The Muppets

I, like so many others, grew up with “Sesame Street” but it was “A Muppet Family Christmas” TV Special that introduced me to the other Muppets besides Kermit. “The Muppet Christmas Carol” and “Muppet Treasure Island” were memorable for me so it is obvious that I am a fan. I knew they were coming out with a new Muppet movie before I saw the first trailer but I did not know what to expect. The “Green with Envy” trailer however was one of the best trailers I have ever seen and from then on, I couldn’t wait for November 2011. “The Muppets” feels just like any other Muppet movie from the 70’s and 80’s. Everything feels so nostalgic. There is sincerity and charm that Jason Segel & others achieved very well. I felt so happy by the end of the movie. The design and environment of the entire film is also very much modeled after the original Muppets films with nice references to "The Muppet Show". You can tell that this film was a labor of love for co-writer and executive producer Jason Segel.

The opening shot resembles that of "The Muppet Movie". The film establishes a universe where the Muppets belong but have been left behind by the rest of the world. Walter and Gary's back-story also portrays the Muppets as something extremely sentimental and that is a feeling shared probably by every person watching the movie. Kermit's glorious appearance therefore comes across as both funny & genuinely powerful. Every Muppet movie has a story that is not meant to be outstanding like other Hollywood films but rather just mediocre. This is important however because it allows these classic characters to be the focus. We expect only an okay storyline and the same can be said for “The Simpsons Movie”. We go to see a Muppet movie because of the characters and that is just what we got. From my perspective, "The Muppets" is the first Muppet film that is a direct sequel to the original "The Muppet Movie". Other films took the characters and placed them in a different setting other than Hollywood. For the first part of the film, we subconciously start to wonder why it is taking so long for them to show up. This is another factor that make their appearances even more special in my opinion. Even though the story of a classic Muppet movie doesn’t need to be a masterpiece, it does need a few essential characteristics. There has to be a subplot of Kermit and Miss Piggy’s relationship and this one is special just like past subplots. You actually wonder how those two will resolve their differences. Miss Piggy seems really serious this time. Another characteristic common in a Muppet film is the breaking of the fourth wall. This happens many times in the first half of the film to great effect. A smart thing done by the writers however is that the second half has none so as to focus the audience on the story at hand. The montage of the Muppets coming together was fun. I love how Sam Eagle for example is a news commentator. For the shots where Sweetums chases the car in a homage to "The Muppet Movie", they were filmed in the same location as 30 years earlier. There are so many amazing jokes and gags in the film that this is one of those instances where it is too time consuming to mention them all. I will say that I do love Muppet Man. The use of “We Built this City on Rock and Roll” was great. Another cool gag is the kidnapping of Jack Black. One of my favorite parts about the climax is how the Muppet Telethon starts out with no audience but ends with the whole world watching. It is a great use of drama. Another Muppet characteristic from the TV show was that during the telethon, we are seeing events back stage. The most heart felt moment in the film involves the Oscar-nominated song “Rainbow connection” from “The Muppet Movie”. Of everything that the Muppets have done over the many years, this song is what Hollywood applauds them for the most. It is on the list of the American Film Institute’s top 100 movies songs at #74 and serves as a theme much like "When You Wish Upon a Star" does for Disney. In the case of this film when I first saw it, I almost felt like crying as it was sung. This is because for a brief moment, I thought it was Jim Henson singing. After 33 years of the Muppets on the big screen, a movie of theirs finally won an Oscar. Interestingly, the song "Man or Muppet" did what "Rainbow Connection" could not back in 1980. "Man or Muppet" shared the catagory of Best Original Song with only one other nominee so it wasn't a surprise when "Man or Muppet" won.

The cast and celebrity guests in this movie added so much to the fun. As mentioned, Jason Segel was doing something very special for him and you can tell. He sings very well. Oscar-nominated actress Amy Adams had her “Enchanted” persona to call upon and she was also great in “The Muppets”. Chris Cooper played a classic Muppet villain so well that I say he is better than Jeffery Tambor or Charles Durning. Cooper’s rap in the middle of the show was insanely funny as was his delivery of the line: "Maniacal laugh." Rashida Jones & Zach Galifianakis were perfect for their roles and Jack Black must have had so much fun. Big stars couldn't wait to be on "The Muppet Show" back in the day but Jack Black depicts the opposite which is so funny. The climax seems to reference Black's role on "King Kong". Jim Parsons’ appearance was completely unexpected and the best cameo in the whole movie. It was great to see Kristen Schaal also. I would love to point out every cameo that I liked but that would take too long. We must not forget those who are not seen in the film but only heard. Steve Whitmire has always dong a fine job of replacing Jim Henson as Kermit but as I said, Whitmire singing “Rainbow Connection” was something I did not expect would be so well done. This is the first Muppet feature film without Frank Oz but thankfully, Eric Jacobson does a good job with Fozzie, Piggy and others but I sure miss Oz. I pray that Dave Goelz continues his work. Bill Barretta’s Pepe is fun for me but I would have liked to see more of that character as well as Rizzo. Muppet films are known for their special effects but the past two Muppet films had few moments that made you wonder how they did some shots. This movie however had some neat special effects moments such as Muppet Man.

I love the fact that the production team of “The Muppets” met with the heads of Pixar to perfect the story. The Muppets always seem to portray great family melodrama and that is all we expect of them drama-wise. Everything about this film has contributed sincerely to bringing the Muppets back into the spotlight. Personally, I don’t think that their decade long absence is all that long but now because of this film, we will be seeing a lot more of them. This movie was my third favorite from 2011 after "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" and "Captain America". “The Muppets” was designed to stand next to the other Muppet films and this goal was fully achieved.

4.5 Stars