Release Date – 11/23/2011
Its time to play the music. Its time to light the lights. Its time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight. Gary and his brother Walter have been lifelong fans of the Muppets. They head to Los Angeles along with Gary’s girlfriend Mary in hopes of touring the old studio. While there they find out the Muppets have split up and the studio will be torn down by an oil tycoon unless they raise 10 million dollars. So Walter, Gary and Mary track down the most famous Muppet, Kermit the Frog, so they can try to get one last show together. The movie is such a unique way to bring the Muppets back. A really cool spin on the classic characters. Part spoof, part musical and all fun.
Jason Segal plays Gary. Amy Adams plays Mary. Just a happy-go-lucky couple. Gary’s brother Walter is actually a puppet who is obsessed with the Muppets. Foreshadowing? You betcha. The human characters are over the top nice and its almost like a spoof of Mr. Rogers type acting. Chris Cooper plays the evil oil tycoon who is not capable of laughter. He wants to become rich by drilling for oil under the old Muppets studio. Eventually all the old gang gets back together, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Miss Piggy and even the Swedish Chef. The old guys in the balcony, of course. Animal and the band, yup. Beaker, Rowlf, Scooter. Yeah, I mean everyone. A nice little montage is shown of all the characters reuniting in different places and it’s also a spoof of how quickly this can be done in a film. Lets nominate the puppeteer of Kermit for an Oscar. That guy can make so many expressions with a simple frog puppet. Its amazing. And there’s cameos galore. Jack Black, Ken Jeong, Zach Galifianakis, Sarah Silverman, Neil Patrick Harris, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Dave Grohl and even Mickey Rooney. Its jam packed. Everyone wanted to be a part of Muppets history.
The film is also a musical. And if you’re a fan of the comedy duo/HBO show Flight of the Conchords then you’ll enjoy the songs. One half of the Conchords, Bret McKenzie, wrote the lyrics and music. And you can definitely tell. Witty yet still enjoyable by all ages. Its also directed by Conchords co-creator James Bobin who also wrote and directed for Da Ali G Show. So some ridiculously funny material is definitely involved. It was such a fresh take on the Muppets. A perfect way to bring them back from obscurity. That is all thanks to Jason Segal who also wrote the screenplay with Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall). I was pleasantly surprised with how much I really enjoyed the film. I got a lot of laughs, some chills at nostalgia moments and it was even very sad at times. A great end of the year film for the family. If your kids don’t know who the Muppets are, its time for them to meet Kermit and the gang. Jim Henson would be proud. HI HO! MADE!
IMDB – 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 97%
Movie Wiseguys – 8/10
