Les Muppets, le retour

This was the best Muppet Movie since 1981's The Great Muppet Caper, which is saying a lot, because I hold that film in very high regard.

The Muppets have been rather hit and miss since Jim Henson passed away. The Muppet Show was originally started by Henson and Oz as a more adult oriented, yet still family friendly comedy variety show as an outlet for gags and bits that wouldn't work on Sesame Street. It worked too, both kids and adults loved the show, and the first three films are classics in their own right. But, sometime in the 80s, The Muppets started to cater more towards Kids rather than adults. The Muppet Babies were first introduced in the third feature film which eventually spawned its own series. Henson then sold the franchise to Disney and sadly died shortly thereafter. It seems that, after the success of Muppet Babies, Disney decided to continue to move The Muppets in a more kid oriented direction ... one with a decidedly Disney flavor to it. This didn't really help the Muppets legacy in the long term. Kids grow up, and eventually grow out of kid shows and movies. And with very little, if any, appeal to adult audiences, The Muppets were soon forgotten by the generation who grew up in the 90s and 2000s.

But the generation that that grew up in the 70s and 80s had not forgotten the old Muppets, in fact they missed them dearly. Jason Segel is one of those people, and it is clear from this film that his enduring love of The Muppets and the influence they had on him as a child, was the driving force behind this movie.

This is a comeback movie. The Muppets start off in a bad way. People have forgotten them, their abandoned studio is about to be torn down, and they just aren't popular anymore. This is reflecting the actual situation The Muppets franchise was in at the time they were making the movie. And thus the plot lends itself to fourth wall jokes that were so prevalent in the early films.

It is, for the most part, a return to form. This is old school muppet humor at its best. You have the silly and catchy musical numbers, mixed in with a bit of sincere songs, celebrity cameos, fourth wall jokes, pop culture humor, a self aware plot that frequently pokes fun at itself, Fozzie's bad jokes, Statler and Waldorf's heckling, a Kermit and Miss Piggy romance plot, and just general wackiness and slapstick.

Still, as similar as it is to the old Muppet formula, it's also quite different. After Disney took over, human characters often played larger roles in the Muppet films. That is the case with this one. In fact, much of the plot and humor in this film is not centered around the muppets at all, but are centered around the two human characters and the new muppet. While some may be disappointed by this change, I have to disagree and say that, for this film, it works and works quite well. Still, it's clear that Disney doesn't have much confidence in The Muppets holding the film together on their own, like they did in the original (and best) Muppet Movie.

As a result there are times where the movie feels less like a Muppet Movie and more like a tribute to the Muppets. In some ways this is the film's strength, in other cases it is a weakness. Also, some of the bits in the second half seem a bit awkward and fall flat, often on purpose, but usually it isn't worth the payoff. Nevertheless, this film hits on an emotional and nostalgic level, especially for those who grew up with The Muppets. There were times when I actually felt a tear come to my eye. It's that moving.

The film's success so far has been warranted, and I'm hopeful that Disney will do the right thing and green light "The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made", a project Henson and Oz had been pushing for since 1985. There were even plans to make it in 2009, but the project was set aside for this film instead. Hopefully, this last idea by Jim Henson will be the next sequel, the premise certainly looks like it has potential.

The Muppets may quite possibly be one of the best movies of 2011. I don't just mean that as a fan. The Muppets had everything spot on – it was clever, entertaining, adorable, heartwarming, and absolutely hilarious. The magical thing though is that The Muppets pleases everybody -- average moviegoers and Muppet purists alike, and that I believe is its greatest triumph. On one side is a modern comedy, chock full of hysterical celebrity cameos and pop culture references. And on the other side is a nostalgic throwback to the Muppets era. Those who remember the old series will unquestionably find delight in seeing their favorite puppets reunite for another big show, literally.

Funnily enough, the movie treats the Muppet characters as if they were real life actors, with The Muppets shows and movies being their past careers. The Muppets haven't seen any action in years (a fact also true in real life), and each muppet has taken his/her own path in life with varying degrees of success. When crisis arises, the old troupe is forced to find each other and give it another go.

It is all weaved through a fascinating metanarrative that begs the question, what happens to the Muppets when they aren't The Muppets? After all this time away, can The Muppets make a comeback through a reunion and relive their former glory days? – a question ultimately answered by the movie itself.

The film opens with a common puppet named Walter, whose childhood consists of watching The Muppets and dreaming of joining them. His older brother Gary (Jason Segel) extends the invitation to come with him and his girlfriend of 10 years Mary (Amy Adams) to Los Angeles so that he can visit the Muppet studio. Much to his disappointment, the Muppet theater is abandoned and Walter even overhears an oil tycoon's (Chris Cooper) plot to tear down the place. Walter and Gary quickly seek out Kermit the Frog to reunite the Muppet crew and remedy the situation, but all the while Mary is upset that the turn of events is ruining her 10 year anniversary with Gary.

As you can imagine from the premise alone, the movie is a tribute to the Muppets in every sense. It travels respectfully through the old Muppet history, and relives it instead of trying to replace it. In fact, seeing how each one branched off from the group like members of an old band and "grew up" gave, I would say, substantially more character to each Muppet than they ever had before. I think fans will agree that this is the best possible way the muppets could have returned.

