It's Time to Welcome the Muppets Back with Open Arms

Kermit, Miss Piggy and the rest of the Muppets return to the big screen after a decade-plus hiatus.

How many times have modern directors attempted to take something so iconic from pop culture, redress it for fresh audiences and the result just falls flat? The last couple of years have unfortunately been the epitome of revitalizing the 80s. Smurfs, fail. G.I. Joe, fail. Conan the Barbarian, fail. But where many studios have failed, Disney will try to pick up the pieces with a seventh Muppets film. 

As the first Muppets film since 1999, The Muppets rejuvenates the magic of the original three films, getting away from the gimmicky installments of the 90s. It has been years since the Muppets got together and finally do so when persuaded by their biggest fan, Walter, who’s also a Muppet, to save their old studio from a greedy oil baron (Chris Cooper). Pooling together to manage what seems to be the impossible, the Muppets put on a telethon to buy the oil baron off.

Now you don’t go into a Muppet movie expecting deep plots or dimensional characters. It’s simplistic as it gets when your villain’s called Tex Richman. Sounds like a nice, philanthropic character, right. Without an overworked plot, The Muppets does what it sets out to do and that’s to entertain audiences of all ages. Even young adults who grew up on the characters in the 80s are pulled back into that mindset of a child. Its heartfelt story and kinetic numbers make you forget about the troubles of real life and just have fun for 90 minutes.

The entire gang is back for this reunion: Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Rolf, Scooter, Animal, and even secondary Muppets too. Once the movie gets going, every shot is littered with Muppets. And it just not the Muppets, Amy Adams and Jason Segel are there too as an energetic couple, helping to get the Muppets back into the spotlight. Both are great additions and don’t steal much of the spotlight away from the colorful cast. They sure don’t act normal, but they’re really not supposed to. Like with previous Muppet films, The Muppets has a fantastic lineup of cameos, from Emily Blunt to Neil Patrick Harris to Jack Black and even a few left on the cutting room floor. Also new is Walter, a die-hard fan of the Muppets. Ironically, he is a Muppet even though nobody acknowledges that. His character is a great addition to the gang and is every child who ever wanted to live out his or her dream. A childish pursuit, yes, but it’s the Muppets, and movie is directed towards the child inside.

From the vibrant array of characters to the handful of songs, which are thankfully not overdone, The Muppets delights audiences with sporadic homage and nostalgia. Even though it’s a throwback film, the tie-ins to previous movies aren’t shoehorned into the plot.  But when Starship’s “We Built This City” montage hits, you just want to get out of your seat and start playing air guitar. The Muppets also manages to remain to its roots, staying far away from modern technologies.  Yes there are no CG Muppets and no 3D. Honestly, that quite a surprise since both are overused in today’s cinema. The Muppets doesn’t try to be bigger than its predecessors either, rather falling in line as another part of franchise canon. The original cut of film was rumored to be quite lengthy, but the film does what it needs to do in the 90 minutes as far as pacing and entertainment purposes go.   

Fans of the Muppets will definitely enjoy the film, finding it a breath of fresh air from many of family endeavors currently out there. And even if this is your first go-around with the Muppets, there’s no doubt that they’ll be back in a few years. The Muppets are here to stay, once more.   

GRADE: A- (9/10)
This review is also available on Blu-Ray.com