Movies Features

Unseen Movie Review: The Muppets

By Adam D. Nov 23, 2011, 12:03 GMT

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world\'s biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets\' former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, ...more

It's about time. I've been waiting a long time for someone to figure out that the Muppets are more than just strings and felt and bring them back to the big screen in a return worthy of Norma Desmond.

When The Muppets opens this week I'm sure there will be kids who are anxious to hear Fozzie Bear walk on whoopee cushions and call them fart shoes, but the Muppets go back years to the ABC primetime show in the 70's (and even before that). The nostalgia factor is enough reason to bring people into the theater this week to see Kermit and the gang.

The reason the Muppets work better than most kiddie fare is because they are not just for kids. Sure the young ones like the big eyes and bright colors but it’s the adults who are peeing their pants at the hospital soap opera. Bugs Bunny showed that cartoon humor could appeal to different generations, the Muppets perfected it.

Try to get past the mid 80’s when the Muppets released The Muppets Take Manhattan and look at the new movie as a return to the primetime TV show. Every series eventually tanks it before time allows them to reboot.

George Clooney killed Batman before Chris Nolan saved the Dark Knight. Superman actually had two disasters, first Chris Reeve had to fight Richard Pryor in Superman III and then he was on a quest for peace.

The Muppets approached the reboot with a very clever angle, don’t dismiss your past but embrace it. The new movie takes place after they’ve been famous, it’s present time and everyone is aware of their history.

Similar to the next man who dares to date Kim Kardashian, he’ll never be able to forget the memory of Kris Humphries, so better to just embrace it.

Over the past few years the Muppets have released some great viral videos such as their rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. It was a smart way of making them relevant again and builds interest in the brand. The funny thing is that a group of puppets who hit their popularity peak in the 70’s know how to attract a bigger audience on Youtube than most internet entrepreneurs.

The main reason this movie is happening now is because Jason Segel is a diehard fan. After the success of Forgetting Sarah Marshall he sold Disney on the idea of writing and starring in a Muppet movie.

I’m not a huge Segel fan and I think that’s because Neil Patrick Harris upstages everyone on How I Met Your Mother, but I have to give him credit for using whatever power he had at the time of Sarah Marshall to roll the dice on resurrecting a gang of characters who work better with someone’s hand shoved up their butts.

The biggest reason I’m excited for The Muppets is because there is finally a movie I can see with my kids where I won’t be checking my cell phone or hoping the theater catches fire.

I took them to see The Smurfs this past summer and I was so bored I accidentally tied my shoes together and lit my hair on fire. So count me in on opening day to play the music and light the lights.