Muppets from Space is a 1999 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Tim Hill (in his feature film directorial debut) and written by Jerry Juhl, Joseph Mazzarino, and Ken Kaufman. The sixth theatrical film in The Muppets franchise, it is the first Muppets film to not be a musical and the first film since the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson to have an original Muppets-focused plot. In addition to the Muppet performers, the film stars Jeffrey Tambor, F. Murray Abraham, David Arquette, Josh Charles, Hollywood Hogan, Ray Liotta, and Andie MacDowell. In the film, Gonzo attempts to discover his origins. After he and Rizzo the Rat are captured by government officials during his search, Kermit the Frog and the rest of the Muppet gang set out to rescue them. The film was shot in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1998, and was released in the United States on July 14, 1999 by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label. It grossed $22.3 million and had a budget of $24 million. Alongside The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, it is the last Muppets feature film to have the involvement of Frank Oz prior to his retirement from Muppet performing the following year. It is also the last Muppet film written by Juhl prior to his death in 2005, the last Muppets film to be released theatrically until The Muppets in 2011, and the last theatrically released Muppet film to be produced by The Jim Henson Company before the franchise was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2004. Plot Gonzo's species has always been a mystery; but after having dreams of being denied entry to Noah's Ark, he begins to realize just how alone he is in the world. Gonzo tells Kermit that he is getting tired of being referred to as a "whatever". After an alien species appears to be trying to send a message through his bowl of cereal, Gonzo realizes that he may not be alone after all and that evening, he climbs to the rooftop of the Muppet boarding house 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. Hoping to contact the aliens, Gonzo makes an impromptu appearance at the television studio for UFO Mania, where Miss Piggy works.