We all know that Miss Piggy is an expert at making entrances. Most every time she’s appeared in a Muppet movie or special, she finds a way to force all eyes on her, thanks to her expert combination of timing, fashion, and comedy.
We realized that no one has ever really tried to look back at all the times Piggy has made an official “entrance”. Sometimes she’s just part of the gang when our story starts, and sometimes most of a movie goes by before she blows the audience away with a perfectly-timed debut.
Below, in chronological order, are most of Miss Piggy’s entrances through various Muppet productions. We included the time when she first pops up, some of which are particularly surprising. And because lists are dumb, we’re also giving them all a rating in the form of the ever-elusive Velvet Gloves.
And now enough of this pre-show… we are proud to introduce our Miss Piggy introductions!
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (1974)
Time to Entrance: 34 seconds
Miss Piggy’s very first entrance in anything ever comes from this odd appearance on a variety special starring a guy who plays the trumpet. While she certainly makes a splash – enough to set the stage for her to become the greatest star of every generation – her entrance is just sort of… wandering on stage? She has this blank stare that makes her look like there’s not much behind the eyes. But don’t worry, Piggy. You’ll have plenty more opportunities to nail that intro.
Velvet Gloves: 2/10
The Muppet Show (1976)
Time to Entrance: 19 seconds / 21 minutes
Miss Piggy’s technical first appearance on The Muppet Show comes during the theme song, as she kicklines her way onto the stage, singing about how it’s time to play the music. But technical shmecknical, let’s look at her real first appearance, showing up on the back end of the Juliet Prowse episode in the back row of the Muppet Glee Club. The on-screen entrance isn’t much, but she nails her introduction to audiences as she’s awarded a featured role singing “Temptation”, shoving her colleagues aside to dominate both the song itself and the Frog.
Velvet Gloves: 8/10
The Muppet Movie (1979)
Time to Entrance: 1 minutes, 20 seconds / 40 minutes
Like in The Muppet Show, The Muppet Movie features two intros for her fabulousness. First, we meet her in the screening theater, dressed to impress in an incredible feathered turban and mink stole. Even when just attending to see herself on screen, Piggy finds a way to make the biggest splash in the room.
But her real entrance comes almost halfway through the film, announced by name by Elliott Gould as the winner of the Bogen County beauty pageant. She gets a big fanfare, a tiara and cape, and is seated on a throne like the queen she is. After all that, she gets an actual glimmer in her eye and bursts into an epic love song. This moment, above all others, is what catapulted Miss Piggy into actual stardom, all because of a perfect entrance.
Velvet Gloves: 10/10
The Muppets Go Hollywood (1979)
Time to Entrance: 19 minutes
In a special where everyone makes a grand entrance (thanks to the conceit that both Muppets and celebrities alike arrive via limousine and red carpet), Miss Piggy is initially absent. Perhaps this Hollywood-worthy entrance wasn’t epic enough for her. She appears a bit later in the special in a segment where she’s being interviewed by Rita Moreno, which doesn’t count because it’s canonically in a pre-taped flashback. So her real appearance comes just over 1/3rd into the special, being carried in on an Egyptian chaise lounge held by four burly men. Declared “the most beautiful woman in the world”, she sings “Baby Face” with a chorus of pigs. When later productions brag about Miss Piggy making a big entrance, this is always the first one I think of.
Velvet Gloves: 9/10
The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
Time to Entrance: 18 minutes, 37 seconds
Most of Miss Piggy’s entrances are spotlights on her fabulousity, proving to the world that she is deserving of our praise and attention. In this case, she uses her uncanny ability to make an impression as an impromptu job interview. And she nails it, from her silhouetted turn in the doorway through her brazenness of showcasing her fashion portfolio for Lady Holiday. Her entrance is so good, she gets a job offer within exactly 60 seconds. But I guess it wasn’t quite good enough to get an offer for the job she originally wanted.
Velvet Gloves: 5/10
I Love Liberty (1982)
Time to Entrance: 2 minutes, 40 seconds / 5 minutes, 7 seconds / 6 minutes, 8 seconds / 7 minutes, 38 seconds
Piggy makes not one, not two, but four entrances in this short clip from the I Love Liberty special. First as herself, then George Washington, them Abraham Lincoln, and then Lady Liberty herself. Only Miss Piggy can find a way to get applause for walking through a door four times within a few minutes.
Velvet Gloves: 5/10
The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show (1982)
Time to Entrance: 25 seconds
Man, this whole special is just an array of glorious entrances. But the very first one, right at the top of this production, features Miss Piggy dropping from the ceiling, adorned in lights. That’s classy as heck.
Velvet Gloves: 6/10
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
Time to Entrance: 2 minutes
For the Muppets’ third feature film, Miss Piggy doesn’t get much of an entrance. She’s just sort of… there. On the same level as Scooter and Camilla, singing in a college revue in a glaringly plaid outfit. We can do better.
