What “The Muppets” proves is that Jim Henson’s marvelous creation(s) are timeless. Consider this; the Muppets were created in 1954. I was born in 1991. When I grew up, the Muppets still had films coming out. Their version of “A Christmas Carol” was my favorite holiday movie (and still is). My parents grew up watching them and so did I.
Ever since “Muppets from Space” in 1999, their popularity has dwindled. They’ve had a few television specials, but nothing major. I feared their time had finally come, that today’s youth didn’t care for Kermit and his pals. On the contrary, I feel it simply had to do with taking a break. Let their spirit rest and build demand.
The proposed theory worked. The new film has been generating a lot of buzz. The Muppets have been popping up all over the place the past few weeks, even on WWE Raw. Parents who were kids when their star was shining brightest now have kids and are sharing in the magic this weekend with them. I myself don’t have children, but took my young nephew with me. Watching his eyes light up was a wonder to behold.
Building off of their low supposed low star power nowadays, the film has the group broken up. Kermit resides in Los Angeles, living in a mansion alone. Miss Piggy has moved to Paris and works for a fashion magazine. Gonzo owns his own plumbing company. Fozzie Bear is the lead singer of “The Moopets”, a Muppets cover band (their drummer elicited one of the biggest laughs from me). The rest of the gang were found in a montage.
They decide to reform the group to save their beloved Muppet Studios. Years back, Kermit signed a contract that the studio would be up for sale by the year 2011. Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) wants to own the property and destroy it. Rumor has it oil runs underneath it and he wants to extract for it. If the Muppets don’t raise ten million by the time the contract ends, the studio is his.
Convincing them to save the studio is Walter, a Muppet who happens to be their biggest fan. When his brother, Gary (Jason Segel), takes him to Los Angeles to visit the studio, they overhear of Richman’s plan and track Kermit down. Walter’s love for them convinces Kermit to get the gang back together.
Unfortunately, nobody seems to care about the Muppets anymore. No television station will air their telethon, not even Univision. A CDE Executive (Rashida Jones) gives them the opportunity, only because her most popular program has to be yanked due to a federal case. They only have two days to put together a show and find a celebrity host (the result is hilarious).
Getting in the way is the relationship of Gary and Mary (Amy Adams). There’s nothing wrong with either character or actor. I liked them both, just felt their relationship caused an unneeded distraction. In any other movie, I would have been fine with it (especially since I liked them both). Here, I felt it took away from the core story.
At the very least, they could have introduced Mary later on. Instead of having her and Gary being in a ten-year relationship, he could have met her halfway through. They established that Walter not needing his assistance anymore was troublesome for Gary. Introducing him to Mary would have blended better with the story. Dropping their relationship into the story did them more harm than good.
But, I digress. It’s a bit bothersome, but not a huge dent. After all, the characters are likable and give us a few fun musical numbers (my favorite being “Am I a Muppet or a Man?”). Holding back on them would have given the Muppets and even Tex Richman more screen time (and possibly more cameos), but it’s not a big crime.
Director James Bobin, as well as writers Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, capture the Muppet magic splendidly. They have a tight grip on the characters, as well as what made them so grand. The film is filled to the brim with celebrity cameos and breaks the fourth wall. They also do their best to get every Muppet featured, guaranteeing they’ll all have one shining moment.
Out of all the critics in the world, the one person whose opinion mattered to me was that of a four year-old boy. On our trip to the theater, I had a fear that my nephew wouldn’t like the film. That the Muppets wouldn’t appeal to today’s youth. Once the credits rolled, my nephew looked at me and said, “That movie was awesome!” I agree wholeheartedly.
Final Rating: B+