Simply put, I can't imagine anyone with a heart not enjoying this film. There's something in it for everybody, especially if you're in the mood for laughter and catchy musical numbers. The creative humor was a breath of fresh air. There is plenty breaking of the fourth wall and oh so much of that lovely deadpan irony and absurdist humor, reminiscent of old comedies like Airplane! The audience in the theater was cracking up almost every other moment, myself included. And while humor is its strong suit, the movie is also an incredibly heartwarming tale of friends that go their separate ways but are still connected through their hearts. Moviegoers and Muppet fans alike, go see this movie!

9/10

Warm, charming and funny, just like the Muppets I remember from my childhood. I'm not often one for musicals, but this one - aided by the brilliant combination of fuzzy puppet singers and Flight of the Conchords composition - hits all the right notes. It's funny without nudging into blue territory, a talent that's becoming more scarce by the minute, with a heartwarming reunion storyline that slowly reintroduces the cast and reminds us why we grew to love them in the first place. Loaded with unexpected cameos and sly winks at the troupe's long history, it's clear that a lot of love went into the making of this picture; the screen positively resonates from beginning to end. Though I was hesitant to revisit this old territory at first, by the final act I was grinning warmly and nodding right along, utterly entranced.

I must admit, I usually write reviews when i am angry, however in this case, I am writing this review because of pure love for the movie.

I went to this movie expecting few laughs and an enjoyable night. My expectations were met and more. the songs were great, the plot was classic Hollywood plot but they made fun of it so it didn't bother me at all. I laughed at all the jokes without exception. I didn't know the whole cast so the surprise appearances affected me emotionally.

most importantly, I felt that the people who are doing that movie didn't acted on that movie for the money, for the box office or for the fame, they did it for pure love for the Muppet's(most of them anyways) and I felt that. I was asking my self why I loved this movie? and this is was the answer I got. As long as these kinds of movies being made, there is still hope for Hollywood.

The late Jim Henson's lovable Muppets have now been around for decades, entertaining people of all ages. I'm definitely far from the only one who can say that the world-famous puppet characters were a major part of my childhood, and I haven't been disappointed revisiting them after growing up. I didn't see this 2011 movie, simply titled "The Muppets", when it came into theatres late last year, but since I had seen all the previous theatrical Muppet movies, I was bound to see this one after it came into stores, hoping it would be a LOT better than 1999's "Muppets from Space", the only theatrical movie in the franchise that didn't impress me at all! Well, I've seen it twice this week, and can say I definitely got what I hoped for!

Walter, a puppet, has always been very close to his human brother, Gary. At an early age, the two of them discovered the Muppets and quickly became a devout fans. Years later, the now grown up brothers still live together, and Gary has been dating a woman named Mary for the past ten years. The human brother plans to take his girlfriend to Los Angeles for their tenth anniversary, and is taking his puppet brother along with him for a tour of the abandoned Muppet Studios, though Mary doesn't like Gary always bringing Walter along with them wherever they go. During the tour of the Muppet Studios, Walter sneaks into Kermit the Frog's old office, where he witnesses Statler and Waldorf selling the Muppet Theatre to businessman Tex Richman, and after the two leave the room, Walter overhears Richman's intentions to destroy the building and drill for oil underneath! The devout Muppets fan tells Gary and Mary about what he has just heard, and the three of them must try and reunite the Muppets so the old team can raise $10 million and save their theatre!

This 2011 blockbuster begins fairly well, showing Walter and Gary growing up together and their relationship. After this sequence, it shows them grown up and about to go on their trip to Los Angeles. This part features the first song in the movie, "Life's a Happy Song", and while this may not be "Rainbow Connection", it's still a good and catchy tune to start off with. Other standout songs follow, such as "Man or Muppet". The gags in the film may not usually be hilarious (though there are some hilarious moments, such as how long Walter screams after he hears Richman's intentions), but there are plenty of amusing moments, obviously largely thanks to the famous Muppets with their charm and antics. I guess they're not exactly the main characters here, which some fans have a problem with, but they still get PLENTY of screen time and are still thoroughly entertaining. Jack Black can also provide some laughs as himself here, even if this is not the funniest he's ever been. "The Muppets" doesn't rely entirely on its gags, as I found the plot consistently entertaining, and there are some poignant moments. Jason Segel and Amy Adams are both impressive as the human leads, and Chris Cooper is also convincing as the antagonist. Walter, a new Muppet introduced in this movie, is a lovable one, much like Henson's famous Muppets.

I've noticed a lot of negative reviews here, and I'm sure some fans of the Muppets gang have good reasons to dislike this movie, but I'm afraid I can't say I agree with any of them. The only theatrical Muppets movie I've ever been able to write a negative review for was the last one before this, which I found to be not only not very funny, but so too dreary and cruel for the Muppets. I felt like the Muppets I knew as a kid had gone so far away when I watched "Muppets from Space" several years ago, but that was certainly NOT how I felt when I watched this latest theatrical movie featuring Jim Henson's characters. I'm sure many people haven't been impressed with anything that has been done with the Muppets since Jim Henson's premature death in 1990, and for them, I guess there's no point in watching this, but if you're not one of those, and you want a good, lighthearted family film, I think this is a really good one to check out for the family. Yes, it is rated PG, but I've definitely seen far raunchier PG-rated films marketed in the "family" category, such as the unsatisfactory "Cheaper by the Dozen" remake.