Velvet Gloves: 1/10
The Muppets – A Celebration of 30 Years (1986)
Time to Entrance: 13 minutes
Once again, Miss Piggy is present from the onset of this special, but that doesn’t stop her from making an official introduction partway through the special. With a big fanfare, illuminated stairs, and thunderous applause, it’s a perfect entrance. And then she promptly falls down the steps, somehow adding to its perfection. Apologies to all other entrances – you’ll never beat this one.
Velvet Gloves: 10/10
Muppet Family Christmas (1987)
Time to Entrance: 34 minutes
Muppet Family Christmas is the special that inspired this entire article. She makes her first appearance in the special around the 5-minute mark, explaining why she’s running late. Despite popping up a few times, her real entrance near the end of the special, showing up towed by a fleet of snow dogs in an immaculate fur, having survived the worst snowstorm since the blizzard of ’41.
Velvet Gloves: 9/10
The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990)
Time to Entrance: 3 minutes / 42 minutes, 50 seconds
Yeah, Miss Piggy is present with the entire gang from the beginning of this special, trudging through the swamp outside Orlando. Not the most glamorous of entrances. But near the end, the Muppet troupe meets Mickey Mouse, and Piggy (in her singed Marion Ravenwood outfit) knows she can’t meet this legend looking like dirt. So she disappears, only to reappear a minute later posing in the doorway wearing a glamorous evening gown. Fozzie notes, “If there’s one thing Piggy knows, it’s how to make an entrance,” thus furthering the entire premise of this ToughPigs article.
Velvet Gloves: 5/10
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990)
Time to Entrance: 25 minutes
In honor of the creator of the Muppets, Miss Piggy delivers the greatest gift she could give. In her own words, her “grand entrance for [her] tribute to Jim Henson”. As Rizzo points out, isn’t it a little over the top? Miss Piggy responds with an enthusiastic “YES! Isn’t it wonderful?” The appearance includes a chorus of singing penguins, a light-up frame and curtain that rises from the floor, and another spectacular outfit. The fact that she does all of this backstage and not onstage further proves that she only cares about the entrance itself, and everything that comes after is just a bonus.
Velvet Gloves: 7/10
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Time to Entrance: 53 minutes, 30 seconds
Can you believe that there’s a Muppet movie that doesn’t feature a glimpse of Miss Piggy until almost an hour into its runtime?? When we do see her, she’s commanding a household as a wife and mother. It’s not as epic as being carried in by strongmen or being lowered from the rafters, but this is probably the best we can expect from Dickensian London.
Velvet Gloves: 2/10
Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
Time to Entrance: 1 hour, 6 minutes
Okay, but can you believe that there’s a Muppet movie where Miss Piggy doesn’t show up until OVER an hour into its runtime??? In an insane twist of events, Benjamina Gunn doesn’t enter the story until after the characters all arrive on the titular Treasure Island. That means we don’t see Piggy until nearly the end of the film. But what an entrance! It features a band of worshipping pigs, a live elephant, and all the pomp and circumstance deserving of an island goddess.
Velvet Gloves: 8/10
Bohemian Rhapsody (2009)
Time to Entrance: 4 minutes
In this now-iconic music video, Muppets both popular and obscure get their fair share of screen time. But rather than toss Miss Piggy into the fray alongside Beauregard or Dr. Strangepork, she gets the grand spotlight. Lounging draped over Rowlf’s piano, she delivers the finale of the song, with a small-yet-efficient change to retroactively make the song all about herself. How’s that for perfection?
Velvet Gloves: 7/10
The Muppets (2011)
Time to Entrance: 36 minutes
By this point in the movie, Walter and Gary have been collecting Muppets one at a time like they’re Beanie Babies. For their grand finale, they go to Paris to pick a Pig. But unfortunately, Miss Piggy gets no entrance, as she’s seen just sitting at her desk about to snack on a donut. Her entrance is overshadowed by Muppet Man, which would distract from even the most glamorous of pigs.
Velvet Gloves: 1/10
Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021)
Time to Entrance 1 minute / 15 minutes
In the Muppets’ latest, Miss Piggy still finds a way to make two terrific entrances. First, right at the top of the show, she upstages everyone with her Kermit the Frog costume (and by convincing Kermit to cosplay as herself). A bit later, Piggy returns as Madame Pigota, a disembodied head inside a floating glass orb. Now if that’s not a terrific entrance, I don’t know what is.
Velvet Gloves: 6/10
And there you have it – all of Miss Piggy’s best entrances! Now we all have a better idea of what makes a great threshold-crossing, thanks to our favorite pig. And now if you’ll turn your attention to the center stage… it’s the one and only end of this article!!!
Click here to descend a spiral staircase on the ToughPigs forum!
by Joe Hennes – Joe@ToughPigs.com
