Childhood Revisited: The Muppets (2011)

Let me just start this by saying that I loved the Muppets! When I was a kid, I used to watch The Muppet Show every night it was on, which I think was every night! Even though I used to watch them so much, I never ended up seeing any of the Muppet's movies. In fact, I haven't seen a production by the Muppets (aside from little internet viral videos) in ages! All of these things meant I was all at once excited to see The Muppets and also terrified. What if the movie didn't live up to my childhood memories? What if it was just plain bad? I'm sure a lot of people are thinking and feeling the same way. Well, I risked my fond memories and went to the theater, alone no less, because none of my friends could be bothered to go. My thoughts on the Muppets' return after the jump!


I don't know how involved the stories of the other Muppet movies are, but this one is pretty simple, which I think is a good thing. The Muppets haven't been popular for a long time, and the good ol' Muppet Theater is about to be sold to an evil oil baron, Tex Richman (Chris Cooper). At the same time, Walter (a new Muppet), his brother Gary (Jason Segel) and Gary's long time girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) are headed to Los Angeles to see the sights, and in particular, see the Muppet Studios. During the tour, Walter hears that Tex will tear down the theater, so they set out to find Kermit the Frog, the rest of the Muppet gang, and raise the $10,000,000.00 needed to buy it back and save the theater!

Getting the gang back together!

If I were to have my way, the movie would be filled with lengthy scenes of all my favorite Muppets. But then I have so many favorites, there wouldn't be very much time spent with anything like a story. That wouldn't really make for a good movie. The makers of this film know that almost every fan of The Muppet Show and their movies will be thinking the exact same way though. Everyone will want to see their favorite Muppet get decent screen time. Somehow, impossibly, they seem to tell a story, show almost every Muppet I can think of, and even some I couldn't, cram it full with celebrity cameos, and actually have a fun and funny movie all at the same time. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that it's filled with musical numbers, both with, and without singing. Amazing.

The whole crew meets with a TV exec to get their telethon aired

I'm not sure if I can attribute factors like acting to a Muppet's performance. Muppets just always seem spot on excellent no matter what. Even the new addition to the group, Walter, ends up being a great character. I can most certainly talk about the acting of the human actors though. After seeing Forgetting Sarah Marshall earlier this year for the first time, I was floored by how much I liked Jason Segel. Finally he's back, and his love for puppets (if you remember the ending of Forgetting Sarah Marshall) is back and in full force! I thought he was great yet again, but he certainly isn't the star of the show. Amy Adams does alright, but now she's really taking a back seat in comparison to any of the Muppets. I thought both Amy and Jason did really well when they had to sing though. Probably the only person I wasn't really sure about was Chris Cooper as the villain. I'm not sure that he was really needed, and the one time he sang, I just sort of sat there cringing.

Oh God! It's so good to hear that song again!!! XD

That brings me to the part of this review that I wish I didn't have to even mention. The Muppets isn't a perfect movie, even for a Muppets fan. The great majority of it is great, but there are a few moments or musical numbers that are a little closer to the awkward side instead of the cheesy side. In particular I'd point to that Chris Cooper rap number again. Thankfully it's short. Similarly, the first time they ever broke into song I was a little weirded out, but the song quickly grew on me and then I liked it. Thankfully, there are so many great celebrity guests, great songs and montages, and wonderfully cheesy jokes that it all works. In fact it more than works, it's great!

Something I really wasn't expecting though was how touched I'd become in certain parts of the movie. When we first meet Kermit, he's really quite depressed how everything has ended up, and it really caught me off guard how sad it was. I was even having to choke back tears on occasion. Other things like seeing the old Muppet Studios and the Muppet Theater in such disrepair was also pretty sad. But every time something sad happens, they quickly throw a really fun joke out there and cheered me right back up!

Couldn't be the greatest Muppet movie ever without a great classic song!

While the movie didn't hit every single beat perfectly, and I fear it won't be for everybody, I was extremely happy and satisfied after seeing The Muppets. It brought back all my love for them that I thought I had lost and maybe even a little bit more. I really want to watch all the other Muppets movies, even though I know a few are hit and miss. If you ever liked the Muppets in the past, be it from the TV show like me, or from the other movies, I'm pretty sure you'll love this movie. All film makers should take note. If you're going to relaunch or reboot or re-whatever an old beloved franchise, this is how you do it. In particular, the makers of the Transformers movies should pay attention! The stars of The Muppets, are rightfully the Muppets themselves, not the human characters helping to bring us back into their world. It's not the best movie of the year, but it my very well be the best family movie of the year! I'm just glad I live in a world where a Frog can sing "Rainbow Connection" and bring a happy tear to my eye.