It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

I first saw this movie last year on NBC and was very pleasantly surprised. I'm not really a big Muppet fan. It's not that I don't like them, it's just that I've never watched them that much. So why was I interested in this movie in the first place? I'm not really sure. Maybe because Triumph the Insult Comic Dog was in it! Nevertheless, I had some good laughs watching this last year.

Fast forward to the present time and I saw this on sale, so I had to get it. Watching it a second time, I'm a little more conscious about concerns that some scenes were too "adult" for this movie. For example, the whole rave scene might get people upset where lovable Scooter is grinding in a cage!! Another example is the character Pepe who swoons over Joan Cusack's character and uses the terms, "sexy" and "topless."

So I could kind of see how people can get upset with this movie, but I definitely don't think it tarnishes what the Muppets are all about, unlike what's being done in 'The Cat in the Hat' movie. The Muppets still provide family-friendly laughter and moments to people of all ages. Fozzie's Grinch scene was pretty funny, Pepe steals the show, the spoof on 'It's a Wonderful Life' is great, and I like the jabs at NBC's corporate synergy (I'm a business major and a former Disney employee, so I know this stuff well!) I also found the song between Gonzo and Kermit, "Everyone Matters," to be very nice and sweet.

Overall, this is a very nice and funny Christmas movie. I wouldn't necessarily label this as a classic or really all that memorable though, because honestly, are we going to remember some of their references (Scrubs, Ricky Martin, and Moulin Rouge) ten years from now? By the way, I've never seen Moulin Rouge, so that spoof went way over my head!

This movie is good for the current time period, but I'm afraid it won't live on much longer unlike other Christmas classics (Rudolph, A Christmas Story, Mickey's Christmas Carol). Now is a good time to see it though.

My IMDb Rating: 7/10. My Yahoo! Grade: B (Good)

Sorry, but the script for this was a good first draft, but a poor final draft. Certainly there are moments of brilliance (the snowman, bringing back Doc Hopper), but they are mixed in with a lame effort to make God into a comedic character, sexual innuendo, and over the top homosexual characters that will discourage both conservative and liberal parents from showing this to their kids.

I think that the people who made this film had the people who grew up with the Muppets (people in their 20's and 30's) in mind. But that's the problem. We watch the Muppet movies to "escape" from the crap that other movies dish out, not wanting to see a movie that celebrates it. Basically, instead of using a plot, the movie tries too hard to use "pop cultural references" (such as referring to Britney Spears, or Triumph the Insult Comic Dog) and also uses inappropriate characters and situations (such as using seemingly gay characters; a rave scene where they have Scooter dancing as a cage dancer in a club, the Shrimp, Pepe, even using the word "sexy", etc.) It's not that we viewers can't "handle" more mature and modern Muppets, it's just that we don't want to. And I don't think parents want their kids to watch this. I just think this kind of stuff would confuse them. Plus the violence, although mild and cartoonish, is unnecessary. They have characters who say "let's go beat up" Fozzie, and fight scenes between humans and Muppets, and Muppets and Muppets, that are uncalled for, and not humorous at all. Bizarrely enough, the humans in this movie (except for one) all have these bizarrely happy smiles on their faces, and don't talk. It's just weird. It's almost like the Muppets are acting worse off than the innocent-looking humans. This movie just failed with me. I was upset how the people who wrote this tried to "sell out" and break something that don't need to be fixed. I will never watch this again, and I would not want to let kids see it. The Muppets have little personality in this, and any plot is substituted with references to other movies, as if the Muppets don't have any worth of their own. Which they should.

The good news is that this is easily the best Muppet outing since their "Muppets take Manhattan" movie nearly 18 years ago. Almost every Muppet that made the Muppets popular is there, and even more, the right people (Kermit, Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie) are all front and center; which may be the first time in recent memory that Fozzie was given equal billing (and intelligence!!) with Kermit - instead of Piggy. Equally interesting is that the original "Muppet Theater" idea of the TV show is there, complete with Statler and Waldorf heckling from the balcony (with some of the best heckling they've had a chance to do in nearly 20 years). This being the case, many of the 90s Muppets such as Clifford amd Data are nowhere to be seen - not even relegated to "cameo" status. However, Pepe the Prawn is around.

Ironically, with a setting from 25 years ago, Frank Oz is no longer doing the voices. With Jim Henson and Richard Hunt dead, this more or less constitutes a complete turnover in Muppeteers. But it looks like they more or less threw caution to the wind, and finally brought the Muppets into the 21st Century. There's a lot of good here, It took me half of the show to realize that Gonzo, Piggy, and Fozzie were voiced by new people; and to that respect they did a fantastic job. This is great: instead of worrying if Frank Oz's (or whomever) Muppets will be able to give a few token lines and then leave, new people took up the mantle and gave great performances. For the most part it works: Scooter is back as is Sam the Eagle and Kermit's nephew Robin, plus Dr. Honeydew and Beaker in top form. Unfortunately, Animal and Rowlf are pushed to the background.

The Story? Oh there's a story?? Who cares? We all know that any story is just an excuse to see the Muppets go crazy. Basically, it's a spoof of "It's a Wonderful Life." There's a few spoofs thrown in, most notable being The Grinch and Moulon Rouge. Some work great, some don't.

Unfortunately, what doesn't work ALMOST killed it. The cameo with Piggy on the set of Scrubbs was funny -she quits the Muppet Show to start her career: an extra as a corpse on the show- but it cements the special to the success or failure of Scrubbs. Then there are the obligatory human cameos and roles. I never was one for them on the TV shows or movies, but here they seemed more forced: the most unforgivable is Whoopi Goldberg as a God-like deity (Goldberg probably feeling like she was typecast) who brings the show to a screeching halt at the end with a boring Guinan-like sermon about self-esteem. Almost as unforgivable is the ending song as the credits rolled, which was uncharacteristically sappy and contrived - fortunately modern devices of stuffing as many commercials as possible allowed it to go mute while the ending was split-screened with a promo. And then there were some things that seemed totally out of line: Pepe says he's got a permit for a topless club (Gonzo hints that he likes the idea), Scooter is cage dancing in a fantasy-scene, and the more bizarre Pepe and Joan Cusack lust scenes. Overall, it relied more on Simpsons-like references and spoof-gags to get through 2 hours than the witty writing of years past.

But, that wasn't enough to wreck it. The Muppets, in my book at least, are back. Now, if they can work on the writing, drop the need to spoof the next-big-thing at every turn, and keep it clean enough for the kids, there will be no stopping them - again.

Ah how I do love the muppets. They are always so fun and joyus and there are about five different films set at christmas, each of which is great. In this movie the gangs beloved thetre is thretened with closure from a horrible tyccoon played by joan cusack. David arquette sees kermit down in the dumps and talks to god, an apperance by whoopie goldburg. They dont help but are more there for the cameo part. Matthew lilard also plays a strange french fella. Theres fun and excitement and good songs as always as the gang set about to make the money up. I akways enjoy seeing them and am amazed by the pupperty. Overall a very good christmas film.