Justin here with a review of the new Muppet movie.
There’s no moment in The Muppets as magical as Kermit singing “The Rainbow Connection” in the original. There’s no puppetry as amazing as Kermit riding a bike. There’s no celebrity cameo as amazing as Orson Welles.
But The Muppets is really good. It’s a worthy Muppet movie. It’s a great family movie.
The main ingredient missing is Jim Henson. But that’s an unfair criticism. He’s gone, and no one can take his place.
What I appreciated most about The Muppets was its tone: upbeat, hopeful, and sincere. This isn’t a crass cash-in like Muppets in Space or Muppets Treasure Island or anything like that. The Muppets is full of the exuberance for life that made the original so good. This isn’t Episode One: The Phantom Muppets.
The plot revolves around Jason Siegel, his Muppet brother Walter, and his girlfriend
Amy Adams going on a road trip to get the old gang back together to save the Muppet Studios from an evil oil baron. Basically your standard Blues Brothers/UHF/Breakin’/Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo plot. What were you expecting? Shakespeare?
Of course the plot is secondary to the Muppet antics and song numbers. Everything worked out pretty damn well. I kept expecting a major misstep, but nothing happened that was ever train wreck worth. The most cringe worthy moment came from an unexpected rap scene that mercifully only lasted about a minute. What’s more, this movie is so charming that certain gags worked that shouldn’t have, like when Camellia and a flock of chickens cluck out a wordless version of Cee-Lo’s “Fuck You.”
The cast worked really well. I didn’t even really mind the parts with Sigel and Adams, because I kind of like them and they’re kind of likable. I think everyone understood that having a couple of human focus characters was a necessary evil because it would be kind of weird just watching puppets for 90 minutes. I was glad to see Rashida Jones in a role outside of the excellent Parks and Recreation. Jack Black was even able to tone down his shtick and stay out of the Muppet’s way.
I’m not the level of Muppets fan that some people I know are. But I grew up watching the movies and re-runs of the show and Fraggle Rock. I really liked this movie. My expectations weren’t super high, but The Muppets definitely exceeded them. The screening I saw was made even more special because I saw it with my mom and my brother. Was it just like old times? No, not really. But it was pretty great.
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Also, if you're looking for other great takes on the Muppets, be sure to check out Roger Langridge's superb Muppet Show comics.