermit and Robin escape, but learn that the coronation is starting. Kermit and the frogs help Robin disrupt the coronation. Amidst the chaos, Melora yells out "The candle of her hane!"; and Robin realizes "bake the hall in the candle of her brain" really means "break the ball in the handle of her cane." He bites Taminella on the arm, causing her to drop her cane and shatter the glass ball in its handle. Taminella's power destroyed, she turns into a bird and flies off. Melora's enchantment is broken, and she kisses Robin in gratitude. Robin turns back into a prince and professes his love for Melora. Back at the well, Kermit reveals that Robin and Melora were eventually married.

Notes

Later syndicated alongside ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as ...

''.

Cast

Trudy Young Trudy is a diminutive of Gertrude. Notable people with the name include: People * Trudy Adams (born 1964), American actress * Trudy Anderson (born 1959), New Zealand cricketer * Trudy Bellinger, British music video director * Trudy Benson ( ...

as Princess Melora * Gordon Thomson as Sir Robin the Brave * Heather Henson as Baby Prince Kermit

Muppet performers

Jerry Nelson Jerry L. Nelson (July 10, 1934 – August 23, 2012) was an American puppeteer, best known for his work with The Muppets. Renowned for his wide range of characters and singing abilities, he performed Muppet characters on ''Sesame Street'', ' ...

as Robin the Frog (voice), Featherstone,

(in-suit performer) *

, Garth the Frog, King Rupert the Second *

Frank Oz Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...

as Gawain the Frog, Robin the Frog (puppeteer) *

Carl Banas Carl Banas (born January 23, 1929) is a Toronto-born retired radio personality and actor. He is best known for his voice roles in ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' (1964) and '' The Raccoons: Let’s Dance!'' (1985). As a television actor, he ...

(voice) * Richard Hunt as Taminella Grinderfall (in-suit performer) * Jerry Juhl as Kay the Frog, Taminella Grinderfall (voice) Additional Muppets performed by

Faz Fazakas Franz "Faz" Fazakas (April 5, 1918 – September 28, 2013) was an American puppeteer, engineer, and special effects designer, best known for his work with The Muppets. He is the namesake for Fozzie Bear for whom he created the puppet's ear-wiggli ...

John Lovelady John Lovelady is an American puppeteer who worked with the Muppets, including on the PBS series ''Sesame Street''. Lovelady is originally from Oxford, Mississippi. He was one of the puppeteer troupe in the first season of ''The Muppet Show'' (19 ...

, and Daniel Seagren.

Home media

''The Frog Prince'' was first released on LP, then VHS,

Betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, as in its logo) is a consumer-level analog recording and cassette format of magnetic tape for video, commonly known as a video cassette recorder. It was developed by Sony and was released in Japan on May 10, 1975, ...

and

LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diameter typical ...

in the United States in 1983 by the Walt Disney Telecommunications and Non-Theatrical Company through the Muppet Home Video imprint. A CED release was also issued by

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

. On January 14, 1994,

Buena Vista Home Video Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...

through the Jim Henson Video imprint re-released the special on VHS.

References

External links

''Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince''
at

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''The Frog Prince''
on Muppet Wiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Frog Prince (Muppets), The 1971 television specials The Muppets television specials 1970s musical films Films about witchcraft 1970s American television specials Films based on Grimms' Fairy Tales Television shows directed by Jim Henson Hughes Television Network Television shows written by Jerry Juhl The Frog Prince