Rating: Grade: A
Score: 9.0/10
Kids ages 5+
Its' time to play the music, its' time to light the lights, its' time to meet the Muppets, again!!
The film tells the story of Gary (played by Jason Segel) and his puppet brother Walter, who are The Muppet Show's biggest fans. Going on a trip to Los Angeles with Gary's longtime-girlfriend Mary (played by Enchanted's Amy Adams), they soon stumble upon business magnate Tex Richman's (played by Chris Cooper) plans to tear down the Muppet theater. Gary, Mary, and Walter then go on a criss-cross world adventure to reunite the gang, and try to raise the $10 million needed to save the Muppet Studios.
Positive Notes
Strong role models and positive messages appear in this film. Walter, who even though is actually a Muppet, can easily be related to kids that don't fit in, kids that are picked on and don't feel like they can find a place in this world. But Walter teaches us that even though we are different from each other, we always have our own talents and personalities that make us special. Gary, his brother, always seems to be an overgrown child, obsessed with hanging out with Walter and the Muppets, and not focusing on furthering his relationship with Mary. Gary and Walter are tested in the musical number "Man or Muppet", where they have to decide where they stand. Also featured are strong statements about growing up, setting aside differences for a major cause, and being there for others.
The celebrity cameos are hilarious and fun. Jack Black is listed as a cameo, but he is more of a recurring character as he actually appears about five times in the film itself. Other notable cameos include Whoopi Goldberg, Selena Gomez, Neil Patrick Harris, Mickey Rooney, Sarah Silverman and Zach Galifianakis. The songs by Bret McKenzie are very cheery and memorable, with the stand-outs being "Life's A Happy Song", "Me Party", the Oscar-winning "Man or Muppet" and "Pictures in My Head". Several fun pop-culture references and references and tributes to past Muppet movies and The Muppet Show.
Negative Notes
Several moments of slapstick violence (as usual with the characters) that may scare young toddlers. A few very light toilet humor jokes (Fozzie's "fart shoes", toilets used as seats, and pretending the audience is naked as stage fright advice), strange swimwear is briefly seen on a French beach and Mary dons a couple of low-cut shirts. God's name is misused once, as well as one use each of "jeez", "heck", "what the wocka?" and the incomplete "what the...?" Chickens cluck through a rendition of Cee Lo Green's "Forget You".
Conclusion
I have grown up with several different character brands and names....Peanuts, The Land Before Time, Dragon Tales, and Clifford the Big Red Dog are just to name a few. Unlike many others, The Muppets only was familiar to me by watching a few videos and a couple of movies on TV. The main reason being is that the characters faded away from the public eye during the 2000's decade, but with a new decade, everything is being revived, and the big reboot movie, The Muppets, could not have come at a better time.
As a dedicated fan of the characters, Jason Segel said he didn't want today's kids to miss out on one of his childhood favorites. Prior to this, Segel had co-wrote, co-produced and starred in several inappropriate, crassy R-rated material. So to see him do a kid-friendly movie with very few missteps is super awesome to see. A tip of the hat to him and his co-writer Nicholas Stoller for writing a very clever screenplay.
Jim Henson's classic characters hold a mirror to society and remind us to be ourselves, even if we are outsiders. The songs are just as memorable as you would expect a Disney-released musical to be and like recent revivals of character franchises that have died off in years' past (Winnie The Pooh, Smurfs, etc.), I think to myself, "these guys haven't changed a bit" (were you expecting, "What a wonderful world?"). On a very brief occasion, they may just be slightly off-color, but its' hugely outnumbered by a bunch of very hilarious moments. Altogether, The Muppets return in a funny and heartwarming adventure that is also inspirational, celebrational and muppetational (quoting The Muppet Show theme).
