Fozzie Bear’s Studebaker Commander from 1979 Muppet Movie set to be restored following crowd-funded campaign
A bear’s natural habitat is in a Studebaker, after all
A classic 1951 Studebaker Commander that had a starring role in the 1979 film The Muppet Movie is set to be restored to its former glory after years of neglect.
The distinctive “bullet-nose” Commander was Fozzie Bear’s car in the movie, carrying Kermit and company west across America in search of fame and fortune.
However, after filming completed, the two examples used in the movie didn’t enjoy quite such good luck. One of them, an unmolested vehicle, was not preserved, and both its fate — and whereabouts — are presently unknown.
The other, however, was left abandoned outside at the Warner Brothers studio — suffering degradation in the elements.
It was eventually acquired by the Orange Empire sector of the Studebaker Drivers’ Club, who then gifted it to the Studebaker National Museum in the now-defunct manufacturer’s home city of South Bend, Indiana in America.
Replica-building company chosen for the job
Now, following a crowd-funding campaign started two years ago, the ’51 Commander is about to be restored by Razorfly Studios, a company from North Carolina that specialises in building accurate replicas of vehicles which have featured on the big screen.
Razorfly’s previous work has included making faithful reproductions of the 1974 Dodge Monaco from The Blues Brothers, three of the Ford Explorer expedition vehicles from Jurassic Park, the “Mirthmobile” AMC Pacer from Wayne’s World, and even a version of the DMC Delorean time machine from the Back To The Future franchise.
Kyle Sater, the curator of the Studebaker museum, told US automotive website Hemmings.com: “This project is so special to museum staff, the community and Muppet fans around the world. We are thrilled to be partnering with Razorfly Studios to begin the restoration of Fozzie’s Studebaker and want to thank their team and all our supporters thus far for making this a reality. We are one step closer to returning a bear to his natural habitat — a Studebaker.”
Mark Zoran, owner of Razorfly, added: “We’re honoured to be entrusted with such an iconic piece of film history. This project is a celebration of nostalgia, craftsmanship and the enduring magic of cinema. We have spent countless hours rewatching scenes from The Muppet Movie to make sure that this restoration is (motion) picture-perfect.”
Driven from the trunk (boot)
Having raised approximately US$60,000 of the crowd-funder target of $175,000 (about £47,300 towards £138,000, at current exchange rates), there’s still a way to go to secure the full budget, but work is nevertheless under way, with an expected completion date of June 2025.
The Studebaker will require a full ground-up restoration, yet it’s not as simple as rebuilding it to the same factory specification of any other road-going Commander from the same era.
During filming of the movie, in order to make the car look like it was being “driven” by Muppets, including Fozzie and Kermit the Frog, it was specially adapted — including having a compartment in the boot from which a human stunt driver actually controlled the Commander.
The museum hopes that the full programme of rejuvenation will help to tell the story of how the car was originally transformed from a regular passenger vehicle into the Muppet transportation seen in the movie.
Gaudy paint scheme from the film
To that end, the Razorfly team will document every stage of the car’s disassembly, as well as the restoration of its mechanical systems, interior, exterior and the remote-driving compartment.
Ultimately, the Commander will end up painted in the bright and gaudy colours it is seen in later on in the film, which were designed to make it blend in with a billboard advert for soft drinks so that the Muppets can escape their villainous pursuer, Doc Hopper.
The museum hopes to not just use the Studebaker as a static display going forward, but one which could be loaned out to other museums or taken to “rolling” events such as car shows and parades.
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