Les Muppets, le retour

The Muppets is essentially flawless. I know this is a weird way to start a review, but I feel I should just forego formalities and cut to the chase. This year has been a fairly disappointing year for movies, but The Muppets just about makes up for it all by itself. It's an absolutely life-affirming tribute to beloved characters and memories that should have never been allowed to fade into obscurity, and if you care at all about movies you need to see this, as soon as possible.

Jason Segel, along with co-writer Nicholas Stoller and director James Bobin have made a film that is just absolutely bursting at the seams with affection towards the Muppets, and that love and passion has instantly rocketed this movie to the very top of the list when it comes to long history of Muppet shows, movies, and even viral videos. The film is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time and accomplishes this without being crass or cynical; it's smart, witty, and most importantly, completely heartfelt. Jason Segel with his obvious and undying love for the Muppets is, by all accounts, the most deserving person to be given creative control of the Muppets since Jim Henson himself.

The original Muppet Movie will always be a timeless classic, and it's charm and legacy will likely never be topped by another Muppet movie. However, The Muppets is the closest it has ever come, and, due to the timeliness and poignancy of the story, I would argue that right at this moment it is more relevant and moving than even the 1979 classic. I was unable to stop smiling during the entire running time of the movie, even while tears were coming to my eyes.

I know I'm not really reviewing the movie right now, and I'm more just beaming about how much I loved it, but really, I feel it would be a disservice to go into details about this movie. Simply put, you need to see it, and if you don't you're robbing yourself of a truly extraordinary film experience. This is the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational movie of the year. Go see it. Right now. I mean it, go buy tickets for this weekend, and you can thank me later.

A+

For all of you who are wondering if this will even come close to capturing the magic of the original Muppet movie, I just have one thing to say to you: go see this movie!!!!! I was a little worried myself that this movie would not be great, but tonight, I gave it a chance. And I left with a smile on my face. :) The story is that Gary (Jason Segel), Mary (Amy Adams), and Walter (the new Muppet) decide to take a trip down to Los Angeles; Walter wants to see the Muppet studios, but Mary and Gary are going for their 10th year anniversary of dating. There, they discover the oil tycoon Tex Richman's (Chris Cooper) plan to tear down the Muppet theater. That's when they decide to get the Muppets gang back together, and to put on one last show to raise enough money to save the theater. I'll let you put two and two together now.

Warning: This just might be my longest review so far on this website. That's right: I loved this film so much that I have to ramble on and on about how much I love it.

Let me first start off with the behind-the-scenes work. Jason Segel, I applaud you. You believed in this movie more than anybody else, and it is why they trusted you, my man. Thank you so much for everything you have done on this film; the result is that kids are now laughing at the Muppets, while adults are reminiscing about the old days when Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and the rest would come into their TV's and bring laughter into their homes. Both generations are coming out with smiles on their faces. As for the rest of the crew, thank you so much for doing your job right. I am so happy that cgi and 3d was not used here, so thank you for not incorporating those elements.

Now, to the actors (the human actors). Jason Segel and Amy Adams are perfectly corny in this, but it works here, because it's the muppets! Their little story on the side was great; it was not overplayed, it was just right. I won't spoil what this side-story is, but trust me, you'll enjoy it. Chris Cooper was perfectly evil here. I would say that he was one of the most evil characters in the history of the Muppets, but even he gets a song in this movie.

Speaking of the songs, they are all so great and corny here. From the new songs, like "Life's a Happy Song," to the great old ones, like (yes, you are hearing this right) "The Rainbow Connection." They even have the celebrities in this movie singing "Mahna Mahna" in the credits. Loved every bit of it.

And finally, the stars themselves: the Muppets. The trailers did emphasize Jason Segel and Amy Adams, but make no mistake, this is a Muppet film, and the whole entire gang was back. Kermit is still the normal Muppet trying to pull it all together, Fozzie still has a bad sense of humour, Miss Piggy is still very selfish, Gonzo is still trying to perform dangerous stunts, Animal still plays the drums, Rowlf still plays the piano, and all the others are doing their thing. But, let's not forget the newest addition to this wonderful gang: Walter. If you guys are wondering if whether or not he is worth watching, guess what, he is worth it! He is a really likable character, who grew up watching the muppets, and therefore has found them to be his place in life. He is a very nice addition to the family, and I welcome him aboard.

Simply put, I can't stress on how great this film is. Forget about Twilight; The Muppets is where it's at! Everything about this film is great! Honestly, I don't know why Frank Oz said that he felt like this film did not focus on character development of the Muppets. Um Frank, I believe that the Muppets have been around for around 35 years now; I don't think they need that much more character development. Simply put, this movie is great. Kids will love the Muppets, and Adults will remember why they loved the muppets when they were growing up. My only complaint is that this movie should have been longer, but that's barely a complaint, since I enjoyed the movie so much that I will give it a 10/10. That's right, a 10/10 for me! Welcome back, muppets!

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.

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.

There are very few of us twenty-somethings who grew up without the Muppets. Between Sesame Street, Muppet Show reruns, and videocassettes of the various Muppet movies, we saw these guys all the time. We even had one or two theatrical releases of our own during the '90s. (My personal favorite of those is The Muppet Christmas Carol, which is still annual holiday viewing.) In recent years, since the very underwhelming Muppets from Space, we've seen them pop up now and again, mostly in similarly underwhelming TV projects and in short (yet hilarious!) YouTube videos. I am quite happy to say that, in this newest movie, the Muppets are back in a big way!

The movie starts by introducing us to a new Muppet, Walter, and his strangely human brother Gary. Gary has planned a trip with his girlfriend, Mary, to Los Angeles, and he is taking Walter along to visit the home of his heroes, Muppet Studios. They find the studio to be in disrepair, and hear of an evil plot to destroy it. Can the Muppets, and everything we hold dear about them, be saved? To get my one complaint out of the way, I do feel that this movie was a bit rushed in places. I wanted more time with these awesome characters, and it did feel as if they were trying to get from one place to the next a bit too quickly.

That said, I spent nearly the entire movie with a smile on my face. These are the Muppets that I grew up with, doing what they are best at doing, with that gently edgy humor at which they have always excelled. While there are some moments that are very touching, it is mostly very funny, with lots of nods to The Muppet Show and The Muppet Movie. While new little Muppet fans should enjoy this, it will be much more meaningful to those who have a history with Kermit and Co.

Clearly made with love for Jim Henson and his creations of fur and felt, The Muppets is the most delightful movie I've seen in theaters this year.