#2 Movie - The Muppets

Wow this movie was just so fun!  If you have ever been a fan of the TV show, you will definitely enjoy this new feature length film that gets the gang back together.

Set in the present day, the Muppets are no longer popular or even well known anymore, except to a set of brothers in Smalltown USA, Gary and Walter.  So a bit of art imitating life there! Walter is a new muppet on the block, although it is never explained why he is a brother to Gary, played by Jason Segel.  Walter is the biggest Muppet fan in the world who has not forgotten them, and longs to see the Muppet Theatre in Los Angeles.  A trip there by Gary and his girlfriend Mary (played sweetly by Amy Adams) gives Walter the opportunity of a lifetime. But, uh oh!, the theatre has fallen into disrepair and the Muppets have gone their separate ways.  Walter stumbles on a plan by an evil tycoon to take over the theatre and drill for oil, unless someone can come up with $10million dollars to save it.  The shocked trio embark on an adventure to pull the gang back together and come up with the money.

The fun in all this is pretty obvious - seeing what all the old faves are up to now and then practising their act for the benefit show that is supposed to save the day.  Kermit, Gonzo the Great, Swedish chef, Beaker, Dr Bunsen Honeydew, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Statler & Waldorf, the Electric Mayhem and the incomparable Miss Piggy.  It's still really really funny and in a clever, child-friendly kind of way.  An unexpected delight was the sprinkling of musical numbers throughout the film (one great song is now Oscar nominated) and also a range of star cameos.  Slightly over-used were the knowing winks to the audience, such as the very pointed "Well this is going to be a short movie" when Kermit refuses to participate in the whole endeavour.  I forgave them though because of the chickens.

Kudos to Jason Segel for pitching this whole idea to Disney, writing the script and starring in the film in a lovely role.  His and Amy Adams' singing and dancing are of a pretty good standard although just a tiny bit hokey.  Chris Cooper doesn't really suit the evil tycoon role either.  But this is just nitpicking because in the end you watch the Muppets to see them doing their schtick, and they do it well here.  I'd give this a solid 3.5 stars out of 5 on reflection (although I walked out feeling it was a 4 star movie at the time).  An extended helping of the benefit show without so much plot would have been nice, but that'll have to wait until the new audience has fully embraced these old favourites.   So is it just nostalgia talking again?  We saw it with a Grade 7er and he wasn't laughing all that much but he said he liked it, so there is hope for a sequel yet.  We gotta get some Piiiiigs innnn Spaaaace happening!