The Most Sensational, Inspirational, Celebrational "Muppets" Movie Ever

I could write this review in one sentence if I wanted to, and that one sentence would go a little something like this: The Muppets is one of the most entertaining, smile-producing and basically greatest movies I've ever seen.  But since I am committed to writing thorough reviews, I will do the same for The Muppets.  But seriously, it was amazing.  Go see it.

It has been twelve years since the last Muppets movie, Muppets From Space, and leave it to one of the most likable, hilarious guys in the business to revive the franchise: Jason Segel.  After seeing several talk show interviews featuring Segel, I've learned about his obsession with puppets.  He applied this interest to one of my favorite comedies ever: Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  This was just a stepping stone for the puppet-loving comedian that would lead to this wonderful version of the Muppets.

Teaming up with the director of Sarah Marshall, Nicholas Stoller, Segel co-wrote the movie full of funny, catchy, happy songs that fans of all ages will be humming as they exit the theater.  The story within the film relates to what Segel and Stoller are doing off-screen, which is bringing the Muppets back into pop culture.  Segel's character, Gary, is related to a new Muppet named Walter who is the number one fan of Kermit and the gang.  When the two of them, along with Gary's girlfriend Mary, played by the lovable Amy Adams, leave Smalltown USA for a trip to Los Angeles, they find out that the Muppet Theater is not as remarkable as it used to be.  If this discovery wasn't bad enough, they soon learn that it is going to be demolished by an oilman named Tex Richman, perfectly played by Chris Cooper, in order to reach the oil located beneath it.  This leads to an important mission initiated by Walter that involves getting the whole group back together and saving the theater.  To do so they must stage "The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever" and raise $10 million to get Richman off their former property.

As Gary, Mary, and Walter work their way from Kermit to Miss Piggy, picking up every other Muppet in between, they come across a batch of celebrity cameos.  Unlike the unbearable A-list filled movies like Valentine's Day and the upcoming New Year's Eve, these cameos don't feel forced at all.  You can tell that these stars are not in it just for the paycheck, but are there for the Muppets.  Most of them probably grew up with Jim Henson's classic characters and their comeback is as special for them as it is for your Average Joe.

Although I didn't grow up with The Muppet Show, I had my VHS tapes of Muppet Treasure Island and Muppets From Space, and since I had these films growing up, the new movie triggered my nostalgia for the Muppets.  Plus, I recently attended the Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image for my Understanding Television class and I learned everything about them from Henson's start in college to Mahna Mahna and more.  And just as Henson set out to do, the Muppets truly feel like real live creatures and not just pieces of fabric wrapped around hands.  I couldn't help but tear up when Kermit came out on stage on a log ready to sing "Rainbow Connection."

It seems as if this movie was made more for fans like Segel who grew up with them, but I imagine that children who have never seen anything involving the Muppets will enjoy it as well.  There are certainly multiple things that will go over their heads, like the barbershop scene with a rendition of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," but they'll still get a kick out it.  

The magic of The Muppets is that it can bring out the child in even the biggest curmudgeons like Statler and Waldorf.  Although it focused primarily on Kermit, Fozzie, and Miss Piggy, leaving out the rest of the gang, it was still near perfect.  And this just leaves more room for future films (but I'd be fine without them because we don't need sequels ruining something like this).  

I'm not lying when I say watching this film was the happiest hour and 42 minutes I've had in a long time.  I'm not sure if that's a sign of my pathetic life or that this movie is simply that good. I could go on and on about The Muppets, but those of you who are reading this and haven't seen it need to open up a new tab and check the times at your local theater.  Get there early too because there's another Toy Story short before it begins.  You may think you can't get any more Disney wonder than what comes along with any Pixar production, but believe me, The Muppets will leave you as happy if not more so than when you left the theater showing Toy Story 3.  Movies like these help us realize that sometimes "life's a happy song."

4/4 Stars