It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights, it's time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight! The Muppets are back and their return to the big screen is nothing but magical for fans young and old.
The story follows two brothers Gary (Jason Segel) and Walter(Peter Linz). The boys come from a small town (ironically named Smalltown) where they live a happy normal life. All that changes when they take a trip to LA with Gary's girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) where they find out that Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), a wealthy oil tycoon, wants to tear down The Muppets Theater and turn the site into an oil rig. OH NO! They find Kermit and inform him of the evil scheme and it's up to them to reunite the old gang and put on one last show to raise the money to buy the theater back themselves!
So what does one get when you have James Bobin (writer/director of Flight of the Conchords) as a director, and Jason Segel and Nicholas Stroller (writers of Get Him to the Greek), topped off with The Muppets? A surprisingly funny and fresh take on a fan favorite. I was skeptical at first when I saw the cast and crew being filled up with R-rated comedy stars but not even 5 minuets into the movie, a smile was put on my face and it never left.
Jason Segel put dedication and hard work into reviving the Muppets and it all pays off as this has become one of my favorite family movies of the year. Catchy songs, cheesy Fozzie jokes, simple plot, great acting, heartwarming moments and charm. The movie is full of it and it felt great to see the whole gang back together. From Gonzo to Rat to Kermit to Animal, they're all here and just as you remember them. Jason Segel is fantastic nailing each and every scene being hilarious as always but also able to provide tear jerkers in other scenes. Amy Adams is simply charming although her character seems to get dropped during the third act. Chris Cooper was fine but felt like he overacted in many parts.
The story was fantastic and felt just like the old Muppet movies, Segel really did the series justice. The movie has charm and will have you cracking up often. It's quite funny to see the Muppets poking fun at the movie, I got a kick when Fozzie said "Wow, that was such an expensive looking explosion! I can't believe we had that in the budget". The songs are catchy as I said previous but they also can draw laughs from the audience. Usually every singing movie has one song that is just too cheery or is just overkill but The Muppets doesn't take itself seriously and uses it to it's advantage, Gary "I got you flowers, ooh, sorry they got damaged in that last dance number". The pacing is spot on and there isn't a moment when the story feels like it's dragging on. The film is just done really well.
As for complaints with the movie, I don't really have any. I did find the audio not syncing with the lips during two songs, Chris Cooper could have done a better job as the main villain, the Kermit/Mrs.Piggy subplot lacked some information that might confuse younger viewers, and there were a few jokes that felt out of place considering this is a kids movie at heart.
Overall if you have to go take your kids to go see a movie make it this one. The Muppets is one of those movies that has something that can appeal to audiences of all ages. Muppet fan or not it's well worth the watch as it was crafted with heart and care for the original material.
9.0/10
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